UNA Football Night @ Lost Pizza w/Benjamin Ray 10/26/26

[0:00] It's time for UNA Football Night from Lost Pizza. For the next hour, we'll go in-depth as we talk to your University of North Alabama Lions. UNA Football Night from Lost Pizza is brought to you by Lost Pizza Shoals, Burnley Spine and Sport, Singing River Brewery, Southern Pride Pest Control, Alabama Health Guidance, The Carriage Wine and Market, and Brown Equipment Company. Live from Lost Pizza in historic downtown Florence, here's the voice of the Lions, Benjamin Ray. Hello friends and welcome back to another week of UNA Football Night from Lost Pizza Shoals. I'm Benjamin Ray alongside Mike Ezekiel.

Tonight we're going to be joined by North Alabama head football coach Brent Dierman, utility man Ty Watkins and the captain number 44, Jaheim Ingram. Mike, we're coming off of homecoming, an unbelievable week starting from Purple Pandemonium to the alumni celebration Friday night, Hall of Fame Saturday. Tons of people were on campus, the parade as well. It was an unbelievable week. Yeah, you know, I always say this, I think Hall of Fame weekend is my favorite part of the year because we get to see all of the past players that and coaches that succeeded at a high level for North Alabama, a room full of tradition.

And that's always special and we had a great class going this year, even on the football side with AJ Milwee, Luke Wingo, Lamonte Thompson, the guys that were pretty much playing when you and I were on campus, Ben. So it's really exciting to see that and the other sports that were represented as well. My favorite part of the night, though, was looking down from the press box down to the Pines and to see thousands of people just packed out on Pine Street under the tents, just mingling, hanging out.

How full the stadium was with 12,000 fans, it was truly special. Maybe topped everything I thought we topped. It was going to be hard to top anything we did in the first home game, but to see that crowd and to see the tailgate, I mean, it was unbelievable. And it was a great ball game. Unfortunately, North Alabama came up on the wrong end of just a fantastic college football game. All to be a top 10 team, went down to the wire in the fourth quarter. Crowd was into it.

It was a great showing from North Alabama, Mike. Tough loss, but again, the good thing is with, what, four games left, we still got a lot of goals we can achieve. That's right, and again, Coach Dierman said this a lot. No moral victories. We're not going to celebrate a loss or say, oh, we played close, this or that. But what we can say is the opponent we played in that game is definitely a top 10 team. They proved that. To me, Ben, I think they're going to be hosting a playoff game, if not maybe getting a bye in the playoffs.

That's a really, really good football team. And I think it says a lot about the talent that's in the UAC, but also the talent that's on this North Alabama team. This is a talented football team. Everything's still ahead, and we're not going to look ahead with Coach Dierman and the team because they only focus one week at a time. But for us, you've got everything ahead of you. Playoffs are still in reach. You've got a lot to accomplish here. And it really starts this week with Central Arkansas.

You win that game, you can get momentum back for the rest of the season. That's where we're headed next, Conway, Arkansas, Estes Stadium to play on the stripes. Every five yards, it changes from purple to silver. It's one of the more unique fields in college football. It's fun to go to Conway. We're going to get some hog pen barbecue, one of our favorite places to stop on the roads here, our good friend Dennis. If you're going out there, stop at hog pen barbecue with us there on Friday or Saturday.

Speaking of food, Mike, and tailgating, Katie is back with us. She was off last week. She had a phenomenal fill-in, and she's back tonight with more goodies, and I'm liking what I'm seeing here out of the gate. We've got a skillet cookie, and we've got something else that she's going to tell us about. We've got our own dips, too, Ben. I love that. Katie, what kind of delightful treats have you brought us here on this Halloween week? What are these goodies? All right, we've got the skillet cookie, just a giant eight-inch skillet cookie you share with all of your friends and family or just yourself.

And then we've got our tamale dip. Now, this is not on the menu yet, but it's our queso dip and tamales blended into the queso dip with our tortilla chips. Ooh, that sounds interesting. Tamales blended in. Is that something that you could order? Not yet. We're working on it, but this is something that Chuck has done for Caterings in the past, and it is so, so good. Well, I like having this a la mode. That's exciting. That is Daniel ice cream, right? Yes, ice cream and then caramel and chocolate.

Oh. Let's go. Ivy, I brought my daughter up here. This is Ivy. Say hi. This isn't Batgirl. This is Ivy. She's got her Halloween costume on tonight. She had ballet. She's a cookie connoisseur, so she wants to get a bite of this skillet cookie. Oh, she got shy. I embarrassed her. I'm sorry, Ivy. I'll save a cookie for you during the break. I'm going to go for the dip. I'm going in for the cookie and then the dip. I'm going to do both. Dessert first. Dessert first.

[5:04] Always. That's a good point. I could always be talked into dessert first. Got to get a little bit of the ice cream in there. Good day to be a big back. Here we go. Warm, the ice cream on top. That one's my favorite, for sure. My only regret was not getting the ice cream on the bite, but I did try the cookie and it's amazing. This is really good. I mean, that is a top-tier dessert right there. And again, this is all available as part of the tailgate packages.

How busy were you guys on Saturday? Saturday was crazy. I clocked into work and I did not leave. I was here all day. It was crazy. It was so awesome to see so much happening downtown. And then I took a few tailgates down to the stadium and the energy was just electric. It was so awesome to see. That's great queso, too. You hear the crunch and the chips from Mike and I. It's got a little, like a small kick from the tamales, I assume, but it's not bad.

It's on the secret menu, right? You've got to request this. It's not on our menu yet, but hopefully we're working on it. I'm trying to put together the flavor of how to describe it. It reminds me of my childhood. I feel like this is something that… Mike just went back in time. Yeah, like in the best way possible. It's nostalgia in a bowl. I'm thinking of some of those tamales, burritos I had growing up that were homemade. To put that into queso, oh man, it takes it to another level.

This is really good. All right, Katie, one more time. Tell us, how can fans add this to their tailgate? Because we still have two more home games to go. Sweet. Yeah, so we've got tailgate menus online, in person. You can go to Instagram or Facebook to see those online, see everything we've got, and then you'll just call us, either me or Jaina here at the store. We'll get you set up and we'll bring everything right to you. That sounds like a plan. Hit them up. Skillet cookie, the tamale dip.

It is unbelievable stuff. Always great food down here. This is our favorite segment. We love talking football all night, but this is Mike and I's favorite segment right here, getting to eat. All right, we'll see if Ivy wants a bite of the cookie during the commercial break. And when we come back, we'll have Brent Dierman up here with us for our first round of conversations with Coach. This is U&A Football Night from Lost Pizza Shoals on 93.9 The Score. Game day's coming, and your tailgate crew is counting on you.

