UWF Wins Gulf South Conference Championship

November 7, 2022

Of all the heart-thumping, final play wins in UWF’s six-year football history, the Argos 32-31 overtime thriller Saturday night at Valdosta State may now stand alone.

This one brought a Gulf South Conference championship and opportunity for the eighth-ranked Argos to have a home field edge when the NCAA Division II playoffs begin in two weeks.

Quarterback Peewee Jarrett willed UWF to victory, after answering Valdosta State’s overtime touchdown with a fourth-down conversion from the 18, then his 12-yard touchdown pass to Caden Leggett, followed by Jarrett’s power plow into the end zone from the 1-and-a-half yard-line for game-winning, two-point conversion.

It was wow all the way around.

“He called it (2-point play), he wanted it,” said UWF coach Pete Shinnick, who opted to go for the do-or-die 2-point play after a late hit on Jarrett’s overtime touchdown pass moved the ball from the 3 to the 1.5 yard-line.

“It was working for us all night,” said Jarrett, a first-team national junior college All-American a year ago, who transferred in the early summer to win UWF’s starting quarterback role. “I told coach, you brought me here for a reason. I can get you one yard. That was the biggest thing. I told him put it in my hands and we got it done.”

The Argos missed a chance to win the game with 22 seconds left in regulation play when Jarrett dropped a perfect 48-yard pass into Jared Smith’s hands, but the ball was knocked loose a split-second late by a VSU defender in the end zone for an incompletion. On the next play, another Jarrett long ball was intercepted with 13 seconds left to force overtime.

The dramatic win for the Argos (8-1, 5-1 in GSC) was their 14th consecutive road victory, the second-longest streak in Division II. It was a third consecutive win against rival Valdosta State (4-6, 2-5) in a series that has featured three of the past four games decided by five points or less between these teams.

UWF will now close out its regular-season on Nov. 12 with a rematch at Mississippi College, which does not count in the conference standings, but will be vital for UWF to win in order to guarantee a home game when the D-2 playoffs begin. UWF beat Mississippi College 45-17 on Oct. 22 in a GSC game in Pensacola.

Earlier Saturday, the Argos learned that previously unbeaten Delta State, which defeated UWF 45-42 in an epic double overtime game in Pensacola on Sept. 24, had lost at home (52-42) against West Georgia.

Since the GSC does not use a head-to-head matchups to determine a football league champion, the Argos knew they could share the GSC championship, plus enhance their positioning in region rankings for the Division II playoffs.

But UWF trailed 14-7 after a mistake-filled first half. The Argos tied the game three times in the second half but could never gain a lead until the game-deciding play in overtime.

“We found a way, found a way,” said Shinnick, the excitement in his voice easily detectable. “Way to overcome a lot of uncharacteristic plays on our part. I thought Peewee was on fire. He was dialing it up. He was hitting our guys, it was fun to watch.”

It became UWF’s 113th conference championship in school history, an amazing feat for the athletic program, and the second consecutive conference trophy for a football team that started from scratch in 2016.

“That is great,” Shinnick said. “Congratulations to our players. What a great job, staying true to this thing.”

UWF won the coin toss for overtime possession and elected to play defense. On the first play, Valdosta State’s senior quarterback Ivory Durham took a shotgun snap from the 25 and ran left, then down the sideline for a go-ahead touchdown.

Durham compiled 316 yards total offense Saturday by passing for 196 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 120 yards and one score.

When UWF got the ball from the 25, Jarrett’s second-down pass was nearly intercepted. He then was called for a delay-of-game penalty to push the ball to the 23. He rushed five yards to 18. On fourth down, he went up to middle to convert a first down and set the stage for his pass to Leggett in the back corner of the end zone.

Now, it was decision time. Go for two to win? Or kick the PAT to force a second overtime.

“Once we got the penalty, it was a no-brainer,” Shinnick said. “I was thinking about doing it even if we didn’t have the penalty. But we got the penalty, the ball at the yard and a half, there was no stopping us.”

There was no debate, either, on what to do.

“When it came down to the play, there was no discussion,” Jarrett said. “I told coach Shinnick, put the ball in my hands and let’s go right up the middle with it.”

As he lined up his team Jarrett saw VSU’s defense was not stacked at the line of scrimmage.

“I was expecting a way different look, a tighter box… and it was kind of loose,” he said. “I don’t know if they expected us to pass or what… I went out there and my eyes were wide, they probably saw that. But I just went right up the gut with it.”

The blocking from UWF’s veteran offensive line provided the initial push and Jarrett easily bulled in for the winner. He finished the game 15-for-34 passing for 309 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for 121 yards. Many of his passes, however, were dropped, which skews the passing stats.

The Argos, who won for the first-time at Valdosta State during the regular season (they won a D-2 playoff game there in 2019 to advance to the national semifinals), struggled by their own self-inflicted issues the entire first half.

A holding penalty nullified a touchdown pass by Jarrett on the first possession. A missed field goal followed from 29 yards. An offensive pass interference and holding penalty on separate plays thwarted another drive.

Finally, Jarrett’s 43-yard pass to Nate Howard tied the game midway through the second quarter. But Valdosta State, which honored its first football team from 40 years ago, answered on the ensuing possession with an 11-play, 72-yard drive.

UWF tied the game on the third play of the second half when Jarrett connected with David Durden across the middle and he went 46-yards for a score. But again VSU answered, this time on a 78-yard scoring drive to regain the lead.

The Blazers took the lead on a 44-yard field goal with 9:41 left, but UWF’s Griffin Cerra atoned from the previous miss to convert a 36-yarder with 2:51 left in the game to tie the score.

The game was the first time all season UWF failed to score at least 34 points with an offense that is ranked No. 5 among all D-2 teams. The Argos will now turn focus to the season finale against Mississippi College.

by Bill Vilona, UWF Senior Writer

Photo: Morgan Givens

Comments

One Response to “UWF Wins Gulf South Conference Championship”

  1. Denbroc on November 7th, 2022 6:52 am

    Way to go Argos!

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