Seconds to spare in NGU v. West Alabama game
Whitley Bras, Staff Writer
Photo taken by Whitley Bras
Through the fog, on Sept. 29 the North Greenville University (NGU), Crusaders were able to gain a victory over the West Alabama Tigers. The game ended with a score of 20-16 with NGU in favor. This was an important game for the crusaders because it was their second conference match and their second conference win for the season making them 2-0 for the Gulf South Conference. This was also an important game for the players and the North Greenville community because it was a home game broadcast on ESPN 3 which allowed for a greater amount of exposure to the athletic and football communities around the nation. This was also the first game for North Greenville to be broadcast on ESPN 3.
West Alabama got a quick start when they scored within the first minute of the game but North Greenville held their own and pushed back through an effective defense. Throughout the first quarter, North Greenville continued to make small gains and near the end of the quarter number 32, Azende’ Dixon grabbed an interception from West Alabama. Quarterback Donny Baker was also able to hype up the crowd with a strong run for a first down for the Crusaders. North Greenville started the second quarter off strong by scoring at the 12-minute mark making the game a tied score with 7-7. The touchdown was by Sophomore running back Dashonnell Wright, number 48. NGU was then able to keep up the strong defense going into halftime and scored a field goal to end the second quarter. The score was 10-7 going into halftime in favor of North Greenville.
The third quarter started out slow for North Greenville and West Alabama was able to tie the score with a field goal at the seven-minute mark. West Alabama then stayed strong and scored a touchdown at the 5-minute mark making the score 10-16 in favor of West Alabama. NGU had some setbacks close to each other near the end of the quarter but stayed strong holding their ground to start the fourth quarter. At the 12-minute mark, North Greenville scored a field goal making the score 13-16. They played hard until the end of the quarter trying to make up for their deficit. The home crowd was constantly cheering on the team and with 1-minute left on the clock North Greenville made their move and with 14.1 seconds left on the clock quarterback number 18, Donny Baker scored giving NGU the lead with 19-16 over West Alabama. North Greenville then completed the field goal completing the game with a 20-16 victory win for North Greenville University over West Alabama.
Junior defensive back, number three Matthew Thomas gave his thoughts about the game. He said, “First thing I want to mention is the support that we got last night. The atmosphere was unreal and It brought our game to a new level. One thing about our team is that we fight no matter what. We got down early and it didn’t rattle us. Offense and defense stuck together through it all. The odds were not in our favor by you have to give the credit to Donny Baker who stepped up big time and brought us the win at the end of the game. Our coaches have done a great job teaching us how to handle adversity and it has been evident all season long. There were times when we let our composure get to us and that can be improved but overall, another great conference win and now our eyes on West Georgia”.
Overall, the conference win over West Alabama was a major success for the North Greenville Crusaders and they are determined to make their mark during the first year with the Gulf South Conference.
Sources: Matt Thomas, ESPN 3, Gulf South Conference, and North Greenville Athletics.
Sources: Matt Thomas, ESPN 3, Gulf South Conference, and North Greenville Athletics.
