UWF Football Gets Season Opening D1 Win over McNeese State (With Photo Gallery)
September 5, 2021
Austin Reed threw for 380 yards and the Argonaut offensive and defensive lines were as battle-tested in the trenches as ever before to lift top-ranked UWF past Division I FCS McNeese State, 42-36, at a sweltering Cowboy Stadium Saturday in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
UWF (1-0) won its season opener for the fourth time in five seasons and improved to 2-0 against Division I programs. McNeese (0-1) lost for the first time in seven seasons when opening up at home and dropped its first game to a non-Division I opponent for the first time in its last 22 meetings dating back to 1990.
For a photo gallery, click or tap here.
The game was played in temperatures in the low 90s with heat index of low 100s.
The Argos finished with 466 yards of total offense on 56 plays for a school-record 8.3 yards per play. The previous mark was 8.2 ypp against West Alabama in 2019.
Reed completed 19-of-36 passes to seven players and four touchdowns. His 380 passing yards are tied for the sixth-most in program history.
His favorite target was junior David Durden, who totaled 172 yards on six catches, which included a 44-yard scoring strike that got the Argos on the board and a 74-yard play that marked the second-longest play from scrimmage in UWF annals. His 28.67 yards per reception average ranks sixth at UWF. Durden also took a direct snap and scored on a 6-yard run that put UWF ahead 14-7 early in the second quarter as they never trailed the rest of the contest.
But it was still a back-and-forth game with each team answering the other drive after drive.
Cody Orgeron tossed the first of his two passing TDs but the Cowboys missed the first of three extra points to keep UWF ahead at 14-13.
UWF scored on its third-consecutive possession midway through the second quarter when Reed found senior Ka’Ron Ashley on a 26-yard hookup. After the Argos missed a field goal, the Cowboys got one of their own to pull within 21-16 going in to halftime.
The teams each had a non-scoring possession to start the third before UWF extended the lead to 28-16 on a Reed to senior Rodney Coates 4-yard pass. Orgeron scored on a fourth down run from the one to answer the Argo score.
The teams had two touchdowns apiece in the fourth quarter. The running game came alive on each drive for UWF, with sophomore Shomari Mason scoring on a 17-yard rush to stretch the margin to 35-22. After a Cowboy score, it was sophomore Ra’veon Hargove’s turn to stuff the stat sheet. He opened the Argonauts’ final scoring drive with a 22-yard run and ended it with a 9-yard catch out of the backfield for a 42-28 lead.
McNeese scored with 2:44 left and got within six points after a 2-point conversion but was unable to execute the onside kick. UWF rushed three times for a first down and was able to take a knee for the victory.
Four of UWF’s six scoring drives were at least 75 yards long and four were between four and six plays long.
Orgeron threw for a career-high 367 yards on 31-of-47 with two touchdowns.
UWF sacked Orgeron four times and hurried him four times. Senior safety D’Anthony Bell led the Argos with six tackles, one for a loss and two pass break-ups. Grad transfer Stephon Williams had five stops, a hurry and a tackle for loss in his first game at UWF.
UWF will return to action next Saturday, Sept. 11 when it plays host to Southwest Baptist (0-1) at Pen Air Field on-campus. The game will kickoff at 6 p.m. and be the first on-campus game in UWF history.
For a photo gallery, click here.
Photos: Morgan Givens/UWF for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Blue Wahoos Pitching Critical in 2-0 Win Over The Biscuits
September 5, 2021
One batter in, Pensacola has a 1-0 lead. Nine innings later, the Blue Wahoos had their fourth shutout of the season.
Pensacola’s pitching had all they needed thanks to Kameron Misner’s leadoff homer as the Wahoos shutout the Montgomery Biscuits 2-0 on Saturday night at Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium.
Jeff Lindgren (W, 5-8) continued to dominant run of form with five shutout innings in his 18th start of the season. After the Biscuits had runners in scoring position in the first three innings, Lindgren wriggled out of trouble and ultimately stranded seven batters throughout the course of his start.
Offensively, the Blue Wahoos needed two pitches to take the lead. Alex Valverde (L, 2-4) surrendered a no-doubter to right off the bat of Misner for his first career Double-A home run. It was the first leadoff home run since former Wahoos and current Minnesota Twin Alex Kirilloff homered to begin the 2019 Southern League South Division Championship Series against Biloxi on September 7th, 2019.
