LIVINGSTON, Ala. — The University of West Alabama Football team fell to No. 17 Valdosta State, 28-24, on Saturday at Tiger Stadium.
It was a tale of two halves as UWA (5-4, 0-2 GSC) scored the first 24 points but was held scoreless after halftime as VSU (6-1, 1-0 GSC) scored 28 in the final two quarters.
Valdosta State finished with more total production, throwing for 304 yards and rushing for 133 while West Alabama passed for 247 and rushed for 121.
"It was a tale of two halves," said head coach
Scott Cochran. "We showed a lot in the first half and had a lot of momentum going into the second half. We had a comedy of errors in the second half that cost of the game. I will say that it showed me something by how we played in the first half, but I just wish we could've played a complete 60 minutes of football."
West Alabama deferred to the second half as Valdosta State received the ball to jumpstart the contest.
Anthony Oatis opened the defensive work with a tackle for loss on VSU's first snap, leading to a three-and-out to begin the game for UWA's defense.
TD Parker's 32-yard punt return set up
Elijah Guyton's 38-yard field goal at the 11:09 mark for a 3-0 West Alabama lead. The Blazers moved into the Tigers' territory on Champ Harris' 27-yard run, but
Kebian Gilmore's third-down sack pushed the drive back and forced a punt. UWA then put together a 15-play, 80-yard drive, converting four third downs along the way, including
Luther Richesson's completions to
Cam Joseph and
TD Parker.
Dakarai Shanks finished the march with a three-yard touchdown run at the :19 mark, and Guyton's extra point sent West Alabama to the end of the first quarter ahead 10-0.
The second quarter opened with a UWA takeaway when
Nate Thomason forced a fumble on VSU's Harris that
Levi Manson recovered at the Valdosta State 35. West Alabama couldn't generate any points, giving the ball back to VSU's offense. The Tigers defense stood tall once again as a sack from
Legend Doggett forced a Blazers punt. West Alabama followed with a 71-yard drive that was capped off by a
Brayden Jenkins scored from 15 yards at the 6:43 mark, making it a 17-0 game. Valdosta State moved to the UWA 34 on its next possession, but the Tigers forced a turnover on downs. West Alabama's offense went back to work with 3:49 left in the half. The Tigers put together a 66-yard scoring drive where Jenkins ended it with a one-yard touchdown run to extend UWA's lead to 24-0. The Blazers reached the UWA 27 in the closing seconds of the half, but Adrian Gonzalez missed a 44-yard field goal as the clock expired, leaving West Alabama ahead 24-0 at the end of the quarter.
UWA outgained VSU, 246-112 in the first half while forcing one turnover, contributing to their 24-0 lead.
To begin the second half, West Alabama's offense marched into Valdosta State territory before their drive stalled as VSU took over on their own 31-yard line. The Tigers defense forced a punt on the next possession, but the Blazers' offense found their rhythm on their next drive. Harris hit Davion Grant for 58 yards to the UWA 2 and ran in from there at the 4:30 mark, cutting Valdosta State's lead to 24-7. After the Blazers' first touchdown, the momentum began to shift. UWA's offense became stagnant and VSU's caught fire as the game progressed to the fourth quarter.
VSU began the fourth quarter at the West Alabama five-yard line and scored at 14:49 on Harris' five-yard pass to Jaheim Arnold, making it 24-14. Richesson answered with completions of 20 and 45 yards to Morris to move West Ala. to the VSU 10, but the drive ended with a missed 29-yard field goal at the12:40 mark. The Blazers later went 80 yards and pulled within 24-21 on Harris' 38-yard touchdown pass to Leon Washington Jr. with 7:02 left to play, then took a 28-24 lead on Matt Wilson's 4-yard touchdown run with 1:45 left. West Alabama picked up one first down on its final drive, but the possession ended on fourth-down incompletion at the UWA 36 with 42 seconds remaining, and VSU kneeled out the 28-24 final.
Valdosta State outgained West Alabama, 325-122, in the second half, scoring 28 unanswered points to defeat the Tigers.
West Alabama will be back at Tiger Stadium next Saturday, November 7 for a senior day matchup against Monroe that's set for 1:00 p.m.