That's why Lost Pizza Company Shoals put together the tailgate playbook specialty pizzas, wing trays, and subplatters, all built to feed a crowd. It's why we're the go-to pizza place in Florence, Alabama, now bringing that same lineup straight to your tailgate. Order for pickup or delivery to U&A tailgate only. Call 256-415-8693 or order online at lostpizza.com front slash shoals. From our playbook to your plate. Hi, this is Ike Fowler with Alabama Health Guidance. Whether you are looking for a Medicare health plan or you are under 65 and exploring individual health care options, Alabama Health Guidance can help you find the plan that fits your needs.

Our local agents make it simple, so stop by our office at 885 Florence Boulevard or give us a call at 256-648-5710. Again, that's 256-648-5710. Welcome to Burnley Spine and Sport Chiropractic, located in downtown Florence. We offer a large array of therapies and techniques to help you get back in the game of life. One of those therapies is red light slash infrared light therapy. Dry needling is used to help reduce pain associated with painful trigger point. Our class 4 laser therapies are used to decrease inflammation and improve the speed of healing of sprains, tendinitis, and plantar fasciitis.

Burnley Spine and Sport Chiropractic is proud to partner with U&A to keep our lions performing at their best. Roar Lions. Join us at Singing River Brewery, your local hub for great beer and community fun. Ready to serve delicious drinks and host amazing events? Try our Golden Mainer Leo's Roar, and 50% goes to U&A Athletics. Support your local business and college community while enjoying a fantastic atmosphere. Don't miss out on the good times. Come sip, socialize, and savor the taste of Singing River Brewery. Get comfortable.

Football season is back at the carriage. There are a few things we love more than a good Saturday in the South, and football season is officially back at the carriage. All season long, we'll have the games rolling with plenty of cold drinks, good food, and a comfortable spot to settle in for a quarter, a game, or the better part of the day. Game day Saturdays get $5 craft drafts, $2 off wine slushies, perhaps a mimosas, and game day bites from the kitchen. Stock up in our markets before kickoff with plenty of snacks, dips, cheeses, something sweet, and all the good stuff for your game day spread.

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[10:22] When you have pests, we have solutions. The fun's just getting started down here at Lost Pizza Shoals in historic downtown Florence. Benjamin Ray, Mikey Zico back with it for you in a football night. And we've got head football coach Brent Dierman up here with us. And coach, it was homecoming week, over 12,000 people in attendance, a lot of former players back. I know you've been busy at home games, meeting with people before, but also a tough ball game against a number nine-ranked team in the nation in all seven pages.

What were your takeaways from Saturday? I thought the university did a fantastic job. I thought the city, this community, our supporters, it was electric in that stadium. You know, I got to hang out, Ronald McKinnon, Israel, Red Cross, came to our walk-through at 10 o'clock. You were out there and got to see them as well. To go to the Hall of Fame breakfast, got to hang out with Wingo and those guys. Got to see Coach Wallace, got to see Cody Gross. There were so many faces. There was so much energy in the weekend.

Just disappointed you weren't able to come out with a win. Excited for the fight that our guys showed and battling a tough opponent. But we got to win those football games. Yeah, can definitely respect that perspective there, Coach. Going back to the early part of the day with Ronald McKinnon on campus and some of the other guys, there's a photo that was circulating that Ben showed us, and Mike Johnson was looking at it too. Josh Wyatt, who's maybe obviously the biggest guy on the team, one of the biggest guys a lot of people have seen.

And he's standing there with Israel Rabon, who's almost towering over him. It's unbelievable how big those guys are. Yeah, every time I see Israel, I feel even smaller than I am. Just a massive human being. You know, Red Cross is not small at all either. But Israel standing beside anybody is going to make you look small. And I purposely brought Josh and Jaheim over with Josh being probably one of our bigger guys on the team. And he's still three inches shorter than Israel. And I tried to dress Israel out on the goal line a couple times.

They wouldn't let me do it. But, man, it's just exciting seeing those guys and knowing the talent that they had. And it showed still to this day the physical talent that they show. It was pretty cool, Coach, seeing all those interactions. And Ronald and Israel both kind of reported back to Jeff Hodges afterwards, like, man, that was incredible. We've got to get back more. I found myself very emotional throughout that. I imagine they felt a lot of emotions a lot of people felt in game number one.

But then you've got Luke Wingo, Lamonte Thompson back. We've got guys from the 80s coming back. I mean, it's got to feel good to continue to have that North Alabama football connection. Yeah, it is. And you talked about the week before. I mean, a guy that I got some history with was Fred Riley coming back in town. One of the better quarterbacks in a championship era time as well. This program has so much great history. And to just highlight a couple guys would not be doing everybody the service.

And so many greats have walked through that building, walked through that locker room. And we're excited to get him back at any time. Love to have guys come to practice. Love to have guys around our team, speaking to our team. I've tried to get Red Cross over a couple times. If he's listening tonight, I'm calling you out again to come over and talk to the team. But just trying to get the history and the greatness that's come through this building around our guys more often. And before we get into the game, Coach, let's talk a little bit about tailgate, too.

I know you walked through Lion Walk and probably got a glimpse of what it was. But when you were in the stadium and we were kind of all looking still out at tailgate with about 30 minutes before the game, there was thousands of people out there. Even during the game, you could look and there were thousands of people still watching from Pine Street. There were 12,000 fans in attendance. I mean, just to have that environment in this stadium had to really help the team a little bit. It did.

It was, to me, it was the most electric environment we've had. You know, I thought it outdid even the first game in the stadium. I think when the opening kickoff was happening, I looked up at Pine Street either right before or right after the kickoff happened. And there were still thousands of people standing on Pine Street tailgating. Just it feels like a big-time Division I feel. And this university, this program, this athletic department have done an unbelievable job of creating a game-day environment that not only energizes our team, but it energizes campus.

It energizes the city of Florence. So hats off to all them. So, Coach, as we kind of look ahead, not too far ahead because we've got Central Arkansas on Saturday. Despite the tough losses the last two weeks, there's still a lot that this team can achieve in terms of the goals that you guys want to meet this season. Yeah, there is. We met on Sunday, and we said, guys, here's reality. You had two tough losses to two teams that are now both in the top 25. You lost to Abilene, I think, is at number 24 now.

[15:24] They've been back-to-back champions in our league. Austin Peay is at number eight now. Had a chance to get a win against both of those guys. Can't go back. Can't do nothing to change that. But we're going to lay a path out in front of us that, number one, it starts with UCA. We're not looking past UCA in any kind of way. It's a really good football team. You've got to beat UCA. But eight wins typically gets you in the FCS playoffs. And we're sitting at four and four.

