By Jim O'Hara
 
FLORENCE, Ala. – The Shorter Hawks were hoping to get back on track a week after a heartbreaking loss.

So were the North Alabama Lions, who shook off their first loss of the season seven days earlier and was the team that got back on track when the No. 15-ranked team in Division II kept their Gulf South Conference championship hopes and postseason quest alive by handing the Hawks a convincing 45-7 defeat Saturday afternoon at Braly Municipal Stadium.

The setback was the fifth straight for Shorter, now 3-6 overall and 1-5 in GSC, and one in which the Hawks were handled on both sides of the line, ending the game with just 121 total yards – all of them came on the ground as the team did not have any passing yards for the first time in the program's 10-year history – while giving up 620 total yards to the Lions.

The lone points for Shorter came late in the second quarter when Cody Simpson recovered as botched punt snap in the end zone.

Junior quarterback Luke Wingo led the charge for UNA (8-1, 5-1) completing 24 of 30 passes for 321 yards and a touchdown and rushing for another TD, while Diamond Simmons led all rushers gaining 118 yards on nine carries and a pair of touchdowns.

The Lions took a 3-0 lead on their second possession of the game when Taylor Pontius kicked a 51-yard field goal to close out a 56-yard drive with 5:51 left in the opening quarter and added seven more points on the final play of the period when they marched 66 yards to score when Lamonte Thompson broke free for a 15-yard touchdown run to give UNA a 10-0 advantage.

After the Hawks were forced to punt the ball away on their first series of the second quarter, North Alabama continued to eat up the yards and once again were able to find the openings against the Shorter defense, this time going 69 yards on just six plays, the final one resulting in a 5-yard touchdown run by Simmons that gave the home team a 17-0 lead just under three minutes into the second stanza to make it 17-0.

Almost seven minutes later, however, Shorter special teams with the help of the defense put the Hawks on the board.

Following a fumble recovery by Pat Fields at the UNA 28, the Hawks were unable to capitalize on the turnover and gave the ball back to the Lions on downs, but after Shorter held its ground and forced North Alabama to punt the ball, the snap sailed over the punters head and into the end zone where after a wild scramble, Simpson recovered the ball for a touchdown. Kenny Langford added the extra point to cut into UNA's lead, 17-7, with 4:13 left in the half.

But the Lions were undeterred as on their ensuring possession they went 68 yards to make it 24-7 when Wingo scored on an 8-yard run with just over a minute to play until the half that ended with the home team holding a 24-7 advantage.

The Lions continued their momentum at the start of the second half when, on the first series of the third quarter, they went 70 yards to take a 31-7 lead when Delvon Carpenter found himself all alone in the end zone thanks to a mix-up in the Hawks' secondary and hauled in a 22-tard touchdown pass.

That wound up being the lone points of the quarter, but at the start of the final stanza the Lions kept the ball moving when, on a third and long situation, Simmons found a huge hole on a draw and sprinted 76 yards to make it 38-7.

North Alabama added one final touchdown with 7:14 to go when back-up quarterback Jacob Thomas hit Jarrett Smith with a 24-yard touchdown pass.

Although Shorter managed to recover four UNA fumbles and saw Justin Wiley pick off a pass, the Hawks were unable to capitalize on the takeaway as they ended the game with just seven first downs and wound up having to punt the ball a season-high 10 times.