Argos bounce back with win over Shorter
October 24, 2021
The UWF Argos (6-1) gave no mercy to the Shorter Wolves (2-6), bringing home the win 45-23 at the Blue Wahoos Stadium Oct. 23.
The stadium was cluttered in blue, green and pink for the annual cancer awareness game, and Argo fans held their breath, hoping for a rebound win for the Argos following a Homecoming letdown against West Georgia that broke a two-season-long winning streak.
The Argos got the ball at the start of the game, setting the expectation for the rest of the night high by scoring on the first drive of the game.
Overall, the Argo offense rallied 495 yards in just 53 plays during the game, averaging 9.3 yards per play.
Quarterback Austin Reed played strong, racking up a total of 314 yards and eight completions.
Wide receiver Jared Smith is a freshman that is quickly making a name for himself at UWF. He was responsible for two of the touchdowns that helped clutch the win for the Argos, totaling 113 yards in the game.
With the leading receiver, David Durden out with a groin injury, Smith was given the opportunity to show what he’s made of.
“Now the kid’s doing everything in our offense that we need him to do and he’s not just that fast freshman that can run by people,” Reed said about Smith. “He’s added this extra dimension to our offense that we didn’t know we were gonna have.”
Argos got the ball back in the second quarter with only 51 seconds left before the half but didn’t let that stop them.
The team made a first down in the play sequence but got called back for holding then missed what could have been a big play leaving them third and 20.
Smith held his own and made a seamless deep catch from Reed on the third down, taking the ball in for a 78-yard touchdown.
“That sequence right there is probably every emotion you can have as a football coach,” coach Pete Shinnick said.
The Argos went into the half with the lead, 28-9, and were prepared to keep the ball rolling bring home the win.
“It’s just great to go into the half not having that sick feeling in your stomach, you’re feeling good to get back out there and do what you do,” Reed said.
By the third, Argos were up 38-9 and weren’t giving Shorter any opportunity to close the gap, who didn’t put a single point on the board in the third.
The Argo defense fought just as hard.
For the first time in the past six games, the opposing team was unable to not only not score in their first possession of the night, but not score at all in the first quarter.
“Our front is doing a better job of closing down gaps,” Shinnick said. Shorter was averaging around two yards a carry during the game.
Linebacker Will Breland, who had four solos and four assists played an instrumental role in the Argo defense to help secure the win.
Breland stepped in as linebacker for Stephan Williams who was out this week.
“He (Breland) really did a nice job of finding areas where he could go make tackles,” Shinnick said.
The team hopes to take this momentum with them as they head out on the road for the next two weeks. “I’ll take 45-23 after a loss,” coach Shinnick said. “Now we have to go on the road and keep playing well.”
The Argos will be playing Mississippi College on Saturday in hopes to bring home the win and put them one step closer to the championships.
