ROME, Ga. — The Shorter Hawks faced a 41-21 deficit early in the fourth quarter, it could have been easy for the Hawks to go away quietly in their matchup with crosstown rival West Georgia. Shorter Head Coach Zach Morrison stated, "What a game, we just need another minute to complete the epic comeback. West Georgia has a great squad with a lot of experience back from the previous year, so we knew what we were up against. I truly think if we had just a little more time the outcome would have been different."

Late in the game the Hawks were able to make play after play on both sides of the ball. The crowd was roaring in support of the hometown Hawks. With time winding down the Hawks then got a defensive stop and the ball back with a little more than a minute left inside their own 10, but with no timeouts left on the clock they had to have everything go right. Shorter's dramatic rally attempt ultimately fell short as an incomplete pass as time expired allowed West Georgia to escape Barron Stadium with a 41-35 win in Gulf South Conference play.

"At halftime, we talked about doing whatever we could on defense to get the ball out and force turnovers," Shorter head coach Zach Morrison said. "We wanted our guys to go punch the ball out or high-point the ball — just go make plays. We were able to do that and turn those plays into points to get us back in the game. We kept fighting all the way to the end, and that was really fun to see.

"West Georgia is a top-25 team in the country, and we showed tonight that we can play with anyone. Our guys know they are right there. We just have to eliminate some of the big plays like we allowed tonight. It was the same thing in the Valdosta State game last week. If we don't give up two or three big plays in that game, we win those ballgames. Our players know how close they are. We've just got to fix a few things and go win some games these next couple weeks."

The Shorter Offense was led by Justus Durant who finished the evening with 122 yards on 25 carries and two touchdowns, while McCrary added 36 yards and a score. Brown threw for 130 yards on 22-of-33 attempts with a touchdown and an interception. Durant also went over 1,000 career rushing yards after the game, and he now sits 10th on the all-time rushing list with 1,091 career yards. McGill was the leading receiver for Shorter with seven catches for 62 yards and a score. Coach Morrison added, "We have some work to do on the offensive side of the ball so I will be expecting a great week of practice as we prepare for the last two games."

Defensively, Marc Harris had 15 total tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and a half-sack to go with his forced fumble and fumble recovery to lead the Hawks. Harris continues to lead the Gulf South Conference in tackles on the season having a stellar season for the Shorter Hawks. "Marc and Devonn continue to lead the defense by example day in and day out," said Coach Morrison. Artellious Edmond added eight total tackles and his forced fumble, while Jon Lowe had seven tackles and an interception.

Devonn Lane also had seven tackles, and Warren added five tackles to go with his interception. Bethea also had half a sack along with his fumble return for a touchdown and four tackles. "I am extremely excited for Tony and the defense, there were some high points in the game and this was one I will always remember. The team was so excited to see Tony scoop and score as well," proclaimed Morrison.

"We'll have a few extra days to rest up and watch some film the next few days before getting out to practice early next week to prepare for North Greenville. That was a team we beat last year, so our guys

have that experience but know we can't just expect to go there and get an easy win," Morrison said. "Like I said, our guys know how close we are to beating a lot of these teams. These last two games are both attainable to let us finish strong, but it's going to take every one of us doing our part and playing at a high level."

Shorter will be on the road next Saturday to visit North Greenville at 1 p.m. for another conference matchup and then returns home to host West Alabama at 1 p.m. Nov. 11 to wrap up the season.