Lions football switched a streak of five losses to a two-streak win against the West Georgia Wolves, 25-16 on Sept. 28, and the Utah Tech Trailblazers, 60-14 on Oct. 5. UNA currently places third at UAC’s rank, just under Abilene Christian, who the Lions face at Homecoming on Oct. 12, and Tarleton State.
On Sept. 28, within UNA’s first drive, Jayvian Allen and TJ Smith were main contributors in bringing the ball to UWG’s 24-yard line, where Scott Payne opened the scoreboard with a field goal. With West Georgia in possession of the ball, Lion defense worked successfully on getting the ball back within only a minute.
The game’s first quarter brought pride to defense coordinator Brock Caraboa, who claimed playing complementary football, or having defense and offense working for each other, is the winning secret.
“When we play complementary football, it gives the offense the possessions to be able to go out there and the defense to get time-off, so I was proud to be able to coach the defense [on] how they were playing,” said Caraboa. “And the offense, when they’re on the field and the defense is watching… there is really nothing better because you see another defense getting suffocated by our offense. It’s pretty cool to watch our offense just drive the ball consistently.”
The second quarter marked the Wolves’ first lead with a rush from UWG’s 35-yard line to UNA’s 6, followed by a touchdown by Davin Wydner and a failed 2 point attempt. With UNA in possession, a failed attempt to move the ball forward occasioned a 39-yard punt by sophomore Adam Watford at fourth down.
The Wolves’ drive did not last longer than six seconds. A forced fumble by linebacker Josh Anglin brought sophomore Garrick Ponder to recover the ball and bring the offense back from their quickest break of the night. Within Wolves territory, Payne scored his second field goal at the 27-yard line, bringing the score to 6-6.
Head coach Brent Dearmon claimed pride in Payne, who he has known since they were at Middle Tennessee University. Dearmon had “inside information” about Payne’s abilities regarding field goals. The player was the “kickoff guy,” being second to field goal: that is, there was no footage for outside recruiters.
“I was able to bring him here, and he’s really pushed us,” Dearmon said. “He’s helped Sam [Contorno] as well, where Sam can just focus on kickoffs. […] [Luke] Roth has some weapons there he can have at his disposal. […] Our whole kicking game has been a bright spot force.”
For the UWG game, Payne was named UAC Special Teams Player of the Week and currently leads the league in field goal attempts.
The Wolves responded with a touchdown with a 12-yard rush by Davin Wydner and an extra point by Chance Gagnon. UNA once again equaled the score, 13-13, with a 2-yard pass from Smith to Takairee Kenebrew. PAT added by Payne.
In the third quarter, with 13 plays for 45 yards, UNA regained leadership with less than a minute to go when Dakota Warfield caught the ball inside the end zone with one hand, and Payne added the extra point.
The Lions claimed the fourth quarter’s time with a drive longer than six minutes resulting in Payne’s field goal, bringing the score to 23-13, followed by a UWG field goal with less than two minutes to go.
UNA closed the scoreboard with a 44-yard punt by Contorno, causing the Wolves’ drive to begin at their 5-yard line. A safety managed by Jackson Bratton added two points, making the final score 25-13.
The Lions’ win could not have been more tasteful: at home, surrounded by their fanbase and legacies and against a longtime rival. UNA had possession of the ball for 43 minutes and significantly decreased its number of plays to the end zone compared to other games.
“The pride in me, the offense has gotten me: we want to be a fast-tempo, hurry up, snap it and go and have explosive plays, but that’s not what we’ve been good at,” said Dearmon. “We went back to the drawing board and we said ‘We’re gonna do whatever it takes to win.’ We’ve been putting our defense in bad spots; they’ve been getting short-field because of the turnovers. So, last week we’ve been more of a ball control offense. We’re still taking our shots down field but we understand that we got a really good defense, we’re good on the offense as well but we’re good when we don’t turn the ball over so, holding on to the ball, being smart, rushing the football, wearing people down and letting our defense be fresh when they come on the field has been a good formula for us the last two weeks.”
