[gorillapittpray]

GUNS A' BLAZING!

BLAZERS FIGHT BACK FOR HISTORICAL HOME WIN

~AP~ BIRMINGHAM, AL--- UAB was down by as much as 17 before storming back to a 34-30 win. Despite throwing four interceptions Andre Sharpe led a resilient fourth quarter comeback. Will Thomas got the Bulldogs down to the four yard line with 18 seconds left but UAB got the goal line stand and pulled off the win.

~RECAP~

A crowd of 32,000 welcomed UAB back for home coming as they squared off with SEC West foe Mississippi State. A crowd that doubled since their first home game was rowdy as can be before festivities kicked off. Joining the crowd was 6 of the regions hottest recruits to see action in Birmingham. UAB won the toss and elected to kick. Back up running back Terrell Ross made the Blazers pay as he returned the games opening kickoff 97 yards for the score. Rose started right and bursted down the middle after a cutback showing off world class speed for the score. A smattering of boo's joined his celebration as he jogged off the field in excitement. The rest of the first quarter was a stalemate as both teams play a chest match with equal field goals to end the quarter. 10-3 Miss State.

(T. ROSS RETURNS THE OPENING KICKOFF 97 YARDS, FOR THE SCORE)

The second quarter started bad for the Blazers, after a huge thirty yard catch by R. Rawls got the Blazers in the red zone the very next pass was intercepted by D. Moore who ended the drive and starting the Doug Ward show. Ward would cap that drive off with a 19 yard touchdown run. Up 17-3 a fired up Mississippi State defense forced a quick three and out by the Blazers and tacked on three more points for themselves putting the score 20-3 in the second quarter. Sharpe would get the Blazers on the board with a 52 yard bomb to leading receiver Ian Wilson. Wilson ran a out and up getting wide open down the sideline. With momentum forming the Blazers were down 20-10. Thats when D. Ward went back to work. Word took a toss to the left side of the field before breaking both McCrary and Slaughters tackles then speeding down the sideline for a 65 yard touchdown run giving the Bulldogs a 27-10 lead with under two minutes left in the quarter. An excited Mississippi state defense took the field eager to forget that last touchdown pass they had given up. After a quick first down run by tailback D. Pryor the Bulldogs held the Blazer to a three and out, the next play may have been the momentum turning point of the game when Alston the punter for UAB kicked a High hanging punt allowing the coverage to get down the field. Gunner #21 Baker unleashed a viscous hit on returner T. Payne jarring the ball loose as the Blazers recovered. Two plays later Sharpe connected with Moses for a 34 yard score. On the Play Moses jumped over the defender before reaching the end zone and putting the Blazers down 10 at the half 27-17.

(after not getting a carry in the opening quarter Ward got 84 yards and two touchdowns on just two carries in the second quarter)


(I. WILSON GAVE THE BLAZERS ON THE BOARD WITH THIS TOUCHDOWN GRAB) (BAKER'S HARD HIT GAVE BLAZERS MOMENTUM HEADING INTO THE HALF)


With momentum heading into the half UAB received the second half kickoff and drove the distance of the field getting great looking runs from D. Pryor as he juke and broke tackles during four carries gaining 45 yards on the drive. The Blazers reached the eight yard line facing a third and goal. Sharpe made another mistake tho as he tried to fit the ball into a small gap for Ross and Safety B. Hamilton jumped the pass stalling the drive. Mississippi State would grab a field goal after the interception to go up 30-17. Just when you thing it was bad things got worse for UAB as Sharpe threw his fourth interception of the game trying to hit Moses who seemed to have a step on his defender but a vary bad under thrown pass was picked by #4 Townsend stalling UAB once again and ending the third quarter with Miss St up 30-17.

(INTERCEPTIONS LIKE THESE HALTED DRIVES IN THE THIRD QUARTER FOR THE BLAZERS)

Heading into the fourth quarter the game seemed all but over as Miss St was on the move to put the game out of reach. Quarterback Will Thomas turned up a option and took off to the races if he wasn't gonna score he was gonna at least get to the red zone. Backside corner Stephens made the defensive play of the game he hit Thomas seemingly just trying to push him out of bounds, but Thomas fumbled the ball and Free Safety Nick Williams recovered for the Blazers and putting life back into the crowd. A rejuvenated Sharpe led a three play drive resulting in 26 yard touchdown pass by receiver Ross. The pass looked well on its way to being intercepted but Ross cut on the jets and snagged it out of a waiting Kevin Brown's grasp and ran in for the score to put the Blazers down six 30-24.

