HICKORY, N.C. — The University of West Alabama Football team picked up a massive 34-23 win over No. 21 Lenoir-Rhyne at Helen & Leonard Moretz Stadium on Saturday.
UWA (2-0) scored 17 unanswered points in the fourth-quarter, after trailing 23-17, to upset No. 21 Lenoir-Rhyne (1-1) on the road. Legend Doggett was responsible for two of those scores as the Cornerback returned a fumble for a touchdown, before recording a pick-six to propel West Alabama to their victory.
"That was wild back-and-forth game," said head coach Scott Cochran. "We have some things that we need to clean up but coming on the road against a really good team and coming out with a win, feels really good."
The Tigers were outgained, 449-296, by the Bears but the turnover battle would prove to be the most important statistic of the game. West Alabama forced four Lenoir-Rhyne turnovers while not surrendering a turnover themselves.
UWA came out of the gates fast as Chrissean Jones ended the Bears' opening possession, with his first career interception, picking off the first pass attempt of the game of LR's Wells Bettenhausen. West Alabama turned the short field into points, with Elijah Guyton drilling a 40-yard field goal at 12:09 to take 3-0 lead. That field goal by Guyton made him the new All-time scorer leading for kickers in UWA history. The score would remain 3-0 at the end of the first.
After forcing a turnover on downs, West Alabama drove 60 yards, with Luther Richesson completing four passes before finding Cam Joseph for a 25-yard touchdown that helped make it 10-0 at 12:26. Two possessions later, Lenoir-Rhyne's Daniel Deneen Jr.'s 74-yard punt pinned the Tigers at their own one-yard line. Moments later, the Bears recorded a safety at 9:49 to get on the board. The safety swung the momentum into Lenoir-Rhyne's favor as the Bears later struck on long rushing touchdowns, first an 87-yard run by Eddie Clark and then a 57-yard run by LJ Turner, with the second PAT putting the Bears ahead 16-10 at 3:43.
Before the half, West Alabama answered with a 75-yard drive that included a fourth-and-1 conversion by Brayden Jenkins, a 20-yard completion from Richesson to Jaylon York, and a two-yard touchdown pass from Richesson to Jaxon Colvin at :13. Guyton's extra point sent UWA into halftime ahead 17-16.
The Tigers opened the third quarter with a 10-play, 68-yard drive but came up with no points after a missed field goal. The Bears moved into West Alabama territory but would also miss a field goal to keep the score at 17-16. Neither team scored in the third quarter, as West Alabama took their one-point lead into the fourth quarter.
The Bears struck first in the fourth quarter on another explosive touchdown run from Turner. The Bears' running back ran for a 76-yard touchdown to put UWA behind, 23-17. With 8:06 left in the game, Joseph Harper forced a Shermon Davis fumble on third-and-1 and Doggett recovered it for a 40-yard touchdown, putting West Alabama back out in front. On the next drive, Issaiah Parrish intercepted Bettenhausen and the Tigers turned the short field into Walsh's 41-yard field goal for a 27-23 lead at 4:43. With the game on the line, the Bears moved to the UWA 24 before Doggett intercepted Bettenhausen and returned it 80 yards for a touchdown to virtually end the game.
Doggett stole the show with two defensive touchdowns. Richesson completed 22 of 31 passes for 201 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 44 yards. York caught six passes for 77 yards. Harper finished with 10 tackles and forced a fumble.
West Alabama will return home for the first time in 2026 as they welcome No. 10 Pittsburg State for a 12:00 p.m. matchup at Tiger Stadium.
"I want to see the fans as excited as the team was today," Cochran stated. "I want to see them go crazy for this team on next Saturday because our guys deserve it."
