UWF Football: The defense did its job against West Alabama. The offense failed to respond.

The University of West Florida football team’s defense wasn’t the problem.

The Argos gave their offense, what seemed like, every chance to get back in the low-scoring game at the University of West Alabama on Saturday. The Tigers were limited to just 210 yards of total offense.

Of the 14 West Alabama drives – not including its final drive where the Tigers went in victory formation and ran out the remaining minimal time in the game – the UWF defense allowed its opponents to cross midfield four times. One of those drives, the Tigers started at the UWF 29-yard line after the Argos turned it over on downs.

Two of the drives resulted in West Alabama scores: one touchdown, and one field goal after the Tigers got as far as the UWF 13. West Alabama did get to the Argos’ 38 in the contest, but opted for a short punt.

“They did the same thing they’ve been doing all year. It’s no different from how they’ve been playing. They played well. They gave us chances on offense. We just didn’t score when it mattered the most,” UWF head coach Kaleb Nobles said. “Our defense is lights out and gives us a chance every game. We’ve got to execute a lot better on offense."

But the Argo offense couldn’t get anything going. They went three-and-out four times in the game, and got into the redzone twice – both times resulting in a field goal.

Quarterback Peewee Jarrett was sacked three times in the contest, and only going 13-for-32 in the air with 158 yards passing with an interception during the Argos’ final offensive drive.

Nobles was quick to take blame.

“I didn’t call a good game offensively. I didn’t get our guys in rhythm. … I told our team that in the locker room. This one’s on me,” Nobles said. “I take full responsibility. Our guys know that in the locker room. We just didn’t have our best night and unfortunately we got exposed on the road like this.”

UWF had an excellent chance to take a lead in the game after Jarrett connected with wide receiver John Jiles for a 57-yard reception immediately following an Argo interception. The long pass got the Argos down to the West Alabama 3-yard line.

But then C.J. Wilson tried to run up the middle, ultimately losing 3 yards. Then Jarrett was under pressure, throwing a quick, short pass to Wilson but ended up behind the line of scrimmage for a loss of 6 yards. Another similar play then recorded a loss of 1 yard.

Griffin Cerra came in to kick the 31-yard field goal, rounding out the 10-6 final score.

“(West Alabama) brought some pressure on some certain plays tonight that we’ve got to find a way offensively to make things work. Our guys know that it’s part of play-calling, and I’ve got to help them out,” Nobles said. “But we’ve got to execute as well – and they know that.”

UWF (5-2, 3-1 Gulf South Conference) stays on the road with a 3 p.m. game on Saturday at No. 8 Delta State in Cleveland, Mississippi. The Statesmen are undefeated on the season after topping North Greenville University.

“There is no change in focus. We’ve got to be at our best. We’ve got to play at a high level. We’ve got to play better. We’ve got to be able to execute and do our job whenever it matters the most, no matter who’s lined up across from us,” Nobles said. “We’ve got to play better, and that starts at me as head coach and the offensive coordinator.”

A shaky pass game

When UWF’s pass game wasn’t working during the first half, the run game bailed out the Argos en route to a 42-3 victory. But against West Alabama, which had a suffocating front seven on defense, the run game couldn’t muster much either.

C.J. Wilson ran for just 65 yards in the game on 16 attempts. Jamontez Woods tacked on 12 yards on six attempts. Caden Leggett ran on a fake punt, only gaining three yards, while Jarrett wound up with minus-24 yards after sacks and failed scramble attempts.

Sure, John Jiles had another incredible game with 147 yards receiving, but Jarrett finished with just 158 yards passing. He connected with Zac Offord for a 22-yard pass and had two passes to Jakobe Quillen for a total of 1 yard gained.

Wilson, on a couple desperation throws as Jarrett was pressured, had three receptions – but wound up with negative yardage (minus-12).

It’s the second week in a row that the UWF wide receivers either couldn’t break free from defenders while trying to get open, or they got open too late and Jarrett had to throw the ball away.

“People are playing us differently every week, and taking away certain things,” Nobles said. “Our guys are finding ways to get open, unfortunately sometimes we had to throw it away under pressure or we were looking the other directions.”

Jarrett avoided several sacks in the contest, but was still grabbed in the backfield thrice and was pressured just twice. He had five passes broken up, and coughed up a ball at the last second – recorded as a fumble – trying to get it to a teammate to find some yardage.

After some failed passes, UWF went 0-for-2 in the redzone.

“Peewee is an ultra competitor. Our offense runs through him. He does a great job of taking what (the defense) gives us,” Nobles said. “We gave up a couple negative plays down there (in the redzone) that really shot us in the foot, and put us behind the 8-ball down there. Our guys know we’ve got to be better when we get down into the redzone. That’s where it matters most. We’ve got to play at a higher level down there close to the goal line.”

Defense doesn’t disappoint

For as good as West Alabama’s defense was, the UWF defense was right there as well. The Argos limited the two Tiger quarterbacks – Tucker Melton and Spencer Arceneaux – to a combined 9-for-24 passing night with 102 yards. Elijah Williams also recorded a late interception.

John McMullen and Colin Shaw combined for one sack for a loss of 5 yards, and the Argos did display a lot of pressure despite not recording an official quarterback hurry. Justin Williams led UWF with three tackles for a total loss of 8 yards.

West Alabama’s running backs were limited to 108 total yards, with Bry Webb – who scored on a 22-yard run – gaining the most with 79 yards on 22 attempts.

Either way, it was a hard day at the office for both offenses.

“We thought we could hem (West Alabama) up and keep them in the box, and try to make their quarterback beat us with his arm. Our defense did that. They held them to 10 points,” Nobles said. “Again, this game falls on me, personally, as the head coach, getting our guys ready to play.”

‘A moral victory’

If there’s one more positive out of the game, it was that UWF – one of the most penalized teams in Division II – only committed five penalties for a total of 55 yards lost. It’s the lowest amount of penalties and yardage lost since the Argos’ first game of the season against Kentucky Wesleyan College.

It’s a dramatic improvement from other notable games, including Week 5 when UWF committed 17 penalties for 164 yards.

However, two of the five penalties against the Tigers proved to be game-defining.

UWF had stopped the Tigers on a third-and-10 situation. Webb only gained a few yards to make it fourth-and-7 on the UWF 49. Then came a facemask penalty against the Argos, pushing the Tigers to the 34 and giving them a fresh set of downs.

West Alabama got it to the 12 after a couple more runs from Webb, and an incomplete pass from Melton. But the play was blown dead due to a defensive pass interference from Virgil Lemons, again, giving West Alabama a fresh set of downs at the UWF 7-yard line for a first-and-goal scenario.

Webb scored on the ensuing play, ultimately the game-winning score.

“Unfortunately, some of our penalties turned into drive-extenders. … Those are the things that can make or break a game,” Nobles said. “You never know what play is going to change a football game. Unfortunately, sometimes that happens.”

But, the positive was that the penalties were in-game calls. The remaining three penalties were an illegal substitution, another defensive pass interference and roughing the kicker on a punt. The latter involved a delayed punt after a high snap, and the UWF defender ran into the punter trying to block the ball.

“We eliminated penalties,” Nobles said. “That’s a moral victory in my opinion, but we didn’t win the game.”

Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: UWF football falls to West Alabama on the road in low-scoring game