I'm a math major. And by my math, four more games, you're four and four. That gets us to eight wins if you can. So there's still a mathematical way that we can get everything that we still want. But we've got to take care of business every single day. I kind of got reminded, some of the older guys in the room, Keith, the old movie Major League. Remember when they were slumping and they needed to win and they brought in the life-size picture of the owner. I thought about doing something like that where you peel.

Every time we win a day at practice, we peel a section. So we've just got to win every day. That's all we can focus on right now. Well, Coach, there's only one thing left to do. And I won't say the rest on air. Absolutely. Can't show that picture either. Yeah, that's right. Well, let's talk about the offense. I mean, it seems like the last two weeks, it's really hitting its stride. 368 yards the week before. And I believe winning the offensive battle again this week as well.

It seems like you're running the ball well. It seems like things are just really starting to work. You know, if I would have told you before the game that we were going to take a top-10 offense and a top-10 defense, and we were going to have more yards than them, we were going to be tied with them on third down, we were going to be three for three on fourth down conversions, you would have said we would have won that football game. And we took, you know, their offense and defense statistically were both top-10 on respective sides of the ball.

So, I was proud of the way we played, but there's still little details. You know, we have a 21-play drive. I've never had a 21-play drive in my life. We have a 21-play drive before half that we have to get points out of that drive. We hold the ball for nine minutes in the second quarter. We do not give their offense a chance to get on the field. Then we come out of halftime, we have another long drive where we score points on. And I think that there was a collection, what did you say, 30, 32 plays that our offense was on the field.

Yeah, 32. But their offense didn't get a chance to get on the field. So, we did some good things, but if you catch the post-ball in the fourth quarter, if you get on the muff punt, if you don't have a holding call in the red zone, there's so many what-if kind of moments that really would have put this game away that our guys realized that we missed out on. Coach, let's talk about the quarterback, Destin Wade. Everybody wants to talk about the quarterback. Last year against Austin Peay, he played a really good game, but he also threw three interceptions.

This year, first or second play of the game, right, he throws an interception that sets up a touchdown for them, and you're thinking, oh, no, here we go again with Destin versus Austin Peay. But instead, he kind of took off from that point forward, and this is back-to-back weeks where Destin's probably played like one of the best quarterbacks in FCS football. Yeah, I thought the first quarter of the game, I don't know if it was nerves. I'll tell you this, their Mike linebacker made a heck of a play on that play.

They brought a boundary blitz. The field Mike linebacker pushes to replace the blitz. So Destin would have never saw him to begin with. He's reading the boundary safety, has the right read, throws it. The guy makes a heck of a play. That's football. And then I thought the next drive, we had a pass play to Snap Reed on our sideline where Destin sailed it. One of the worst those I've probably ever seen him make. Three yards high, three yards wide. Snap couldn't even put his hands on it.

And it was about that time I got on the headset to Coach Partridge and said, hey, I don't know what it is. He ain't here yet. We need to settle him down. We need to figure out what's going on. And then we started doing some quarterback run game and kind of got him loose. And then he played unbelievable the rest of that football game. So, you know, like you said, last year we probably would have never got him back. And this year, being a senior, mature kid, we're figuring out a little bit of him, too, of what we need to do for him.

Settled him in, and he played a really good football game. Seems like he's just really in his element when he's running the ball well. And he's done that the last two weeks and has had some really hearty performances. Let's talk about Xavier Johnson a little bit. I'll say this, too. Oh, go ahead. I think our fans like hearing things like this. Destin is not a talker. If you've been around Destin a lot, he doesn't talk much. And Destin got a 15-yard penalty in this game. I don't ever question officiating, by the way.

If you ever watch me on the sideline, I never question officiating anyway. Never seen. I got a laugh. But we draw them off sides, and they don't call it. So Destin looks around at the white hat and is asking, hey, why didn't y'all call all sides? Their field defensive end starts trash-talking Destin. And you can see it for about 10, 15 seconds. He is yelling across the line at Destin. Destin proceeds to get the snap and throw a 30-yard bomb in the middle of the field of snap read.

Well, Destin went and found that kid and basically said, how about that? What do you think about that throw? Doesn't push him, doesn't headbutt him, doesn't do anything. Doesn't cuss him. Just said, hey, how about that? They throw a penalty on him. And I kind of got upset about that one. Because I was excited to see the fire in Destin Wade in that moment. For a kid that isn't a fiery guy for the most part, to make that throw and to see that whole stadium, see our starting quarterback have a little fire to him, I was excited for it.

[20:49] Sounds a little bit like Phillip Rivers, the way he used to talk after big plays like that. Yeah, you like that. Sometimes you got to let them know. Yeah. Well, and remind me, was it the Xavier Johnson touchdown where Destin got roughed on that play and got up and then he did the Phillip Rivers? I'm sure, Destin, a lot of us quarterbacks through the years, when you throw a touchdown pass and you know it's a touchdown and somebody's laying on you on a sack, that's the best time to talk track.

Because they feel like they've got you, they feel like they did something good, and you can just say something as simple as, hey, turn around and look, buddy, or something like that. I don't know what Destin said to him, but I'm sure he said something. Well, you can definitely see his body language, and it was awesome to watch. You love that for Destin. He was throwing the ball so well, and like you said, after he settled in, I mean, he was hitting his spots really well.

The Xavier pass obviously came to mind, and let's just talk about Xavier a little bit and what he's done. Single season, division one school record already in eight games for receiving yards. He's already broken. He is 11th on the all-time single season list, and Ben, there's some great names that you'll know. Jason Smith, Tristan Purifoy, Anthony Merritt's on that list. We're talking about him today. Dre Hall, obviously. So if he stays on pace, I mean, he's going to move up this list, but just talk about what he does so well to get open and make those explosive plays.

I mean, you don't realize how much ground that he covers. I mean, he's a long strider, so he gets on DB's faster than they think they can get on him, and then he's got phenomenal body control, and I bet you, like, he probably felt worse than anybody after that football game. He had a, Destin throws a phenomenal post ball to him that would have been probably another 70-yard touchdown pass. He had the last fumble of the game, but we remind him, I mean, you got us here.

Don't beat yourself up over this. Your one or two plays is not what lost us this football game. It was a collection of things, and, you know, the conference can pick whoever they want to. You know, they picked their receiver to be the freshman of the week. Our guy had, I think, 60 more yards and an extra touchdown. I thought he deserved it again, but I don't get to vote on those things, so I'm glad he plays for us. He ended up being honorable mention for the national freshman of the week, but no love.

But didn't win the conference one. No love for the UAC. And the conference one was not on that list. We'll take a timeout. When we come back, we're going to talk some more Xavier Johnson, and we'll show you our plays of the week. Mike's trivia question as well. This is UNA Football Night from Lost Pizza Shoals on 93.9 The Score. Game day's coming, and your tailgate crew is counting on you. That's why Lost Pizza Company Shoals put together the tailgate playbook, specialty pizzas, wing trays, and subplatters, all built to feed a crowd.

