Sports Lowdown

Brandon Ziarno - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech Panthers opened their 2017 season on Saturday night, earning their second straight home opener shutout. FIT got contributions from all three phases of the game, en route to a 44-0 drubbing of the Virginia-Lynchburg Dragons. The 44 point margin is the largest in the five-year history of the Panthers. Florida Tech (1-0) took a while to get their legs under them, as they led 10-0 at the half. A 15-yard run by Antwuan Haynes and a 20-yard run by starting quarterback Brandon Ziarno highlighted the Panthers opening drive, which culminated in a 20-yard field goal by Kyle Gullikson . “Offensively we started slow, we didn't do things we needed to do early on,” said Florida Tech coach Steve Englehart. “We were adjusting to what we were seeing on defense and that had something to do with it, but ultimately, we just needed to get going and sped up the tempo a little bit.” The Panthers looked primed to scor...

Photo credit: James Ragan Photography T he Florida Tech Panthers have gone through spring practices, training camp and all the grueling work that goes with it. This Saturday, all that hard work will pay off, as the Panthers open their season at home, against Virginia University of Lynchburg.   “We've had a good camp, a tough camp,” said Florida Tech head coach Steve Englehart. “We've asked a lot of them and you can talk about wins and talk about championships all you want, but what it really comes down to is focusing on the process of getting there. You gotta love the practice if you're on this football team and you gotta love coming out here and try to get better every day and that's what our guys have done.”   Englehart admits that he's not sure if his team is where he wants them, but they are getting there. “We don't know a lot about Lynchburg, but we gotta get out there and play a game and we'll evaluate from there.”   Other than th...

Brandon Ziarno and Antwuan Haynes - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech football team gave their fans a glimpse of what the 2017 squad will look like, as they played their annual Spring game Friday night at Florida Tech Panther Stadium. The game was comprised of 85 plays, with the offense taking on the defense. The defense ultimately came out on top, 35-28. “I thought it was a fairly exciting scrimmage, had some big plays, had some long runs,” said head coach Steve Englehart. “I thought a lot of people did a lot of good things and there’s still a lot of things to work from, as well.” The defense was spotted 28 points to start the game and they could earn different combinations of points, depending on where they made stops and turnovers they forced. The offensive scoring system was conventional, but they had a long way to go to dig out of that hole. Running back Antwuan Haynes , who finished with 87 yards on 17 carries.got the offense on the b...

The North Greenville Crusaders came into Florida Tech Panther Stadium as the underdog on Saturday, but they certainly didn’t play like it. They used a 24 point second half to upset the Panthers 27-13 in an NCAA Division II first round game. “North Greenville’s a really good football team, that’s what it comes down to,” said Panthers head coach Steve Englehart after the game. “They controlled a lot of the clock, especially in the first half and they were great on third down offense.” Things started well for the Panthers, who blocked a 44-yard field goal on the Crusaders first drive. Freshman quarterback Brandon Ziarno , who was making his first start under center, drove Florida Tech down the field on their opening possession, but he was forced to quick kick it on fourth down, pinning NGU at their own eight-yard line. Ziarno was backed up by Ryan Singer , who saw his fair share of snaps in this game as well. North Greenville quarterback Will Hunter put together a nice dr...

For the first time in the four-year history of the program, the Florida Tech Panthers football team is preparing for a playoff game, this Saturday, against North Greenville.  The game is scheduled for a noon kickoff at Florida Tech Panther Stadium. It has been a steady climb for this team, who won five games in their inaugural year of 2013 and have added a win every season, culminating in an 8-2 campaign this season. “Our team is excited to play in the playoffs and I think everyone understands the importance of a playoff game,” said head coach Steve Englehart. “We’re excited to go out there and execute as a football team and hopefully get a win.” This was not a typical week for Englehart and his team. Not only are they dealing with the pressure of the first ever playoff game in the history of the program, but the school is also dealing with the fact that starting quarterback Mark Cato has been suspended indefinitely , after he was charged with DUI, following the t...

Following their loss to West Florida two weeks ago and the cancellation of the game last week against North Alabama, the Florida Tech football team came out Saturday against Fort Valley State running on all cylinders and coming away with a 48-14 win on Homecoming Saturday. “The last 14 days have been kind of crazy with all the things that have happened but we were obviously excited and it brings up the energy level when we can come out here and have a performance like this,” said Panthers head coach Steve Englehart. “Out here is the players and coaches’ sanctuary, its where you forget about everything else. It’s good to get our swag back and get back on the winning track.” The 48 points by the Panthers is a school record for points scored in a home game. Quarterback Mark Cato only played the first half of the game, but he did a lot of damage in that time, rushing for three touchdowns and throwing for two more. He accounted for 166 of the Panthers 439 total yards. ...