Gridiron Lowdown: Englehart Talks Coastal Classic 2017

Photo credit: James Ragan Photography

Florida Tech coach Steve Englehart has said week in and week out that last year was last year and this year is this year. In all those cases, he was correct... but this week, is just a bit different. 

“You can't keep it from 'em, they know what it is,” said Englehart. “They know it's an in-state rivalry and it's a trophy game, you get a trophy if you win it. It is different.” 

On Saturday, the Panthers will welcome the West Florida Argonauts to Melbourne for the second Coastal Classic game. It is the first in the series to be played at Florida Tech Panthers Stadium and Florida Tech will be looking to avenge last years' 42-39 loss, to what was then a first-year program, in West Florida. 

“We went up there last year, we were 4-0 feeling pretty good about ourselves,” said Englehart. “They took it to us. They played better than we did, they played harder than we did... they played with more passion and they outcoached us, the whole nine yards.” 

Englehart said that this is a different team, yes... but said it is naive to think that people don't think about what happened the year before.  

“A lot of guys that played on that team last year aren't on this team. he said. “But it's more the in-state rivalry. A lot of these guys played with guys on their team, we recruited guys that are on their team, so we know each other pretty well and we know the players better than we know the other teams in the conference.  Obviously, it's a big game.” 

Last years game saw the Panthers fight back in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Argonauts 22-14. Unfortunately, the Panthers just ran out of time. Many of the mistakes that put them behind were self-inflicted, as the Panthers had an uncharacteristically high 15 penalties for 118 yards. It was an ugly game, capping off a day of travel issues and other problems that Tech had to deal with before the game. 

Running back Antwuan Haynes had 85 yards on 13 carries in last year's meeting. He has rushed for 328 yards in his last two games and there's a good chance that he will add another 100-yard game to his resume on Saturday. 

The one big question mark for FIT is at quarterback. Mark Cato suffered an injury to his non-throwing shoulder last week against Mississippi College and Englehart said he will be a game-time decision. 

“We just don't know if Cato can play or not,” he said. “He's feeling pretty decent and getting better every day, but really you don't know if it can take a hit.  The benefit is it's not his throwing shoulder so he might have to suffer through some pain.” 

If Cato can't play, the Panthers are in pretty good hands with Trent Chmelik. He threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, after replacing Cato late in the first quarter against the Choctaws. 

“Trent's a smart kid, he's worked really hard and he prepares well,” said Englehart. “He's not gonna put us in bad positions and he's gonna make some plays.” 

Saturday's game is also the annual White-Out game. Get there early, as a big crowd is expected. 

If you can't make it out to the stadium, you can listen to Paul Van Scott and Jerry Durney on WFIT.org or on your FM dial at 89.5. You can also watch the game on ESPN3. Pre-game is on the air at 6:30 p.m. EDT, with kickoff at 7:00. 

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