FLORENCE Ala. – North Alabama (4-4, 4-2 GSC) scored 20 unanswered points to erase an early seven-point deficit en route to a 20-7 win over Delta State University (6-3, 4-3 GSC) on Saturday night at Braly Stadium. The meeting was the final meeting between the two Gulf South Conference foes as NCAA Division II members.
 
THE BASICS

• Score: North Alabama 20 | Delta State 7
• Records: Statesmen (6-3, 4-3 GSC) | Lions (4-4, 4-2 GSC)
• Date: Saturday, Oct. 28 | 6 p.m. Kickoff
• Location: Braly Municipal Stadium | Florence, Ala.
• Attendance: 6,033 | Time of Game: 2:40
• Series: North Alabama leads the all-time series 34-26-1
• Get Social: Twitter - @DeltaStateFB | Facebook - DSUStatesmen | Instagram - DSUAthletics

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The Statesmen got on the scoreboard on their second possession. Breck Ruddick scored on a five-yard keeper around left-end to cap a 4-play, 37-yard drive and give the Green-and-White a 7-0 lead with 7:15 to go in the opening quarter.
• Chandler Carrera's 36-yard field goal cut the Statesmen advantage to 7-3 with 14 seconds remaining in the first.
• UNA grabbed the lead for good on an 89-yard scoring run by quarterback Rico Bruton to end the first half scoring with 3:12 to go.
• The Lions scored 10 points in the third quarter to extend the lead to 20-7. Carrera connected on a 31-yard field goal at the 6:16 mark and reserve quarterback Matt Markham tossed a 27-yard touchdown pass to Alex Norwood with 3:09 left.  

Offensive Notables:

• Ruddick rushed 22 times for 20 yards, scoring the only touchdown for the Statesmen and completed 8-of-18 attempts for 76 yards with two interceptions.
• Chris Robinson rushed 24 times for 63 yards, which is the most for the Bude, Miss., native since rushing for 106 yards against Mississippi College (9/30).
• UNA's Delvin Carpenter hauled in six passes for 124 yards for his second career 100 receiving game. Norwood finished with four catches for 61 and a touchdown.
• Bruton compeleted 8-of-15 passes for 61 yards and rushed nine times for 93 yards, including an 89-yard touchdown run.

 
Defensive Notables:

• Landy Tullo led the Statesmen with 9.5 tackles and has 222 career tackles.
• Ovenson Cledanord also had nine tackles, while Chandler Ector had eight tackles and a pass breakup for the Statesmen.
• Jamoral Graham's third quarter interception was his team-best third of the season and the first by a Statesmen player since the West Alabama (10/7) game. The Statesmen have 11 interceptions on the season.  
• Josh Amanfo tallied 16 tackles, 10 solos, and a sack to lead the Lions defensively.
• Christian Taylor had 13 tackles, including six solos, all coming in the first half.

 
Special Teams:

• LaDarion Peterson returned five kickoffs for 112 yards to extend his school record for kick return yards to 1,513 yards.
• Senior Vince Sciorrotta had one extra point to stretch his career GSC all-time scoring record by kick to 314 points.
• Freshman Sam Barge punted 10 times for 38.9-yard average, including two punts downed inside the UNA five yard line and three inside the UNA 20.
• Carrera was 2-for-2 with field goals of 36 and 31 yards and was 2-for-2 on PATs for eight points.
• Jamal Jackson returned two kickoffs for 51 yards for the Lions.

 
Notables:

• The meeting was the 61^st and final NCAA Division II meeting between North Alabama and Delta State. The Lions lead the all-time series 34-26-1. UNA is making the move to NCAA FCS status in 2018-19.
• The Statesmen have a 10-18 record at Braly Stadium in Florence.
• UNA first-year head coach Chris Willis is a 1999 Delta State graduate and was a member of the Statesmen coaching staff from 1999-2001. He coached on the 2000 NCAA Division II National Championship team. Willis departed the Delta for Florence, Ala. 2002.

  
Up Next:

• The Statesmen travel to Tigerville, S.C. to take on the University of North Greenville on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 1:30 p.m. Matt Jones, Philip Tang and Lane Quinton will have the call on the Statesmen Sports Network starting at 12:30 p.m. with the DSU Alumni Association Statesmen Gameday Report.