UNA football suffered respectively tough and close losses against The University of Memphis, 0-40, and Illinois State, 17-24, in their second and third games of the season.
On Saturday, Aug. 31, the University of North Alabama’s football team headed up to Memphis, Tenn. to face off against the Memphis Tigers.
This was the second time UNA has played the team, the first being at Memphis in 2022, where the Tigers bested the Lions 59-0.
The game started at 6:02 pm, with UNA defending. Memphis’s Mario Anderson Jr. returned UNA kicker Scott Payne’s kickoff to their own 30-yard line.
Memphis secured the next first down, where their quarterback Seth Henigan completed a deep throw to Sutton Smith, running out of bounds at UNA’s 19-yard line.
The Tigers then passed short and rushed the Lions until Anderson scored the game’s first touchdown with 10:05 left in the first quarter. Memphis’s Caden Costa made the extra point.
UNA started their drive, rushing for a handful of yards before making a pass to Kobe Warden for 23 yards on the third down.
UNA then attempted to run the ball before making a pass, coming up seven yards short of the first down. Adam Watford punted the ball 36 yards to Memphis’s 14-yard line, with a fair catch being made by Koby Drake.
UNA’s Ari Patu attempted to pass the ball upfield for a few plays before getting intercepted by Memphis’s Matt Hudson, but got stopped in his tracks.
Memphis remained in possession for the rest of the quarter, taking it to the two-yard line.
The second quarter started with Memphis’s possession, Henigan completing a short pass to Anthony Landphere to start the next quarter. Costa completed the field goal, leaving the score 0-14.
Tristan Vandenberg kicked the ball out of bounds for a touchback, with UNA starting at their own 25-yard line.
UNA was in possession for two first downs before being intercepted at MU’s 39-yard line by Davion Ross, taking the ball to MU’s 46.
Memphis quickly gained ground on their home turf through a series of passes, with Brendan Doyle securing Memphis’s third touchdown. Costa secured the extra point, bringing the score to 0-21.
Vandenberg kicked off to UNA again for a touchback, with UNA taking the ball to their 28-yard line before William Whitlow Jr. forced a fumble, which was picked up by Memphis’s Javon Denis.
Memphis rushed the ball for a first down before passing it upfield to Blankumsee for his second touchdown of the game. Costa secured the extra point for a 28-point lead.
UNA’s Dennis Moody ran the ball upfield for a first down, gaining 17 yards in 3 plays. Patu then attempted to shoot the ball to Tanaka Scott before being stopped by Elijah Herring.
UNA then chose to punt the ball. Watford sent it 13 yards downfield to Memphis’s 45-yard line.
With Memphis in possession, Henigan completed a short pass to Desrosiers until a penalty was called on the offense for illegal formation. Memphis continued to get two consecutive first downs before being stopped at the 20-yard line, kicking a field goal for another 3 points.
On the kick return, UNA got a touchback and ended the first half rushing with Dennis Moody for a four-yard gain.UNA’s possession was short-lived, as UNA got two fouls called on them for false start and delay of game. They chose to punt the ball. Memphis’s Koby Drake returned it for a 15-yard gain after being stopped at Memphis’s 26-yard line.
Memphis and UNA then traded possessions, with Costa attempting a field goal from the 50-yard line and Memphis calling a timeout.
Patu inched his way down the field with short passes and rushed by Scott and Takairee Kenebrew before shooting a pass to Jackson Bratton, gaining 15 yards and a first down for the Lions.UNA received a penalty for a false start on their possession, leaving them at fourth down with four yards before making an incomplete pass, leading to a turnover on downs.
Memphis started their drive with a series of passes, gaining 58 yards before being stopped by UNA’s defense at the 3-yard line. Costa scored another field goal for the Tigers, leaving the score at 0-34 to end the third quarter.
Watford started the fourth quarter with a punt downfield to Drake, returning it to MU’s 37-yard line. Memphis began their drive with a deep pass to Roc Taylor for a 45-yard gain and a rush from Desrosiers for another Memphis touchdown, bringing the score to 0-40. Vandenberg then kicked the ball 62 yards for a fair catch by Logan Collier.
