Saturday, September 26, 2015

Football Preview: West Georgia vs. Clark Atlanta


CARROLLTON, Georgia  --  It's Homecoming for the University of West Georgia, as the Wolves will put their national ranking on the line at University Stadium on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. This week's opponent for the 2nd-ranked team in the nation will be in-state and in-region foe Clark Atlanta. The Wolves come into the game with a 3-0 record on the year, while the Panthers are 0-3.

Gameday Timeline
8:00 AM - UWG Athletic Complex Opens for Tailgating
8:00-10:00 AM - Setup allowed for The Hill (Student Zone Tailgate)
10:00 AM - Homecoming Parade
12:00 PM - Ticket Booths Open/The Hill Opens
12:30 PM - Wolf Walk at Wolf Plaza (Greet the team)
After the Wolf Walk - Gates Open
2:00 PM - UWG vs. Clark Atlanta

It's a new week for the West Georgia Wolves, a team that seems to be dominating the Special Teams landscape in the Gulf South Conference after the first three weeks of the season under new Special Teams Coordinator Matt O'Brien.

The Wolves have produced the first three GSC Special Teams Players of the week from three different areas of the game. Telvin Brown won it after the first week as a punt returner, then Hunter Heck the second week as a kicker. Last week, it was Marcus Sayles and his efforts to block two punts that earned that title.

Senior quarterback Dallas Dickey made it two of the four weekly Gulf South Conference awards, as he was 15-of-21 for 180 yards and four touchdowns last week. The four scores were the most for an individual thus far on the year in the GSC.

West Georgia's defense continues to dominate, allowing just 35 yards rushing to Fayetteville State last weekend and giving up an average of 215 yards per game on the season.

The West Georgia Wolves come into the fourth week of the 2015 season with an opportunity to move to 4-0 for the second time in as many years. UWG reached 5-0 last year before their first loss of the season, which many would say helped propel them to a region championship. The Wolves welcome Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foe Clark Atlanta this week, a return game from last year's road game in Atlanta.

This will be the eigth meeting between the two teams, with West Georgia holding a 5-2 lead in the all-time series. The Wolves won the last meeting, last season in Atlanta by a 42-2 margin. This will be the fifth different venue in the history of this series, as the two programs have met at Grisham Stadium, Roy Richards Stadium, Panther Stadium and Lakewood Stadium before this weekend's contest in University Stadium.

West Georgia is coached by Will Hall, who is in his second season at West Georgia. He has an overall record of 40-14 in his fifth year as a head coach. In 18 games at the helm of the UWG program, Hall is 15-3. The interim head coach at Clark Atlanta is Kevin Ramsey, who is in his first season as the leader of the football program for the Panthers after three seasons at Alabama State as the defensive coordinator.

Injuries have hobbled the Wolves in recent weeks, but Hall and his staff have placed three starters who have been out in recent weeks back into the depth chart for the coming weekend. Senior safety Carlos Hutton saw limited action against Miles, but was out against Catawba and Fayetteville State. Junior running back LaMarcus Franks, who was the No. 1 back coming out of fall camp, has yet to see the field and junior receiver Telvin Brown, who returned a punt for a touchdown in the opening week. All three are back in the depth chart for the CAU game.

West Georgia has three individuals who are leading the nation in a statistical category, led by senior quarterback Dallas Dickey, who is tops in the nation in completion percentage at .738. Punt returner Telvin Brown, who should return this week in a receivers role, but he is tied for first in the nation in punt returns for a touchdown. Senior kicker Hunter Heck is tied for best in the nation in field goal percentage, as he is perfect on the year and junior cornerback Marcus Sayles is tied for #1 in the nation in blocked kicks with three.

Dickey has had one of his best years as a passer thus far this season, but he is also the Wolves' leading active rusher. He has 378 career carries for 1,455 yards and 17 touchdowns. The yardage is good for 14th all-time at UWG and is the best among quarterback, and he is 33 yards from moving into 12th place on the all-time list.

COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF WEST GEORGIA SPORTS INFORMATION

No comments: