THURSDAY’S SCORE
Georgia Southern 37, Texas State 13
SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE
West Alabama at Valdosta State, noon
Georgia Military at ASA Miami, 1 p.m.
Monmouth at Kennesaw State, 1 p.m.
Savannah State at Howard, 1 p.m.
LaGrange at Maryville, 1:30 p.m.
Benedict at Albany State, 2 p.m.
Berry at Millsaps, 2 p.m.
Mercer at The Citadel, 2 p.m.
Morehouse at Fort Valley State, 2 p.m.
West Georgia at Mississippi College, 4 p.m.
Clark Atlanta at Concordia College, 6 p.m.
Shorter at Florida Tech, 7 p.m.
Marion Chapman was shopping at the Wal-Mart in Carrollton this week when he was approached by a couple of people.
“I had my West Georgia gear on, and they came up and asked if I played football,” Chapman said. “I said, ‘Yes.’ And they said, ‘We’re real proud of y’all. It’s been a long time coming. We’ve been waiting for this for a long time.’ They were happy.”
Chapman and his teammates found that kind of reaction from folks across campus and the city this week after the Wolves moved to No. 1 in the American Football Coaches Association Division II Top 25.
This is the first time West Georgia (8-0), which ascended from No. 2 to the top spot after previous No. 1 Minnesota State lost Oct. 24, has been ranked No. 1 since moving to Division II.
West Georgia won the Division III national championship in 1982.
“Everybody is excited about this,” said Chapman, a linebacker who leads the Wolves with 41 tackles. “Everybody is talking about it. It’s good for the town, the city of Carrollton.”
Athletic director Daryl Dickey couldn’t have predicted this kind of sudden rise when he was searching for his successor two years ago.
He said before the 2013 season that it would be his last as the program’s coach, which gave him time to narrow his list to West Alabama’s Will Hall. Dickey hired him a week after West Georgia finished 6-5 that season.
The Wolves are 20-3 under Hall and reached the Division II semifinals last season.
“Nothing ever goes according to plan, but we’re excited where we’re at,” Dickey said. “I’m proud of the football team and what they’ve accomplished up to this point. It speaks well for what the university is doing.”
West Georgia just completed a four-game stretch — considered the Gulf South Conference gauntlet — by defeating West Alabama, Valdosta State, Delta State and North Alabama by a combined average of 20.3 points per game.
West Alabama was undefeated and Valdosta State (No. 21), Delta State (No. 15) and North Alabama (No. 13) were each ranked when they played the Wolves.
“The Gulf South is like the SEC of Division II,” Chapman said.
He said the Wolves won’t lose sight of their goals with with three games left.
“We’re going to come to work every day,” Chapman said. “We’ve got to get better. We want to be 9-0 and 10-0 and 11-0. We want to win the conference championship and host a playoff game. The rest will follow.”
