No. 3 UWF Claims First Conference Title With 61-42 Win Over No. 2 Valdosta State

November 14, 2021

Another grand mountain was scaled Saturday by the University of West Florida football team.

Before a record crowd of 7,193 at Blue Wahoos Stadium — in a game they long-awaited — the No. 3-ranked Argos overpowered and outwilled their way into a signature 61-42 victory against No. 2-ranked, previously unbeaten Valdosta State in a pair of NCAA Division II football elites.

The win provided UWF (9-1) with their first Gulf South Conference football championship trophy and assured a first-ever home playoff game when the NCAA D-2 playoffs begin Nov. 20.

“I feel we matched that moment and played really well,” said quarterback Austin Reed, who passed 311 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for two touchdowns. “We scored 61 points against the No. 2 team in the country who has been stopping everyone.

“It was an awesome game to be part of, and obviously for conference championship implications, it was special.”

Yes, a lot to unpack for a team which has already delivered so many feats in its five-year history.

“What a great night for Pensacola, what a great night for Blue Wahoos Stadium, UWF athletics and UWF football,” said Argos coach Pete Shinnick. “Amazing crowd, tremendous energy.

“And we needed every bit of it. We had a lot of support building this thing in a way where we could be this type of team. So extremely proud of our team and really honored to be part of this community and play for a conference championship.”

Now, of course, the sights turn on repeating as national champions. This time, the Argos for certain won’t have to sweat the details when the NCAA announces Sunday the 28-team field for the regional playoffs.

After winning nine road playoff games, including the 2019 championship game, UWF will start their next quest at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

“It means a lot to have some playoff games for our fans,” said offensive guard Mike Dilla, who was one of 26 seniors honored before their final regular-season home game. “Our fans are awesome.

“We like playing on the road in the playoffs, but much rather play at home instead. Really looking forward to playoffs coming through Pensacola.”

They made it happen in record setting ways. Here are Saturday’s feats.

  • The Argos set a single-game rushing record 347 yards. It was part of a whopping 658 yards total offense.
  • Six rushing touchdowns were scored, another team record. Three of those by senior Anthony Johnson Jr., a Pace High grad, who is that school’s all-time rushing leader. In addition to Reed’s two rushing scores, team-leading rusher Shomari Mason added another and finished with 195 yards.
  • Reed produced the longest rushing touchdown by a quarterback in team history with his 44-yard run early on the opening possession of the second half.
  • The crowd surpassed the Oct. 16 crowd against West Georgia – the Argos first game in Blue Wahoos Stadium since 2019 – as the largest home attendance in team history.
  • Against a Valdosta State defense which ranked No. 6 nationally in D-2 for fewest points (12.9) allowed per-game, the Argos hung 60-plus on the Blazers (9-1) and ended their nine-game win streak – tied for best nationally. It also snapped VSU’s 23-game win streak against GSC opponents in the regular season.

“This ranks up there,” said Shinnick in assessing the meaningful rating of the win. “And to be able to get what we did against one of the top scoring defenses in the country… I could not be happier for our guys. We felt if they gave us the right combination we would be able to run the ball.”

It happened and it was essential.

Five times in Saturday’s game UWF opened a double-digit lead, only to have Valdosta State answer with a touchdown to close the margin in a one-score game.

One of those happened right before halftime. UWF followed a touchdown to go up 24-14 by thinking it recovered the ensuing kickoff that bounced out of a VSU returners’ hands.

But a GSC official had inadvertently blown his whistle before the catch and fumble. That nullified the recovery and forced the kickoff to happen again. This time, VSU got the ball and drove 75 yards, aided by a pass interference call that incensed UWF’s sideline, to get a touchdown on the final play of the half.

“We just talked and said, we can’t worry about anything that has already taken place and we can’t worry about what the officials do or don’t do,” Shinnick said. “So let’s just go out and find our way in the second half.

“Offensively, we were just trying to make sure we were staying ahead of the curve a little bit,” Shinnick said.

It was followed by more back-and-forth between the teams until UWF pulled away for good with 17 points in the fourth quarter.

“Coach Shinnick instills in our team to keep having faith,” Mason said. “We knew we just had to make plays and everyone made plays.”

Ka’Ron Ashley, one of the members of UWF’s inaugural 2016 team, caught a pair of touchdown passes and finished with 82 yards. Though he didn’t catch a TD pass, David Durden had five receptions for 120 yards.

Johnson, who came into the game with five touchdowns this season, produced two in the second half Saturday. The best of his three scores was a 66-yard burst for the game’s final points with 7:13 left in the game. He finished with 96 yards in the game.

“Honestly, I came out of the hole stumbling,” Johnson said, breaking into a big smile. “My main thing was, I need to get first down for my team.

“I picked my knees up and that was the fastest I’ve ran in years — I’m not going to lie. My legs got a little heavy but we got there.”

Said Shinnick jokingly: “I was hoping no one would catch him. I was thinking where is the guy from Pace, who was running all over the place (in high school).”

While Valdosta State amassed 599 yards on 83 plays, UWF’s defense did help put the game away with stops in the fourth quarter, including Shannon Showers’ interception at the Argos’ 12 to thwart a drive.

“It was a perfect scenario,” Dilla said. “You couldn’t really ask for a better game on a better night on our last regular season game.”

By Bill Vilona. Photos:Morgan Givens/UWF for NorthEscambia.com.

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