UWF football: Penalties are still hurting the Argos. Can that be fixed against Shorter?
There are still two things that the University of West Florida football team is looking for.
One, less penalties. In last week’s victory at North Greenville University, the Argos set season-highs for penalties (17) and penalty yards (164). The penalties were split between after-play personal fouls – including a foul against Byron Puryear, which resulted in an ejection from the game, after making contact with an official – and on-field penalties, such as holding or offsides.
UWF is now second in Division II for penalties (60), tied with the University of North Carolina-Pembroke. Only Ferris State, the No. 1 team in the latest AFCA Division II Coaches Poll, has more penalties (61).
The Argos have lost 543 yards in penalties, the fourth-most in Division II, behind the University of Virginia-Wise (606), UNC-Pembroke (575) and Ferris State (561).
It didn’t appear to hurt UWF at North Greenville on Saturday, where the Argos used a strong fourth quarter to take a 48-24 victory. UWF still averaged 8.8 yards per play, and put up 607 yards of total offense.
But in the coming weeks – when the Argos have a pair of tough opponents in Delta State (Oct. 21) and Valdosta State (Oct. 28) – penalties could come back to hurt the team.
“That’s what everybody’s talking about,” UWF head coach Kaleb Nobles said of the penalties. “We’ve had a lot of conversations and some actions to hopefully (limit the penalties).”
Secondly, UWF is looking for a 60-minute effort still. The last two weeks, including the home game against the University of West Georgia, there were some defensive lapses that allowed for some easy touchdowns from opponents.
It came as close as a three-point deficit after back-to-back touchdowns in the fourth quarter, before the UWF offense responded with three unanswered touchdowns to seal the game, including a pair of John Jiles receptions.
“We never feel like we play a perfect game. Stuff’s never good enough,” Nobles said.
Finding both of those factors will be crucial for the Argos as they host Shorter University (2-3, 1-2 Gulf South Conference) on Saturday for UWF’s homecoming game. While Shorter can’t be overlooked, the Argos have an all-time record of 6-0 against the Hawks, with the closest game being 13 points.
After Saturday, UWF won’t return to Pen Air Field until Oct. 28 against Valdosta State.
Revisiting Week 5
After the lapse that got North Greenville within three points, Nobles said he challenged his offense to score. On the previous drive, after a pass from Peewee Jarrett to Jiles, Jiles was dragged down to the ground and was stripped of the ball.
North Greenville’s Jerrick Foster ran it back for 48 yards with 12 minutes, 42 seconds left in the game. Then it took just three plays for UWF to find the end zone again – capped off by a Jiles reception for 51 yards in a big response.
“Not that our defense was playing bad, but we gave up a couple fluke plays and a touchdown on defense that was kind of a fluke play,” Nobles said. “I said, ‘Hey, let’s go respond. Let’s see what we’re about and how we’re going to play.’ …
“We’re still playing as fast as physical as possible. It was just linemen assignments and knowing what you’re supposed to do, and executing it. … We gave up a couple plays where we were one guy away or weren’t executing the right way. It’s on us, making sure we’re lined up and ready to play at the right level.”
That touchdown led to two more scores to close out the game, including another Jiles touchdown for 44 yards and then a 57-yard rushing touchdown from Jalen Bussey. Bussey’s touchdown was the first play of the Argos’ drive, sealing the final score with 1:23 left in the contest.
It was the longest run play from the Argos this season, topping Caden Leggett’s 42-yard rush at McKendree University in Week 2.
“They responded very well, and I’m very excited they answered the call,” Nobles said.
UWF’s defense also had a staunch night, highlighted by a pair of interceptions and five solo tackles from Quincy Milhomme. Ralph Ortiz also recorded an interception toward the end of the first half.
Walker Robinson continued his strong performance at linebacker with 10 total tackles (7 solo, 3 assisted) while Gael Laurent wasn’t far behind with 9 tackles (5 solo, 4 assisted), one of which was a sack for a loss of 7 yards.
