FLORENCE, Ala. – University of North Alabama freshman ShunDerrick Powell rushed for a school record 251 yards and scored four touchdowns to lead the Lions to a 49-17 win over Virginia-Wise at Braly Stadium.
UNA trailed 14-0 in the game but rallied to hold a 21-17 lead at the half.
The Lions dominated the final two quarters, adding another 28 points, while holding the visitors scoreless.
Powell’s 251 yards rushing on 20 carries broke the 29-year-old record of 248 yards set by Tyrone Rush against Delta State in 1993. His four rushing touchdowns were one shy of the school record of five set by Don Cornelius in 1965.
UNA finished with 465 yards of total offense with 369 yards rushing and 96 yards passing. It was the first time that a Lion team had rushed for 300 yards in a game since 2015, and the first time in UNA’s Division I era.
The first quarter belonged to the visitors as Virginia-Wise drove for touchdowns on each of its first two possessions.
Quarterback Lendon Redwine dove one yard on a sneak play on fourth and goal for the first score. Kellan Dalton added the PAT to give the Cavaliers a 7-0 lead at 7:47 of the first quarter.
On their next possession, Redwine connected with Tyler Kirkess on a 27-yard TD pass with 5:09 left to make it 14-0.
ShunDerrick Powell ignited the UNA offense early in the second quarter with a 75-yard touchdown run. With Sam Contorno’s extra point, UNA cut the Cavaliers’ lead to 14-7 with 13:22 left in the half.
Powell then capped a six-play, 55-yard drive with a seven-yard TD run to tie the game with 6:45 remaining in the second period.
Virginia-Wise regained the lead with just 2:28 left in the half on a 31-yard Dalton field goal.
UNA quickly responded, covering 65 yards in eight plays to take its first lead heading into intermission. The score was setup by back-to-back receptions by E.J. Rogers of 32 and eight yards to move the ball deep into UVA-Wise territory. The score came on a nine-yard TD pass from Noah Walters to Andre Little with 12 second left before half. Contorno’s PAT gave the Lions a 21-17 lead at the half.
With 9:19 left in the third quarter, Gallil Guillaume forced a fumble and Justin Douglas recovered for UNA at the Cavaliers’ 35-yard line.
Powell then scored his third touchdown of the day on a 31-yard run with 8:36 left in the quarter to extend UNA’s lead to 28-17.
The UNA defense came up with a fourth down stop on the ensuing possession and Demarcus Lacey with 33 yards on the first play to the UVA-Wise one-yard line. Lacey dove into the end zone on the next play to push UNA’s advantage to 35-17 at 6:39 of the third quarter.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Powell scored his fourth touchdown of the night on a 41-yard run. Scott Robinson added the PAT to make it 42-17 with 14:50 left in the game.
Barry Womack picked off a Cavalier pass in the end zone to stop a UVA-Wise threat on the next possession.
The final UNA score came with 3:21 left in the game on a three-yard touchdown run by T.J. Finney to make it 49-17.
North Alabama travels to face Chattanooga on the road on September 17 at Finley Stadium.
