Sports Lowdown

University Field/Photo Credit: Jerry Durney The Florida Tech Panthers scored 24 unanswered points, bridging the second and third quarter Saturday, leading to a 45-21 win over West Georgia in a key Gulf South Conference football game. The win was the first for Florida Tech in three trips to Carrollton. The Panthers salted things away in the fourth quarter with a 40-yard run by Trevor Sand with 1:20 left in the contest, which was the Panthers second touchdown of the quarter. That is on the heels of a 21 point fourth quarter in last week’s big win over Valdosta State . As nicely as the game ended for the Panthers on this Saturday, it did not start out that way. For the second straight week, a bad snap ended up costing the Panthers as quarterback Mark Cato had a snap go just out of his reach and over his head. The Wolves recovered at the Panthers 34 and six plays later, West Georgia quarterback Willie Candler found Brandon Walton for an 11-yard touchdown. That put the Wolves...

The Florida Tech Panthers and West Alabama Tigers put on an offensive show in their Gulf South Conference meeting on Saturday, with the Tigers coming out on top, 45-35. With the loss, the Panthers will likely have to win all three of their remaining games, to make the playoffs. In our conversation with Panthers head coach Steve Englehart on Thursday, he was adamant that if the Panthers won the turnover battle , they would win the game. Unfortunately, the visitors lost four of their five fumbles, including one on the final play of the third quarter that resulted in a scoop and score for West Alabama. This was an 0ld-fashioned shootout from the start, with the teams combining for 1,147 yards of total offense. The Panthers had 643 yards, setting a school record and Quarterback Mark Cato passed for 502 yards, also a school record. On just about any other day, those numbers would translate into a win, but on this day, the turnovers kept that from happening. “You’re not goi...

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 4...

The Florida Tech Panthers moved to 4-0 for the first time in school history, beating Division I FCS opponent Presbyterian on Saturday, 28-7. As Florida Tech play-by-play man Jerry Durney noted, it is equivalent to a boxer stepping up a weight class. Sometimes the move up produces an upset and that was the case in this game, at least to those not associated with the Florida Tech football program. The Panthers defense came into the game with shut outs in their last two games and for two and a half quarters, they were able to keep the Blue Hoes at bay. Coupled with the passing of Mark Cato and the play of their wide receivers, the Panthers controlled this game from the outset. After the defense forced a three and out on the Blue Hose opening possession, Panthers coach Steve Englehart had defensive lineman Tevin Kirkland lined up as a wide receiver. Cato was able to find him down the field on the first offensive play, covering 36 yards and getting the Panthers to midfiel...

For the second consecutive week, Florida Tech Football team pitched a shutout, beating the Shorter Hawks 40-0 in Rome Georgia., as they improved to 3-0 to start the 2016 season.  It was a record setting night for the Crimson and Gray, as they won their second consecutive Gulf South Conference game and are now 2-0 in the GSC for the first time in program history. It was also the first shutout on the road in school history. The Panthers defense smothered the Hawks all night and with the shutout on Saturday, they have not allowed points in the last 10 quarters of football. With the 41-0 victory last week over Mississippi College, the Panthers have won their last two games by a combined score of 81-0 and have scored 40 points or more in all three games this season. It didn’t take long for the Panthers to start rolling, as they came out with a bit of a trick play on the first play of the game. Head coach Steve Englehart had both of his quarterbacks in the backfield, wit...

The Florida Tech Panthers ran roughshod over the Mississippi College Choctaws on Saturday night. scoring an impressive 41-0 victory in the home opener at Florida Tech Panther Stadium. It was the second shutout in school history for the Panthers and their second largest margin of victory. The last time the Panthers shut out an opponent was back on September 19, 2015 beating Warner 37-0. “Whenever you can pitch a shutout on the defensive side, it makes things a lot easier,” said Panthers coach Steve Englehart after the game. “When you hold teams to zero, obviously you’re gonna win the game. Proud of our defense for doing that.” He continued, “I like the fact that our guys on defense were hungry and wanted to do that. It’s hard to hold people to zero nowadays in the game of football, so when you can do it, I think it’s something special.” After Mississippi College stalled on their first drive, the Panthers got right to work. They needed just five plays, highlighted by...

Setzler Field - Newberry, SC The Florida Tech Panthers opened their 2016 football season Saturday, at Newberry College in South Carolina and came away with a big 42-28 victory.  The win avenges a 31-28 home loss to the Wolves in the opening game of 2015, on September 5. It was a total team effort Saturday, with the offense carrying the load in the first half and the defense coming up with five second half turnovers, allowing the Panthers to pull away late. For much of the night though, it was a see-saw battle. Junior Quarterback Mark Cato picked up where he left off in 2015, putting together a solid effort on Saturday. After the defense was able to keep the Wolves off the board on their first drive, Cato went to work from the shadow of his own goal posts, at the 10-yard line. It was a good mix of run and pass on the first drive, with Senior Dalin Modican pulling in a 15-yard pass early and a run by Sophomore Antwuan Haynes, a few plays later, good for 12. Cato ca...