In the top of third J.D. roped a one-out single, which extended his hitting streak to 13 games. Misner reached later on an error from Xavier Edwards before both runners advanced on a groundout from JJ Bleday. Orr doubled the Wahoos lead when he scored on a wild pitch, winning the footrace to the plate over Valverde.
With Pensacola leading 2-0 after Lindgren’s five innings, the bullpen dominated the rest of the way. Cody Carroll fired two more shutout innings and struck out three along the way. Matt Pobereyko pitched a scoreless eighth inning. In the ninth, the Blue Wahoos brought in Colton Hock (S, 17) for the second night in a row. After yielding a leadoff single, Hock retired the next three, including the final two batters via the strikeout.
Pensacola now leads the series 3-2, and trails Montgomery by 1.0 game for the second and final playoff spot. LHP Antonio Velez (1-0, 1.50) will get the start in the finale for the Blue Wahoos. He will be opposed by RHP Jack Labosky (0-4, 4.76).
Tate Aggies Fall To Gulf Breeze (With Photo Gallery)
September 4, 2021
The Tate Aggies fell to the Gulf Breeze Dolphins 14-0 Friday night on Carl Madison Field.
The Aggies have not beat the Dolphins since a 42-38 win in the Region 1-6 quarterfinals back in 2016.
Tate was coming off a 9-0 season opening win over Pensacola High last week. The Tate Aggies (1-1) will host the Jaguars of West Florida next Friday night.
For a game action photo gallery, click here. (Look for a band, cheerleader and student life photo gallery by Monday.)
NorthEscambia.com photos by William Reynolds, click to enlarge.
Friday Night North Escambia Area High School Football Scores
September 4, 2021
Here are Friday night’s high school football scores from across the North Escambia area:
FLORIDA
- Gulf Breeze 14, Tate 0 (Photo gallery coming Saturday)
- West Florida 21, Pine Forest 14
- Washington, 21 Pensacola High 3
- Escambia 35, Gulfport (MS) 28
- Milton 32, Pensacola Catholic 30
- Freeport 51, Jay 12
- Northview 43, Lighthouse 28 (Thursday night, click for story, photos)
- Pace – Bye week
ALABAMA
- Flomaton 54, Southern Choctaw 0
- Escambia Academy 34, Patrician Academy 14
- Mobile Christian 34, Escambia County (Atmore) 0
- T.R. Miller 36, Cottage 6
- Vigor 41, W.S. Neal 6
Pictured: The Tate Aggies gain yardage against the Gulf Breeze Dolphins Friday night at Tate. NorthEscambia.com photo, click to enlarge.
Blue Wahoos Score Four Late, Evens Series With Biscuits
September 4, 2021
The Pensacola Blue Wahoos scored four runs over the final two innings as they surged past Montgomery to a 5-1 win Friday night at Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium.
With the game tied at 1-1, Kameron Misner led off the eighth inning with a double off Joel Peguero (L, 3-7). For Misner, it was his second double of the game and his third hit of the night. After a productive groundout from Peyton Burdick, Pensacola took the lead on JJ Bleday’s sac fly to center.
The Blue Wahoos added to their lead in the ninth inning, scoring three times of Ivan Pelaez. After Demetrius Sims walked and advanced to second, J.D. Orr grounded a two-out RBI single into right, which made it 3-1 Wahoos. After a single from Misner to set up runners on the corners, Orr scored on a wild pitch to make it 4-1. After Burdick walked—still with two outs in the inning—Bleday belted an RBI single to right, which scored Misner and made it 5-1. The former fourth overall pick finished the night with three RBI.
Will Stewart had to grind throughout his outing as the Biscuits had runners in scoring position in each of the first six innings of the game. In the second, Montgomery loaded the bases with nobody out, but after a strikeout, Stewart induced an inning-ending double play from Jake Palomaki to escape the threat.
In third, with one on and two outs, Stewart walked three batters in a row, including a bases-loaded walk to Blake Hunt to give the Biscuits their only run of the night.
In the fourth, Pensacola again escaped danger when with one out, Jim Haley struck out and was called for interference as Navaretto tried to make a throw to second base. That ended the fourth, and in the process Palomaki—who was a runner at third base—was ejected from the game.
Stewart was lifted in the fifth after allowing the first two batters to reach base. He was replaced by Dylan Bice who pitched two scoreless innings, including stranding both runners he inherited. After retiring one batter in the seventh, he was replaced by Andrew McInvale (W, 2-2), who worked 1.2 scoreless innings (his second consecutive scoreless appearance in Montgomery since surrendering the walk-off homer to Chris Betts on July 24th.
