Sports Lowdown

Mark Cato - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech Panthers scored a huge upset Saturday, beating the #18 West Alabama Tigers 41-39 in a Gulf South Conference contest. It was the first loss for West Alabama in the conference.   “We knew we were gonna get their best shot through the entire game,” said Panthers quarterback Mark Cato . “We just had to stay tough through it and convert on the gameplan that we had and everything would come to fruition.”   “We didn't play clean but we played hard,” said Florida Tech head coach Steve Englehart after the game. “This was a great team victory.”   This game went back-and-forth throughout, with Cato going 22-for-40 throwing for 345 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for the game-winning touchdown, an 11-yard scamper, with 51 seconds left. This followed a 325-yard performance from Cato last week, against North Greenville .   Statistically, this game couldn't have been more even and it p...

Antwuan Haynes - Photo Credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech Panthers overcame a tough third quarter on Saturday, taking down the North Greenville Crusaders 42-31 and snapping a two-game losing streak in the process.   “I really loved the execution of our offense and what they did,” said Panthers head coach Steve Englehart in his postgame interview with Jerry Durney and Paul Van Scott on WFIT Radio.  “Defense played well too, they shut 'em down when they needed to shut 'em down. Whatever the yards and points are I don't care,  we win the football game. I don't care if we win 2-0 or 49-48, it was a great team win.”   Big offensive efforts from quarterback Mark Cato , who completed 20-of-33 passes for 325 yards and four touchdowns and Antwuan Haynes who carried 22 times for 155 yards and a touchdown, got the Panthers a big win over a team that ended their season last year in the first round of the playoffs.   After a tough fi...

Mark Cato - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography After what could easily be called the most heart-wrenching loss in program history, Florida Tech coach Steve Englehart took the blame for his teams' 23-21 loss to West Florida on Saturday at Florida Tech Panther Stadium.   “Ultimately our kids did enough to win the game, yeah we could've made a few more plays when you look throughout the course of the game,” he said. “Especially in that fourth quarter we had chances to put the game away on offense and didn't do that and that led to the series of things that happened in the last two minutes of the game. I take full credit for us not getting that win.”   “It was a series of things in the last two minutes,” Englehart continued. “All from the officials having it at 3rd-and-1 and changing it late as we went out there to a first down. Not really understanding that. That part of things is on coaching, we gotta be better at that.”   That was just one in a ser...

Antwuan Haynes rushed for 170 yards on Saturday - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography For the second straight year, the West Florida Argonauts took home the Coastal Classic trophy, beating the Florida Tech Panthers on a last-second 44-yard field goal by Austin Williams, sending the visitors home with a 23-21 come-from-behind victory.   To say this was a wild game is a huge understatement. To say this game had bad officiating calls is also an understatement, but the Panthers and the officials let West Florida hang around, just long enough to give the Argos their second victory over the Panthers in just their second year of existence.   The final drive was key, but in order to get the full picture, it is best to go play-by-play. Even then, it may not be believed as you sit and read it.   Florida Tech (3-2, 2-1 GSC) started their last drive with 2:53 left on the clock and Antwuan Haynes who finished the night with 170 yards on the ground got two yards...

Trent Chmelik - Photo credit: James Ragan Photography The Florida Tech Panthers scored 28 points in the second half on Saturday, coming away with a 35-0 win over the Mississippi College Choctaws at Robinson-Hale Stadium. With the victory, the Panthers improve to 3-1 on the season, including 2-0 in the Gulf South Conference.   This was the second straight game that the Panthers defense did not allow a touchdown and the second shutout of the season overall, following the 44-0 drubbing of Virginia University of Lynchburg to start the season.   “The defense has been unbelievable,” said head coach Steve Englehart, as he started his postgame interview with Jerry Durney and Paul Van Scott. “They've been kind of a bend-don't break style all year and they didn't even bend tonight.”   Things got off to a good start for the Panthers, who took the ball 76 yards on their opening possession, highlighted by an 18-yard catch by Robert Foy and capped off by a Gary H...

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...