By Jim O'Hara
 
ROME, Ga. – One week ago the team was convinced and had proven that it was poised to become a threat in what is considered the nation's toughest NCAA Division II football conferences as it headed into the second half of the regular season.

This week, the Shorter Hawks are tasked with regaining that confidence that they can indeed compete in the so-called "SEC of Division II" – the Gulf South Conference – as they regroup from their most disappointing outing of the season against a well-prepared West Alabama squad and prepare for what will be their most important GSC test to date, a road trip Saturday when they square off against three-time national champion Valdosta State.

"It's difficult to go through a game that," Shorter head coach Phil Jones said about last week's humbling 55-10 setback, one that evened the Hawks' overall record to 3-3 and their GSC slate to 1-2. "Anytime things go bad, it's hard to come back, especially when you have a young team.

"But the one thing we as coaches noticed right away when we watched the video," the coach pointed out, "was that our team was playing hard from start to finish and that's what you want."
Playing hard had been the Hawks' trademark during the first half of the season as they turned in their best start since joining the NCAA and GSC ranks, but the execution and emotion they also played with during the span –  most notable in a near-upset of nationally-ranked Delta State – was hard to come by against West Alabama.

There was a hint that Shorter was prepared for the Tigers as the Hawks held a 3-0 lead after the first quarter thanks to a field goal by Kenny Langford, his seventh of the season since he took over the team's placekicking chores in Week 3 and even after UWA turned a blocked field goal by Shorter's Wesley Clay into a touchdown, the Hawks came up with an answer when senior Kirk Wilson broke free for a 74-yard touchdown run to put his team back in front in the opening minutes of the second period.

"He's doing a good job and he's getting better each week. He's dangerous when he gets to the perimeter," Jones said about Wilson, whose TD jaunt became the longest scoring run in the GSC this year and who ended the night rushing for 105 yards, the first 100-plus-yard game for the Hawks this season.

That effort, however, was the lone highlight for Shorter as West Alabama literally dominated the contest the rest of the way, rolling up seven straight unanswered touchdowns while beating the Hawks at their own game – ball control – as the Tigers held on to the ball for more than 40 minutes and kept Shorter in check on both sides of the ball.

By the time the final second had clicked off the scoreboard, Shorter finished with a season-low in points and total yards (184) and at the same time gave up the most points and total yards (611) this year.

"You've got to give credit to (West Alabama), particularly on defense when they loaded up the box," Jones pointed out. "They were ready to play.

"The way we try to handle a game like that," he said, "is to see why we didn't do the things we wanted to do and correct them."

Needless to say, the corrections must be made and be integrated into a revived confidence level as the Hawks head into their third meeting with Valdosta State Blazers squad (4-2, 2-2) that after losing two straight conference clashes have won in convincing fashion their last two GSC games against West Georgia (40-6) and last week against Mississippi College (62-0.)

"They still believe they can play with anyone in the conference," Jones said about the Hawks. "Yes, we just had a tough game, but they've bounced back and they're ready to go."