By Jim O'Hara
 
ROME, Ga. – They clearly grabbed the attention of every Gulf South Conference member a week ago when they took the nation's No. 9-ranked team to the limit, dominating and leading what had been an explosive Delta State squad that needed a second-half surge to avoid the upset.

On Thursday night at 7 p.m. at Barron Stadium, the Shorter Hawks have another opportunity to not only stay in the GSC spotlight but also toss their hat in the race for a conference title when they host the West Alabama Tigers, who come to Rome seeking to end a two-game losing streak, in a showdown that is the Florida's Space Coast GSC-TV Game of the Week on ESPN3.

"They're explosive and have some great team speed," Shorter head coach Phil Jones said about West Alabama, who brings a 3-3 overall record and a 0-2 GSC slate into the game against the hawks (3-2, 1-1). "You can't defend any particular thing they do, something that goes for every team in our conference."

The Tigers, who are under the direction of first-year head coach Brett Gilliland, enter the game coming off back-to-back GSC losses to West Georgia and Florida Tech, a barnburner played last week in which Tech scored with seconds to play to claim a 33-32 win.

The Hawks, however, understand what West Alabama is capable of doing as the Tigers return some of the key players who handed Shorter its worst setback of the season last year, 63-17, and went on to share the 2013 conference championship with North Alabama.

Topping the list of UWA's seasoned veterans is senior quarterback Kyle Caldwell, who opened his career being named the GSC Freshman Offensive Player of the Year and last fall was tabbed as the conference's Player of the Year.

A threat to either throw or run the ball, Caldwell is on the same track that led to the GSC's top player award last year, when he passed for more than 2,200 yards and 28 touchdowns and rushed for 432 more yards and three TDS. So far this season, the elusive player as thrown for 1,073 yards and eight scoring tosses and has run for 302 more yards and four touchdowns.

"He's such a great player who can do so many things for them," Jones said about the UWA signal-caller.

Offensively, the Tigers are averaging 36 points a game and 432 total yards, including a 253 yards per game figure that leads the GSC.

Adding to UWA's threats includes running back Javae Swindle, who averaged 64 yards a game, and receiver Chad Toocheck is Caldwell's top target having hauled in 21 passes for 285 yards a pair of touchdowns, while placekicker Mark Grant has emerged as not only UWA's top point producer but as the GSC's as well as he had converted all 22 extra point attempts and has nailed 10 of 14 field goals, the latest display coming last week against Florida Tech when he made four field goals, one of them a season-best 51-yarder.

On the other side of the ball, where Nathan Burton – he was Shorter's defensive coordinator in 2012 and '13 – serves as the Tigers' coordinator, West Alabama is giving up 22.8 points and 351 yards a game.

Emerging as the backbone of the UWA defense – it leads the GSC with 19 sacks – has been senior strong safety Fred Barnes, who leads the team with 31 total and was this week's conference Defensive Player of the Week after he recorded nine total tackles, seven solo, had two interceptions and had three passes defended.

Squaring off against the Tigers will be a Shorter squad that last week led Delta State 17-0 at one point and held a 20-14 edge at halftime, but as has been the case for most of the season had trouble getting back on track in the second half as the Statesmen rallied for a 35-20 decision.

The loss overshadowed what had been perhaps the most impressive showing on both sides of the Hawks as they continued to see improvements on both sides of the ball.
After rolling up more than 400 yards in offense against Delta State – it was the second straight game Shorter has gone over the 400-yard barrier – the Hawks are now averaging 327 yards a game with 249 of that coming via the run.

Having formed into a three-headed monster for the ground game that is becoming even deeper as some of the young Hawks gain experience has been senior quarterback Eric Dodson (352 yards), sophomore fullback B.J. McCoy (318) and senior slotback Kirk Wilson (247), who last week turned in the longest run of the year in the conference with a 70-yard touchdown romp.

Yet Shorter has begun to balance that rushing attack with a passing game as Dodson, thanks to a season-high 178-yard passing night against Delta State, has now thrown for 400 yards and has a deep corps of receivers – nine different Hawks hauling in passes including sophomore Darius Turner, who leads the team with six receptions for 124 yards including a 62-yard TD catch a week ago.

The Hawks' defense is giving up 364 yards a game (129 rush, 236 pass) but was buoyed by a solid performance against what is the hottest offense in the conference in Delta State as Shorter shut out the Statesmen is the first quarter and held the team that had been averaging 59 points a game to its lowest output of the year.

The effort came from a senior-less unit that is led by junior safety Jordan Shaw, who added to his nation-leading interception total (8) with a pair of picks last week – Shorter is also the top team in Division II with 13 interceptions – and also leads the Hawks with 36 total tackles.

Freshman linebacker Jevaris Jones is the Hawks' second tackler with 30.5 stops along with 4.5 tackles for losses, two fumble recoveries and an interception, and along the front wall sophomore Trevaris Horton leads the team with 5.5 sacks.

"I know it sounds cliché," Jones said, "but we're trying to be the best we can be on every single snap."

NOTES: The game is designated as Breast Cancer Awareness Night… This is the fifth GSC-TV Game of the Week for Shorter, which is still looking for its first win in front of the cameras…