Bill Vilona

bvilona@pnj.com

AVE MARIA - The game already carried such significance.

But the University of West Florida's performance made it even more memorable.

The Argos sloshed and smashed their way with overpowering efficiency in a pronouncing 45-0 victory against Ave Maria University, located near Naples, in UWF's first-ever football game.

Ignoring a two and half hour storm delay at halftime that turned the field into a mucky swamp, the Argos put up 31 second-half points, outgained their opponent 500-105 and played their roster in a smiling, joyful, convincing victory that couldn't have been dreamed much better.

"It was fun to watch," said UWF coach Pete Shinnick, hired more than 19 months ago to start a program from scratch. "Our guys wanted to play from the first minute and it really showed. I could not be more please with what I saw with that effort, that demeanor and that kind of intensity.

"This is a great day for UWF. I'm just really amazed at our defensive effort. To come out and pitch a shutout in your first football game, that is phenomenal."

Yes, it was.

The defense held Ave Maria to a net two yards rushing. Yes, two yards. They racked up seven sacks. They overpowered the Gyrenes' offensive line. They had 14 tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

UWF's original three coaches share photo together

Ave Maria, an NAIA school playing its sixth season of football with a new coach, only crossed midfield twice and never got inside the Argos. 40 yard-line the entire game.

"We just played lights out.. said sophomore defensive end John Williamson, who played at Spanish Fort High near Mobile and transferred to UWF from Nicholls State. He was one of the four captains in the game and finished with 1.5 sacks, and a team high 2.5 stops for lost yards.

"It was like we had played together for a long time ," he said. "Everybody was on the same page, helping each other, yelling the calls. I think as a team.. we just all connected."

For a team that had never played a college football game, including so many first-year players and players who had not played in two years, the Argos looked like they had been doing this together for years.

They had six different players produce points. Nine different players caught a pass. They made one handed grabs, leaping grabs and had a forever season highlight when Daviante Sayles, a junior from San Diego, who came all the way across the country on a leap of faith, hurdled a tackler amid all the muck en route to an incredible 10-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

UWF has spirit, yes it do, or does. Whatever. It's football!

The Argos ran a hurry up offense and conventional huddle offense. They ran a spread formation and two back formation. Their starting quarterback, fifth-year senior Kaleb Nobles, who did not play last season at Valdosta State, looked smooth in checking off plays at the line of scrimmage and lining up receivers properly.

Nobles finished completing 21 of 29 passes for 235 yards, two touchdowns, no interceptions and was never sacked.

"It was phenomenal," he said. "To finally getting the W etched in the history books at UWF really means a lot," Nobles said. "Everybody on this team knew what they were capable of doing.

"I think it all goes back on offense to our front seven. Everybody played as well as they could. When you have that kind of time to throw, it's great."

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The only blemish were lost fumbles on the game-opening series and first series of the second half, both inside the Ave Maria 20 that could have led to a quicker rout.

On defense, the Argos kept giving their offense short fields with quick three-and-outs, and quality punt returns. The school's first interception by Dante Randolph set up the offense at the Ave Maria 4 for the final points in the game.

But the Argos, who had a couple hundred supporters in a crowd of about 1,000 at Ave Maria's start-from-scratch stadium, had to overcome a lightning, then rain delay that began just as the teams were entering the field to start the second half.

It took a while to rain, but officials knew lightning was popping all around and held the teams in the locker room. Meanwhile, UWF president Judy Bense, who had been smiling the whole first half and during the pregame, began to fear the game might be cancelled without the Argos getting a win.

Both coaches wanted to play. Even with the mucky conditions that included Ave Maria players standing in water when the game resumed. the officials agreed to finish the game. When it ended, there was a clear sky around 6 p,m.

I think when you are playing for your first-ever win in your team's first ever game, the emotions are at a whole other level," Williamson said. "It doesn't matter what's going on outside as long as we are prepared.

"But it did feel like city league football with all the mud out there. And I loved it."

The UWF players were inside Ave Maria's Field House. The basketball gym was converted into their locker room, so players had plenty of room to move around. During that delay, UWF strength and condition coach Kent Morgan and head athletic trainer Arnold Gamber were hard at work.

They made sure the players stayed hydrated, had something to eat and had stretching drills to keep their bodies from leg cramps. The effect was eye-opening in the second half when UWF scored on four consecutive possessions to blow the game open.

Moon: Destroy Ave Maria! (That sounds mean)

In the fourth quarter, Shinnick had his second-team offense and defense in the game. The Argos used 29 reserve players and had 36 different players get on the tackle chart.

"I had no concerns as to what that would look like coming out when we finally resumed," Shinnick said. "Our guys were fired up with that opportunity.

:"I never had a delay that long personally. I've had about an hour and that seems like a weird halftime. But this, it was like we completely started over. But we have a great strength staff, great training staff. Those guys were just phenomenal keeping everyone loose. everybody ready to go, keeping them hydrated.

"We did have to eat part of our post-game meal, but we can live with that."

The Argos left the Naples area immediately after loading the bus and getting showers. They were on a bus all night Saturday and probably arrived around just before dawn in Pensacola. The team has Sunday off.

They were start back Monday and prepare for another emotional moment in the school's first home game on Saturday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium. Their opponent, Missouri S&T is an established NCAA Division II program, so this game figures to be a much tougher challenge.

"I think about halfway home, it's going to hit me what we had just done," Nobles said. "It will feel surreal. We're just happy to get this one, now we are going to be so excited to be at home with all our fans on Saturday. That will be special, too."

SCORING SUMMARY

UWF 45, AVE MARIA 0

At Ave Maria University

UWF 0--14--17--14---45

Ave Maria 0--0--0--0---0

FIRST QUARTER

No Scoring

SECOND QUARTER

Tim Bellinger 1 run (Austin Peffers kick). Time: 8:27. Drive -- 11 plays 55 yards, 3:43

Caleb Robinson 15 yard pass from Kaleb Nobies, (Peffers kick). Time: 1:22 left. Drive -- 11 plays, 68 yards, 2:52.

THIRD QUARTER

Tim Bellinger 2 run (Peffers kick). Time: 10:38 left. Drive -- 3 plays, 18 yards, 0:48

Austin Peffers 25 yard field goal. Time: 6:23 left. Drive -- 9 plays, 44 yards, 2:47.

Daviante Sayles 10 run (Peffers kick). Time: 3:20 left. Drive -- 7 plays, 47 yards, 1:28.

FOURTH QUARTER

Ishmel Morrow 8 pass from Nobles (Peffers kick). Time: 14:21 left. Drive --5 plays, 26 yards, 1:33.

Chris Schwarz 4 run (Peffers kick), Time: 6:26 left. Drive -- 2 plays, 4 yards, 0:37.