UWF Argos Beat Statesmen 38-27 In NCAA Second Round
November 27, 2022
The UWF football team continues to cause Delta State fits at McCool Stadium.
Last year it was a 20-point halftime deficit for a come-from-behind win. And on Saturday, the Argos erased a 14-point hole in the fourth quarter with 28 points and the game-winning score with 30 seconds left for a 38-27 win in the Second Round of the 2022 NCAA Division II Football Championship.
Third-seeded UWF (11-1) rushed for 336 yards in the game, including 55 on the final drive that saw the Argonauts go 75 yards on 10 plays in 3:40 following a DSU field goal. C.J. Wilson found the end zone from a yard out to complete the comeback.
“I thought our offensive line really started to wear on their defense in the fourth quarter,” said UWF coach Pete Shinnick. “When you can throw three running backs the way we do… Shomari can tell you, he’s fresh and a 1,000-yard rusher averaging eight yards a carry.”
Shomari Mason went over 1,000 yards for the second-consecutive season with 120 yards on 16 carries and a score. Wilson had 85 yards on 11 rushes and Ra’veion Hargrove churned out 83 yards with nine runs for a 9.2 yards per carry average. All three backs had at least one run of 21 yards or longer against the Statesmen. In the first meeting with DSU on September 24, UWF controlled the ground attack to the tune of 386 yards.
The win sends UWF into the Super Region 2 finals next Saturday against Wingate (11-2). The unseeded Bulldogs will travel to Pensacola for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Pen Air Field after they upset No. 1 seed Benedict, 23-6, for their second-straight playoff road victory.
UWF grabbed a 3-0 lead 2:57 into the game when Griffin Cerra made a 25-yard field goal after the Argos forced a Patrick Shegog fumble on the second play of the game.
The Statesmen fought back and took a 10-3 lead with a Shegog touchdown from a yard out and a Nick Herber 25-yard field goal.
After the teams traded punts, UWF tied it at 10-10 when Jarrett found David Durden in the end zone from 52 yards out.
Midway through the second quarter, the Statesmen got a 76-yard run by Alfonso Franklin to setup another Shegog 1-yard score that eventually sent the teams into the locker room with Delta leading 17-10.
Following a missed field goal on UWF’s opening possession of the second half, the Statesmen went ahead 24-10 on Shegog’s third touchdown.
The Argos started their comeback on the next possession, finishing off a 75-yard drive when Jarrett connected with a wide open Jakobe Quillen from 35 yards. After forcing Delta to punt on the next drive, UWF tied it up at 24-24 when Hargrove, Jarrett and Mason each carried the ball twice en route to a Mason touchdown from the three.
The Statesmen kicked a go-ahead field goal with 4:10 to play following a UWF goal-line stand on 1st and goal at the four.
The gave Jarrett plenty of time to engineer his second fourth quarter game-tying or go-ahead drive in the last four games.
He finished with 161 passing yards with two touchdowns while rushing for 48 on 12 carries.
The Argos put the Okra in the pot on the first play of their next possession when Anthony Johnson, Jr. picked off Shegog and returned it 39 yards to the end zone. Johnson was the one who stayed at home on the third down play and forced Shegog to throw it away on the previous possession.
DSU (11-2) had 469 total yards on 315 rushing, with 131 coming on Franklin’s long run and a 55-yard fake punt in the first quarter. It was the second loss in the final 30 seconds for the Statesmen, who also allowed West Georgia to score 28 points in the final quarter of a 52-42 loss three weeks ago.
Photo: Morgan Givens/UWF
Northview Destroys Chipley 42-6 For Region Title (With Photo Gallery)
November 26, 2022
The Northview Chiefs destroyed the 11-0 Chipley Tigers 42-6 Friday night in Bratt to claim a 1R regional championship and a seat at the Final Four table next week.
Oh, and the Chiefs are planning to hire a sign guy.
“I promise you I am going to put ‘State Champions’ up there in the biggest font,” head coach Wes Summerford told the team after the big win, pointing to the press box sign in Tommy Weaver Memorial Stadium that proclaims the Chiefs as state champions in 2012 — the last time they won a regional championship.
“Tell them to bring me my trophy,” quarterback Kaden Odom told his teammates the postgame huddle.
“I’d like to do it all over again to tell you the truth. I couldn’t be more proud of the guys. I know there was a moment where I was just emotional because going from last week — the guys knew I wasn’t happy with them (last week), backs against the wall,” Summerford said.
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“I think our whole team stepped up. It just shows the character,” he said. “We talked a lot about that this week; there’s so many leaders in our building, and that’s awesome.”
In the regional battle of the undefeateds, perhaps no one really expected such a complete domination by the powerhouse Chiefs — and even a running clock in the second half under the FHSAA’s “mercy rule”.
