LIVINGSTON, Ala. - The University of West Alabama Football continues their march to Postseason play on Saturday as they travel to Rome, Georgia for an 11:00 a.m. CST matchup against the Shorter Hawks.
No.12 West Alabama (7-1, 4-1 GSC) enters Saturday's matchup ranked 12th in the country and second in the Region after a 17-14 win over North Greenville last weekend. For Shorter (3-4), they come into the weekend after a 55-0 win over Virginia Lynchburg.
"We're getting on the road again to play a quality Shorter team," said head coach
Brett Gilliland. "They are coming off a big win and we will need a focused, physical effort against them."
UWA being slotted into the number two spot in the Region puts them in prime position to host a NCAA Playoff game, but the Tigers can't look ahead and must finish out their regular season clean, beginning with the Hawks on Saturday. The storyline all season long for West Alabama has been their defense. You're simply not going to find too many units better than the one that resides in Livingston, Alabama led by Defensive Coordinator
Steve Sisa. Sisa has an abundance of talent to work with and has put all of his players in positions to succeed as UWA enters the final three weeks of the season with a multitude of players making cases for All-GSC selections.
Trevon Lambert,
Davonta Jackson, and
Ishmael Naylor are just a handful of players who have made their presence felt to the country. Lambert remains the league leader in sacks with 6.5 while Jackson comes into this weekend's matchup after registering 5.0 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, and an interception in UWA's win over North Greenville, leading to the senior being named the GSC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. While Lambert and Jackson dominate the line of scrimmage, Naylor leads the Linebacker group with 56 tackles, placing him third in the conference.
Offensively,
Spencer Arceneaux still leads the way for the Tigers as the junior Quarterback enters Saturday's game with 13 total touchdowns and 1,527 total yards on the year. The Running Backs and the Offensive Line remains the engine that makes West Alabama's offense go as the trio of
Devontae Causey,
Bry Webb, and
Brayden Jenkins have combined for 860 rushing yards through eight games, propelling UWA to 27.0 points per game.
The Shorter Hawks arguably possess the most talented roster that they've had in a while, but the Hawks have struggled on the defensive side of the ball in 2024, resulting in their 3-4 record. Shorter comes into the matchup against West Alabama, allowing 28.0 points per game and has given up 35 or more points in three of their seven games, including surrendering a season-worst 59 points against Valdosta State back in early October.
The Hawks' have had no issues finding the endzone this season as they average 27.6 points per game, led by sophomore Quarterback Josh Brown. Brown became the full time starter halfway through the season and has recorded seven touchdowns and 871 total yards in four starts against Chowan, West Georgia, West Florida, and Virginia Lynchburg. In the backfield for the Hawks, Alia Charles is the lead back as he leads the team with 383 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
Shorter will need elite level performances from their top players in Brown and Charles, coupled with their best defensive display of the year if they want any chance of pulling off an upset on Saturday.
"I'm excited to see our guys get to line up in another battle," coach Gilliland closed.
Saturday's matchup against Shorter is set for 11:00 a.m. from Barron Stadium in Rome, Georgia.
