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Final Box
Score
CLEVELAND, Miss. – The University
of West Alabama football team couldn’t stop Delta State
quarterback Scott Eyster as the Tigers suffered a 41-14
loss to the No. 17-ranked Statesmen in a Gulf South
Conference game Thursday night at Travis E. Parker
Field.
Eyster was 22 of 34 passing for 285
yards and three scores as Delta State (8-2, 6-1)
improved to 30-18-3 against the Tigers with the win.
Things didn’t look good for the
Tigers in the opening quarter, as Delta State put West
Alabama in a huge 14-0 hole. It was the Tigers’ biggest
first-quarter deficit of the season.
Eric Marshall caught a 21-yard
touchdown pass from Eyster to complete a 12-play,
76-yard drive to put the Statesmen ahead, 7-0 with 7:52
remaining in the first. After forcing a Delta State
punt, the Tigers committed their first turnover of the
night as Donial Summers fumbled the ball on the kick and
the Statesmen went 32 yards in 19 seconds as Eyster, who
was 10 of 12 passing in the quarter, hit Rob Moore for a
9-yard touchdown pass to grab a 14-0 lead with 1:31 left
in the first.
West Alabama (6-4 overall, 3-4 GSC)
put together a solid drive at the end of the first
quarter and to begin the second, but James Reiter
fumbled the ball, as it was stripped by Brandon Barnes
and recovered by Chris Eccles at the Delta State 14-yard
line. However, that turnover didn’t result in any points
as the Statesmen were forced to punt the ball with 10:47
remaining in the first half.
After the Delta State punt, the
Tigers put together a 9-play, 77-yard drive as Jerin
Wright, who moved into second place on the all-time West
Alabama career rushing list, scored on a 2-yard
touchdown run to cut the deficit to 14-7 with 7:03 left
in the second. The drive was highlighted by a 35-yard
pass completion from Reiter to Chris Coach.
A turnover by Ken Cox, recovered by
Tariq Ali, had the Tigers in scoring position at the
Delta State 33, but Mitch Warfield’s 44-yard field goal
kick fell just short with 1:28 remaining in the half.
But Eyster, who was 16 of 25 passing for 214 yards in
the first half, led the Statesmen 73 yards in six plays,
taking just 53 seconds off the clock, as he found Robert
Davis for a 23-yard score to grab a 21-7 advantage with
35 seconds left in the quarter.
Turnovers continued to plague West
Alabama as Reiter fumbled the ball at the Tigers 26 and
was recovered by Delta State linebacker Anthony King
with 13:42 left in the third quarter. It took just 1:28
for the Statesmen to capitalize on the turnover as
Phillip Graves capped a 3-play, 26-yard drive, on a
16-yard touchdown run, giving Delta State a commanding
28-7 lead with 12:19 left in the quarter.
Micah Best increased the Delta
State lead to 35-7 after recovering a Reiter fumble and
going 18 yards for the score with 11:26 remaining in the
quarter.
Reiter began the fourth quarter
with an interception by Best and the Statesmen put the
game away with a 1-yard touchdown run by Ben Stallings
with 13:07 remaining, giving Delta State a 41-7 lead.
West Alabama added a late touchdown
with 4:36 remaining as Wright scored on a 1-yard run,
which cut the deficit to 41-14, but that would be as
close as the Tigers would get. The drive was highlighted
by a Reiter to Dwiuan White 55-yard pass completion.
The Tigers had 269 total yards,
including 142 rushing. West Alabama had 14 first downs
and six turnovers, resulting in four Delta State
touchdowns. The Statesmen finished with 20 first downs
and 351 total yards, with 285 coming in the air.
Reiter paced the offensive attack
for West Alabama with 84 rushing yards on 20 carries,
and was 11-of-20 in the air for 127 yards. Wright added
45 yards on 23 carries, while Coach had 65 yards on six
catches. White chipped in with three touches for 56
yards. Defensively, Kidane McBride finished with eight
tackles (six solo) and a pass breakup. Summers had six
tackles.
Cox had nine carries for 40 yards,
while Robert Davis finished with five catches for 71
yards. Steven Davis added five catches four 47 yards,
while Jeremy Ricks and Marshall had four catches each
for 56 and 53, yards respectively. Defensively for the
Statesmen, Donovan Greyson had six tackles.
West Alabama wraps up the regular
season 6:00 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11 against Gulf South
Conference rival North Alabama at Tiger Stadium. The
game can be heard on WZNJ-FM 106.5 or on the internet at
www.athletics.uwa.edu. |