Senior Jamarkus Jefferson led the Chiefs with five rushing touchdowns. The other TD from the Chiefs was on an 18–yard pass from Odom to Wyatt Scruggs.
By the fourth quarter, Northview had backed off full throttle, giving several key first string players a rest.
“He’s just a freshman; you’re playing a freshhhh—mannn,” the Northview sideline chanted at Chipley as freshman Daniel Earnest repeatedly gained yardage against the perplexed Tigers.
“With this crowd behind us tonight, we knew we were ready,” Odom said. “Coaches put together a great game plan, and we go out there and execute it. Coach always says Friday is payday. We came out here, and we got paid today. It feels good.”
“I feel great. It’s been a long time since we’ve been here,” Jefferson said. “We just had to handle business and do what we had to do.”
Next week, Northview (12-0) will host the Fightin’ Tigers of Union County High (8-2).
And the Chiefs will be ready.
“We’ve got to go win this,” Jefferson said.. We can’t let up. We’ve got to go handle business.”
“We’ll be ready. These guys, we come ready to work every week, and Friday takes care of itself,” Odom said. “Our last stop is Tallahassee when we hold that state championship trophy, baby!”
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UWF Gets Big 45-19 First Round Playoff Win Over Limestone
November 20, 2022
De’Mareyae Givens well-remembered the anguish from a year ago when UWF exited the first round of the NCAA playoffs, after a shocking upset loss at home as the No. 1 region seed.
“That didn’t feel good,” he said. “I didn’t want that to be our situation. I am a senior and this is my last chance. We’ve got to keep going and I’m going to give all I’ve got.”
His determination produced a pivotal moment Saturday when he blocked a punt, then scooped the ball and scored with 11 seconds left before halftime, building an 18-point lead that the Argos eventually carried into a 45-19 victory against Limestone University in the first-ever NCAA Division II playoff game on campus at Pen Air Field.
Before a crowd of 2,147 on a cold, raw and light raining day, the Argos build at 31-6 lead early in the third quarter, overcome Limestone’s two touchdowns to trim the deficit and cruised the rest of the way into their 10th post-season win. It extends the best winning percentage (10-2 in four years) among any NCAA D-2 team.
“The momentum at the end of the half, that was huge,” said UWF coach Pete Shinnick. “That really gave our guys a lot of energy. But I love how we played just to answer the call. Not the prettiest game on offense, but I will take 45 points any time, anywhere. I think all our guys were very aware of a year ago, so to put ourselves in this situation right now is fantastic.”
The win sends No. 3 region seed UWF (10-2), which just attained its third season of 10 or more wins in the team’s brief, six-year history, into the Super Region 2 semifinals next Saturday in a rematch against Gulf South Conference rival Delta State, a 51-0 winner against Fayetteville (N.C.) State in another first-round game Saturday. The game will be at 1 p.m. next Saturday in Cleveland, Mississippi.
The Statesmen earned a higher seed (No. 2) by virtue of beating UWF 45-42 in double overtime on September 24 in Pensacola. Since that game, the Argos have reeled off eight straight wins.
“We have been saying this since we got into the league our first year (2016). You have to win the Gulf South Conference twice, because almost every year there will be two or three GSC teams in the playoffs,” Shinnick said. “We’ve had to go through this before. When we lost to (Delta State) the feeling was we would see them again.”
The Argos wound up with a 26-point win Saturday, but that is deceiving.
Limestone (8-3), which did not win a game a year ago (0-9) and was playing in its first-ever NCAA playoff game, set an early-game tone by driving to UWF’s 25 on the game’s first possession, then being thwarted on a goal-line stand by the Argos defense on Limestone’s third possession. On a fourth-and-goal call from the 2, the Saints’ star running back Tre Stewart was stood up by UWF’s defensive line.
And in the third quarter, Limestone cut the deficit to 12 points and had its boisterous contingent of fans in an emotional pitch after recovering a botched punt catch attempt by UWF’s David Durden and recovering the bouncing football in the end zone for a touchdown.
“That’s a very good football team we just played and very tough environment to play in but I’m very proud of our kids with the resolve they had,” said Limestone’s third-year coach Mike Furrey, whose team set a school record for most wins in a season and most conference wins in the South Atlantic Conference. The private school with less than 2,500 enrollment is located in Gaffney, South Carolina, about 55 miles southwest of Charlotte.
“I thought we cleaned some things up at halftime and went out and played the best we could play in the second half,” Furrey said. “This is one of the great stories in college football history what these kids (Saints) did going from 0-9 to 8-3 and making the playoffs. It’s never been done before in college football.
“What a great experience for us to play in this game and to be in the playoffs when nobody would have said that six months ago.”
