By Jim O'Hara
ROME, Ga. – For the 16 seniors on the team, this will be the final time they will play in front of their own fans, taking part in the traditional Senior Day pre-game ceremonies when they will be individually recognized for what they have meant to the program.
To a man, however, when they buckle their chinstraps they will put aside the recognition bestowed on them – just honors as they will be known as the class that helped the team make the transition to a higher level – and focus on the one goal they have been pursuing with the optimistic attitude they've had since the season started: Win.
"We've had a great week of practice and despite what happened last week everybody is in the right frame of mind and has a great attitude," Shorter Bradley Moon, who joins his senior class for their last game at Barron Stadium on Thursday night, said about the Hawks' 7:30 p.m. Gulf South Conference kick-off against conference contender Delta State, a showdown that has been selected to be aired as the GSC-TV Game of the Week.
"We feel this is very do-able for us," Moon continued. "We're ready to go and we really think we can bring this one home."
To do that, Moon and the entire roster of Hawks clearly understand that such a feat would require them to come up with what would be considered a major upset, a trend that was seen throughout the nation last weekend and one that Shorter and Delta State were a part of in their most recent outings.
Last Saturday, holding a 17-point lead and less than 15 minutes from finally notching their first win of the season, the Hawks (0-7 overall, 0-4 GSC) saw host Florida Tech turn in a remarkable fourth-quarter comeback and upset Shorter 28-24.
Later that night, Delta State did some upsetting of its own when the Statesmen rallied from a halftime deficit to upend No. 14-ranked Tarleton State 38-36 in a clash between two GSC and Lone Star Conference NCAA Division II teams and was decided with seven seconds left to play when Vince Sciorrotta hit a 33-yard game-winning field goal.
"Its football," Shorter head coach Phil Jones said about the unpredictable things that can happen on the gridiron, "Look at what happened last week around the country and especially in the SEC. There will be upsets any time you go out there."
"We don't want to look back," the coach said. "What we have in front of us is another opportunity."
"We know that at some point," senior cornerback Austin Ingram, a four-year starter for the Hawks, "we will finish the game and play four quarters. We're all upbeat this week and feel we can do that."
The Hawks are well aware that they will have to put together a near flawless, complete-game performance to make the most of the opportunity as the Statesmen (4-2, 2-1) will come to Rome for the second straight year – Shorter handed Delta State a 32-21 defeat in last year's season finale – after seeing one of their own make the most of his opportunity five days ago.
In his first-ever start, red-shirt freshman Tyler Sullivan, given the nod when GSC passing leader Travis Champion was sidelined with an injury, turned in a record-setting performance against Tarleton State when he completed 33 of his 49 pass attempts for 422 yards and four touchdowns, all of which led to him being named the GSC Offensive Player of the Week.
So impressive was the win by Delta State, the Statesmen wound up sweeping the conference's weekly honors when senior cornerback Trenton Warren was named the GSC Defensive Player of the Week after he recorded 12 total tackles, broke up three passes – two came on goal-line stands – and had one interception.
The Statesmen racked up 489 yards of total offense in the win and continued what has been a season-long productive offensive attack, one that averages 34 points and 479 yards a game with the passing game accounting for 375 yards of that pace.
"They have a lot of weapons and a lot of speed," Jones said about Delta State's spread offensive scheme.
Defensively, the Statesmen is yielding 35 point and 383 yards-per-game averages, although against Tarleton State it gave up 430 yards, of which 338 came via the pass
"They are very flexible and have a group of active linebackers, with two of them playing on the outside able to drop into coverage," Jones said about the Statesmen's 3-5 base defense. "They come after you aggressively. It's a hard defense to prepare for in a short week."
The Hawks counter with an offense that is starting to get back on track after having to endure more than its share of injuries and a defense that has had to rely on youth to off-set the injury big that has sidelined key senior starters.
Last week in the setback in Florida, Moon returned to his old form – last year he became just the second player in Shorter history to rush for more than 1,000 yards – when the fullback ran for a season-high 130 yards, while junior quarterback Eric Dodson rushed for three touchdowns as Shorter finished the afternoon gaining 368 yards with 290 of that coming on the ground.
On the other side of the ball, Shorter's defense all but shut down what was an explosive Florida Tech offense. The Hawks allowed 333 yards but most of that came during the fourth-quarter rally as up until the final 15 minutes Shorter held the Florida team to 133 total yards.
"The season has been frustrating for everybody," Ingram said, "but as seniors we hope the leadership we've provided will help the team see it through this week, this season and in the seasons to come."
