PHOTO GALLERYFLORENCE, Ala. – On its homecoming, the No. 5 University of North Alabama football team pulled away from Western Oregon University Saturday, 30-10, to remain unbeaten this season.
In the first ever meeting between the programs, the Lions (4-0) held WOU to 183 yards of total offense. The Wolves finished with -23 yards on the ground, after having -22 yards rushing last week at Humboldt State. UNA gained 324 yards of total offense, with 219 coming on the ground.
Jacob Tucker led North Alabama with 114 rushing yards and 76 passing yards. He completed nine of his 15 passes. Tucker ran for a score and threw a touchdown pass. Delvon Carpenter caufht five passes for 51 yards.
After a slow start, North Alabama scored 14 points in the third quarter to shake off the Wolves. The Lions' offense mustered only one score in the opening half. UNA's Philbert Martial returned an interception 70 yards for the opening score at the 10:40 mark of the first quarter. Tucker ran in an 11-yard touchdown with 3:20 left in the second quarter.
Jesse Correa made a 50-yard field goal as time expired in the first half. The senior became only the sixth player in WOU history to make a 50-yard field goal. Kelly Morgan's 53-yard field goal versus Grand Valley State in 2012 is the school record. The Great Northwest Athletic Conference record is 54 yards.
A Tucker to Carpenter 31-yard pass and catch three minutes into the second half spread the score to 20-3. Dre Hall was then on the receiving end of a 29-yard pass from Tucker that completed a five-play 71-yard drive.
Western Oregon (2-3) got its lone touchdown on a 28-yard pass from
Trey Shimabukuro to
Daniel Thomas with 8:02 remaining in regulation. A 32-yard field goal by the Lions' Taylor Pontius completed the scoring.
Shimabukuro was 23-for-38 for 206 yards. The senior threw a pair of interceptions in addition to his touchdown. He was sacked nine times. WOU was sacked 10 times a week ago.
Paul Revis finished with 78 yards on six catches. The Scappoose, Ore. native, entered the game third in NCAA Div. II in all-purpose yards. He led Western Oregon with 113 Saturday.
Kraig Akins led all players with 14 tackles, including a sack, for the Wolves.
Devin Williams added 10 tackles and forced a fumble.
Roger Garrett and
Jeremy Moore both had an interception. Steven Rich led the Lions with eight tackles. He also recovered a fumble.
This was the third-longest trip WOU football has ever made. North Alabama makes the 2,000-mile return trip next season for the second meeting between the programs. The home-and-home series completes with an Oct. 10, 2015, contest in Monmouth.
The Wolves return to Monmouth and host Dixie State (Utah) (0-4) next Saturday at 1 p.m. Live video and stats will be available on WOUWolves.com. Tickets are also available on WOUWolves.com.
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
Western Oregon...... 0 3 0 7 - 10 Record: (2-3)
North Alabama....... 6 7 14 3 - 30 Record: (4-0)
Scoring Summary:
1st 10:40 UNA - Philbrt Martial 70 yd interception return (Taylor Pontius kick failed), , WOU 0 - UNA 6
2nd 03:20 UNA - Jacob Tucker 11 yd run (Taylor Pontius kick), 3-19 0:49, WOU 0 - UNA 13
00:00 WOU - Correa,Jesse 50 yd field goal, 3-37 0:30, WOU 3 - UNA 13
3rd 11:59 UNA - Del. Carpenter 31 yd pass from Jacob Tucker (Taylor Pontius kick), 6-69 3:01, WOU 3 - UNA 20
01:57 UNA - Dre Hall 29 yd pass from Lamnte Thompson (Taylor Pontius kick), 5-71 1:58, WOU 3 - UNA 27
4th 08:02 WOU - Thomas,Daniel 28 yd pass from Shimabukuro,Trey (Correa,Jesse kick), 5-30 2:41, WOU 10 - UNA 27
04:31 UNA - Taylor Pontius 32 yd field goal, 6-18 3:31, WOU 10 - UNA 30
WOU UNA
FIRST DOWNS................... 18 16
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 26--23 48-219
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 206 105
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 38-23-2 16-10-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 64-183 64-324
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 1-8 1-18
Punt Returns-Yards............ 1-13 5-55
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 2-49 2-26
Interception Returns-Yards.... 0-0 2-70
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 8-37.6 5-44.2
Fumbles-Lost.................. 1-1 3-2
Penalties-Yards............... 10-90 16-178
Possession Time............... 29:30 30:30
Third-Down Conversions........ 4 of 14 5 of 15
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 0 of 1 2 of 2
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 1-1 2-3
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 1-6 9-77
RUSHING: Western Oregon-Penaranda,Nathaniel 6-20; Harris,Joe 8-15;
Simkins,Dylan 1-4; Thomas,Daniel 1-2; Shimabukuro,Trey 10-minus 64. North
Alabama-Jacob Tucker 18-114; Lamnte Thompson 14-54; Diamond Simmons 9-32; Tahj
Kimble 5-18; Jacob Thomas 1-3; TEAM 1-minus 2.
PASSING: Western Oregon-Shimabukuro,Trey 23-38-2-206. North Alabama-Jacob
Tucker 9-15-0-76; Lamnte Thompson 1-1-0-29.
RECEIVING: Western Oregon-Revis,Paul 6-78; Harris,Joe 5-30;
Apelu,Kamakana 5-28; Thomas,Daniel 2-31; DePew,James 2-26; Simkins,Dylan 2-1;
Penaranda,Nathaniel 1-12. North Alabama-Del. Carpenter 5-51; Dre Hall 2-36;
Hagan Scott 1-10; Lee Mayhall 1-6; Willie Bland 1-2.
INTERCEPTIONS: Western Oregon-None. North Alabama-Philbrt Martial 1-70;
Darvell Harris 1-0.
FUMBLES: Western Oregon-Penaranda,Nathaniel 1-1. North Alabama-Jacob
Tucker 2-1; Del. Carpenter 1-1.
Stadium: Braly Municipal Attendance: 9716
Kickoff time: 6:00 End of Game: 8:42 Total elapsed time: 2:42
Officials: Referee: Marc Gervais; Umpire: Frank Wittenber; Linesman: Kevin Rumpf;
Line judge: John Mitchell; Back judge: J. Whittington; Field judge: Tyler Pruden;
Side judge: Joel Moenkhoff;
Temperature: 63 Wind: NW 17 Weather: Clear and coolo
