University of North Alabama 2017 Football Notes
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University of North Alabama 2017 Football Notes November 4, 2017 North Alabama at West Florida 4:00 PM • Blue Wahoos Stadium - Pensacola, Fla. UNA STORYLINES VS. WEST FLORIDA *The game will be broadcast by ESPN3 as the Gulf South Con- North Alabama 2017 Schedule ference Game of the Week. Sept. 1 ........#5 TEXAS A&M-COMMERCE .......... 7-8 * North Alabama is part of a four-team race to claim the 2017 Sept. 16 .........................*at Valdosta State ...... 30-24 Gulf South Conference football crown. West Alabama is control Sept. 23 ........................ *WEST ALABAMA ...... 17-38 of its own destiny at 6-1 in league play, with UNA, Valdosta State and West Georgia all at 4-2. West Alabama would need to lose at Sept. 30 .......................... *at West Georgia ...... 23-37 Valdosta State this Saturday and UNA would need to win its final Oct. 7 .............................. *FLORIDA TECH ........ 30-7 two GSC games against West Florida and Mississippi College to Oct. 14 ...................................... *at Shorter ........ 48-0 earn a share of a title. Oct. 21 .................... at Central Washington ...... 10-17 * This will be the first trip for a UNA football team to Pensacola, Oct. 28 ............................... *DELTA STATE ........ 20-7 Fla., to take on the West Florida Argonauts. * UWF plays at the Blue Wahoos minor league baseball stadium. Nov. 4 ...............................*at West Florida .........4:00 * After a 4-1 start,West Florida has lost two of its last three games Nov. 11 ...............*MISSISSIPPI COLLEGE .........1:30 and stands at 5-3. The Argonauts had their second game of the NCAA Division II Playoffs year against Midwestern State cancelled due to the threat of hur- Nov. 18 ............First Round NCAA Playoffs ricanes. Nov. 25 ...... Second Round NCAA Playoffs *UNA senior receiver Dre Hall needs one catch against West Florida to break the all-time NCAA Division II record for catches Dec. 2 ............. Quarterfinal NCAA Playoffs in consecutive games at 45. He has caught at least one pass in Dec. 9 ................. Semifinal NCAA Playoffs every game that he has played at UNA and is in a three-way tie Dec. 16 .... Division II Championship Game for the current record at 44. SERIES VS. WEST FLORIDA UNA DEFENSE AMONG BEST IN DIVISION II * This will be second meeting between North Alabama and West * The University of North Alabama defense is among the best in Florida, with the Argonauts having just begun their program in the NCAA Division II, allowing just 17.3 points and 283.9 total 2016. UNA dominated the only previous meeting, 51-3, last year yards per game. in Florence. UNA gained 528 yards of total offense and held UWF UNA’s current Division II rankings: to just 172 yards. The Lions led 34-3 after one quarter and 48-3 Passes Intercepted 2nd 17 at the half. Turnovers Gained 5th 24 Fewest Passing Yards Allowed 7th 1,222 UNA HAS FACED DII’S TOUGHEST SCHEDULE Yards Allowed Per Completion 3rd 9.70 * A season that opened with a game against the fifth ranked team Pass Efficiency Defense 8th 93.63 in the nation continued at ninth ranked Central Washington two Total Defense 13th 283.9 weeks ago as North Alabama continues battling the toughest Scoring Defense 19th 17.3 schedule in NCAA Division II football. * UNA is currently ranked No. 1 for having faced the toughest UNA DEFENSE FACING ANOTHER TOP PASSER schedule in Division II out of 168 schools with a .682 opponents * The UNA defense has already faced three of the top passing winning percentage. quarterbacks in the NCAA Division II this season and will face a * UNA’s final three regular-season games will do little do diminish fourth in West Florida’s Mike Beaudry who averages 254.3 yards that mark as the Lions’ regular-season percentage should end at per game. .612 - making UNA one of just four programs in Division II to have * Texas A&M-Commerce quarterback Luis Perez leads Division II faced a percentage over .600. with an average of 331 passing yards per game - but he threw for just 179 against UNA, was picked off three times and the Lions UNA’S LOSSES ALL TO CURRENTLY RANKED TEAMS did not score a touchdown in the game. * All four of UNA’s losses this season have come to teams cur- * West Alabama’s Harry Satterwhite is ranked 22nd nationally rently ranked in the NCAA Division II Top 25. Central Washington at 257.8 passing yards per game. UNA held him to 181 passing is ranked 7th, Texas A&M-Commerce is 9th, West Alabama 23rd yards. and West Georgia 25th. * Central Washington’s Reilly Hennesey averages 215.8 passing yards per game but picked up just 128 against UNA. * North Alabama’s defense has only allowed four passing touch- downs all season and has not allowed a single passing TD in its last three games. 