Before the goal line stand from UWF’s defense late in the first quarter, the Argos scored the game’s first points when quarterback Peewee Jarrett scored the first of his three rushing touchdowns on a 19-yard run with 4:00 minutes left. Jarrett battled through a struggling day in the passing game, completing only seven of 18 attempts for 113 yards and was sacked three times.
One of the two pivotal moments in Saturday’s game occurred in the final two minutes of the first half. UWF led just 10-6 when Jarrett steered a nine-play, 70-yard drive that was capped by his 2-yard run with 1:11 left.
Following the ensuing kickoff, Limestone threw a pair of incompletions that kept the clocked stopped. With 24.2 seconds left on a punt from Bryan Frey, there were offsetting penalties, forcing a do-over kick.
This time, Givens burst free from a gap, blocked the ball with two hands and easily picked the ball off the bounce for a walk-in score from five yards out. When Griffin Cerra added the extra point, that once-four-point lead had swelled to 24-6.
“I did (feel a block was coming),” said Givens, a senior from Palatka. “With the spaces that were left in between two (Limestone) players and I know how quick I am to get off the ball, I thought I have a chance of blocking this kick. The snap was high. When (Frey) tried to bring it back down I was already there.
“I couldn’t sleep (Friday night) trying to think about this game. Last year had a lot to do with how this game turned out. I am a senior and I just wanted to do all I could to help us win.”
The Argos took a 31-6 lead on Ra’veon Hargove’s 3-yard run early in the third quarter. But that’s when the game’s second pivotal moment occurred. Limestone drove 64 yards for a touchdown later in the quarter. When the Argos defense got another stop, Frey’s punt to Durden was signaled as a fair catch. But Durden didn’t complete the catch and the ball bounded backwards to enable Limestone to recover it for a touchdown with 57 seconds left in the third quarter.
Suddenly, it’s now a 31-19 game, after the extra point failed.
“Dave muffed a punt which is something he doesn’t do,” Shinnick said. “It was very unfortunate, very uncharacteristic of us and Dave. But I will stick him back there any time. That was obviously something that cannot happen.
“But I still felt we were doing a lot of really good things… So I wasn’t sitting there panicking, but it was more like, okay we got the ball back, now we have to do something good. And I felt like our guys understood the situation well.”
UWF answered less than three minutes later when Jarrett hooked up with Durden on a 33-yard touchdown pass in the back left corner of the end zone.
“I felt like our offense has been electric all season,” Jarrett said. “Big play touchdowns, one play drives. I knew it was coming throughout the game, I like Dave one on our against whoever he faces in that situation.”
From that point, UWF stayed in control. Hargrove led UWF in rushing with 121 yards. CJ Wilson had 66 yards and Shomari Mason had 40 as UWF amassed 259 yards on the ground.
Willie Jordan led UWF’s defense with 11 tackles. Will Breland and Sharrod Oliver both had interceptions. It was a far different ending to this first-round playoff game as compared to the Argos’ 33-30 overtime loss a year ago to Newberry at Blue Wahoos Stadium. That became the final game UWF played at the bayfront baseball stadium.
Shinnick credits this team’s experienced leadership with practice efforts that emphasized not to take Limestone as an easy game.
“Our seniors did a good job this week staying true to that,” he said. “They understood the heartache and they understood the disappointment from a year ago. Last year we had a punt blocked, this year we blocked a punt. Last year we threw interceptions, this year we won the turnover game.”
By doing so, UWF gets an opportunity against Delta State to continue its amazing postseason streak. The Argos have not lost a playoff game at another team’s stadium.
“Like to see that continue,” Shinnick said.
By Bill Vilona, UWF Senior Writer. Photo: Morgan Givens/UWF.
Tate Lady Aggies Hold Annual Softball Skills Clinic (With Photo Gallery)
November 20, 2022
The Tate Lady Aggies held their fall softball skills clinic fundraiser last week with help from the Pensacola State Pirates.
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Northview Chiefs Beat Holmes County 34-26 In 1R Regional Semifinal (With Photo Gallery)
November 19, 2022
The Northview Chiefs improved to 11-0 Friday night with a 34-26 win over Holmes County in a FHSAA Region 1-1R semi-final game on a cold night in Bratt.
“Hats off to Holmes County. They did an excellent job,” Northview head coach Wes Summerford said. “I told their coach that. They did a great job on both sides of the ball; they gave us some trouble all game long. We struggled to be who we are, and that’s something we’ve got to look at this weekend and get it fixed.”
For more photos, click or tap here. (Look for fans, cheerleaders, the band and more coming soon.)
Northview quarterback Kaden Odom led the Chiefs with four touchdowns — a 75-yard kickoff return plus TD runs of 5-yards, 32-yards and 19-yards. Jamarkus Jefferson also added a touchdown from one-yard out.
Next Friday night, Northview will host Chipley (11-0) at Tommy Weaver Memorial Stadium in Bratt. Chipley is coming off a 33-20 win over Baker this week.
