Russellville, AR - West Georgia's football team ran into an offensive buzz-saw on Saturday night in Arkansas, as Arkansas Tech used a strong first half to upend the Wolves 62-30 at Thone Stadium.
The two teams combined for 92 points and 989 yards of total offense in the contest, with ATU putting up over 600 yards total in their offensive effort. The shootout began early, as both teams piled up an enormous amount of yardage in the first half.
Junior quarterback
Sean Gray and his offense put up 180 yards of offense in the first half, but ATU's
Nick Graziano matched that effort and more, throwing for 342 yards in the first period alone to take down the UWG attack.
The game began with both teams being held to just three downs, forcing a pair of punts in the first three minutes of the contest. Graziano and his offense took over at that point, going 83 yards in 11 plays for the opening score of the game. That came on a six-yard pass from Graziano to
Frantz Simeon.
On the drive, the ATU signal-caller completed eight passes, including the score.
The Wolves responded, however, as Gray was not to be outdone early. After the kickoff went out-of-bounds, UWG took over at their own 40. NIne plays later, Gray found freshman
Malcolm Johnson on a 14-yard pass in the end zone to tie the contest at seven.
In the second quarter, both teams had opportunities, with ATU taking full advantage to score 34 points in the half. The Wolves found themselves inside the Wonderboys' 10-yard line twice in the period, but each time, the drive stalled and UWG had to settle for an
Adi Brkic 25-yard field goal. As the teams headed into the locker rooms at the half, Arkansas Tech led 41-13.
Brkic, a junior, had three field goals for the Wolves on the night, two 25-yarders in the first half and he belted a 44-yarder midway through the third quarter.
On the opening drive of the second half, UWG backup quarterback
Brandon Behenna engineered an impressive march, closing out with a seven-yard touchdown run from Behenna to cut the ATU lead to 41-20. That was the first of two scores for Behenna on the evening.
"Brandon did a great job of helping us force the issue in the second half," said head coach Daryl Dickey. "There are sparks, but we still have a long way to go to catch up to the rest of the conference."
The second came as the final UWG score of the night. With 10:20 remaining in the game, Behenna and the UWG offense mounted a drive that began at their own 8-yard line.
The drive included Brkic turning a rough snap on a punt into a first down run and a 58-yard completion from Behenna to Johnson and everything in between. The march was 11 plays and covered 92 yards, closing out with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Behenna to junior
George Summerset.
Johnson led the UWG offensive effort with four receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown on the night.
The Wolves fall to 0-7 on the season and 0-5 in the Gulf South Conference. Arkansas Tech move to 5-2 overall and 3-2 in the Gulf South Conference. Next week, UWG returns home to host the first-ever Homecoming game at University Stadium. Kickoff is set for 2:00 p.m. against West Alabama.