2017 North Alabama Notes UNA SENIORS HAVE ENJOYED SUCCESS WILLIS IN 16TH SEASON AT UNA, * UNA’s senior class of 2017 has a 33-11 overall record, with 9-2, FIRST AS HEAD COACH 9-3, 11-2 and 4-4 marks over their four years. They have won * After helping lead the University of North Alabama to 12 playoff GSC football titles and advanced to the NCAA Playoffs in all three appearances and seven conference championships in his 15 of their previous seasons with the Lions. seasons on the coaching staff, Chris Willis was named as the 10th head football coach in UNA history on December 22, 2016. UNA IS WINNINGEST PROGRAM IN ALABAMA SINCE * An assistant coach at North Alabama under Mark Hudspeth, Terry 1990 Bowden and Bobby Wallace, Willis served the Lions as defensive * North Alabama has the winningest collegiate football program, by coordinator for the last five seasons and directed defensive efforts percentage, in the state of Alabama since 1990 at 72.3. The Lions that helped UNA become the first school in Gulf South Conference have a 236-91-1 record over the last 28 seasons. Alabama is second history to win four straight league championships. at 71.8, followed by Tuskegee (70.8) and Auburn (67.1). * This is his first head coaching position in his 19 seasons as a collegiate coach. State’s best since 1990: Pct Record North Alabama 72.3 236-90-1 UNA IN 69TH SEASON OF FOOTBALL Alabama 71.8 245-96 • This is UNA’s 69th season of intercollegiate football since the Tuskegee 70.8 219-90-1 program was revived at the school in 1949. UNA has an overall Auburn 67.1 218-106-3 464-265-16 record. The school’s 21 NCAA Division II Playoff appearances are tied for the most by any school in the division’s UNA IN FINAL SEASON IN GULF SOUTH history and the Lions 35 all-time post-season wins rank second in CONFERENCE AND DIVISION II Division II history. • A charter member of both the Gulf South Conference and the NCAA Division II, this will be the University of North Alabama’s UNA WAS PRE-SEASON GSC FAVORITE final season as a GSC and DII member as the Lions begin their * Despite returning just five startersfrom last season, UNA, the transition to Division I and FCS status in 2018-19. UNA’s .635 four-time defending Gulf South Conference champions, received all-time winning percentage ranks 12th best in Division II his- seven of the nine first-place votes and 62 total points in the GSC tory. The Lions 13 GSC football titles are more than any school pre-season poll. in conference history. The school’s 21 NCAA Division II Playoff appearances are tied for the most by any school in the division’s LIONS HAVE MADE NCAA PLAYOFFS IN history and the Lions 35 all-time post-season wins rank second in 12 OF LAST 14 SEASONS Division II history. • The University of North Alabama football programis making a record-tying 21st appearance in the NCAA Division II Football UNA HAS FOUR STRAIGHT GSC TITLES Playoffs in 2016. Northwest Missouri State joins UNA as the only * North Alabama has won the last four straight Gulf South Confer- two programs since Division II was created in 1972 to have ad- ence football championships, becoming the first program in the vanced to the football playoffs 21 times. 46-year history of the GSC with four straight. • The University of North Alabama football program has advanced * UNA’s 13 total GSC football titles are the most by any school. to the NCAA Division II Playoffs in 12 of the last 14 seasons (2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, UNA GSC Football Championships 2015, 2016). 1980, 1983, 1985, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2003, 2006, 2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 CURRENT LIONS WITH 100-YARD GAMES 100-Yard Receiving Games INJURIES HAVE DEVASTED LIONS Dre Hall (11) * North Alabama has lost more than a dozen players to injuries during 117 yards on five catches vs. Florida Tech (Oct. 18, 2014) the 2017 season, including losing starting quarterback Blake Hawkins 108 yards on six catches vs. Shorter (Nov. 8, 2014) in the first quarter of the second game of the season. 128 yards on six catches vs. Valdosta State (Nov. 22, 2014) 134 yards on six catches vs. Florida Tech (Sept. 26, 2015) OF NOTE . 133 yards on eight catches vs. Delta State (Oct. 31, 2015) * UNA senior receiver Dre Hall is just the seventh receiver in Gulf 153 yards on six catches vs. West Alabama (Nov. 14, 2015) South Conference history to have 3,000 career receiving yards. 125 yards on nine catches vs.