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Wednesday
October 18,
2006
In a tale of two halves, Wolves fall to UWA 24-14
By Ray Ross
Sports Editor
rrossl @my.westga.edu
The Wolves had a
short week after the loss at
home to Harding, travel
ing to Livingston, AL. for
a Thursday night contest
with West Alabama. Af
ter falling behind 24-0 in
the first half, the Wolves
scored 14 points in the sec
ond half but fell short of a
comeback, losing 24-14.
“We dug ourselves too
big a hole in a year when
we have struggled to score
points offensively,” said
head coach Mike Ledford.
After each team failed
to score in their first three
possessions of the game.
West Alabama opened the
scoring with just 33 sec
onds remaining in the first
quarter. The score came on
a 71-yard pass from quar
terback James Reiter to
receiver Edward Pearce,
giving West Alabama a 7-0
lead.
Following the touch
down the Wolves appeared
poised to answer the Ti
gers, driving all the way
down to the West Alabama
29-yard line. The drive
ended abruptly though
when quarterback Ryan
Poole was intercepted by
UWA’s Dee Spence.
After exchanging sev
eral more possessions, the
Tigers mounted a drive
of their own, penetrating
inside the UWG 10-yard
line. The Wolves defense
held strong though, forc
ing a field goal. The field
goal left the Wolves down
10-0 with 2:59 remaining
in the first half.
It was at this point
where the Wolves fell apart
and did themselves in. Af
ter failing to net a first down
on their next possession,
the Wolves were forced to
Soccer still searching for post-season clincher
By Ray Ross
Sports Editor
rrossl@my.westga.edu
At a point in the sea
son when every game is
critical, the Wolves failed
to score against Monteval
lo and fell to the University
of West Florida 2-0.
On Friday the Wolves
hosted Montevallo with
hopes of taking a critical
step towards post-season
play.
However, neither
team was able to muster
anything offensively as the
game ended in a scoreless
tie.
The tie was the first of
the season for the Wolves
and left them with an 8-6-1
record on the season and a
3-3-1 mark in Gulf South
Conference play.
Both teams finished
the match taking nine
shots each. The Wolves
finished with three shots
on goal and Montevallo
finished with two shots on
goal. The shutout was the
seventh of the season for
Sports
punt. On the punt a Tiger
defender slipped through
and partially blocked Jon
Reinert’s punt.
UWA scored just three
plays later on a 24-yard run
by Jerin Wright. With 1:05
remaining in the first half
UWA led 17-0.
On the Wolves next
possession running back
James Kennebrew fumbled
after a seven yard gain. The
fumble was scooped up by
UWA’s Michael Mitchell
and returned 46 yards for
a touchdown, giving the
Tigers a 24-0 edge with
just seconds left in the first
half.
“The last four min
utes of the first half was
our doom,” said Ledford.
The fumble recovery for a
touchdown capped off a 17
point scoring spree in the
final three minutes of the
first half for the Tigers.
The Wolves were not
going to go away in the
second half though, hold
ing the Tigers scoreless for
the rest of the game and
scoring 14 points of their
own.
“We did a little soul
searching at the half and
came out ready to play,”
said Ledford. “Our kids
have battled and I am very
proud of them,” continued
Ledford.
After a scoreless third
quarter, the Wolves scored
their first touchdown of the
game less than five minutes
into the fourth quarter. The
Wolves were given great
field position at the UWA
39 yard line after als yard
punt return by Marcus
Wise.
The scoring drive cov
ered 39 yards on just six
plays, all passing. Quarter
back Ryan Poole complet
ed four of six passes for 39
yards and connected with
three different receivers.
freshman keeper Jennifer
Ross.
After the tie the
Wolves traveled to Pen
sacola, FL. for a match
with top-10 West Florida.
Conference champions
from just a year ago, the
Argonauts proved to be
too much for a hungry
Wolves team, defeating
UWG 2-0.
The shutout by the
Argonauts marks the third
consecutive game where
the Wolves have failed to
score a goal.
The Wolves have had
a rash of injuries lately
though, which could be
one reason why they have
failed to score a goal in
their last three games.
The Wolves have just
one game remaining on the
schedule and it will ulti
mately determine whether
or not the Wolves will
make a post-season ap
pearance.
The final game of the
season will come against
Christian Brothers this
Sunday at 2 p.m. in Mem-
Poole’s last attempt was
complete to Johnny Wil
liams from seven yards out
for the touchdown, leaving
the score 24-7.
After a sustained drive
by the Tigers that saw
them get into the Wolves’
red zone, the defense stood
strong and forced a turn
over on downs. The defen
sive stand provided the im
petus for the Wolves final
touchdown of the game.
The drive for the
Wolves started on their
own 20 yard line, but cov
ered 80 yards on just 10
plays in two minutes. The
drive was capped off by
Poole’s second touchdown
pass of the game, this time
to Kennebrew from eight
yards out.
After a failed on-side
kick attempt, the Tigers
ran the clock out to secure
the win. The loss drops the
Wolves to 0-6 on the sea
son and a 0-4 mark in Gulf
South Conference play.
In the first half the
Wolves totaled just 91
yards of offense and failed
to score, and gave up 203
yards and allowed 24
points. The tables turned
in the second half though,
as the Wolves totaled 186
yards on offense and 14
points and gave up a mea
ger 75 yards and allowed
no points.
“Hopefully we can
take the momentum from
the second half and use it
for Arkansas-Monticello,”
said Ledford.
The Wolves will trav
el to Monticello, AR. this
Saturday for their final
road game against Arkan
sas-Monticello. Kick-off is
set for 7 p.m.
For more informa
tion visit http://www.uw
gsports.com where you
can find schedules, rosters,
stats and more.
phis, TN.
Christian Brothers is
1-4 in GSC play and have
an overall record of 6-8. In
GSC play they have been
outscored 10 to three, and
are on a five game losing
streak.
UWG has outscored
their GSC opponents sev
en to six and are on a one
game losing streak.
In light of the inju
ries, the week off before
the last and most impor
tant game could not come
at a better time. This week
should serve as not only a
week of preparation, but
also as a week for several
players to get healthy.
For the Wolves to
make the post-season con
ference tournament they
will need a win or a tie. A
loss would eliminate the
Wolves from post-season
contention and end their
season.
For more informa
tion visit http://www.uw
gsports.com where you
can find schedules, rosters,
stats and more.
aumhiVii\ wJi? \*Wr
Photos h\ Josh Grubb
(Above) In the first half, the Wolves were held scoreless and totaled just 91 yards of of
fense. In the second half the offense came alive, scoring 14 points and totaling 186 yards.
(Below) The West Georgia defense allowed 17 points in the first half and gave up over 200
yards of offense. In the second half, the defense gave up just 75 yards.
Gulf South Conference Standings
#9 West Florida 6-0, 10-2-2 overall
Harding 6-1,8-3-3 overall
Ouachita Baptist 5-2, 10-4 overall
Montevallo 3-3-1,6-7-1 overall
West Georgia 3-3-1, 8-6-1 overall
Alabama-Huntsville 3-4, 7-6-1 overall
Christian Brothers 1-4, 6-8 overall
North Alabama 1-6, 4-9-2 overall
Delta State 1-6, 5-12 overall
West Florida, Harding and Ouachita Baptist
have already clinched playoff berths.
Standings are through October 15, 2006
Sports Editor- Ray Ross
Phone Number- 67fi-fi39-6527
Fax- 67R-R39-652R
Email rross / <fem v. westga.edu