UWF Moves All Home Football Games To Campus, Leaving Blue Wahoos Stadium
March 1, 2022
The University of West Florida Argonauts will play its entire 2022 football home schedule at Pen Air Field on the UWF campus for the first time in program history, beginning with a home season opener against Warner University on Sept. 3, 2022.
Previously, UWF Football played home games at Blue Wahoos Stadium in downtown Pensacola. Complications surrounding the newly installed artificial turf and the ability to schedule games at the stadium arose, prompting the program to move home games to the UWF Pensacola campus. Last season, the University hosted its first-ever home game at Pen Air Field, resulting in record on-campus event attendance.
“We appreciate the support from the City of Pensacola and the Blue Wahoos organization for the opportunity in creating a positive game day environment for the UWF Football program,” said Dave Scott, director of UWF Intercollegiate Athletics. “Blue Wahoos Stadium served as a unique venue and offered a great experience for college football over the past five seasons. We are excited to begin playing home games on campus, enhancing student life and providing a traditional on-campus college experience for students, alumni, faculty, staff and the community.”
The UWF football program will play five home games and face four Gulf South Conference opponents at home in the 2022 schedule. Among the Argonauts’ 7-game GSC slate will be home contests against Delta State, Mississippi College, North Greenville and West Alabama.
UWF will open the season with a pair of non-conference games. Following the season opener against Warner University, the Argos will make the second-longest regular-season trip in program history to Bolivar, Missouri to face Southwest Baptist on September 10. UWF defeated the Bearcats 63-14 last season in the first-ever on-campus football game before more than 5,000 fans.
After an open week, GSC play will commence with back-to-back home games against Delta State on September 24 and North Greenville on October 1.
The following two weeks the Argos will make a pair of road trips to the Peach State, taking on West Georgia on October 8 and Shorter on October 15. In the 5-game series with the Wolves, the road team has won every game and the Argos have defeated the Hawks all five times.
The Argos will entertain Mississippi College for Homecoming festivities on October 22. UWF is unbeaten against the Choctaws in five meetings, including a thrilling 27-21 overtime decision in 2019 in Pensacola.
UWF will honor its senior class on October 29 with a visit from West Alabama. The Argos have won three of the last four games in the series, including wins in each of the last two seasons. This will be just the third game in Pensacola in the 7-game series history.
The GSC regular-season will come to an end against Valdosta State when the Argos head to Valdosta, Georgia on November 5. The teams have been the class of the GSC the past few years, combining for the last three league titles and representing half of the Division II National Championship game participants the past four seasons.
New for 2022 will be a GSC Regional Game that will have the Argonauts face a conference member for a second time in an effort to aid the resumes for postseason consideration across the league. That game will be announced November 6, 2022.
The NCAA Division II Championship Playoffs begin on November 19 and end with the title game on December 17.
West Florida High’s Cydnie Helton Signs To Play Lacrosse At Tennessee Wesleyan University
February 28, 2022
West Florida High School midfielder Cydnie Helton has signed her National Letter of Intent to play college lacrosse at Tennessee Wesleyan University. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge
Tate High JV Aggies Win WFHS ‘JV Jags Showdown’ Tournament
February 27, 2022
The Tate High School Junior Varsity softball team is the “JV Jags Showdown” tournament champion.
The JV Aggies won all three games in the West Florida High tournament on Saturday. The Aggies beat Gulf Breeze, Jay and Milton while allowing only one total run.
Photo for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tate Takes Two From Navarre; Escambia Sweeps Northview
February 26, 2022
The Tate Aggies swept two from Navarre Friday, while the Northview Chiefs dropped two to Escambia High.
Tate 10, Navarre 0
Fresh off a 10-0 shutout of Crestview Thursday night, the Tate Aggies shut out Navarre 10-0 Friday night.
Rilee Lowery went four innings, allowing one hit, no runs and striking out four. Ethan McAnally closed allowing one hit, no runs and striking out two.
Madox Land was 2-2 with three RBIs to lead the Aggies at the plate. Drew Reaves, Kirk Mosley, Clif Quiggins and Cade Kelly had one hit each.
Tate 5, Navarre 2 (JV)
The junior varsity Tate Aggies topped Navarre 5-2 Friday.
Gabe Patterson earned the win for the for the JV Aggies, going for three innings, allowing no runs on wo hits and striking out eight. Cameron Partick and Cole McNair closed in relief.
Anthony Longo led the Aggies at the plate, going 2-2. Patterson, Ketch King, Floyd and McNair each added a hit for Tate.
For more Tate varsity and JV photos, click here.
Escambia 4, Northview 3
The Escambia Gators got a late 4-3 win over the Northview Chiefs Friday night in Bratt.
Jamarcus Jefferson allowed five hits and two runs while striking out five in five and a third innings. Cason Burkett threw four and two thirds innings in relief.
Cason Burkett, Luke Bridges, Kaken Odom, Wyatt Scruggs and Trent Knighten had one hit apiece for the Chiefs.
Escambia 6, Northview 2 (JV)
The Northview Chiefs JV fell to Escambia 6-2 Friday.
In three innings, Northview’s C Allen allowed four hits and four runs while striking out three. C Mills allowed one hit and two runs and sat down one in one inning. J White threw one inning.
Pugh went 1-2 for Northview, and Mills was 1-1.
Pictured: Tate varsity and junior varsity beat Navarre Friday. Photos by Laura Glodfelter for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Tate Shuts Out Crestview, Northview’s Landis Throws Shutout Over West Florida
February 25, 2022
Tate 10, Crestview 0
Two Tate Aggie pitchers combined Thursday night to shut out the Crestview Bulldogs 10-0 in six innings.