It's why we're the go-to pizza place in Florence, Alabama, now bringing that same lineup straight to your tailgate. Order for pickup or delivery to UNA tailgate only. Call 256-415-8693 or order online at lostpizza.com front slash shoals. From our playbook to your plate. Hi, this is Ike Fowler with Alabama Health Guidance. Whether you are looking for a Medicare health plan or you are under 65 and exploring individual health care options, Alabama Health Guidance can help you find the plan that fits your needs. Our local agents make it simple, so stop by our office at 885 Florence Boulevard or give us a call at 256-648-5710.

Again, that's 256-648-5710. Welcome to Burnley Spine and Sport Chiropractic, located in downtown Florence. We offer a large array of therapies and techniques to help you get back in the game of life. One of those therapies is red light slash infrared light therapy. Dry needling is used to help reduce pain associated with painful trigger point. Our Class 4 laser therapies are used to decrease inflammation and improve the speed of healing of sprains, tendonitis, and plantar fasciitis. Burnley Spine and Sport Chiropractic is proud to partner with UNA to keep our lions performing at their best.

Roar Lions. Join us at Singing River Brewery, your local hub for great beer and community fun. Ready to serve delicious drinks and host amazing events? Try our Golden Manor Leo's Roar. And 50% goes to UNA Athletics. Support your local business and college community while enjoying a fantastic atmosphere. Don't miss out on the good times. Come sip, socialize, and savor the taste of Singing River Brewery. Get comfortable. Football season is back at the carriage. There are a few things we love more than a good Saturday in the South, and football season is officially back at the carriage.

All season long, we'll have the games rolling with plenty of cold drinks, good food, and a comfortable spot to settle in for a quarter, a game, or the better part of the day. Game day Saturdays get $5 craft drafts, $2 off wine slushies, perhaps some mimosas, and game day bites from the kitchen. Stock up in our markets before kickoff with plenty of snacks, dips, cheeses, something sweet, and all the good stuff for your game day spread. Football season looks pretty good from the carriage on East Mobile Street in historic downtown Florence.

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And coach, we were just talking about Xavier Johnson. Mike summed it up. He's having an unbelievable season, 43 catches, 814 yards, four touchdowns, 11th most receiving yards in school history with four games to go. He's already the division one leader for single season receiving yards. Unbelievable year. There is a freshman, a redshirt freshman running back who's third in the nation in rushing right now. And you have to think right now, they are the top two candidates to win the Jerry Rice award. You would think so, unless there's a quarterback that's a redshirt freshman quarterback that's, that's happened to be building up a lot of stats, but it usually goes to one of those three positions, to be honest with you, unless a defensive player has to just absolutely kill it to jump an offensive guy.

So I think you would think Xavier's got a pretty good chance. Yeah, I would agree. And we've had two finalists over the last five years, Noah Walters in 2022, Josh England in 2024. And to see that what he's Xavier Johnson's doing, you got to think he's got a really, really good chance. And that's good to see. Coach, I want to talk about another guy. We didn't get to do it in the first segment, Jaheim Ingram. I mean, early in that game really seemed like he set the tone defensively with a few solo tackles.

Yeah, he, he, he was every week we give a defensive tone setter award and Jaheim Ingram won. It was our defensive player of the game and our tone setter of the game. I thought the way that he played the game with his hands, his feet moving, the violence of which he played. He's taken on single blocks and putting a guy in the backfield with it. He made an unbelievable play on a screen play on our sideline where he rats off, tackles a running back. He was consistently in Parsons' face.

I thought he had one of his best games that he's had since being a Lion. And we're excited to coach him again next year if he's, if he's listening. Always pushing that one on him, right? Speaking of X, speaking of Jaheim, we got our plays of the week and it involves both of them. Let's jump into this touchdown pass to Xavier Johnson. And we've talked about it a little coach, but just a great pitching catch. This is a huge moment in this ball game. I think it's like third and nine.

We don't have really any momentum on our side at this moment in time. And, and Austin Peay decides to do a kind of a cover zero blitz. You see the blitz ends up making it and hitting our quarterback. We hold on to it just long enough. Xavier, we moved him into the slot to try to get a matchup on the safety. And it's usually really favorable matchup for us when we get him on a safety. He's a long strider. Destin puts the ball up in the air really before he makes his cut just because he knew he had zero blitz.

So phenomenal timing by Destin. And then that's the one at the D lineman laid on top of him. And I'm sure Destin said a few choice words there at the end. Just tell him that it was a touchdown play. To watch the excitement coming out of the band, the cheerleaders, the student section right there was unbelievable. Yeah. And a good celebration to boot. And let's go back to, you're talking about the safety of the matchup right here. I think X is about 15 yards down the field.

And then he breaks away at that point. I mean, what does that say about his speed and his ability to run that route? I mean, he's just a long strider. I mean, he's got about four or five routes in his repertoire that he's really, really good at. A post ball is one of those things. If he can eat up space and step on the toes of the DB, he's really, really good at separating in those moments. So that's just what he does very well. Have you ever noticed the fireworks in the light show after touchdowns?

I'm going to be honest with you. I don't. My mind is thinking. Yeah, you're locked in. We're moving on. We're kicking a field goal. Let's get all 11 guys. There's so many things that are going on in my head that I miss a lot of things that's probably going on. Let's jump to the other play we have for Jaheim right here. And we could have picked a couple from Jaheim, but this was another very impressive showing from the senior leader. I thought it was a tone set.

And it was a third down, too, I believe. Huge third down in the first part of this game. Jaheim is doing a stunt with him and Kamor right there. He recognizes that something's funny, usually on a screenplay. O-linemen are letting you beat them, and I think he felt that. He finds the back. He's running step for step with the running back. Big-time, individual effort. Play right there by Jaheim Ingram. Because to be honest with you, Dallas ends up whiffing on the tackle, but just in case that tackle did block Dallas, we were going to be out of luck.

[30:59] So, unbelievable effort played by Jaheim right there. The stunning and the assignment football. That's what we've seen from Clint Bowen's defense this year. And guys doing their jobs. I mean, it doesn't seem like guys are just trying to be selfish and make their own plays. So, I mean, does that really come into play on a play like this? Yeah, it does. I mean, you've got our four pass rushers are in the game at the same time right there with Avery Howard, Caden Atkins, Kamor. Jaheim's really the only big guy on the field at this moment in time in third and nine.

So, to see the big guy on the field make this play is unbelievable. You would think one of the three probably faster pass rushers would be the one to do it. But to see your 300-pounder make this play is a sight to see. All right. It's time for everybody's second favorite segment of the night after the food. Mike's trivia question. Mike, what do you got tonight? All right, Coach. I'm going to actually give you a lifeline tonight. I've never done that before. And this is actually going to be a phone a friend if you need it.

