By Jim O'Hara

ROME, Ga. – The Shorter Hawks quest for their first win of the season will have to wait another week when the visiting West Georgia Wolves handed the Hawks a 31-14 Gulf South Conference defeat Saturday afternoon at Barron Stadium.

The win, the Wolves' first of the year in their first GSC outing, improved West Georgia to 3-1, while Shorter falls to 0-4 overall and 0-2 in the conference heading into yet another rugged Gulf South test next week at home against North Alabama.

Shorter broke out to a 14-7 first quarter lead, but saw West Georgia take control from there on out as the Wolves finished the game rolling up 365 total yards, 256 through the air with senior Austin Trainor completing 9 of 15 passes for 171 yards and a touchdown. West Georgia's Seth Hensley balanced his team's attack leading all rushers with 134 yards on 12 carries, including a 72-yard touchdown run.

The Hawks' main weapon – the run game – was kept in check as they were held to only 149 yards on the ground, 67 of those yards coming from senior Bradley Moon.

Shorter junior quarterback Eric Dodson completed 6 of 15 passes for 81 yards and was picked off twice be West Georgia, who also recovered two Shorter fumbles and converted both of them into points.

The Hawks capitalized good field position when, on the Wolves' second series, a fumbled snap recovered by Shorter's Josh White at the West Georgia 8, Shorter scored on a third and goal situation when Dodson found paydirt from a yard out. Kenny Langford added the extra point, to give the Hawks the early 7-0 lead with 3:38 left in the opening period.

West Georgia wasted little time to answer the score when on the first play following the ensuing kickoff, Seth Hensley found room to room to his left and raced 72 yards for the touchdowns and when Mark Bardenwerper added the PAT the Wolves tied the game.

Shorter, however, responded the next time they touched the ball, mounting a 67-yard drive that needed just four plays, one of the first snap when slotback Wesley Clay broke to the outside for an 18-yard run and the fourth one resulting in a 24-yard touchdown up the right sideline by Devin Helvie with 1:14 to go in the first quarter.

But the second quarter belonged to the Wolves as West Georgia opened the new stanza capping off a four-play, 56-yard drive when Quan Jones scored on a 2-yard run that tied the game just 19 second in, then saw its defense produce points when the Hawks fumbled the snap on a fourth-and-inches play at the UWG 42 and West Georgia's Eric Bridges picked up the loose ball and raced 58 yards on the return for the go-ahead TD with 2:22 to go in the half.

The Wolves had one more threat in the finals seconds of the half, but on the last play on a Hail Mary pass into the end zone Shorter's Jordan Shaw intercepted the ball as time expired. The pick marked the first for Shorter this season.

On the first play of the second half, however, West Georgia went back to the end zone when the Wolves started the final 30 minutes with quarterback Austin Trainor hitting Joey Eleizer on a deep post pattern for a 63-yards touchdown pass.

Shorter gave the ball back to the Wolves on the Hawks' own 26 when a low punt snap was bobbled, and from there West Georgia settled for a 24-yard field goal from Bardenwerper that gave his team a 31-14 lead with 6:45 remaining in the third quarter.

Hurt by turnovers and penalties, the Hawks were only able to move into West Georgia's side of the field one time, that coming midway through the fourth quarter when Shorter moved the ball down to the Wolves' 38, but again the visitors ended the threat picking off Dodson for the second time.

HAWKS NOTES: Helvie had to leave the game with an injured ankle late in the first half and did not return. He is the third veteran slotback to be injured this season as senior veterans Kirk Wilson and Roderick Jones are also sidelined and did not dress Saturday… Shorter's defense broke a long wait recording an interception as the Hawks' defense picked off two passes. Along with Shaw, senior Kendall Lacey had one…