2nd ranked West Georgia looked impressive on the road this past Saturday in their 28-7 outing against 8th ranked Delta State. As I stated last week, UWG seems to have Delta State’s number as of late. The win made it the fourth in a row vs the Statesman and 5 out of the last 6.
This gives West Georgia a 3-0 conference record and an impressive 7 wins and no losses on the year. Also a stat worth mentioning is the fact that Saturday’s win gives UWG 3 top 10 wins under Coach Hall, all of which have come against DSU.
The West Georgia offense came out to an incredible start Saturday, scoring three unanswered touchdowns in the first half. The continued mix of Dallas Dickey and Will Garret at the quarterback position has proven to be too much for opposing defenses this year, as both players had good games Saturday.
Coach Hall has used both UWG QBs all year, and has been known for a system somewhat like this in the past. Dickey is the more elusive guy who can scramble and throw the ball on the run. Garrett is the more Tebow-like QB who comes in late in drives for short down options or to just confuse the defense. Both players can throw the ball downfield tremendously, and actually have a little past.
Dickey and Garret are both Carrollton natives and attended Carrollton High School. Dickey was a senior when Garrett was a sophomore and that’s where the battle for the starting quarterback job was born. The two also battled for a starting position on the baseball team. When asked about their relationship, Will had only high praises of Dallas, and stated that they have been friends for a long time.
UWG started the game off with excellent field position due to freshman running back Devontae Jackson’s 40-yard kick return. Dallas Dickey started the game for the Wolves and was near perfect on the drive. After a Dickey run of 16 yards and a perfect 3-3 for 42 yards passing, the Wolves were in the perfect position for redshirt freshman Will Garrett to come in and finish off the drive as he has so often this year.
After Garrett ran it in from two yards out, UWG was up 6-0. The 2-point conversion was also converted by the legs of Will Garrett, giving them an 8-0 lead with 11:47 left in the first.
The defense then forced a Delta State three-and-out. This gave UWG the opportunity to go up by two scores early in the game. As you may have guessed, they did.
This drive lasted more than five minutes as the offense was lead down the field by junior running back Lamarcus Franks. Garrett then replaced Dickey again near the endzone, this time running it in from four yards out. This Will Garrett score gave UWG a 14-0 lead with 4:37 left to go in the first.
The last four minutes of the first ran by as the two offenses stalled with their drives ending in punts.
The DSU offense was averaging more than 300 yards passing per game before star quarterback Tyler Sullivan went down with a broken collarbone. Facing a tough UWG defense is not something you want to do with your backup quarterback.
But Delta State’s offense came out in the second quarter and quickly moved into scoring position due to a 45-yard pass from Tyler Cameron to Jarvis York. They then were forced to try a 40-yard field goal attempt. It was missed, and UWG took over again with a 14-0 lead.
UWG moved down the field in 6 plays and finished the drive with a 21-yard Qa Walker touchdown reception from Dallas Dickey. After the successful PAT, UWG had a 21-0 lead on the number 8 ranked Statesmen with 7:02 left in the second quarter.
This concluded scoring for the half as UWG went into the locker room with a big lead and a ton of confidence. They outgained DSU 207-149 and forced them to two unsuccessful field goal attempts.
The second half was a defensive domination for both teams. Dickey scored late in the third to put UWG up 28-0. This would be their last score of the day.
The Delta State punt block team is who finally got them on the board. Late in the fourth, De’Koven Ware picked up a blocked punt and ran it in from ten yards. This was the final score of the day giving UWG its 7th win on the year by a score of 28-7.
The UWG defense ranked in eight different categories nationally only allowed 75 yards in the second half, and only 227 on the day. This made it the 6th time the Wolves have held opposing offenses to under 300 yards. They also forced the Statesmen to 4 successful 3rd down attempts out of 13 while only allowing them to reach the red zone once.
Senior Marion Chapman lead the outstanding defensive effort with 7 tackles on the day, and Junior Alex Armah added 6 with 2 sacks. This gives Armah 7 sacks on the year and 39 total tackles.
UWG’s offense did not perform near as well as they have all season, and still managed to put up 28 points against a tough defense on the road. Dickey finished the day below his season averages in completions and yards, but was still successful. He was 12-of-20 with 132 yards and two scores (one rushing, one passing). Garrett finished the day with two rushing scores and 54 yards. This gives him four rushing touchdowns on the year.
Franks ended his day with 70 yards on 10 carries and Dallas added 79 yards on 15 carries with a Net of 41 yards (Net is rushing yards after negative plays). Shaq Hall was the only UWG player with more than two receptions Saturday, hauling in 7 of Dickey’s 12 completed passes. This moved him into 11th-place all-time in receiving yards at UWG and gave him 87 career receptions.
This Saturday, UWG returns home to take on 13th ranked University of North Alabama in its last ‘true’ test of the year. This will be UWG’s second to last home game of the year. North Alabama is 5-1 on the year with its only loss coming on the road from Western Oregon 24-22.
The last three games for the wolves finishing off the season will be up against teams who have a combined 8 wins on the year, four coming from Florida Tech. They will face Mississippi College, Florida Tech, then Shorter to finish off the year. Florida Tech is the only team in that list that has even the slightest chance to give UWG a game in my opinion. With that being said, I believe it is safe to say a win Saturday gives West Georgia an undefeated season.
This Saturday’s game will be featured on ESPN3 as the GSC-TV live game of the week. Kickoff will be at 2:00 pm. I will be in the press box again sending multiple aspects of the game to the people in the truck for graphics on television. I am very excited to have this opportunity again and want to thank everyone who has made it possible.
This game is said to again be the largest in West Georgia history, and has 1st place conference honors on the line. Look for West Georgia to come out strong against North Alabama Saturday after a down offensive week on the road vs DSU. I believe they will get a duo of rushers going early to open up room for play action and throwing the ball down field. Their defense will also give them plenty of opportunities and force two turnovers.
Prediction-
UWG- 40
UNA- 28
Brandon Wright's Sports Blog 