by Matt Cooke
The 2014 playoffs roll into the second round this week, as sixth-seeded West Georgia will head to Cleveland, Mississippi and Parker Field-McCool Stadium for a rematch of the seventh week of the season, when Delta State came to Carrollton and the Wolves handed them a 24-16 loss. The Wolves and Statesmen are scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. (EST) on Saturday, November 29.
Since suffering their second loss of the season in Week 8 to North Alabama, the Wolves have essentially been in playoff mode. Each game, if not a win, would mean that week 13 would not come for West Georgia this year. And Will's Wolves have performed admirably during that stretch, going 3-0 and outscoring Mississippi College, Florida Tech, Shorter, and Tuskegee by a combined score of 155-87.
West Georgia is coached by Will Hall, who is in his first season at West Georgia. He has an overall record of 35-13 in his fourth year as a head coach and has now made the NCAA Playoffs in three of his four years as a head coach. The head coach at Delta State is Todd Cooley, who has a 16-5 record in two years at DSU.
West Georgia comes into this week's game as one of the top rushing teams in the nation, with its 243.3 yards per game average ranking 14th nationally. Delta State is one of 11 teams in the nation averaging more than 500 yards of offense, and the Statesmen are ranked 11th with 500.2 yards per game.
The biggest battle will be on the defensive side of the ball, as each team sports a stingy unit. The Wolves are 19th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 17.9 points per game on the year while Tuskegee is 15th nationally, allowing 17.8 points per game. West Georgia has two victories by shutout this year and another where the opponent scored only a single safety. Tuskegee has allowed 10 points or less three times this year.
The biggest story for the Wolves revolves around senior running Seth Hinsley, who has emerged as one of the top running threats in South Region 2 and is one of eight backs in the region to break 1,000 yards for the year. He and Lenoir-Rhyne's Chris Robinson are the only 1,000-yard backs still playing at this point.
Both offensive lines have produced two First Team All-Conference offensive linemen, but both teams also have a dangerous defensive line awaiting that offensive front. Darrius Caldwell of UWG leads the Gulf South Conference in sacks with 11 this season and Julian Morgan of Tuskegee has 9.5 sacks on the year. The team that is able to control the line of scrimmage just might be headed to Valdosta or Hickory for the Region Championship next week.
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