North Greenville sneaks by UWA 24-23
TIGERVILLE, S.C. – Ashton Heard ran for 179 yards, but it was his backup Tracy Scott who drove the dagger into West Alabama’s heart, scoring on a 10-yard touchdown run with 1:40 left to hand North Greenville to a 24-23 college football victory over West Alabama Thursday night at Younts Stadium.
The game was the season opener for both teams. West Alabama (0-1) remains on the road Sept. 10 at FCS member Stephen F. Austin. North Greenville (1-0) plays at Lenior-Rhyne the same day.
“This was a tough one. We had opportunities to win,” UWA head coach Brett Gilliland said. “In the end, they made the plays and we didn’t.
“We got rolling too late and had them on their heels in the third quarter,” Gilliland said. “We knew they had a veteran offensive line and a great running back, but we put our defense on the field too much.”
North Greenville accumulated 314 yards rushing in the game, 280 in the second half, on the way to 444 yards total offense. West Alabama’s offense rang up 423 total yards, but according to Tiger players and coaches waited too long to get going.
“We started too slow on offense,” UWA quarterback Austin Grammer said. “We have to learn to finish.”
Grammer completed 29-of-42 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns. He was not intercepted. The senior from Tuscaloosa also ran for 32 yards and a touchdown despite getting sacked three times for minus 24 yards.
Grammer’s scoring passes were 4 yards to Donta Armstrong and 13 yards to Tray Fletcher. Armstrong finished with 11 receptions for 137 yards. Tight end Christian Patterson caught six passes for 46 yards.
“Donta took advantage of some guys getting injured early and showed why he was an All-American in junior college,” Grammer said. “I asked him why he doesn’t practice that way every day. The lights bring the great out in some people.”
“All that starts with the offensive line giving Austin time,” Armstrong said. “He throws a good ball and I was able to take advantage of my ball skills.”
Freshman kicker Matt Gravely opened the scoring for North Greenville with a 47-yard field goal on the Crusaders first drive and NGU extended its lead to 10-0 on a 35-yard run by Heard with 8:06 left in the first period.
West Alabama cut the lead to 10-7 when Grammer rambled 12 yards for a touchdown with 4:02 left in the first quarter. The touchdown was set up by a Tavarious Hutchinson fumble recovery at the NGU 28.
Mike Hunter completed a 22-yard scoring pass to Javon Smith with 6:49 left in the second quarter to give the Crusaders a 17-7 lead at the half.
“We left it all on the field, but you have to give it up to North Greenville,” Hutchinson said. “We missed too many tackles and that was the big thing.”
The Tigers scored first in the third quarter when Grammer found Armstrong on a 4-yard scoring pass at the 9:25 mark. Armstrong and Grammer connected on four passes for 56 yards on the drive. The PAT was blocked and North Greenville led 17-13.
Reed James pulled West Alabama to within one at 17-16, connecting on a 37-yard field goal with 5:58 left in the third period.
Grammer hooked up with Fletcher with 7:32 left to play. The Tigers bid for a two-point conversion was spoiled by a pre-snap penalty, so James’ kick made it 23-17 West Alabama.
Scott’s 10-yard scoring run capped a 10-play, 65-yard run for North Greenville as time melted away. West Alabama ran eight plays in the final 1:40, but couldn’t advance past the NGU 47-yard line.
Hunter completed 9-of-20 passes for 96 yards and ran for 14 more before giving way to true freshman Collin Sneed, who directed the Crusaders winning drive. Sned finished with 96 yards rushing on just four carries.
Se’Quan Steele, Jordan Jones and Hutchinson had six tackles each to lead West Alabama. Steele forced a fumble. Darius Ellis had UWA’s only sack.
Sam Houtson became North Greenville’s all-time leading tackler with a game-high 14, including three for loss. Tony Godbolt had 10 tackles for the Crusaders, who had seven tackles for loss in the game.