ROME, Ga. – The Shorter Hawks were back in action at Barron Stadium on Saturday afternoon, as they hosted the No. 10 University of West Alabama Tigers. Despite a hard-fought effort, the Hawks fell to the visitors 44-7.

The Hawks hung in the game with West Alabama in the first half. They played particularly well on defense in the opening quarter, as an interception by Shorter's Trey Lyles and a later fumble recovery by teammate Chip Williams helped keep the Tigers from putting any points on the board in the first quarter. Unfortunately for the Hawks, they could not capitalize on the turnovers.

The Tigers' offense got on the scoreboard with 9:16 left in the second quarter, as quarterback Jack McDaniels threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Bayley Blanchard. McDaniels had a nice day for the visitors, as he went 26-of-36 passing for 262 yards and three touchdowns with the lone interception and added 34 yards on the ground.

His backfield mate Demetrius Battle added the final score of the half with seven seconds left in the second quarter via a 2-yard touchdown run to give UWA a 14-0 lead going into halftime. Battle recorded a game-high 100 yards rushing and scored two touchdowns.

West Alabama (6-0, 3-0) added to their lead in the second half and took control. The Hawks got on the scoreboard with 43 seconds left in the third, as quarterback Aeneas Dennis hit tight end John Dietl III for a 32-yard touchdown pass. Dennis finished with 124 yards passing on 11-of-28 attempts, a passing touchdown and an interception and led the Hawks in rushing with 49 yards.

On the defensive side of the ball for Shorter, Nemo Reddish led the Hawks in total tackles with nine. Kolby Reynolds, Hunter Poole and Chip Williams added seven apiece as well.

The Hawks (2-4, 0-3) will play their second-straight home game next Saturday as they will play host to Mississippi College on Homecoming. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.