Haynes 188 yards Rushing Leads Panthers Over Shorter in GSC Opener
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| Antwuan Haynes - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography Space Coast Daily Game Highlights - w/ Alan Zlotorzynski |
The Florida Tech Panthers secured their second home win of the season on Saturday, taking care of the visiting Shorter Hawks 31-6 at Florida Tech Panther Stadium. With the victory, Florida Tech head coach Steve Englehart improved his record over Shorter to 5-0.
It was a big night for the Panthers running game, as they racked up 340 yards on 47 carries, led by Antwuan Haynes, who carried the ball 19 times for 188 yards and two touchdowns, while Gary Holmes put up 86 yards on 11 carries.
“Offensively, I thought we did a lot of good things,” said Englehart. “We just gotta finish a little better. We were close to several big plays and really putting up some big yards.”
Things didn't start well for the Panthers, with the Hawks taking advantage of an early turnover. On the second offensive play of the game Florida Tech starting quarterback Mark Cato completed a pass to Romell Guerrier, who gained 12 yards before fumbling the ball and giving Shorter the ball at the Florida Tech 34.
“We just didn't start well obviously,” said Englehart. “We have a big play and then turn the ball over on that play. Then our defense holds 'em and we go pick-six. We put ourselves in the hole for the last three games a little bit just the way we started, that's gotta change.”
The Panthers defense stood tall on the drive, stopping a couple runs inside the one-yard line, before Adonis Davis knocked Aaron Bryant back for a one-yard loss on 4th-and-1, giving the Panthers the ball at the two-yard line, with 10:03 to go in the quarter.
This is the part of the field you can't afford to make a mistake and unfortunately, Cato did as Kevin Knight picked him off and returned the ball 30 yards for the pick-six, giving Shorter the lead 5:10 into the game, 6-0. The extra point attempt was blocked by Letwan Sutton, keeping it a six-point game.
“He's a playmaker and wants to make plays,” Englehart said of Cato's pick-six. “It's just kind of his personality, he wants to make every play and we have to make sure he's just taking what the defense is giving him.”
“There were some mistakes we made, probably some misreads,” said Haynes. “But we got in sync and you saw that we can score fast and also sustain drives, but those turnovers, we can't do that. We gotta get better as the year goes on.”
That's all it took to jump-start the Panthers offense, as Cato marched his team down the field on the next drive, highlighted by a Holmes 34-yard run on the third play of the drive and capped off with Cato finding Demetrius Frazier from 24 yards out. The extra point was good and the Panthers took a 7-6 lead, with 7:25 to go in the first quarter.
Following a three-and-out from Shorter, Cato found Jaaron Barrett to start the next drive, good for 13 yards to the FIT 49. An unsportsmanlike conduct call on the Hawks moved the Panthers 15 yards and Cato ran for another 15 on the next play. After a 12-yard run by Holmes, Cato ran the final 12 yards on the next two plays, giving the Panthers a 14-6 led with 3:34 left in the quarter.
Florida Tech (2-1, 1-0 GSC) got the ball back with 16 seconds left in the quarter and proceeded to reel off a 12-play, 90-yard drive featuring a Haynes run of 13 and a pass to Guerrier that covered 14 yards. Haynes carried five times for 42 yards on the drive, including the final 10 yards for the touchdown, giving the Panthers a 21-6 lead.
The Florida Tech defense, who pitched a 44-0 shutout against Virginia Lynchburg on September 2 to open the season, continued their home dominance not allowing an opponent to score for the second consecutive game.
The Hawks (0-3, 0-1 GSC) were able to get inside the 25, before going for it on 4th-and-4 with 6:27 to go in the half and having Tyler Pullum's pass fall incomplete.
“The defense has played well,” said Englehart, but we still haven't had a dang turnover. “I don't know what it is... hopefully once we get one, it'll kind of open up the floodgates.”
The Panthers did not score on their next possession, but Cato was able to pin Shorter deep when he pulled off a pooch-punt that pinned the Hawks at their own 3-yard line. Despite three first-half turnovers, including the pick-six, Florida Tech still went to the locker room comfortably ahead, 21-6.
The Panthers first possession of the third quarter included a short pass to Frazier on the third play that saw him get yanked down by the facemask and give Florida Tech a free 15 yards. Haynes had a nice run on the drive as well, spinning for a gain of 11 and a first down. He would later catch a 22-yard pass that set the Panthers up at the Shorter 12.
Zachary Leatherman would cap the 13-play, 70-yard drive with a 30-yard field goal, giving his team a 24-6 lead with 6:45 to go in the quarter. Those would be the only points scored by either team in the third.
The only score of quarter number four, was Haynes nifty 35-yard run with 8:10 to go in the game, capping off his big night and capping the first Gulf South Conference win of the season for the Panthers.
“All the games are big and we started our Gulf South Conference play tonight,” said Englehart. It's always nice getting a win, but the first Gulf South Conference win is big.”
“It's good to get that first conference win, always wanna start off with a win,” said Haynes. “We're undefeated at home right now and each week we're gonna get better. Every game now, matters.”
The Gulf South Conference play continues next Saturday, when the Panthers travel to Clinton Mississippi, to take on Mississippi College. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. EDT.
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