UWF Argos Get Bounce-Back Win Over Shorter 45-23

October 24, 2021

by Bill Vilona

The stadium had quieted, the game reached a first-half lull and a spark was needed.

That’s when University of West Florida quarterback Austin Reed lit a fuse and dropped a bomb on a 3rd-and-20 play with 31 seconds left.

For a photo gallery, click here.

He threw a textbook pass to fast-emerging, freshman receiver Jared Smith for a 78-yard touchdown that padded the lead and pronounced the Argos eventual 45-23 victory Saturday against the Shorter Hawks at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

One week after an emotion-deflating loss on this field against West Georgia, the No.6-ranked Argos (6-1) felt good again with a bounce-back win. They expanded a 28-9 halftime lead into 38-9 after three quarters to seal the easy win.

“That sequence right there is probably every emotion you can have as a football coach,” said UWF coach Pete Shinnick. “We’re sitting there thinking, ‘Oh my gosh we’re at third-and-20, this is unbelievable.’

“You go from, oh my goodness, we’re going to punt the ball back and we had everything going… to, okay, touchdown this is great. That is the ups and downs you go through.”

It may have been the lone peak-and-valley moment in the game.

Saturday’s win followed a loss that snapped UWF’s 11-game, two season, winning streak. The streak matched the longest in NCAA Division II.

In five of UWF’s first six games, the Argos have allowed the opponent an opening possession touchdown. In all six previous games, opponents scored in the first quarter.

Both those trends ended Saturday.

In just 53 plays, the Argos amassed 495 yards total offense. They averaged an eye-opening 9.3 yards per-play, which set a school record.

“Obviously Shorter is not in the top end of the conference, but then our offense handled it the way we should handle a team that is at the lower end of the conference,” said Reed, who completed 18-of-30 passes for 314 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for a 29-yard touchdown for the Argos final score.

“I’m really proud of our guys… how hard they worked and how they really bounced back after a tough loss and the way they went into practice and stayed focused.”

The Argos obviously have bigger sights, but Saturday’s win clinched another winning season, the fourth in UWF’s five-season history. It’s a feat that few start-up college football teams have attained.

“This is a process. Things aren’t always going to look phenomenal,” Reed said. “And part of that process is getting to where you are playing your best football around week 10 or 11.

“I love the progression of this team. I don’t want to be the best team in the country after six weeks, I want to be the best in the country after Dec. 18 (Division II championship game).”

The Argos also love how quickly Jared Smith has emerged. With leading receiver David Durden out Saturday with a groin injury (he is expected back next Saturday), it was Smith’s chance to shine.

The Enterprise, Alabama native delivered with four catches for 113 yards and two touchdowns. He followed the 78-yard splash play with a 9-yard scoring catch on UWF’s first possession of the third quarter.

“Just super proud of this kid just getting open,” Reed said. “He’s been solid since he got here on campus and is just getting more and more comfortable with the offense. He has added an extra dimension to our offense that we didn’t know we had.”

The Argos began the game with the ball and set a tone. Shomari Mason finished a five-play drive, following a 63-yard kick return by Marcus Clayton, with his 2-yard touchdown plunge. Mason rushed for 85 yards on just six carries.

Rodney Coates made it 14-0 with his 11-yard pass from Reed on the team’s third possession. UWF scored touchdowns on four of its five offensive tries in the first half. The exception was a Reed interception.

But the play Smith made, after UWF was pinned deep, following a holding penalty late in the first half, helped put the game away.

“It’s a great feeling,” Smith said. “But this man (pointing to Reed) had a lot of trust in me just to go run and catch the ball. We do it in practice, so it just comes natural in the game.”

Said Reed: “We feel like with any amount of time left on the board with a timeout we can go score. Thankful that Coach Shinnick had the trust in us to go out there and let us just roll. Third down, just called a deep shot and thought maybe they wouldn’t be expecting us to throw it that far.”

The final three games on UWF’s schedule will level up in challenges. The Argos travel to Clinton, Miss. next Saturday to play Mississippi College.

The Choctaws were thumped 41-14 Saturday by unbeaten Valdosta State, but it’s a lengthy road trip, an evening game (6 p.m.) and Mississippi College’s homecoming game.

The focus will then turn to West Alabama (on road) and the finale against Valdosta State which will shape UWF’s post-season fate.

Before all that, however, UWF knows it will need to shore up some issues on defense. All four of Shorter’s scoring drives Saturday were longer than 70 yards, albeit two against the Argos’ reserves on defense.

“Defensively, there is some frustration there, just getting off the field,” Shinnick said. “I think we are very close. But we just allowed some drives to go. And we need to do a better job closing out. At some point in time we need to get off the field and we really didn’t do that.

“I’ll take 45-23 after a loss. Now we have to go on the road for two weeks and keep playing well.”

For a photo gallery, click here.

Photos: Morgan Givens/UWF for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.

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