GSC title in hand, Lions want more

North Alabama owns the Gulf South Conference championship, but the Lions aren't satisfied with only that.

The Lions (10-0, 7-0 GSC) wrapped up the title Saturday night with a hard-fought 27-13 win at Arkansas-Monticello. UNA also likely clinched the No. 1 seed in Super Regional II, which would give the Lions a first-round bye in the playoffs and home-field advantage for the next round.

Still, the No. 1 Lions have plenty to play for as they host West Alabama and former coach Bobby Wallace on Saturday in the regular-season finale.

"Winning the national championship is still the goal for us," defensive end Courtney Harris said. "The GSC championship means a lot, but it was just a bump in the road toward getting to our main goal."

Tim Hicks ran for two touchdowns and Marcus Sims added a 77-yard scoring run by in the fourth quarter. The defense also stepped up late, stopping The Boll Weevils twice inside the 10 in the final eight minutes.

"We made some mistakes, but we were able to overcome them and get a win," linebacker Nicholas Walker said. "We're taking one leap at a time. We've won the GSC and now we've got to get a national championship."

UNA will try this week to become just the second team in school history to go 11-0 in the regular season. The 2003 team went 11-0 in the regular season and lost in the playoff semifinals. The Lions went 10-0 in the regular season in 1993, 1995 and 2006.

"These guys have worked hard for this, so I'm proud for them to get this GSC championship," coach Terry Bowden said. "Ten wins should put us in the playoffs, but that is not our goal. Our goal is to win them all. We'll face a good West Alabama team coached by one of UNA's favorite coaches and greatest coaches. I know they will come here and played spirited football."

Jeff McIntyre can be reached at 740-5737 or jeff.mcintyre@TimesDaily.com.