With the game clearly in hand, Colton Hock was brought into the game and closed out the ninth once again in scoreless fashion.
The Blue Wahoos will try and take a 3-2 series lead tomorrow night with Jeff Lindgren (4-8, 4.31), who is making his 18th start of the year. Opposing him will be RHP Alex Valverde (2-3, 4.20).
Northview Chiefs Beat Lighthouse Academy (With Photo Gallery)
September 3, 2021
The Northview Chiefs won their home opener 43-28 over Lighthouse Private Christian Academy Thursday night in Bratt.
The Chiefs headed into the game with just two days to practice. Hurricane Ida canceled school practices on Monday, leaving just Tuesday and Wednesday to prepare for the Thursday night game.
For a photo gallery, click or tap here.
With Lighthouse up 12-9, Northview’s Travis Nelson picked off a Lighthouse pass to put Chiefs within range. Jamarkus Jefferson was in from 6 yards out to put the Chief back on top 16-12.
On the next possession, Kaden Odom as defensive back picked off another Lighthouse pass. As quarterback, Odom then found Luke Bridges to give the Chiefs a 22-12 advantage.
With a few ticks of the clock to go in the half, Wyatt Scruggs returned a kick 90 yards to give Northview the lead 29-28 headed into the half.
A long Odom run increased Northview’s lead to 36-28 in the third, and Jefferson sealed the win in the fourth with another TD.
The Chiefs were coming off a 38-14 loss to Flomaton last week. Northview’s Jamarkus Jefferson had first half touchdowns of 17 and 3 yards in the first half before the Hurricanes scores 32 unanswered points in the second half. Lighthouse season opened with the Chiefs.
Northview (1-1) hits Pensacola Bay Bridge on September 10 to take on Gulf Breeze.
For a photo gallery, click or tap here. (Look for a photo gallery with the band and cheerleaders to be published over the weekend.)
NorthEscambia.com photos by William Reynolds, click to enlarge.
Early Deficit Dooms Blue Wahoos Thursday
September 3, 2021
The Blue Wahoos struggled in all three phases of the game as the Montgomery Biscuits soundly defeated the Wahoos 8-3 on Thursday.
For the third night in a row, Montgomery took the lead in the bottom of the first inning. After the first two batters reached, Jonathan Aranda delivered an RBI single with nobody out off Zach McCambley (L, 1-5) to put Montgomery ahead 1-0.
In the third inning with two outs, Demetrius Sims misplayed a ground ball that allowed Jim Haley to reach. Two batters later, Ruben Cardenas hit a ground ball to Sims, but his running throw sailed past Lazaro Alonso for his second error of the inning. Biscuits ultimately scored three runs to take a 4-0 lead.
The closest Pensacola came in Thursday’s contest came in the top of the fifth. Riley Mahan belted a two-run homer off Easton McGee (W, 5-1) to cut Montgomery’s lead in half.
Unfortunately, after the homer, Montgomery outscored Pensacola 4-1 over the final four innings of play. The bullpen, which had been excellent in the first two games of the series, struggled on Thursday, allowing four runs on six hits in four innings. Offensively, the Wahoos did not fare much better as they were outhit 13-5.
With the loss, Pensacola now sits three games behind the Biscuits for the second and final playoff spot for the Double-A South Championship series.
Navarreto’s Late Homer Fuels Unlikely Wahoo Win
September 2, 2021
Trailing 6-5 in the top of the seventh, Brian Navarreto hit a two-run home run off Adrian De Horta (L, 2-3) to dead center, which fueled the Wahoos to an unlikely 8-6 on Wednesday night at Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium.
After De Horta recorded two quick outs to start the seventh, Griffin Conine walked just before Navaretto belted a two-run home run to dead center, which gave Pensacola their first lead of the night. Prior to that, Pensacola practically spent the entire came playing catch-up.
After a tough showing from their starter last night, Pensacola ace Max Meyer did not fare much better in his outing against the Biscuits. He surrendered three runs in the bottom of the first, including back-to-back home runs to Jonathan Aranda and Ruben Cardenas.
Trailing 3-0, Pensacola had an immediate response in the top of the second. After Chris Chinea led off the inning with a single, Griffin Conine belted a two-run homer to right off Jayden Murray, cutting the lead down to 3-2. It was Conine’s 12th homer with Pensacola and his MiLB-leading 35th of the season. Later in the inning, Riley Mahan delivered an RBI single, which tied the game at 3-3.