And Mike Johnson, I kind of told him, I kind of didn't, but you're the phone a friend tonight. So, if he needs you, you're the phone a friend. All right. And we're going to keep it to Central Arkansas. 2005 was probably the most epic battle between UNA and Central Arkansas. And I want to ask you, if you know your history, who were the three quarterbacks, two for UNA and one for Central Arkansas, in that series in 2005? You would think Will Hall? A little after him. Or was he just before that?

Two years after Will Hall. Okay. A.J. Milby? A.J. Milby is one of the three. He was one of them. Nathan Brown? Nathan Brown is the other one. He was playing for UCA. I don't know the third. I'm going to be honest with you. You want to phone Mike? Phone Mike. Mike, I need the third quarterback. Oh. We've stumped Mike. How about this? So, this guy was the starter. A.J. was a freshman. I don't know if that helps. Vinny's sailor? There we go. You want to use it?

We got it. Vinny's sailor is correct. We got it. That is exactly right. All three of them. Coach, Mike, great job. Vinny's sailor was the starter at that time. I actually set a school record in 05 for most passing yards in a season. A.J. Milby was kind of waiting in the wings and obviously went on to a Hall of Fame career where he went in literally this Saturday. And then Nathan Brown's the head coach of Central Arkansas. So, I got a trivia question for you then.

I'm ready. Was my buddy Lance and Carl on that team? Yes. I believe he was. Lance was on that team. Would that have been? Yep. Mike's confirming. What year would Lance have been? Lance was what? 03, 02 to 05? Upperclassman at that point. I think 05 was his last year. Yeah. There you go. And then Mike Norvell was a wide receiver on that team as well. He was. So, tons of connections. I think he had dreadlocks at that time. Yeah, he did indeed. Well, all righty, Coach, we'll let you go chow down on some food, visit with your family that's in the house as well.

When we come back, we're going to introduce you to Ty Watkins, the guy that does it all. We're going to have our first conversation with Ty. That's next. This is UNA Football Night for Lost Pizza Shoals on 93.9 The Score. Game day's coming, and your tailgate crew is counting on you. That's why Lost Pizza Company Shoals put together the tailgate playbook, specialty pizzas, wing trays, and subplatters, all built to feed a crowd. It's why we're the go-to pizza place in Florence, Alabama, now bringing that same lineup straight to your tailgate.

Order for pickup or delivery to UNA tailgate only. Call 256-415-8693 or order online at lostpizza.com front slash shoals. From our playbook to your plate. Hi, this is Ike Fowler with Alabama Health Guidance. Whether you are looking for a Medicare health plan or you are under 65 and exploring individual health care options, Alabama Health Guidance can help you find the plan that fits your needs. Our local agents make it simple, so stop by our office at 885 Florence Boulevard or give us a call at 256-648-5710.

Again, that's 256-648-5710. Welcome to Burnley Spine and Sport Chiropractic. Located in downtown Florence, we offer a large array of therapies and techniques to help you get back in the game of life. One of those therapies is red light slash infrared light therapy. Dry needling is used to help reduce pain associated with painful trigger point. Our class 4 laser therapies are used to decrease inflammation and improve the speed of healing of sprains, tendonitis, and plantar fasciitis. Burnley Spine and Sport Chiropractic is proud to partner with UNA to keep our lions performing at their best.

Roar Lions. Join us at Singing River Brewery, your local hub for great beer and community fun. Ready to serve delicious drinks and host amazing events? Try our Golden Manor Leo's Roar, and 50% goes to UNA Athletics. Support your local business and college community while enjoying a fantastic atmosphere. Don't miss out on the good times. Come sip, socialize, and savor the taste of Singing River Brewery. Get comfortable. Football season is back at the carriage. There are a few things we love more than a good Saturday in the South, and football season is officially back at the carriage.

All season long, we'll have the games rolling with plenty of cold drinks, good food, and a comfortable spot to settle in for a quarter, a game, or the better part of the day. Game day Saturdays get $5 craft drafts, $2 off wine slushies, perhaps some mimosas, and game day bites from the kitchen. Stock up in our markets before kickoff with plenty of snacks, dips, cheeses, something sweet, and all the good stuff for your game day spread. Football season looks pretty good from the carriage on East Mobile Street in historic downtown Florence.

[36:26] Well, you know what happens when the seasons change. The pests come looking for a place to stay. Don't give them an invitation. Southern Pride Pest Control has year-round prevention plans protecting your home from pests, termites, bedbugs, moisture, ants, rodents, and mosquitoes. Proudly serving the Shoals area since 2010, we're here when you need us most. Send those unwanted guests packing. Call 256-383-1890. Southern Pride Pest Control. Locally owned and operated, protecting what you're proud of. When you have pests, we have solutions. Our next guest, you see him all over the field.

He's a quarterback. He's a tight end. He's in on special teams. He's Ty Watkins, and he's our next guest here on UNA Football Night from All Speeds to Shoals. Benjamin Ray, Mike Ezekiel back with you as well. And Ty, it's great to have you, man. Let's just talk about this out of the gate. A little bit of a do-it-all kind of football player, man. Where does that come from? I think it just comes from having a good coaching staff who believes in me and understands the abilities I've been blessed with and wants to kind of use me to the best of my abilities.

It's been really good to see Coach Dierman get you involved over the years. And even talking to Coach Partridge early in fall camp, he said Ty Watkins is just too athletic to not have on the field. And I tend to agree. I mean, you were great in those situations. But let's talk about just over the years, you've been used on a lot of trick plays. I remember that 91-yard touchdown. You were involved in that. I remember some of the two-point conversions we've ran. You've been involved.

What does it mean to you to have the trust from the coaching staff to be involved in those big moments? Oh, I mean, it means the world. Just to have their trust. You know, I transferred here from Austin Peay. So just to have their trust over, you know, the past three years has been awesome. And not only them, but just my teammates, you know, just that they believe in me and they trust me to do this. And, you know, it's not easy playing, you know, multiple positions.

You've got to learn a lot of new things. Especially, you know, first time in my career we're playing tight ends. So just the fact that they trust me, you know, in these big games and big moments, you know, with the ball, without the ball, you know, it's truly a blessing. It started for you last year on special teams, right? Where you went to the coaches and you just kind of said, yeah, what can I do to help, man? Absolutely. What made you want to make that move?

I mean, a quarterback doesn't typically do that, right? No, not often. I think the biggest thing for me is just, you know, it's really easy to want to, you know, help the team whatever way and kind of be selfless when you play, you know, for coaches that, you know, love you and that you want to play hard for, you know. It's really easy to do those things when you've got staff and players around you that make you want to play hard, make you want to work hard, do those extra things, do those selfless things.

