MONROE, La. -- The ULM football team (2-0) shut out UAB (1-1) in the second half and scored 19 second-half points in a stunning 32-6 victory at Malone Stadium on Saturday (Sept. 7) night.

"This town came out and supported us," said ULM Head Coach Bryant Vincent. "The student body was incredible. Our band and cheerleaders were incredible. From the top to the bottom, we beat them in everything that we had. I thought our players played with more passion, more toughness and definitely more discipline. I couldn't be more proud of this football team, this community, our administration and our coaches."

Vincent, who was previously UAB's interim head coach in 2022, led the Warhawks to a statement victory over the Blazers.

"We have built a culture here in a short amount of time," said Vincent. "We have tremendous relationships with our players. Our players play for each other, they play for this town and they play for our coaches."

The ULM defense forced three turnovers and kept UAB out of the end zone, holding the visitors to 92 net rushing yards and 167 net passing yards. The Warhawks pressured UAB quarterback Jacob Zeno all night long and racked up five sacks.

Billy Pullen could not be stopped on the edge and tallied 1.5 sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss, one forced fumble, seven tackles and a safety. Car'lin Vigers jumped a pass in the fourth quarter and snagged his first interception of the season, taking it all the way to the house for a pick six. The Sun Belt Conference's reigning Defensive Player of the Week Wydett Williams Jr. made nine tackles and added 0.5 TFLs and 0.5 sacks to go along with a pass breakup. Senior Carl Glass Jr. led the Warhawks with 12 total tackles.

Offensively, the Warhawks pounded the rock for 209 rushing yards and averaged 4.4 yards per carry on 48 attempts. True freshman Ahmad Hardy plunged into the end zone once again for ULM in the second quarter and finished with 58 rushing yards. Former UAB running back Taven Curry paced the Warhawks with 64 yards on the ground while James Jones added 56 yards in the rushing category. Quarterback General Booty facilitated the offense and completed nine passes on 16 attempts, including a 20-yard pitch-and-catch to Nate Sullivan Jr.

The Warhawks' defense set the tone early, forcing a UAB three-and-out. Davon Wells returned the UAB punt to the Blazers' 32-yard line and set the Warhawks up with great field position. ULM entered the red zone after three straight carries by Jones brought the football to the UAB 15. ULM moved the ball to UAB's nine-yard line, but the drive stalled. Max Larson split the uprights on a 26-yard field goal to give ULM the early lead. The Blazers responded on the next drive with a 46-yard field goal by Jonah Delange. After the Warhawks were forced to punt on their next drive, ULM's defense answered with a stop towards the end of the first quarter. On the UAB punt, Hunter Herring managed to get a hand on the Blazers' punt and flipped the field to give the Warhawks favorable field position at the UAB 28-yard line before the end of the opening quarter.

After Hardy picked up 12 yards to move the chains for ULM to start the second quarter, the freshman from Monticello, Miss., found a hole up the middle and sprinted across the goal line for ULM's first touchdown of the night to put the Warhawks ahead, 10-3. The Blazers put together a 15-play, 70-yard drive that put the ball at the ULM three-yard line and set up a 4th and 1 deep in Warhawk territory. The Blazers committed a false start penalty before the fourth down play and had to settle for a field goal to cut the ULM lead to 10-6. ULM faced a 4th and 1 at the UAB 34 with less than four minutes in the half. The Blazers stopped Hardy from reaching the line to gain and took over at 3:24 in the first half.

After Zeno completed a pass to Isaiah Jacobs for a UAB first down, Zeno dropped back to pass and was sacked by Pullen, who jarred loose the football. Earl Barquet Jr. pounced on the fumble and stopped UAB's momentum from scoring before the end of the half. Curry picked up a first down on 3rd and 10 from the UAB 38 and the Warhawks managed to drive the ball to the UAB 19 for a field goal attempt. Larson connected on a 37-yard field goal and gave the Warhawks a 13-6 cushion heading into the locker room.

Makenzie Ryan pinned the Blazers down inside the five-yard line after ULM's opening drive in the second half. On 2nd and 9, Pullen slipped through the gap and smothered the UAB running back in the end zone for a safety and added two more points to ULM's count. The Warhawks began to find holes in the run game and Hardy broke through for a 19-yard carry that put the ball into UAB territory. On a 3rd and 6 at the Blazers' 28-yard line, Booty delivered a bullet to Jake Godfrey for an 18-yard reception that kept the drive alive. On 2nd and goal at the four-yard line, Herring entered the game at quarterback and finished the drive off after he bulldozed his way into the end zone on a quarterback keeper and increased ULM's advantage to 22-6.

UAB entered ULM territory on the next drive and Zeno scampered for an 11-yard rush on a 3rd and 7 to pick up a first down. On the next play, Tristan Shorter punched out the football from a UAB running back and Travor Randle fell on the football for the second turnover of the night forced by the Warhawks' defense. Jones picked up 12 yards on two carries to end the third quarter with ULM leading 22-6.

Ryan again placed a punt inside the UAB 10-yard line and flipped the field at the start of the fourth quarter. UAB's Jacobs picked up a first down on an eight-yard gain to the Blazers' 30-yard line. On the next play, Vigers stepped in front of a UAB wide receiver and picked off a pass and had a clear path to the end zone for a pick six. The ULM defense continued to frustrate the Blazers in the fourth quarter and forced two turnover on downs in the final minutes. Larson added another field goal on a 40-yard attempt to pull the Warhawks ahead 32-6 late in the fourth, and the Warhawks finished the game with a statement win over UAB.

The ULM football team will prepare for its first road game of the season after the bye week when the Warhawks will take on No. 4/4 Texas in Austin on Sept. 21 at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium.