By Jim O'Hara   
 
CLEVELAND, Miss. – They did something no other team has done all season, keeping the 11^th-ranked Division II scoreless in the first quarter and leading against that same squad at the half.

The Shorter Hawks, however, saw what appeared to be an upset in the making fall by the wayside as the homestanding Delta State Statesmen used what has been an uncanny third quarter performance all season to rally and hand the Hawks, who has suffered from a season-long habit of second half woes, a 35-20 Gulf South Conference defeat Thursday night in a GSC-TV Game of the Week showdown.

The loss leaves Shorter with a 3-2 overall record and a 1-1 conference slate heading into another GSC-TV appearance next Thursday night when the Hawks host West Alabama at Barron Stadium.

Against DSU (5-0, 3-0), the Hawks broke out to a 17-0 lead midway through the second quarter and took a 20-14 advantage at the half, only to see the Statesmen, who have outscored foes 80-0 in the third period, strike for a pair of touchdowns that gave them the lead they would never lose.

Shorter ended the night amassing a season-high 415 yards – 294 coming in the first half – with 237 of that coming on the ground including a 70-yard touchdown run by senior Kirk Wilson.

Senior quarterback Eric Dodson had his best passing night of the season throwing for 178 yards, the big completion coming via a 65-yard touchdown pass to Darius Turner, who had three catches for 85 yards.

Junior safety Jordan Shaw, playing with his hand in a cast due to an injury suffered in practice earlier in the week, continued to add to his prowess intercepting passes as he had two picks – he now leads the nation with eight steals – and led the Hawks with 13 tackles.

Despite being held far below the 59 points a game average they entered the game with, the Statesmen got a tremendous boost from sophomore quarterback Tyler Sullivan, who ended the game completing 25 of 37 passes for 321 yards and a pair of touchdowns, and also ran for a TD.

The Hawks came into the game hoping to establish ball control but instead struck quickly.

After winning the coin toss and electing to receive, Shorter's third play from scrimmage saw Wilson take a pitchout from Dodson to the right side where the senior found all kind of room to run and sprinted 70 yards – the longest scoring run in the GSC this season – into the end zone and Kenny Langford added the first of two PATs to give the Hawks the lead.

After the two teams exchanged possessions the rest of the opening period – it was the first time this season Delta State was held scoreless in the first quarter – the Hawks' defense set the stage for the next score when Shaw intercepted a Tyler Sullivan pass at the Shorter 7.

From there, the Hawks mounted a 78-yard drive that lasted 10 plays and ended when Langford split the uprights from 32 yards out with 12:54 to go in the half and give Shorter a 10-0 advantage.

The Hawks got the ball back a little more than a minute later after DSU went 3-and-out and once again Shorter opted to strike quickly again, this time with Dodson finding Turner open deep down the right sideline with Turner breaking into the end zone for the 65-yard scoring pass, and Langford's extra point gave the Hawks a 17-0 lead with 11:12 remaining in the second period.

The Statesmen, however, suddenly woke up and on their ensuing series drove the ball 77 yards on 11 plays to finally put points on the scoreboard when Eddie McCadney scored on a 3-yard run. Vince Sciorrotta was perfect of the point after as DSU cut Shorter's lead to 17-7.

Delta State was still not done. They got the ball back after forcing the Hawks to punt and this time needed just two plays to draw closer with the second one resulting in a 40-yard scoring run by D'Juan Bellaire and after Sciorrotta's PAT the home team was within three, 17-14, with 5:51 left until halftime.
That's when the Hawks made sure they got momentum back on their side.

On their next series, the Hawks moved the ball 72 yards to the DSU 4 where Langford nailed a 21-yard field goal adding to Shorter's lead, 20-14, with 1:14 to go and as Delta State appeared headed to score again Shaw stepped in front of another pass to record his second pick of the night and end the threat as the half ended.

The Hawks' lead wound up being the first time Delta State has trailed at the half this season.

But the Statesmen opened the second half with another solid third quarter as they scored on their second possession of the third period when Sullivan hit Justin Leavy with a 9-yard touchdown pass that culminated a 49-yard drive take the lead for the first time in the game and with 3:58 to go in the third stanza made it 21-20, and on their next possession used seven plays to cover 53 yards and assume a 28-20 lead when Sullivan scored on a 5-yard keeper.

After the Hawks saw their own threatening drive stall at the DSU 10 with Langford missing the mark on a 38-yard field goal try, the Statesmen added some insurance with 6:47 left to play when Patrick Bethley hauled in a 30-yard touchdown pass from Sullivan.

Delta State lost two of the six fumbles in the game to go along with Shaw's two interceptions, but still finished the outing rolling up 513 yards.