By Jim O'Hara
 
ROME, Ga. – The Shorter Hawks saw visiting North Alabama use a fast start in the first half stand up as the No. 19-ranked Lions handed Shorter a 28-7 Gulf South Conference defeat on a rainy afternoon Saturday, spoiling the Hawks' upset bid in their final home game of the season at Barron Stadium.

Shorter now turns its attention to perhaps their biggest challenge of the season next Saturday when the Hawks (2-7 overall and 1-5 in the GSC) travel to Carrollton for a backyard brawl with top-ranked West Georgia, which suffered its first loss of the season Saturday when the Wolves were upset by homestanding Florida Tech 28-26,.

Against the Lions (6-3, 5-1), the Hawks ended the afternoon seeing a pair of players rushing for 100 yards or more – it's the third time this season that's happened – as junior fullback B.J. McCoy led Shorter gaining 103 yards on 16 carries, one going for a 31-yard touchdown, while red-shirt freshman Kartez Carr rushed for 102 yards on 12 carries.

The output by McCoy, who came into the game as the GSC's leading rusher, marked the eighth time the hard-running back from Villa Rica has gone over the 100-yard barrier this season and was his seventh straight 100-plus game.

But despite the dual performance by McCoy and Carr, the Hawks – Shorter led the conference in rushing averaging nearly 300 yards – ended the game with 233 yards, all of it accounting for the team's total offense.

North Alabama, who rolled up 392 total yards with 221 yards of that on the ground, was led by Lamon Thompson, who led all rushers gaining 231 yards on 26 carries and scored a touchdown.

The Hawks opened the game turning the Lions away on the game's opening possession when, after UNA drove down to the Shorter 24, senior Dominique Henfield rose up to block a 41-yard field goal attempt.

Two plays later, however, North Alabama got the ball back via a Shorter fumble at the Hawks' 34 and on the next play UNA quarterback Luke Wingo found a wide open Grant Lake across the middle for a 34-yard scoring pass. Kevin Henke added the first four extra points.

After forcing Shorter to punt on the Hawks' ensuing series, North Alabama stuck again, this time using five plays to cover 50 yards with Diamond Simmons scoring on a 7-yard touchdown to give his team a 14-0 lead midway through the opening period.

The Hawks, however, answered the challenge on their next possession, putting together a 61-yard march that was started by a 16-yard run by Carr and ended on McCoy's 31-yard TD jaunt, with Kenny Langford adding the PAT to pull the home team to within seven, 14-7, with 5:49 remaining in the first quarter.

North Alabama increased its lead in the second quarter with two more touchdowns, the first on a 3-yard touchdown run by Jacob Tucker in the opening minutes of the second period and with 3:21 to go in the half that capped a 69-yard drive, the Lions scored what proved to be the final points in the game when Thompson scored on a 4-yard carry that ended a 63-yard march.

The Lions threatened one last time before halftime but Shorter's Rodney Jackson foiled the drive when he picked off a Wingo pass in the final minute.

The second half turned into a defensive battle between the two teams with Shorter keeping North Alabama on its own side of the field in the final two quarters while the Hawks ventured into UNA terriroty three times, including a drive to the Lions' 27 where they eventually turned the ball over on downs.

Senior All-American safety Jordan Shaw turned in his season high in tackles, leading the Hawks with a game-high 14 tackles and Jevaris Jones added eight stops.