West Florida Shocks Florida Tech in Coastal Classic
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| West Florida's Blue Wahoos Stadium/Jerry Durney |
The Florida Tech Panthers gave away a very winnable game Saturday night, losing 42-39 to the West Florida Argonauts, who are in their inaugural season. With the win, the Argos kept the first-ever Coastal Classic trophy in Pensacola.
It was not a good night for the Panthers for much of the game, but to their credit, they did fight back in the fourth quarter, outscoring West Florida 22-14. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late, as the Panthers undefeated start and their #16 ranking both fell by the wayside.
The Panthers (4-1) had given up 35 points combined in their first four games, but on this night, the upstart Argos forced Florida Tech into making mistakes and took advantage of them. The Panthers had a season high 15 penalties for 118 yards, many of them self-inflicted.
The defense that had been playing lights out in the previous four games, just couldn’t find their footing in this game, as the Argos put up 458 total yards, with 360 of those coming from quarterback Kaleb Knobles, who completed 24-of-43 passes.
Florida Tech got off to a good start, forcing a fumble on defense and starting their first offensive drive at the Argos 35. Trevor Sand finished things off with a 7-yard run, putting the visitors up 7-0. The drive took 2:12 off the clock, in just six plays.
West Florida answered with a decent drive that included a sparkling run by Leroy Wilson, who hurdled a Florida Tech defender to keep the drive going on third down. The home team would go on to tie the game on a two-yard run by Jemari Ford. The first quarter would end with the game tied at 7.
The Argonauts (3-2) would strike first in the second quarter on a 65-yard pass from Knobles to Ishmel Morrow, capping off a four play, 75-yard drive.
Florida Tech would block a punt, but the Argos recovered as they would boost the lead to 21-7 on the ensuing Florida Tech possession, when Florida Tech quarterback Mark Cato threw an interception that Leroy Taylor returned 17 yards for the dreaded pick-six.
The Argos would take that lead into the locker room and the Panthers would come out in the third quarter and put together a nice drive that stalled inside the West Florida four-yard line. The Panthers were forced to go for the field goal, which was good off the foot of Zachary Leatherman and got the Panthers to within 21-10. The drive covered 68 yards in 15 plays.
The Argos would come back with a sustained drive of their own, getting the ball down inside the Florida Tech 10-yard line, as they looked to salt this one away. Panthers defender Chris Stapleton had other ideas, as he picked Knobles off in the end zone and ran it all the way back to the West Florida 12-yard line. The ball was knocked out, but it fell out of bounds and Florida Tech kept it.
It took just one play for the Panthers to score, as Jarron Barrett went airborne to catch the Cato pass in the back of the end zone. Barrett took a wicked shot, but held on. He stayed down for a while, but eventually walked off the field under his own power and the Panthers closed to 21-17.
Florida Tech helped the Argos on the next drive, with a pass interference call in the end zone, setting up Knobles for a 4-yard touchdown run and a 28-17 lead for the upset-minded Argonauts.
The Panthers put together another nice drive to end the third quarter and it spilled over into the fourth quarter, when Kenny Johnston’s 26-yard catch in the corner of the end zone made it 28-24, with 14:48 to go. That drive covered 65 yards in three plays and started Florida Tech on the road to a comeback.
Unfortunately for the Panthers, Cato would throw another interception on their next possession and Marvin Conley would bring it back 40 yards, setting up a 2-yard score from Tim Bellinger later in the drive, upping the Argos lead to 35-24 with 10:38 left. That drive included another pass interference call on the Panthers defense.
It didn’t take long for West Florida to strike again, as Knobles found Morrow for a 74-yard strike and a 42-24 lead with 7:20 left. A touchdown run by Antwuan Haynes and a two-point conversion made it 42-32 with 4:01 to go.
The Panthers got the ball back without allowing a score, thanks to an interception in the end zone by Tyler Rosenblatt. Cato needed just one play and a little bit of a Houdini act to get away from pressure, not once but twice. He heaved it and found Johnston downfield, who took it the rest of the way and made it a three-point game, 42-39.
After getting a stop on defense, the Panthers were left with just 18 seconds to go 85 yards. Cato had a nice run to start and with nine seconds left, they got another play off, getting the ball up to the 47.
Cato dropped back to pass, but was under all sorts of pressure, one of his lineman got the ball, and pitched it back to Cato, but he couldn’t find anyone open and West Florida took him down to end the game.
For more info: Florida Tech @ West Florida Box Score
Cato finished with 307 yards passing, with much of that coming in the second half. He was 22-of-40 on the night. Johnston caught nine balls for a school record 187 yards and scored two touchdowns. Wayne Saunders II had eight catches for 72 yards.
Haynes led the team in rushing, carrying the ball 13 times for 77 yards. Trevor Sand had 16 carries for 54 yards. Both guys had a touchdown.
Florida Tech returns home for a crucial game against West Alabama next Saturday. West Alabama is coming off a 24-23 win over #3 ranked West Georgia. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
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