UNA started their possession with a first down through Kenebrew and Moody, quickly gaining another after a pass from Patu to Dakota Warfield. Patu attempted to throw the ball to Scott before being shut down by Jordan Grier. The next play, Bryce Edmonson sacked Patu for 7 yards. At fourth and 14, Watford rushed down the middle for a 21-yard gain, giving UNA another first down.
UNA then completed a series of run plays before gaining another first down at Memphis’s 19-yard line. Memphis retaliated with a series of sacks on Patu, bringing UNA to their fourth down and 26 yards, which led to a turnover on downs.
The game ended at 0-40. The last time UNA had lost a no-scoring game was on Nov. 19, 2022, to the same opponent, 0-59.
On Sep. 7, UNA’s first home game invited the Illinois State Redbirds to an exciting match alongside the 2024 Marching Band Stravaganza performance of “Celebrating the 60’s” medley.
The first quarter started with ISU winning the coin toss, receiving the first kickoff of 65 yards by UNA’s Sam Contorno, redshirt senior from Tuscaloosa.
The Redbirds rushed 75 yards in eight plays, the last one being an 18-yard touchdown by Mitch Bartol. Followed by Ian Wagner’s extra point, the team took the lead at 0-7 for the Lions.
With the ball’s possession, the Lion Ryan Walker committed an illegal snap and lost the team five yards, heading back to UNA’s 20-yard line. But with 67 yards in nine plays made possible by a successful 31-yard pass from the former Stanford quarterback Patu to KJ Fields, arriving at ISU’s 40-yard line. Scott Payne, Middle Tennessee transfer, added UNA’s first score of the game with a 25-yard field goal, which was also his first score as a Lion.
The second quarter started with ISU rushing 67 yards in nine plays, resulting in a touchdown by Tommy Rittenhouse, followed up by Wagner’s field goal, 3-14.
UNA managed to start off their 45-yard line, rushing to ISU’s 48-yard line when Patu performed an incredible 41-yard pass to Tanaka Scott, bringing the Lions only seven yards from the end zone.
An unnecessary roughness penalty by Dillon Gearhart lost the red birds two yards, from ISU03 to ISU01. Patu lost three yards from the toughness of ISU’s defense, and a fumble at the eight-yard line forced a turnover.
The close scoring moment was a moment of extreme frustration to all. The touchdown and possible one or two extra points could have provided UNA with a tie or 1-point positive difference.
The half-time show provided the audience with bright Southern talent and animosity. The 2024 Marching Band Extravaganza united more than 700 high school band, colorguard, and dance team members with UNA to amaze the crowd with songs from the 1960s.
In the third quarter, after a failed advancing attempt, ISU’s Hayden Futch kicked a 48-yard punt to UNA’s 20-yard line, caught by Logan Collier, a graduate student from Nashville.
UNA rushed up to the Redbirds’ 43-yard line when Patu’s 25-yard pass to Scott led the team to only 18 yards from the end zone.
With three plays, Lion Kobe Warden gifted his team their first home touchdown of the season, followed by Payne’s extra point, 10-14.
With almost six minutes to go, a mistake by the Lions led ISU’s Rittenhouse to a 71 yard rush to UNA’s end zone, increasing the score difference the Lions had just tried to fix, 10-21.
An 83-yard drive in 13 plays added three points to the Redbird’s scoreboard with a 21-yard field goal by Wagner.
In the fourth quarter, a 45-yard punt by ISU’s Futch to UNA’s 28-yard line started UNA’s drive.
Patu’s pass to Dakota Warfield, a redshirt senior wide receiver, gained UNA 18 yards. Another pass by the quarterback led UNA to ISU’s 20-yard line, caught by Takairee Kenebrew, who rushed to the seven-yard line.
Patu ran with the ball to the end zone but was hit while crossing its line. The play went under review and was considered a touchdown. Payne added the extra point, and the score became 24-17.
With almost seven minutes to go, ISU attempted a failed field goal at UNA’s nine-yard line.
UNA played a close game with ISU, and could have done even better if it were not for the fixable mistakes committed. Patu achieved a career-high yardage.
The Lions will face UT-Martin on Sep. 14 to conclude their non-conference games of the season in Martin, Tenn. The game will be televised by ESPN+ at 6 p.m.
