UWF Argos Beat UWA, 28-21 To Head To National Semifinals

December 3, 2017

The slipper still fits for the UWF football team.

The Argonauts erased a 7-point deficit with a dominating 25-minute stretch of play on both sides of the ball before stopping a late push by the 17th-ranked and top-seeded Tigers for a 28-21 win in the NCAA Division II Super Regional Two Championship.

UWF (10-3) won its fifth-consecutive game in just its 24th game all-time to advance to next Saturday’s national semifinals against No. 1/3 Indiana University of Pennsylvania (13-0). The Crimson Hawks scored with just over a minute to play to defeat Assumption, 27-22, for the Super Regional One title. Kickoff at George P. Miller Stadium in Indiana, Pennsylvania is at Noon Eastern Time.

Freshman quarterback Mike Beaudry threw for 247 yards on 18-of-29 passing with two touchdowns. He was particularly effective in the second half, totaling 134 yards on 9-of-12 with both scoring strikes.

As it has done during the entire postseason, the UWF defense turned up the intensity when it mattered most, holding West Alabama to 20 yards in the third quarter and a combined three 3-and-outs and a 4-and-out while building the 14-point lead.

The Argos held the Tigers to a season-low scoring total, well below their average of 38.3 points per game. Johnathan Coleman led the defense with a career-high 16 tackles. He has 50 stops with six sacks in the last five games.

Freshman Ka’Ron Ashley had a career-high game, finishing with six receptions for 138 yards and a touchdown. His two biggest plays came on the fourth quarter drive that put UWF ahead 28-14. He out-jumped his man on a 26-yard third-and-11 play to keep the drive alive before grabbing a 43-yarder a play later that put the ball at the two. Chris Schwarz scored a play later to give the Argonauts a cushion with 6:27 to play.

For his part, Schwarz ran down hill for much of the second half, picking up 53 yards on 14 carries after the intermission. He ended the game with 68 yards on 20 rushes. UWF had 133 yards on the ground and a 3.8 yards per rush.

Freshman Anthony Johnson had 59 yards on eight carries. He sparked the comeback with a 40-yard touchdown run on UWF’s first offensive play of the second half. Earlier in the game, his 2-yard run in the first quarter tied it at 7-7.

West Alabama (10-3) ended with 331 yards of total offense. The Tigers had 86 yards on their final two possessions. Harry Satterwhite threw for 225 yards on 19-of-36 with two touchdowns. Both quarterbacks were sacked twice.

A Gulf South Conference team has now represented Super Regional 2 in 14 of the past 16 years. Prior to Saturday’s outcome, the GSC was the only conference with two teams remaining in the Division II playoff.

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Comments

One Response to “UWF Argos Beat UWA, 28-21 To Head To National Semifinals”

  1. BG on December 3rd, 2017 8:55 pm

    Congrats UWF on a job well done…Go Argonauts

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News, Sports, TOP sports