Ty, you alluded to this earlier. You transferred in from Austin Peay. You were obviously on the honor roll dean's list there. You're obviously high academic standard here as well. And one thing about you is I see you involved in a lot of things. You're at a lot of sporting events, usually helping out, doing something. I know you're involved in SAC and some other organizations. What does it mean to you to be involved and why do you want to do it here in this great community? Yeah, so I was at Austin Peay for a year.

You know, I enjoyed my time there, but I mean, I wouldn't trade it for the world. This is definitely the biggest plus of my life, just coming here, being here in Florence. I love it here. I just love being able to help out not only the community, but just the team and support other teams because, you know, we want them to come out and support us on Saturdays. So the best way to do that is just to, you know, go out and support them with their games too.

Coming, Georgia's where you're from, South Forsyte High School. There's some good high school ball played over that way, right, man? Absolutely. Take us back to the old glory days. What was it like? Oh, man. I mean, it was awesome. It was truly a blessing just, you know, been there since third grade, you know, around that town. So we get to play, you know, high school ball with a lot of my hometown buddies and guys that I grew up with. I mean, it was awesome. You know, I go back home for breaks and we still, you know, pull up the old huddle games and we'll just sit there and just watch games from our high school years.

And it's just, it was just so much fun. You were the back-to-back 6A, 7A region player of the year. Junior year, senior year, you almost threw for 2,000 yards in both of those. Almost seems like you had pocket passer type numbers. You ran for a little bit, but you were just throwing the ball around. I mean, how would you describe yourself as a high school quarterback? I was a high school quarterback. I'd say, I guess my junior year, like you said, kind of a little bit more pocket, more of a pocket guy with a lot of guys around us.

That was my first year starting. So, you know, I wasn't asked to do too much, just to kind of like a game manager kind of thing. And then my senior year, just, you know, having experienced everything, got to do a little bit of everything, running the ball, a lot of power read stuff. And then, you know, got to slaying around a little bit. You know, I had some great receivers and great linemen around me. And it was just, like I said, it was awesome. It was so much fun.

Ty, it's great watching you play. It's been great chatting with you up here as well, man. Let's wrap it up with two quick things. What makes this UNA football team so special? Because we talk to guys every single week, man, and the bond seems incredibly tight amongst you guys. Yeah, like you said, I think that's the biggest thing that I've noticed. This is my third year here. I said this is the closest-knit team that we've had. You know, I know I said it earlier. You know, it makes it easy to want to play hard and do selfless things when you have a coaching staff around you that makes you want to do those things.

[41:28] But I just think it's the guys we have around us. We have the right guys around us this year. And, you know, I think it just, everyone loves each other and everyone wants to see each other succeed. I think that's just the biggest difference from years past. And then what's it going to take to make a push here to close the season out strong? I think it's taking it day by day. You know, not looking too far in the future and just focusing, you know, we've got practice tomorrow.

I think, you know, we've got to win tomorrow and then just take it day by day and focus on each one each week. And Ty, last thing for me is we just… What are some of the guys that you're really close with? Oh, man. Obviously, you know, shout out to the quarterbacks on tight ends. You know, pretty close with them. But I should say, you know, Ethan Aberger, receiver, Noah Boltkoff, O'Lyman, you know, he's been here for a while. And so, you know, got to go through the past couple years with him.

So that's cool just to see how things have, you know, really improved. And then I'd say Connor Ruth, Braden Forska, that's my roommate, Eli Long, you know. But, I mean, those are just some of the guys that I've… I mean, some of them are roommates, but, I mean, just the entire team, really. We're all just… We're all close. And I just love those guys. And I just love, you know, going to battle for those guys. And it makes… You know, doing the hard blocks and, you know, getting up early more and doing the lifts and everything like that makes that stuff easier, you know, when you've got guys that you're willing to put on the line for.

Ty, we can't wait to see you out there Saturday, man. It's been great chatting with you. Thank you very much for graduating line. Thank you. That's Ty Watkins. We'll take a time out when we come back. The captain, Jaheim Ingram, joins us next. This is UNA Football Night for Lost Pizza Shoals at 93.9 The Score. Game day's coming and your tailgate crew is counting on you. That's why Lost Pizza Company Shoals put together the tailgate playbooks, specialty pizzas, wing trays, and subplatters, all built to feed a crowd.

It's why we're the go-to pizza place in Florence, Alabama, now bringing that same lineup straight to your tailgate. Order for pickup or delivery to UNA tailgate only. Call 256-415-8693 or order online at lostpizza.com front slash shoals. From our playbook to your plate. Hi, this is Ike Fowler with Alabama Health Guidance. Whether you are looking for a Medicare health plan or you are under 65 and exploring individual health care options, Alabama Health Guidance can help you find the plan that fits your needs. Our local agents make it simple, so stop by our office at 885 Florence Boulevard or give us a call at 256-648-5710.

Again, that's 256-648-5710. Welcome to Burnley Spine and Sport Chiropractic located in downtown Florence. We offer a large array of therapies and techniques to help you get back in the game of life. One of those therapies is red light slash infrared light therapy. Dry needling is used to help reduce pain associated with painful trigger point. Our Class 4 laser therapies are used to decrease inflammation and improve the speed of healing of sprains, tendinitis, and plantar fasciitis. Burnley Spine and Sport Chiropractic is proud to partner with UNA to keep our lions performing at their best.

Roar Lions. Join us at Singing River Brewery, your local hub for great beer and community fun. Ready to serve delicious drinks and host amazing events? Try our Golden Manor Leo's Roar and 50% goes to UNA Athletics. Support your local business and college community while enjoying a fantastic atmosphere. Don't miss out on the good times. Come sip, socialize, and savor the taste of Singing River Brewery. Get comfortable. Football season is back at the carriage. There are a few things we love more than a good Saturday in the South and football season is officially back at the carriage.

All season long we'll have the games rolling with plenty of cold drinks, good food, and a comfortable spot to settle in for a quarter, a game, or the better part of the day. Game day Saturdays get $5 craft drafts, $2 off wine slushies, perhaps some mimosas, and game day bites from the kitchen. Stock up in our markets before kickoff with plenty of snacks, dips, cheeses, something sweet, and all the good stuff for your game day spread. Football season looks pretty good from the carriage on East Mobile Street in historic downtown Florence.

Make the most of every lawn with Kubota commercial landscaping equipment. From the productivity-boosting Z700 mower to the reliable SVL track loader, it's a lineup built to get the job done right. Because when your reputation is on the line, you need equipment that will never let you down. Visit your local Kubota dealer today. Stop by Brown Equipment located at 826 North Military Street in Loretto or visit them online at brownequipmentcompany.com He needs no introduction. He's the captain, number 44. Jaheim Ingram is with us, the frequent flyer here on UNA Football Night.

