The UCA football team, ranked 12th in the Football Championship Subdivision, narrowly defeated the University of West Georgia Wolves 34-33 at home Oct. 12.
“I was not shy about saying what I thought about West Georgia and how good a football team they were,” coach Nathan Brown said. “I believe they’re well coached; really good football players. They just haven’t figured out how to win to this point. I knew this was going to be a battle.”
The Wolves were the first to score courtesy of a field goal by junior kicker Chance Gagnon to conclude the first drive.
In the fifth drive, the Wolves (1-5, UAC 0-5) looked to score again. Although the first play of the drive resulted in a first down, sophomore quarterback Davin Wydner fumbled the ball in the following play, and UCA junior defensive lineman Noah Tice recovered it to put the Bears back into possession.
In the following drive, the Bears (5-2, UAC 2-1) scored the first touchdown of the game by way of a complete pass by senior quarterback Will McElvain to junior wide receiver Tyion Berry, who totaled 67 receiving yards throughout the game. The first quarter ended with the Bears leading 7-3.
The Wolves forced UCA to punt in the Bears’ first possession of the second quarter. However, the ball was fumbled by West Georgia sophomore wide receiver Karmello English and was recovered by UCA defensive back Tamuarion Wilson to return possession to the Bears. Six plays later, UCA scored its second touchdown of the game through a 19-yard rush by senior running back ShunDerrick Powell to raise the score to 14-3.
After five drives that resulted in punts, West Georgia was able to score its first touchdown by way of a 21-yard complete pass from senior quarterback Quincy Casey to junior wide receiver Dylan Gary to decrease the Bears’ lead to 14-10.
At the end of the half, it appeared as though the Wolves would take the lead with another touchdown. However, Casey’s pass to Gary was ruled incomplete. In the following play, Casey looked to pass the ball to Gary into the endzone again, but UCA sophomore defensive back Dillon Williams intercepted the pass and returned the ball 89 yards into the endzone to complete the pick-six and increase the Bears’ lead going into the second half.
“Dylan didn’t didn’t just settle,” Brown said. “If he doesn’t take it down and score, he gets tackled with the amount of time that’s left on the clock. We’re probably not getting points there. So that into a touchdown, talk about what we’re seeing, that was awesome.”
“[I felt] nerves but confidence at the same time,” Williams said. “I trust my teammates and the work we have put in throughout practice that I knew we’d get the job done. I knew I had to just go score.”
The Bears opened the second half with a 48-yard touchdown by sophomore wide receiver Arlie Lee. Senior placekicker Jake Gaster’s kick attempt was ruled no good, and the score stood at 27-10.
“I think it was awesome to see Arlie [Lee] make the play that he made,” Brown said. “He’s going to continue to get better because he’s a confident kid. When he gets the ball, he gets confidence, and so we’ve got to get him in a rhythm.”
In the following drive, UCA forced the Wolves to punt, and senior running back ShunDerrick Powell rushed middle for 81 yards in the following play. The drive ended in another UCA touchdown courtesy of a 1-yard rush from senior running back Darius Hale, and the Bears extended their lead to 34-10. This would be the last touchdown scored by the Bears for the rest of the game.
West Georgia then began its 23-point resurgence with a successful field goal kick by junior kicker Chance Gagnon. Four drives later, senior quarterback Quincy Casey completed a pass to junior tight end Cedric Seabrough, who ran the ball for 6 yards into the endzone to score a touchdown for the Wolves and bring the score to 34-20.
To open the fourth quarter, the Wolves forced the Bears to punt, then scored a touchdown by another pass from Casey to junior wide receiver Dylan Gary to bring the score to 34-27.
In West Georgia’s final drive, UCA gave up 36 yards in penalties: 10 yards for holding by senior linebacker Demetrias Charles, 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct and 11 yards for face mask by senior defensive back Tamuarion Wilson. The Wolves were eventually able to score another touchdown courtesy of another pass from Casey completed to Gary, which brought the score to 34-33.
“Tamuarion [Wilson] had, obviously, a penalty that could’ve been avoided,” Brown said. “I’ve lost games like that in the past where penalties were the reason why you lose in those situations.”
“I knew that going into that drive, especially once they got on the plus side of the field, I was wanting to keep my time out [of] my back pocket,” Brown said. “I knew if they scored, they were going to go for two.”
The Wolves then set up for a two-point conversion in an attempt to take the lead with just under 30 seconds remaining in the game. Senior quarterback Quincy Casey attempted to pass the ball to a receiver in the endzone, but the pass was incomplete. The Bears hung on to win 34-33.
“I think our defense was holding a little bit of a burden from last week, just the tough night they had against Abilene,” Brown said. “So for our defense to be on the field, to win that game, and that fashion was obviously, I think, a really neat deal.”
The Bears will have a weekend off before hosting North Alabama for their Homecoming game at 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 26.