No. 2 West Georgia on solid footing
Saturday’s games
Edward Waters at Point, noon
Pikeville at Reinhardt, noon
Albany State at Delta State, 2 p.m.
Berry at Sewanee, 2 p.m.
Clark Atlanta at West Georgia, 2 p.m.
Shorter at Southeast Missouri State, 2 p.m.
Savannah State at Bethune-Cookman, 4 p.m.
Cumberland at Valdosta State, 4 p.m.
Morehouse at Miles, 4 p.m.
LaGrange at Averitt, 5 p.m.
Benedict at Fort Valley State, 6 p.m.
Kennesaw State at Dayton, 6 p.m.
Wofford at Mercer, 6 p.m.
Georgia Southern at Idaho, 9 p.m.
Marcus Sayles has a knack for blocking punts.
He said he had his share at Chattahoochee High School, which carried over to his first game at West Georgia in 2013, when he blocked another one.
Sayles added two more blocks to his list Saturday, setting up touchdowns in the Wolves’ 57-27 victory Fayetteville State.
“It’s all about the jump,” Sayles said. “You go as soon as you see the ball hiked.”
Sayles, a junior who also starts at cornerback for West Georgia (3-0), is the Gulf South Conference special-teams player of the week and set the single-game program record with his two blocks.
“Marcus is a quick-twitch guy,” coach Will Hall said. “He’s fast and he’s at top speed after one or two steps. We play our best players in the kicking game, and he’s one of the best cornerbacks in this league.”
Hall has transformed West Georgia into a Division II power in less than two seasons.
The Wolves have won nine of their past 10 games, losing only to Colorado State-Pueblo in last year’s semifinals, and are No. 2 in this week’s American Football Coaches Association poll.
“We’ve always had talent, but coach Hall has a different type of personality, a swagger,” Sayles said. “He boosted the morale of the team, and we bought into his system and believe in what he’s saying and coaching. Everything has been working.”
Hall and his staff added several transfers last season to provide an immediate boost to the talent level, but also focused on recruiting. He said there are about 35 freshmen, redshirt freshmen and sophomores on the roster.
“We toed the line in getting things turned around and to where we could win in Year 1, but also build the program for the future,” Hall said. “It was a hard line to toe. We didn’t want to fall off that top wire and crash and burn. We wanted to have a successful first year, but also have a stable program. We feel good where we are and where we’re headed.”
Etc.: Shorter linebacker Zach Butts (Union Grove) leads the Gulf South with 31 tackles. … Morehouse freshman receiver Amyr Smith (Grady) is the SIAC special-teams and newcomer of the week after he returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown in a win over Johnson C. Smith. … Berry hasn't allowed a point in its past six quarters and an overtime period, a streak that includes the first shutout in program history, a 24-0 win over Rhodes. Berry is in its third season. … Savannah State's losing streak is at 23 games. The Tigers are 4-55 in the past five-plus seasons. … Reinhardt running back Sam Jones (Loganville) is averaging 11.9 yards a carry. He has 13 carries for 155 yards. … Mercer leads the Southern Conference and ranks fourth in the FCS against the run, giving up an average of 51.7 yards rushing.