[46:28] Benjamin Ray, Mike Ezekiel, Jaheim Ingram in the house, and Jaheim, man, everybody loves you in Bank Independence Stadium. They love you here at Lost Pizza Shoals. We've got to start out with this. 44, we talk a lot about you wearing it and what it means to you, but for the first time in a long time, Ronald McKinnon got to come to a game. I didn't get to ask him when the last time was he came, but it's been a long time from playing in the NFL to his coaching career as well.

You got to talk with him after walkthroughs on Saturday, man. Take us into that moment. How cool was that getting to meet the line legend? I mean, it was very cool. It was a very cool moment. You know, a lot of people wear honorary numbers, but, you know, it's very often they get to meet the person that that number is for. So, you know, just being able to see him in person instead of talking on the phone and seeing him face-to-face, it was an amazing experience.

You know, he got a lot of knowledge, a guy that came in, worked hard, one of the really pillars of the program. So, I mean, it was awesome to have a conversation with him. Yeah, and not only Ronald McKinnon, but some of the other members of the Purple Swarm that were there as well. And moments like this, weekends like this where Hall of Famers come back and they're there to watch you play and then they get to see you make big plays. I mean, I'm sure that's got to mean a lot to you to know that it's not just Ronald but also the rest of the Purple Swarm and all the tradition.

Oh yeah, it's definitely amazing, you know. You make a play and then you get back to the sideline and you think, man, you know, I just made a play in front of all those legends. Like, it's awesome. Well, you played hard like you always do. You were phenomenal out there. Coach mentioned you were the defensive player of the game and you were just telling me during Lion Walk your family has a big tailgate spot and you got to peel off and go over there pre-game, man.

Did that help kind of fuel you up just a little bit? Yeah, man. I went over there. They had some ribs over there this time around. So I went and grabbed. I grabbed a few ribs before I went into the locker room and, you know, I think we can say that helped me out pretty well. I ain't mad about that. I'm sure some of your teammates might have been if you didn't have enough ribs. Oh, definitely. You know, I didn't share the love. I didn't tell the secrets.

I definitely went over there and took a few before I went into the locker room and I do not regret it at all. I love it. I love it. Jaheim, you're on here so much. I think you were probably by far the most popular guest that we've had maybe in the history of the show. So it's hard to come up with new questions to ask you, but I've got one I can at least talk about. I knew it was the play that Coach Dierman broke down for us earlier in another segment, that screen pass where everybody did their assignment really well.

You were able to get off your block and make that tackle. Talk us through that play. Yeah, I mean, this is it right here? This is it. Yeah, we had a stunt on him. So my job was to push the man through so Mo could wrap behind free. But as I was pushing him through, I noticed out of the side of my eye that the guy was leaving. So I was like, uh-oh, it's a screen. And, you know, screen passes, them D-line highlight tapes right there.

So this is the one I redirect. I got to show off a little bit of my speed. And, you know, I wrapped him up. And, you know, I got a little hype. I got to run away when I celebrate because I don't want a 15-yard penalty, but, yeah, it was a really heads-up play. Everybody kind of did their job. So that's why I worked out. Coach mentioned to us last week you and Josh White kind of addressed the team after the tough loss to Abel and Christian.

I know another tough loss to a top-10 team, but all the goals you guys want to achieve are still out there, right? So what's been the internal message to players and the conversations like? Just stay together. That's the main thing we've been preaching, especially in our room but amongst the team as well. And, you know, you can't really do much as a team if you're not together. And one of the things I love about this team is we're a brotherhood. So for us to keep that brotherhood going, it keeps the chemistry high, it keeps the flow high.

And as long as we're counting on each other, we can do special things. And where we're at in the season, and I know you guys are always going to take it one week at a time, but everything's still in front of us and we still can control our own destiny in a lot of ways. So, I mean, how does that motivate you as a player this late in the season knowing that there's still a lot to play for? I mean, it's amazing. I haven't been in this position many times since I've been here.

But Coach Dimon kind of, he said it himself Sunday. He said, we kind of put our backs against the wall, but every week from now on is a national championship game for us. So that's how we got to approach it. That's how we got to prepare. Well, we can't wait to see you in Conway this weekend against Central Arkansas. And for this defense, Jaheim, I know you just mentioned kind of playing together. What's it going to take to go on the road and in a tough environment always in Estes Stadium on the stripes and get the road dub?

We just got to do what we do. Don't try to be extraordinary. You know, everybody go out there and do their 111 and just play on one accord. You know, when we're hiring on five cylinders on one accord, we're a pretty special defense. And Coach Bowen tells us all the time, you know, like this is a special group. So if everybody buys in, does their job, we'll be fine. Well, it's the captain, Jaheim Ingram. We can't wait to see him again on Saturday. Jaheim, one of our favorites of all time.

We appreciate you swinging by and we'll talk to you more this season. Good luck Saturday. You hear the roar, they love him here at Lost Pizza Shoals. We'll be back to wrap it up with Coach Dierman next. This is UNA Football Night on 93.9 The Score. Game day's coming and your tailgate crew is counting on you. That's why Lost Pizza Company Shoals put together the tailgate playbook specialty pizzas, wing trays, and subplatters all built to feed a crowd. It's why we're the go-to pizza place in Florence, Alabama, now bringing that same lineup straight to your tailgate.

[51:45] Order for pickup or delivery to UNA tailgate only. Call 256-415-8693 or order online at lostpizza.com front slash shoals. From our playbook to your plate. Hi, this is Ike Fowler with Alabama Health Guidance. Whether you are looking for a Medicare health plan or you are under 65 and exploring individual health care options, Alabama Health Guidance can help you find the plan that fits your needs. Our local agents make it simple, so stop by our office at 885 Florence Boulevard or give us a call at 256-648-5710.

Again, that's 256-648-5710. Welcome to Burnley Spine and Sport Chiropractic located in downtown Florence. We offer a large array of therapies and techniques to help you get back in the game of life. One of those therapies is red light slash infrared light therapy. Dry needling is used to help reduce pain associated with painful trigger point. Our Class 4 laser therapies are used to decrease inflammation and improve the speed of healing of sprains, tendonitis, and plantar fasciitis. Burnley Spine and Sport Chiropractic is proud to partner with UNA to keep our lions performing at their best.

Roar Lions. Join us at Singing River Brewery, your local hub for great beer and community fun. Ready to serve delicious drinks and host amazing events? Try our Golden Manor Leo's Roar and 50% goes to UNA Athletics. Support your local business and college community while enjoying a fantastic atmosphere. Don't miss out on the good times. Come sip, socialize, and savor the taste of Singing River Brewery. Get comfortable. Football season is back at the carriage. There are a few things we love more than a good Saturday in the South and football season is officially back at the carriage.

