# 1970 Florence State Lions football team

The 1970 Florence State Lions football team represented Florence State University—now known as the University of North Alabama—as a member of the Mid-South Athletic Conference (MSAC) during the 1970 NAIA Division I football season. Led by first-year head coach Durell Mock, the Lions compiled an overall record of 5–5 with a mark of 1–4 in conference play, placing fifth in the MSAC. Florence State played home game at Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 12 | 7:30 p.m. | at Northwestern State* | Demon StadiumNatchitoches, LA | L 21–42 | |
| September 19 | 7:30 p.m. | State College of Arkansas* | Braly StadiumFlorence, AL | W 28–17 | |
| September 26 | 7:30 p.m. | at Delta State | Delta FieldCleveland, MS | L 13–26 | |
| October 3 | 2:00 p.m. | at Livingston | Tiger StadiumLivingston, AL (Rivalry) | W 21–14 | |
| October 10 | | at Arkansas Tech* | Buerkle FieldRussellville, AR | W 28–26 | |
| October 17 | | Henderson State* | Braly StadiumFlorence, AL | W 30–20 | |
| October 24 | 7:30 p.m. | Troy State | Braly StadiumFlorence, AL | L 23–28 | |
| October 31 | 2:00 p.m. | Samford* | Braly StadiumFlorence, AL | W 24–10 | |
| November 14 | 1:30 p.m. | Tennessee–Martin | Braly StadiumFlorence, AL | L 7–35 | |
| November 21 | 1:30 p.m. | at No. 15 Jacksonville State | Paul Snow Memorial StadiumJacksonville, AL | L 28–55 | 13,000 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||

## Offseason

After the 1969 season, head coach Hal Self resigned from the position to take over the school's athletic director position full-time. Self had served as both head coach and athletic director in 1969 after the resignation of H.A. Flowers. Durell Mock, who had played under Self at Florence State from 1949 to 1952, was selected to become the second-ever head coach of the Lions.
In the summer before the 1970 season, Florence State would leave the Alabama Collegiate Conference with Jacksonville State, Troy State, and Livingston to become charter members of the new Mid-South Athletic Conference. This football-only conference would become the Gulf South Conference.

## Statistics
### Team

| | Florence State | Opp |
| Scoring | 223 | 273 |
| First Downs | 153 | 193 |
| Rushing | 86 | 130 |
| Passing | 49 | 59 |
| Penalty | 18 | 4 |
| Rushing yards | 1825 | 2689 |
| Avg per game | 182.5 | 268.9 |
| Rushing touchdowns | 22 | 28 |
| Passing yards | 1337 | 1193 |
| Att-Comp-Int | 212-95-21 | 201-91-21 |
| Avg per game | 133.7 | 119.3 |
| Passing touchdowns | 23 | 24 |
| Total Offense | 3162 | 3882 |
| Avg per game | 316.2 | 388.2 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 28-15 | 20-11 |
| Penalties-Yards | 40-390 | 45-504 |
| | Florence State | Opp |
| Punt-Yards | 51-2045 | 37-1450 |
| Avg per punt | 40.0 | 39.2 |
| Punt Return-Yards | 11-157 | 32-352 |
| Avg per punt return | 14.7 | 11.0 |
| Kickoff Return-Yards | 42-986 | 34-745 |
| Avg per kickoff return | 23.5 | 21.9 |
| Interceptions-Yards | 21-189 | 21-147 |
| Avg per play | 9.0 | 7.0 |
| Touchdowns Scored | 31 | 37 |
| Field Goals-Attempts | 2-5 | 5-10 |
| PAT-Attempts | 29-31 | 28-32 |

### Individual leaders
#### Offense

Passing statistics :
| NAME | POS | CMP | ATT | YDS | CMP% | TD | INT |
| Randy Elmore | QB | 91 | 205 | 1318 | 44.3 | 8 | 21 |
| David Elmore | QB | 4 | 6 | 19 | 66.6 | 0 | 0 |
| Allen Elkins | QB | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | | 95 | 212 | 1337 | 44.8% | 8 | 21 |
Rushing statistics :
| NAME | POS | ATT | GAIN | AVG | TD |
| Carl McCulley | FB | 140 | 591 yrds | 4.2 | 7 TDs |
| Leonard Thomas | HB | 87 | 499 yrds | 5.7 | 6 TDs |
| Randy Elmore | QB | 128 | 438 yrds | 3.4 | 6 TDs |
| Bobby Joe Pride | FL | 38 | 177 yrds | 4.6 | 3 TDs |
| Larry Brom | FB | 23 | 70 yrds | 3.4 | 1 TD |
| Mike Wilburn | HB | 13 | 38 yrds | 2.9 | 0 TDs |
| Allen Elkins | QB | 1 | 1 yrd | 1.0 | 0 TDs |
| David Elmore | QB | 2 | 7 yrds | 3.5 | 0 TDs |
| TOTALS | | 432 | 1821 yrds | 4.2 | 23 TDs |
Receiving statistics :
| NAME | POS | CTH | YDS | TD |
| Danny Kimble | FL | 25 | 470 yrds | 3 TDs |
| Leonard Thomas | HB | 23 | 267 yrds | 4 TDs |
| Bobby Joe Pride | FL | 16 | 254 yrds | 0 TDs |
| Jim Trimble | FL | 9 | 102 yrds | 1 TD |
| Jody Gamble | SE | 7 | 84 yrds | 0 TDs |
| Dale Hancock | TE | 5 | 62 yrds | 0 TDs |
| Carl McCulley | FB | 4 | 60 yrds | 0 TDs |
| Mike Wilburn | HB | 1 | 19 yrds | 0 TDs |
| Larry Brom | FB | 4 | 11 yrds | 0 TDs |
| Jimmy Isbell | TE | 1 | 8 yrds | 0 TDs |
| TOTALS | | 95 | 1337 yrds | 8 TDs |

#### Defense

Defense statistics :
| NAME | POS | INT |
| Palmer Byrd | DHB | 6 |
| Ronnie Williamson | DHB | 5 |
| William McCormack | LB | 3 |
| Ganum Smith | DHB | 2 |
| Leroy Baker | LB | 2 |
| Tommy Warhurst | DE | 1 |
| Others | | 2 |
| TOTAL | | 21 |

#### Special teams

Punting statistics :
| NAME | POS | PUNTS | YDS | AVG |
| Jody Gamble | SE | 51 | 2045 yrds | 40.0 |
| TOTALS | | 51 | 2045 yrds | 40.0 |
Kick return statistics :
| NAME | POS | RTNS | YDS | AVG | TD |
| Bobby Joe Pride | FL | 18 | 623 | 34.5 | 1 |
| Leonard Thomas | HB | 11 | 214 | 19.4 | 0 |
| Jimmy Isbell | TE | 3 | 34 | 11.3 | 0 |
| Larry Brom | FB | 3 | 34 | 11.3 | 0 |
| Ganum Smith | DHB | 1 | 21 | 21.0 | 0 |
| Allen Elkins | QB | 2 | 22 | 10.4 | 0 |
| Bobby Burcham | SE | 2 | 19 | 9.5 | 0 |
| Ronnie Williamson | DHB | 1 | 16 | 16.0 | 0 |
| Danny Kimble | FL | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | | 42 | 988 yrds | 23.5 | 1 TD |
Punt return statistics :
| NAME | POS | RTNS | YDS | AVG | TD |
| Leonard Thomas | HB | 6 | 105 | 17.5 | 0 |
| Bobby Joe Pride | FL | 5 | 52 | 10.4 | 0 |
| TOTALS | | 11 | 157 yrds | 14.3 | 0 TD's |