Outdoors: Civitan Club to hold 28th Annual Hunting and Fishing Laws Update. 6C
Sports
S U N D A Y , N O V E M B E R 8 , 2009
MOBLEY & SONS
A FINE GENTLEMEN’S CLOTHIER
KHAKIS
SECTION C
WWW.TUSCALOOSANEWS.COM
24 15
Second-half surge
Alabama notebook
After a quiet first half, Ingram runs wild in second half | 9C
Safety on McElroy almost a turning point for LSU | 10C
From purple and gold to black and blue
Always dangerous
Quarter scores
Touchdown catch shows why Jones is always a threat | 9C
An inside look at each quarter | 10C
Alabama defense hounds Tigers, knocking starting QB and running back out of the game. | 11C
Going deep
Game stats
Another letdown
Plan to open up the passing game pays off big for Tide | 9C
Complete statistics from the game | 10C
LSU wondering ‘what if’ following loss to Tide | 11C
HOW THE WEST WAS WON
PHOTO | JASON HARLESS
Alabama wide receiver Julio Jones (8) outruns the LSU defense on a 73-yard touchdown during the fourth quarter at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday. The score put Alabama ahead 21-15. Alabama won, 24-15, to keep the Tide’s perfect season intact.
Win against LSU was all about patience
Fourth-quarter surge powers No. 3 Tide past No. 9 Tigers By Cecil Hurt Sports Editor
TUSCALOOSA | For a second straight year, Alabama and LSU settled the Southeastern Conference Western Division with a game worthy of the word “championship.” And for the second straight year, Alabama broke the Tigers’ collective heart at the end — thanks largely to a dagger named Julio Jones. It was Jones’ 73-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that sparked Alabama’s 24-15 victory over the Tigers, a play that was even more dramatic than his 24-yard catch to set up the game-winning touchdown in overtime
in Baton Rouge in 2008. The Crimson Tide trailed 15-10 heading into the fourth quarter Saturday night, but scored 14 unanswered points against a battered Tiger team to clinch a second straight meeting with the Florida Gators in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 5 in Atlanta. “We showed great resiliency,” Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban said. “We made some adjustments and made the plays that we needed to make to win the game.” Alabama’s dreams of SEC and possible national glory seemed in jeopardy in the third quarter. SEE TIDE | 11C
TUSCALOOSA t would have been easy to give up. It would have been easy to say the obstacles — some self-inflicted, some external — that have hampered the University of Alabama offense for weeks now weren’t going away. It would have been easy for a frustrated Greg McElroy, after throwing an interception at the end of the first half, to give up on himself. It would have been easy for Julio Jones to simply shrug his shoulders, frustrated by the criticism from fans who hailed him CECIL as a freshman hero but were convinced HURT he was a sophomore with feet of clay and hands of Play-Doh. It would have been easy for Mark Ingram, used sparingly in a six-carry first half, to give up. SEE HURT | 11C
I
STAFF PHOTO | DUSTY COMPTON
Alabama defensive back Robby Green (23) and running back Mark Ingram celebrate after Green intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter to seal the Tide’s 24-15 victory.
WEST ALABAMA 31, NORTH ALABAMA 28 (4 OVERTIMES) University of North Alabama players tackle West Alabama’s Roosevelt Ross in the fourth overtime period at Braly Stadium in Florence.
PHOTO | MATT MCKEAN, FLORENCE TIMESDAILY
Tigers win wild one over No. 1 Lions By Jeff McIntyre The Florence TimesDaily
FLORENCE | Bobby Wallace and Will Hall gave each other a big hug as they walked off the field Saturday night. The two former North Alabama icons both won plenty of big games in their careers at Braly Stadium as members of the Lions. But on this night the duo had helped ruin UNA’s hopes of a perfect season as
their West Alabama team shocked the No. 1 Lions with a 31-28 victory in four overtimes. Wallace, who coached at UNA for 10 years and led the Lions to three Division II championships, was coaching at Braly Stadium for the second time as a member of the Tigers, while Hall, the Tigers’ offensive coordinator, was making his first appearance at UNA’s home stadium since he won the Harlon Hill Trophy as a quarterback in 2003.
Brock Sharp’s 44-yard field goal in the fourth overtime give the Tigers (7-4, 5-3 GSC) the victory, as a stunned crowd of UNA fans watched. “Nothing compares to winning a national championship, but this is my best win since then,” Wallace said. “I’ve never seen kids fight so hard. We don’t have near the depth, the size or the speed of UNA, but our guys just kept fighting. It’s a great win for West Alabama.” SEE TIGERS | 4C