(#2 STEPHENS NO QUIT ATTITUDE RAN DOWN THOMAS AND FORCED THIS FUMBLE) (AFTER THE TURNOVER SHARPE WAS ABLE TO HIT ROSS TO BRING THE BLAZERS WITHING SIX)

Despite the score the Blazers defense was having a phenomenal second half. They held Ward in check, in fact after giving up 84 yards on two carries to Ward they held him to 9 carries for only 13 yards. After three stops that saw them sack Thomas as well as stop Ward the Blazers got the ball back and ended the next drive with a field goal getting the score within reach 30-27. This was the closes the game had been since it was 10-3 in the first quarter. Now the crowd was alive and the stadium was jumping. RE J. Bowser picked the right time to step up has he sacked Thomas on back to back play forcing Miss St into a third and long situation with under three minutes to go in the game. On third down Bowser again came with pressure and Thomas threw the ball right to the hands of dime back N. Davis who grabbed the pick and gave the Blazers a chance as he picked it off and got stopped on the Blazer 35 yard line. A ruckous crowd let it be known of their happiness a timeout by head coach Travis Rhatigan gave the thunderous crowd a few more minutes to celebrate Davis' interception. For the first three quarters Sharpe struggled but in the fourth he was shinning. He brought the Blazers back against Florida to start the season, He kept them from losing against a furious ECU comeback and now he had a chance to bring salvage his game as well as the Blazers perfect season all he need was a field goal but a touchdown could give them the win. A poised Sharpe stood in the pocket and hit Wilson on a crosser for a 8 yard gain, a no huddle offense saw him hit Ross for a 20 yard game on a deep dig route. With a first down at 47 yard line in Bulldog territory and the clock running now under two minutes. Sharpe would find Moses for 12 yard gain on a quick slant, trying to catch Miss St off guard he called a draw from the no huddle that saw Pryor only get three yards. A quick timeout Saw the Blazers facing a first down with 1:40 remaining.
Sharpe came out after the time out and took his shot for the end zone, S. Brown was running down the seam with a step on Townsend, Sharpe fired it and brought caught it getting pulled down in the end zone and giving the Blazers a 34-30 lead. Brown was smothered as his teammates mobbed him in the end zone and on the sideline. The Blazers grabbed their first lead and was 1:35 seconds away from the come from behind win.

(ANDRE SHARPE HAD A TREMENDOUS 4TH QTR AS HE LED THE BLAZERS TO 17 4TH QTR POINTS)

Down 34-30 the bulldogs needed a touchdown to win, a field goal wasn't going to do it. Alston used a squib kick so return man Terrell Ross wouldn't have a chance to create lightning but it backfired as the upback got the ball to midfield. With 1:28 remaining the bulldogs were at midfield and three plays later they were at the four yard line. A first down in-completion ran the clock down to 48 seconds. A wide toss to Ward saw him get swarmed by this Blazer defense, he managed to get back to the line of scrimmage. The Bulldogs had to use their final time out. On third down the Bowser grabbed his third sack of the game thanks to the great coverage by the Blazer secondary, Thomas had all day but no one to throw to, with a spy on him he couldn't take off and Bowser beat a double team and reach him. The sack moved the Bulldogs back to the 14 yard line and on fourth down Thomas threw a in completion as the Blazers completed the comeback win.

(#79 GRABS HIS THIRD SACK OF THE GAME THIS TIME ON THIRD DOWN LATE IN THE FOURTH)

PLAYS OFF THE GAME

SHARPE FINDS BROWN DOWN THE MIDDLE OF THE FIELD FOR THE LEAD


BOWSER BEATS THE DOUBLE TEAM TO GET HIS THIRD SACK OF THE DAY, THIS ONE WITH UNDER A MINUTE TO GO.


TOP PLAYERS
UAB
QB A. Sharpe 14-27 372 yards 4 touchdowns 4 interceptions
WR M. Ross 4 rec 155 yards 1 touchdown
DE L. Bowser 4 tackles 3 sacks

MISS ST
D. Ward 11 car 97 yards two touchdowns
FS B. Hamilton 9 tackles 1 int
KR T. Ross 3 ret 152 yards 50.6 avg 1 touchdown

Oct 8, 2011 - MSU at UAB
TEAM	1ST	2ND	3RD	4TH	SCORE
Miss St (2-4)	10	17	3	0	30
UAB (5-0)	3	14	0	17	34

Team Stats Comparison
MSU		UAB
288	Total Offense	435
142	Rushing Yards	63
146	Passing Yards	372
7	First Downs	12
	Punt Return Yards
	Kick Return Yards
562	Total Yards	580
3	Turnovers	4
2-9	3rd Down Converstion	2-10
0-1	4th Down Conversion	0-0
	2-Point Conversion
4-1-2	Red Zone Touchdowns/Field Goals	3-0-1
3-25	Penalties	0-0
10:30	Posession Time	17:30