Josiah Glodfelter went five innings for Tate, allowing no runs, two hits, walking one and striking out six. Dalton Biggs was on the mound for one inning, allowing one hit, walking one and striking out three.
Jay Davis had two hits and three RBIs on two at bats for the Aggies. Frankie Randall went 2-3 for Tate. Drew Reaves, Madox Land and Cade Kelly each added an Aggie hit.
Click here for more photos from Tate varsity and JV.
Tate 8, Crestview 4 (JV)
The junior varsity Tate High Aggies beat the Crestview Bulldogs JV 5-4 Thursday night.
Neal Croom got the win for Tate, going two innings and allowing two hits, no runs and striking out four.
Connor Baer, Hayden St. Amant, and Tristin Lynn also worked the mound for the win, allowing a combined five hits and four runs while striking out four.
Northview 12, West Florida 0
Josh Landis threw a shutout Thursday night as the Northview Chiefs beat West Florida 12-0.
Landis allowed no runs on two hits while striking out two.
Rustin Pope led the Chiefs at the plate, going 3-4 with four RBIs. Landis, Luke Bridges,, Ethan Collier, Kaden Odom, and Cason Burkett also had hits for Northview.
Pictured: Tate Aggies varsity and junior varsity defeated Crestview Thursday night. NorthEscambia.com photos by Laura Glodfelter, click to enlarge.
SEC Women’s Soccer Tournament Coming To Ashton Brosnaham Park
February 24, 2022
The Southeastern Conference has entered into an agreement with Pensacola Sports that will bring the SEC Women’s Soccer Tournament to the North Escambia area.
The tournament will be played at Escambia County’s Ashton Brosnaham Athletic Park off East 10 Mile Road through 2024 under the agreement, with an option to extend the agreement to 2026.
“I’m so excited to think about the premier conference in the country, the SEC, crowning their Women’s Soccer champion in Escambia County at Ashton Brosnaham Park beginning this fall,” said Escambia County Commissioner Steven Barry. “Specifically, I want to thank Ray Palmer, with the Pensacola Sports Association, and Michael Rhodes, Escambia County Parks and Recreation director, for their advocacy and diligent work over the last eight months to deliver such a high level fantastic soccer championship to our community.”
“We are thankful to the City of Pensacola and Pensacola Sports for providing a tremendous venue to conduct our SEC Soccer Championship,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. “Their commitment to this event promises to provide lasting memories for our student-athletes and an outstanding experience for SEC soccer fans from across the region.”
Over the last 11 years, the SEC has earned 75 NCAA Tournament bids – an average of nearly seven per year – with all 14 member institutions making at least one appearance during that span. Eight different SEC teams have advanced to the Round of 16 since 2013 and the league has placed teams in the NCAA quarterfinals in each of the last eight seasons.
SEC soccer has been very popular with the fans as the league led the nation in regular-season attendance with 114,057 fans. Five teams ranked in the top 25 in average attendance on the season: No. 3 Texas A&M (2,329 per game), No. 6 South Carolina (1,556 per game), No. 7 Arkansas (1,537 per game), No. 13 LSU (1,334 per game) and No. 25 Tennessee (912 per game).
Olive Baptist To Host ‘Night Of Champions’ And Free Youth Football Camp With Seven NFL Players
February 24, 2022
Olive Baptist Church will host a “Night of Champions” with seven NFL players Friday night, February 25, followed by a youth football camp on Saturday.
At 7 p.m. the seven NFL players will share stories, testimonies and answer questions during the event for all ages. Afterwards, the players will take selfie-style photos with guests and sign autographs. The event is free of charge.
On the Olive Baptist campus, the NFL players will conduct a one-day youth football camp for grades 5-12 from 8:30 a.m. until noon. The youth will rotate through several stations and learn skills from the players. The event is free, but registration is required prior to the event. Register by clicking or tapping here.
The NFL players schedule to present are:
• James Smith-Williams
• Justin Simmons
• Jeremiah Sirles
• Darius Jackson
• Johnathan Abram
• Trent Scott
• Malik Reed
Tate Cheerleaders Compete At Nationals; JV Squad Takes Sixth In The Nation
February 14, 2022
The Tate junior varsity squad placed sixth in the nation in the JV Non-Tumbling Game Day division.
The state champion Tate varsity cheerleaders competed four times over the weekend in the Traditional Small Varsity D1 Division, and they finished 13 out of 108 teams from across the United States.
Pictured: The junior varsity (above) and varsity (below) Tate High School cheerleaders at national competition. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Middle School Volleyball: Ernest Ward Beats Ferry Pass (With Photo Gallery)
February 11, 2022
The Ernest Ward Middle School Golden Eagles defeated the Eagles of Ferry Pass Middle School Thursday night in Walnut Hill.
The EWMS junior varsity defeated FPMS 25-13, 21-25, 15-5. Ernest Ward JV is 8-2 on the season, tops in the district.
In varsity play, Ernest Ward (7-3) defeated Ferry Pass 25-16, 21-25, 16-14.
Ernest Ward will host Brown Barge on February 14 and Beulah Middle School on February 17. Junior varsity action begins at 5:30, followed by varsity.
For a photo gallery from varsity and JV action, click or tap here.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Tate High’s Shaun Wheeler Commits To Huntingdon College
February 10, 2022
Tate High School’s Shaun Wheeler has committed to play football at Huntingdon College. Submitted photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