All season long we'll have the games rolling with plenty of cold drinks, good food, and a comfortable spot to settle in for a quarter, a game, or the better part of the day. Game day Saturdays get $5 craft drafts, $2 off wine slushies, perhaps some mimosas, and game day bites from the kitchen. Stock up in our markets before kickoff with plenty of snacks, dips, cheeses, something sweet, and all the good stuff for your game day spread. Football season looks pretty good from the carriage on East Mobile Street in historic downtown Florence.

Well, you know what happens when the seasons change. The pests come looking for a place to stay. Don't give them an invitation. Southern Pride Pest Control has year-round prevention plans protecting your home from pests, termites, bedbugs, moisture, ants, rodents, and mosquitoes. Proudly serving the Shoals area since 2010, we're here when you need us most. Send those unwanted guests packing. Call 256-383-1890. Southern Pride Pest Control, locally owned and operated, protecting what you're proud of. When you have pests, we have solutions. The hour flies by here at Lost Pizza Shoals.

Back with you for UNA Football Night. Wrapping it up with North Alabama head football coach Britt Dierman, Benjamin Ray, Mike Ezekiel in the house as well. Coach, we say it every week when we have your players on, Ty Watkins had our first conversation with him, Jeem Ingram. We've talked to him numerous times, but this team is a special group of individuals and that bond is tight. Yeah, it is. They do a great job of spending time with each other off the field. Ty is one of our big FCA leaders.

Ethan Adberger was here tonight as well, big FCA leader for our team. Monday nights is usually their night that they have their kind of FCA huddle. So to see some of those athletes, I think a couple soccer girls came out in support of some of our guys tonight because of FCA. We have an unbelievable group of guys that care for each other, that have a bond with each other, and it's always fun to coach a team like that. Coach, Ty was a perfect guest to have tonight, an unsung hero for so many years and kind of leads me into my next question.

It's actually a question we got emailed from a friend in Fort Payne, a friend of the program, and he wanted me to ask you about some of the young guys that maybe are backups, third string, that maybe don't get talked about a lot that you want to highlight. You know, you made me think about this. If we would have looked at last year or the year before, and you asked me that question, Leo Glover, Avery Howard, like those guys would have been mentioned and no one would have known their names yet.

There wasn't household names yet. So those same type kids are sitting on our team right now, and they may be playing scout team. They may be a two or a three. We've got one here tonight, Tanner Cottle, a local guy from Mars Hill that is starting to make an impact on some special teams. We've got Brandon Oliver is another one that is a Fort Payne kid that I feel like he's going to be a good player for us down the road. Has been banged up a little bit, played some, played some special teams.

We've got a few young linemen. Big Deshaun Pope is going to be a, he's played a little bit this year as a true freshman. He's a Jaheim Ingram-like player on the inside. There's Big Jesse, Big Jesse Thomas, big offensive lineman. We've got a 6'6 freshman. Big Miles is another 6'7", offensive lineman, offensive tackle. There's just so many different young guys, but those are the first, probably five or six come to mind, but there's a lot of guys. Chauncey Allo, outside linebacker from Thompson High School. I mean, there's a lot of young talent on this football team.

[57:11] I'm excited for their development in the future. Coach, let's jump into our Burnley Spine and Sport Preview. We're heading to Conway, Arkansas. Estes Stadium to take on Central Arkansas, 2-6, 0-3. They're looking for their first UAC win, but Coach, look a little deeper than that. They had opportunities against Tarleton to win that ballgame. Tarleton pulled away late. Abilene Christian was a one-score ballgame. They lost an overtime game last week. Much like us, they have been battle-tested. They have. You even look at some of their wins they had early.

They had a great game with UT Martin, who is a very talented football team. They played West Florida when West Florida was playing very solid football, especially early in the year. They are a talented team. So they took Tarleton late in the game. They took Abilene late in the game. Had some turnovers that really killed them in that football game being a one-score game. So they're going to come in here and they're going to try to stop the run. I think their defensive line is one of probably the better defensive lines in our league.

They're very talented. They've got a back end that I think is probably better than what they've had in the past few years that is starting to come together. They just haven't had that ball bounce the right way for them yet. So our guys got to understand that it's going to be a tough game on the road. Yeah, they've been very competitive. You alluded to the Tarleton game. They put up 35 on that defense and not a lot of teams have been able to do that. This is a Central Arkansas team that played four straight on the road, ended up on a bye week and now they're in the middle of their home schedule and we're going to be their homecoming this week.

And, you know, just to keep the team concentrated and focused, how do you do that and what's the message? You've got to win every day. The biggest thing for us is you've got to flush what just happened. And to be honest with you, I felt like the Abilene game kind of lingered into last week a little bit where Tuesday's practice, you just didn't have the same energy. I thought we started to turn the page a little bit, but I challenged our guys on Sunday. I said, guys, you can't allow a loss to linger days into the next week and prevent or stunt your development and growth in the game plan for that week.

So excited to see what team comes out of the locker room tomorrow. Understanding that we've got to give it our best effort and we've got to win Tuesday. Before we can win on Saturday, we've got to win on Tuesday. Last thing, Coach, the stripes, the purple, the silver stripes. Do you notice at all does it have any impact on play calling or anything like that? It doesn't affect play calling, but you definitely notice it for sure. We were talking this, I don't know if this is true or not.

We were talking about this in the offensive staff. I don't know if they've kind of outlawed fields like this now, so I think UCA is sticking with it because you can't change it. So that's their field and they're going to hold on to it as long as they can. It's an edge. I think it creates something different for you. It's a little bit slicker surface than most fields, so we're going to have to get there and get used to it in pregame. It's not a bad field.

It's just a different kind of slickness to it. But once you get on it, it's just football. So watching it on tape is a little bit different, but once you're out there on it, I don't think it's any different. Four o'clock Saturday. Coach, we'll be over in Conway with you. Best of luck, sir. Thank you, guys. Always roar lines. That's North Alabama head football coach Britt Dierman. We'll be back with you next week. Same time, same place. Thanks for everybody coming out live in-house. Thanks to Ty, Braden, and Grant, our in-house crew, for Mike Ezekiel, Coach Dierman, and Blair back at the station.

I'm Benjamin Wright saying roar lions. You've been listening to UNA Football Night from Lost Pizza. Tonight's show is brought to you by Lost Pizza Shoals, Burnley Spine and Sport, Singing River Brewery, Southern Pride Pest Control, Alabama Health Guidance, The Carriage Wine and Market, and Brown Equipment Company. Thanks for listening and roar lions. you