The Argos recorded six sacks against North Greenville quarterback Dylan Ramirez, hurrying him an additional three times. John McMullen, who had one sack on Saturday, is tied for third in Division II for sacks (7) behind two Benedict players, Loobert Denelus (9) and Jayden Broughton (7.5).
“Turnovers are huge, and obviously that gives us the ball back a lot faster. It gives us the chance to put the game away with extra possession,” Nobles said. “Any time you get the ball in, especially in plus-territory, makes us feel better offensively.”
Around the GSC
With two undefeated teams remaining in the Gulf South Conference – Delta State (5-0, 3-0 GSC) and Valdosta State (5-0, 2-0 GSC) – there will be one less team without a loss after this week, at least overall.
Delta State, Valdosta State and UWF (4-1, 2-0 GSC) all remain undefeated in conference play. Though, the Statesmen and Blazers will duke it out on Saturday in Valdosta. It’s a top-25 battle, as the Statesmen are ranked No. 8 and the Blazers are No. 22.
This past week, UWF took three of the four GSC Weekly Awards, with Jiles taking Offensive Player of the Week, Milhomme earning Defensive Player of the Week, and Ortiz picking up Freshman of the Week.
It’s the second time both Jiles and Ortiz were recognized by the GSC, after taking the same awards after the West Georgia victory.
Jiles is now first in Division II for total receiving yards (646), despite a little less than half the receptions of second-place’s Max McLeod, who has 622 yards on 40 receptions out of Colorado School of Mines. Jiles is also tied for first in receiving touchdowns (8).
“Definitely glad he’s on our team, for sure,” Nobles said.
Here are the current GSC standings heading into Week 6, and the team’s next opponent:
Delta State (5-0, 3-0 GSC) at Valdosta State
Valdosta State (5-0, 2-0 GSC) vs. Delta State
West Florida (4-1, 2-0 GSC) vs. Shorter University
West Georgia (2-2, 1-1 GSC) vs. West Alabama
Mississippi College (2-3, 1-2 GSC) BYE WEEK
North Greenville (2-3, 1-2 GSC) at Chowan University
West Alabama (2-3, 1-2 GSC) at West Georgia
Chowan University (0-3, 0-5 GSC) vs. North Greenville
Scouting Shorter
Shorter comes into Saturday’s game fresh off back-to-back losses at Delta State, 56-20, and Mississippi College, 30-14. Justus Durant ran in both touchdowns for the Hawks. His first score opened the game with 12:32 left in the first quarter off a 48-yard run.
Durant’s second touchdown was the final of the game with 6:55 left after a 12-yard run. He finished the game with 110 yards rushing with a long gain of 48 yards. The game was the Palm Bay native’s best game by far, after just 36 yards at Erskine College and 15 yards against Chowan. Though, he did score a pair of touchdowns against Chowan as well.
The Hawks have put up 781 total yards rushing and scored 13 times on the ground. The scoring has been widespread on the ground, but Jaiden Dollard leads the Hawks with 239 yards rushing.
Shorter has averaged 330.2 total yards per game, while averaging just 26.6 points per game.
“They’ve got some athletes on offense, for sure, that are really good players,” Nobles said. “We’ve got to keep the quarterback in the pocket, make him a passer and then create chaos like our defense has been doing.”
The Hawks’ defense has eight sacks on the season, bringing a lot of pressure. Some of those sacks have been for huge losses, one of which was for 26 yards from Christian Benson. Shorter has also hurried the quarterback 10 times.
Allowing an average of 423.8 yards per game (257 passing and 166.8 rushing), it might be another prime opportunity for Jarrett to show off the arsenal of wide receivers UWF boasts – especially with the efficiency and quick passes Jarrett has had in recent weeks.
“They’re going to bring a lot of pressure. They’re going to try and man you up on the pressure,” Nobles said.
“We’re always on the same page for the most part,” Jarrett said. “And when we are, it’s kind of hard to stop.”
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 hosts GSC rival Shorter in Week 6 matchup at Pen Air Field
