LIVINGSTON, Ala. - The 2024 season came to an end for the University of West Alabama Football Team on Saturday after the Tigers dropped their First Round matchup to the Lenoir-Rhyne Bears, 37-34.
UWA (9-2, 5-1 GSC) struggled to contain Lenoir-Rhyne's passing attack as the Bears' Jalen Ferguson threw for 411 passing yards and three touchdowns in Lenoir-Rhyne's (10-2, 7-2 SAC) three-point win.
"This was a tough one," said head coach Brett Gilliland. "We had a lot of chances and hurt ourselves in a lot of areas. When you get into the playoffs, you play good teams and things like that make it hard for you to win the game."
After forcing Lenoir-Rhyne to punt in their opening drive, West Alabama drove down the field on their first possession of the game, with Spencer Arceneaux finding Tyler Walker for a 42-yard touchdown to put the Tigers ahead 7-0. After UWA's quick strike, Jalen Ferguson and the Lenoir-Rhyne offense went to work as the Bears drove 75 yards in eight plays, with Ferguson finding the end zone to tie the game at seven. With 6:36 remaining in the quarter, both defenses got a pair of stops to send us to the second quarter all knotted up.
Both offenses exploded in the second quarter with West Alabama opening up the scoring with a 15-yard end around touchdown run by Dearrius Nelson. Now down 14-7, the Bears instantly answered as Ferguson led a seven-play, 52-yard drive with the Lenoir-Rhyne Quarterback connecting with All-SAC receiver, Adonis McDaniel for a three-yard score. After tying the game at 14, Lenoir-Rhyne's kicker Stewart Simmons was flagged for his third kick out of bounds flag of the half, giving UWA solid field position to begin their next drive. Khris Binion and Devontae Causey carried the Tigers' next drive, accounting for all 65 yards in five plays with Causey rushing for a 17-yard touchdown to give West Alabama a 20-14 lead with 8:12 left in the half.
Moments later, UWA's defense forced a Lenoir-Rhyne three-and-out which was followed by Arceneaux finding Nelson in the end zone for the senior's second touchdown of the day, extending the Tigers' lead to 27-14. At this point in the half, it seemed as though West Alabama had full control of the game as their defense forced their second consecutive three-and-out. Moments later, UWA's momentum was halted as Arceneaux fumbled at the Tigers' 30-yard which was recovered by the Bears, giving Lenoir-Rhyne peak field position. The Bears capatalized on the turnover, scoring five plays later to make it a 27-21 game with 2:30 left. The Bears threatened to take their first lead of the game at the end of the half, but had to settle for a field goal to cut West Alabama's lead to 27-24 at halftime.
Lenoir-Rhyne outgained UWA, 242-234, in the first half while the Tigers gained two more first downs.
West Alabama fumbled the kickoff to begin the second half which was recovered by Lenoir-Rhyne. The Tigers' defense didn't falter, not allowing the Bears to gain a yard, forcing a Lenoir-Rhyne punt. UWA extended their lead to 10 on the ensuing drive courtesy of Arceneaux who scampered for a 61-yard touchdown run. Now down 10, the Bears remained in the game, kicking a field goal to cut the Tigers' lead down to 34-27 with 5:21 left in the quarter. West Alabama's next drive looked promising before an illegal formation call negated a 44-yard Binion reception, forcing UWA to punt. With 2:58 left in the third, this is where the game shifted in favor of the Bears as Ferguson found Adonis McDaniel for a 78-yard touchdown, tying the game at 34 at the end of the quarter.
Two high snaps, resulting in two missed field goals and an interception was the story for the West Alabama in the fourth. The Tigers' drove the ball down the field to begin the quarter and were set up for a 28-yard field goal that was missed by Elijah Guyton after a high snap from the long snapper. Two possessions later, Lenoir-Rhyne marched down the field and took their first lead of the day after Jake Brown put through a 25-yard field goal. Down three with 4:40 left to play, UWA was forced to punt after their drive stalled, giving the ball back to the Bears with 2:27 left to play. West Alabama came up with a massive three-and-out to force another Bears' punt before Arceneaux threw an interception on the first play of the Tigers' drive. The UWA defense came through once more with another colossal three-and-out, giving their offense the ball back with 36 seconds left to play. In their potential game-tying or winning drive, Arceneaux and the Tigers' moved the ball up the field with relative ease, setting up a 44-yard field goal attempt for Guyton who leads the country in field goal percentage. The snap was high, throwing off the rhythm of the attempt and resulting in Guyton missing short and wide left as West Alabama fell, 37-34, to Lenoir-Rhyne.
Arceneaux accumulated 324 total yards and three touchdowns while Walker and Caeleb Bass combined for 162 receiving yards and 14 catches.
"I'm just super proud of these guys," Gilliland continued. "This season started the last half of last season when things weren't going good and they could've all packed it in but they didn't. They rallied, came back in January, and made the decision to stick together, believe, and trust one another and that led to some pretty cool, big things to happen for us this year for our team."
West Alabama ends their historic 2024 season with a 9-2 overall record.