That lead was short-lived, and the Wahoos committed a pair of errors in the second, ultimately leading to more runs for Montgomery. After an RBI double from Xavier Edwards, Aranda followed with an RBI single to make it 5-3. Meyer was lifted after three innings, and for the first time in his career allowed more than one home run in a start.
Trailing 6-3 in the fifth, the Wahoos drew back-to-back walks with one out before JJ Bleday roped a two-run double into the right-field corner, scoring Kameron Misner and Peyton Burdick. After five innings of play, the Wahoos once again found themselves down by just a run. Neither team scored in the sixth before the heroics from Navarreto in the seventh.
The Wahoos tallied one more insurance run in the eighth after Burdick walked, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and then scored on a throwing error from catcher Ford Proctor on a play at third.
Despite the shaky outing from Meyer, Pensacola’s bullpen did their part to keep the Wahoos in the game. Matt Pobereyko (W, 1-0) hurled two shutout innings in which he struck out three. Cody Carroll made his Blue Wahoos debut with two shutout innings on his own, which included him striking out the side in the bottom of the seventh. Finally, Colton Hock (S, 16) secured his Double-A South-leading 16th save of the year, with a scoreless bottom of the ninth.
With Pensacola’s win over Montgomery and Birmingham losing a pair of games to the Chattanooga Lookouts on Wednesday, the Wahoos find themselves two games out of the playoffs once again.
Coastal Alabama Warhawks Baseball Coach Darrell Blevins Passes Away
September 1, 2021
Coastal Alabama Community College Warhawks head baseball coach Darrell Blevins has passed away. He was 53.
Blevins was entering his 16th season leading the Warhawks at the college’s Brewton campus and spent more than 30 years in organized baseball at the collegiate and high school levels. He also taught microcomputer applications full time as a faculty instructor.
“The three most important things in his life were his relationship with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, his family, especially his boys Kyle and Craig, and baseball. He tried to use the game of baseball to teach lifelong skills to young men, that would help them be successful both on and off the field,” said his wife, Denise Blevins
“Darrell was a standup guy and a pillar in our community,” said Dennis Fuqua, director of Coastal Alabama Community College’s Brewton campus. “He was very respected both personally and professionally, and one of his greatest attributes was that he was a man strong in his faith and he was an extremely hard worker.”
As a coach, he helped more than 90 players get the opportunity to play baseball at the next level, including NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, and the NAIA.
Blevins is survived by his wife Denise and their two sons Kyle and Craig. The family attends First Baptist Church of Brewton, where Coach Blevins was a deacon who taught Sunday school classes.
Blue Wahoos Offense Stalls In 6-1 Loss To Montgomery Biscuits
September 1, 2021
Chris Chinea’s solo home run was all the offense the Wahoos could muster as they fell 6-1 to Montgomery on Tuesday night at Montgomery Riverwalk Stadium.
Kyle Nicolas (L, 3-1) suffered his worst outing in his short tenure in Double-A. After going three starts without allowing a run, Nicolas surrendered a three-run home run to Ford Proctor in the bottom of the first, which set the Wahoos behind 3-0. He allowed another run in the fourth, after a walk and an RBI double from Niko Hulsizer, which made the score at the time 4-1. He was lifted from the game after four innings, which was the first time Nicolas was unable to pitch more than four innings since July 7th when he was still a member with the Beloit Snappers.
Pensacola had an immediate response from Chinea in the top of the second when he led off the inning with a solo home run against Jack Labosky. Chine finished the night 2-for-4. Despite his homer making it 3-1, Pensacola’s offense had no further response to combat the Biscuits. Pensacola was limited to four hits on the night and struck out 15 times.
Tuesday’s contest was the first game for the Wahoos in the past week. After a 1-0 win over Mississippi on August 24th, the rest of their series was canceled due to positive COVID tests, and a need for contact tracing. The Wahoos and Biscuits were the only Double-A South teams to play on Tuesday, with two series paused to allow for contact tracing, while Birmingham and Chattanooga were postponed due to rain.
With the loss, Pensacola sits three games back of Montgomery for the second and final postseason spot in the 2021 Double-A South Championship Series.
RHP Max Meyer (6-1, 1.97) will start Wednesday’s contest for the Blue Wahoos, and he will be opposed by RHP Jayden Murray (1-2, 2.36). Meyer’s ERA is currently the lowest in all of baseball, just ahead of Los Angeles Dodgers ace Walker Buehler (2.02). Firs