Coordinator Caraboa said, “There is nothing like a winning locker room,” and was motivated to say the team would maintain their efforts against Utah Tech. “If you stay consistent in your approach, and you attack every day like you should, the wins will come by themselves.”
Offense coordinator Kevin Wewers recounted last season’s encounter against the Trailblazers, calling it “tight, emotional ending” that they certainly remember and will come from Utah to Florence ready to avenge the 30-31 loss. The offense coordinator said UNA cannot and will not fall into the trap of being complacent, and they will continue to be better.
The Saturday of Oct. 5 received UNA’s 1994 football championship team for a 30-year reunion after they won the third straight NCAA Division II title against Texas A&M Kingsville, 16-10.
With star former coach Bobby Wallace and the talented 1994 crew in attendance, the Trailblazer’s desire to break their 0-5 losing streak could not be bigger than the Lion pride and wish to show-off for their special guests.
60-14 broke the school’s Division I scoring record and margin of victory and guaranteed the second conference and overall win of the season.
Dearmon, Wewers and Caraboa reminisced on the meaning of the team’s presence for history and motivation.
“To have those guys come back means so much to us, and they laid the groundwork for this place, they set the bar for this place, and we’re trying everyday to get back to that standard that they set around here,” said Dearmon, who claimed players like redshirt seniors Kobe Warden, wide receiver, and Jackson Bratton, linebacker, are also “stars starting to grow as helmets.”
“They [have] built this place,” said Caraboa. “We strive every day to be like them. For our guys to be able to see them on the field walking around, they can kinda emulate themselves on them.”
“There’s so much history and pride in this institution, in this football program, and to have those guys back home, all in one place on Saturday, and for them to watch us play is special,” added Wewers.
UNA’s first drive brought the team to a 4-yard rushing touchdown by Allen with 75 yards in seven plays, made possible by fantastic 10 or more yard rushes and catches, including Smith’s 35-yard pass to Warfield caught at UT’s 4-yard line. Payne added the extra point.
The Trailblazers’ failed attempt to advance caused a fourth down punt to the 50-yard line, which UNA took to UT’s 20-yard-line and Payne managed a field goal, 10-0.
The Lions were quick to regain possession. Contorno performed a 62-yard kickoff to UT’s 0, and UT failed to leave their own territory even after a fourth down punt caught at the 47 line by UNA’s Warden.
This Lion drive of 47 yards in 6 plays enchanted the audience with a second touchdown, an eight-yard pass from Smith to junior tight end Kaleb Heatherly, followed by a successful two-point conversion.
In the second quarter, a pass intercepted by Ashaad Williams brought the player to a 40-yard return to UT’s 23-yard line. Only one play was needed for the Smith-Warfield partnership to bring the score six points up, with Payne adding the extra point, 25-0.
UT quarterback Reggie Graff’s fumble was recovered by UNA’s Jyheam Ingram, who rushed 40 yards for another Lion touchdown. Payne scored the PAT.
Graff did not want UNA’s offense to rest. Another one of his fumbles ended UT’s six-second drive, leading UNA to another touchdown with Smith’s 17-yard pass to Allen, who rushed three more yards. Payne successfully kicked, making the score 0-39.
UNA scored once more within the first minute of the third quarter. With 55 yards completed in a single play, freshman Jalen Fletcher caught Smith’s pass at UT’s 46-yard line, rushing with it to the end zone. Once again, Payne scored the extra point, 0-46.
Fletcher was named UAC Freshman of the Week for his 128 all-purpose yards and 10 touches.
A progressive drive to UT’s end zone started at 12:08, which ended with Smith’s two-yard touchdown rush and Payne’s PAT.
The Lions opened the fourth quarter with their last score of the night with 75 yards in seven plays, with Ben Harris scoring the 1-yard rushing touchdown and Payne’s successful kick.
The Trailblazers opened their own score within the rest of the quarter, scoring two touchdowns and two PATs.
TJ Smith led the game with 207 passing yards and Fletcher with 73 rushing yards.