“We’ve got a tough team coming in here. We’ve got to get better, and we’ve got to play better than that. We just weren’t ready. That’s my fault, and that’s on me.”
“We just got to do better. We got to get on both sides, the ball better.”
For more photos, click or tap here. (Look for fans, cheerleaders, band coming soon.)
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Playoffs: Northview Wins; Pine Forest, Escambia, West Florida, Catholic All Fall
November 19, 2022
Here are Friday night playoff football scores from across the North Escambia area:
1R
- Northview 34, Holmes County 26 [Details, photos...]
- Chipley 39, Baker 20
- Next week: Chipley at Northview
2S
- Florida High 18, Pensacola Catholic 14
- Suwannee 17, West Florida 14
3S
- Choctawhatchee 30, Pine Forest 29
- Columbia 17. Escambia 15
ALABAMA
- There were no Escambia County, Alabama, teams remaining in the Alabama playoffs.
Tate Baseball’s Kelly And McAnally Sign With Coastal Alabama East
November 18, 2022
Tate High School’s Cade Kelly and Ethan McAnally signed Thursday afternoon with the Warhawks of Coastal Alabama Community College East in Brewton to continue their baseball and academic careers.
The Wildlife Sanctuary of Northwest Florida provided a red-tailed hawk in lieu of a Warhawk mascot for the signing event.
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Jay’s Caitlyn Gavin Inks Softball Scholarship With USA Jaguars
November 18, 2022
Jay High School’s Caitlyn Gavin signed a softball scholarship Thursday with the University of South Alabama.
A member of the varsity team since seventh grade, Gavin signs with the Jags after lettering for the Jay Lady Royals. As a junior, Gavin batted .372, recording 32 hits, 23 runs scored and 17 RBI. Of her 32 hits, 10 went for extra bases that season, including seven doubles and a pair of home runs. She led Jay to Class 1A state championship in 2022 – program’s first-ever softball state title – as the Royals finished with a 22-5 record.
Gavin batted .423 in 29 games during the 2021 season where she helped Jay to a 24-6 record. She drove in 39 with 33 hits and scored 33 runs, while also registering 12 home runs and four doubles. She was 5-for-5 with 6 RBI against Gulf Breeze and also drove in five in a postseason game against Holmes County.
“We love the way Caitlyn plays the game,” said Becky Clark, USA softball head coach. “She commits to all of the little things that add up to big moments. As a middle infielder, she has the tools to make all of the plays up the middle and in the hole. She loves the game and shows up to play every day. Offensively, she will work gap-to-gap with the ability to drive the ball out of the park as well. I am excited to see her growth and production once she gets in our system on a consistent basis.”
Army-Navy Game: Bettie, Ernest Ward Middle’s Goat, Joins The Navy For A Day
November 17, 2022
Wednesday was a big day for Bettie, one of the resident goats of the Ernest Ward Middle School FFA program, as she became an honorary member of the Navy for a day.
Bettie traveled from her home at EWMS in Walnut Hill to Naval Air Station Pensacola when she helped promote an upcoming watch party for the Army-Navy game.
NAS Pensacola Commanding Officer Capt. Terrence Shashaty accompanied Bettie as they toured the base with Bill The Goat, the Navy’s football mascot, to encourage sailors to attend a watch party on December 10.
“Several sailors told me that seeing Ernest Ward’s goat made them feel like they were back home. Everyone had a great time as we came together as a community and cheered on our Navy home team,” said Steven Harrell, director of Workforce Education for Escambia County Public Schools. Harrell, dressed in overalls, was Bettie’s ride to NAS Pensacola.
Harrell said Bettie loved the attention she received and helped cheer, “Go Navy….Beat Army!”
The Navy Midshipmen will be at the Army Black Knights on December 10 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The game is set to air at 2 p.m. on CBS.
The NAS Pensacola MWF Army-Navy Watch Party will begin at 1 p.m. at the National Naval Aviation Museum. The event is open to DoD cardholders only.
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Pictured: Betty the Ernest Ward Middle School goat, cheers on the Navy football team Wednesday at NAS Pensacola. Photos for NorthEscambia.com, click to enlarge.
Northview’s Jamarkus Jefferson Receives Player Of The Year, Other Honors From State Coaches Group
November 16, 2022
Northview Chief Jamarkus Jefferson has received numerous honors from the Florida Athletic Coaches Association (FACA).
FACA named Jefferson:
- 1st Team All District Running Back (all classifications)
- 1st Team All Star Nomination FACA District 1 MVP (all classifications)
- FACA District 1 Player Of The Year (all classifications)
In addition, Jefferson is nominated for the Florida Dairy Farmers 1R Player of the Year and Mr. Football for the State of Florida, according to Northview head coach Wes Summerford. Those honors have not yet been named.
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