Coming off of a devastating 45-42 loss to SEMO in double overtime, the Skyhawks play their home opener on Sept. 14 at 6 pm against the North Alabama Lions (0-3). The Skyhawks will look to avoid an 0-3 start to their season, which would be their first since 2018 when they went 2-9 for the season. The Lions will also be looking for their first win of the season.
In week two the Skyhawk offense looked to be as good as we’ve come to expect from previous seasons. A 470 yard effort from the offense led by Kinkead Dent’s 277 passing yards and four touchdown passes. Led on the ground by Patrick Smith with 148 yards and a touchdown on 26 attempts. Pass catchers had a bounce back game after a poor performance against Kansas State. DeVonte Tanksley led the team with 113 yards receiving and Trevonte Rucker added two touchdowns through the air.
The Skyhawk defense was a tale of two extremes in week two. The Skyhawks passing defense allowed six touchdowns to the Redhawks offense on 63 attempts. However, the reason the Redhawks leaned so heavily on the passing game was because they could not get past the Skyhawk run defense. Lead by defensive back Rob Johnson with seven tackles and five tackle efforts from Jaylon Sharpe, Josh Hastings and Oshae Baker. A total of -11 yards is all the Redhawks could muster before switching primarily to passing the ball.
On offense, North Alabama brought in transfer QB Ari Patu from Stanford University who was a three year backup before transferring to North Alabama for his senior year. Patu through three games has 535 passing yards, one touchdown and five interceptions. Patu has also added two touchdowns on the ground on 30 carries which leads the team in both categories. Along with Patu, starting running back Jayvien Allen transferred from Tennessee Tech to the Lions for his junior year. Allen through three games has accumulated 163 yards on the ground with one touchdown of his own.
Returning for the Lions offense are senior wide receivers Takairee Kenebrew and Kobe Warden. Kenebrew led the team in receiving yards with 648 yards and ten touchdowns in 2023 and is on track to do the same this year. Warden is producing more in an expanded role compared to last year where he put up 307 yards for the Lions. Both receivers are favorite targets for Patu so far with 11 and ten targets respectively. The Skyhawks defensive backs will have their hands full covering this two headed attack from the Lions.
The Lions come in 73rd in the nation defensively allowing 33.67 points per game to opponents. They return DB Gregory Reddick who leads the team in tackles with 25. A team with multiple good defensive backs seems to have the reverse issues of the Skyhawks. The Lions are 80th in the country against the run and for a more direct comparison, the same SEMO team that had -11 rushing yards against the Skyhawks had 176 yards against the Lions. A Skyhawk team that likes to run the ball should be able to do so favorably against the Lions.
