SATURDAY’S SCORES
Albany State 21, Fort Valley State 17
Birmingham-Southern 14, Berry 7
Campbellsville 70, Reinhardt 56
Mercer 17, Chattanooga 14
Morehouse 28, Lane 24
N.C. Wesleyan 48, LaGrange 31
Norfolk State 20, Savannah State 17 (OT)
North Alabama 28, Shorter 7
Point 49, Ave Maria 14
Samford 43, Clark Atlanta 0
Valdosta State 40, Delta State 34 (OT)
The top-ranked West Georgia Wolves had their perfect season spoiled in a 28-26 Gulf South Conference loss to Florida Tech on Saturday.
Panthers quarterback Mark Cato finished the game’s opening drive with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Gabe Hughes.
Midway through the first quarter, the Wolves were on their own 24-yard line when Panthers defensive lineman Tevin Kirkland returned a blocked punt 10 yards for a touchdown.
West Georgia quarterback Wil Garrett’s 5-yard touchdown run with 3:36 remaining in the first quarter made the score 14-6.
In the second quarter, Cato connected with Hughes again for a 31-yard touchdown with 2:20 left and later scored on a 1-yard run with 35 seconds remaining in the half.
The second half of the game belonged to the Wolves, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the 22-point deficit. Running back Devontae Jackson earned his first touchdown of the game on a 2o-yard rush with 9:43 left in the third quarter. Garrett then scored on his second rushing touchdown with 2:48 left in the third.
JaNardreon Jones intercepted Cato early in the fourth quarter to set up Jackson for his second rushing touchdown on a 3-yard rush early in the fourth quarter to bring the Wolves within two points of the Panthers. The Panthers held off the Wolves for the remaining 13:13 of the game to complete the upset.
The Gulf South Conference title is up in the air among West Georgia (5-1), North Alabama (6-1), and Florida Tech (5-1). The Wolves beat the Lions 31-10 in Week 8, and the Lions defeated the Panthers 55-48 in Week 3. The final game of the regular season will decide the playoff hopes for each team.
If each team wins their final game of the season, their will be a three-way tie for the conference title.
The region rankings that will be released Monday will decide the top seven teams that will make it into the playoffs. The top team would earn a first-round bye.
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