UWF Football: Argos season comes to an end as they fall to Ferris State in Final Four

West Florida fell 38-17 to Ferris State in a snowy Division II national semifinals matchup.

The Argos' defense couldn't handle the rushing attack of the Bulldogs. Carson Gulker and Marcus Taylor led the way for the Bulldogs.

Gulker finished with 64 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. Taylor had 20 carries for 181 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.

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The Bulldogs scored on their opening drive. Gulker punched in from three yards out to put them up 7-0.

The Argos tried to answer and moved the ball inside the 10-yard line but had to settle for a Griffin Cerra field goal.

Later in the first quarter, Gulker punched in for his second of three rushing touchdowns. The Argos found themselves down 14-3 at the end of the first quarter but stormed back in the second quarter.

Peewee Jarrett and the Argos' offense finally broke through with a 58-yard touchdown pass from Jarrett to David Durden to make it a one-score game.

Jarrett then led a long touchdown drive that he ended with a 10-yard touchdown run right before the half.

The game was tied 17-17 at the half.

The Argos' defense made a strong third-quarter effort but gave up a touchdown drive with four minutes left to go in the quarter.

Jarrett was sacked and fumbled and Ferris State recovered as time expired at the end of the third quarter. That was the only turnover of the game but the most costly.

The Bulldogs punched in another Gulker touchdown run from the 1-yard line. The Bulldogs went up 31-17.

The Argos' offense got a chance to make it a one score again with a little over 14 minutes left in the fourth quarter. The offense picked up consecutive first downs but stalled on a third down and forced to go for it on fourth down.

The Argos' special teams attempted a fake punt on a rushing attempt but were stuffed. They took 4:23 off the game clock and came up with no points.

"We thought we had the numbers and backside were off on that. In retrospect, I probably should've kept the offense out there and gone for it. We been working on it all season and we had the numbers front side but the backside edge guy made a great play from behind," said Argos' head coach Pete Shinnick.

Taylor sealed the win with an exclamation point after he found the end zone from the 9-yard line to put the Bulldogs up 38-17 with seven minutes.

The Argos' offense got one last shot at trying to get something going on offense and couldn't. They failed on another fourth down attempt when Jarrett tried to find Shomari Mason over the middle. That ended the Argos hope of a miracle comeback and their 2022 season.

Ferris State ran the ball to kill the clock and secure their third national championship berth in five seasons.

The offense struggled with 298 total yards and a season-low 17 points. Jarrett completed only 9-of-16 passes but did have 220 total yards and accounted for the Argos' only two scores (1 passing,1 rushing).

Durden had three receptions for 98 receiving yards and one touchdown in his final game in an Argos' uniform.

This loss was their first road playoff loss and their first semifinal loss in program history.

"I felt like in the second quarter we were able to get a couple of explosive plays like I thought and be able to be build on that. Then I was hoping coming out in the third quarter we would be able to match that and create a little bit on our own," said Shinnick. "It just never happened and credit their defense. There is a reason its one of the best defenses in the country. I felt like we missed on a couple of opportunities. I know our guys will be hurt for a long time."

Here are three takeaways from West Florida's semifinal loss.

Offense struggled

Coming into this game, Argos' offense averaged 41.6 points per game and 233.9 rushing yards per game. They also haven't scored less than 30 points in a game all season.

Ferris State shut down the Argos' rushing attack and only gave up 113 yards rushingwith 37 attempts.

The Argos' offensive line and run game has set the tone for them all season. The Bulldogs' defensive line took on that challenge and answered the call.

The Bulldogs were able to sack Jarrett five times and he had a fumble from a strip-sack to close out the third quarter. They forced two failed fourth down attempts in the fourth quarter which the Argos were 9-of-17(52.9%) coming into this game.

"We can't grasp how bitter this feeling is and how terrible it is. At some point in time we will look back and remember some of the positive things of this season. Extremely proud of our guys all year long and being able to find ways but we couldn't find a way today," stated Shinnick.

Defensive struggles

The Argos' defense have been a roller coster all season with their up and down play. They have played their best football when it mattered though.

They shut down Delta State in their second round redemption win and held them to only three points in the fourth quarter that started with them trailing by 14 points.

Last week against Wingate, they exploded in the third quarter. They couldn't force a turnover against Ferris State and gave up two 14-point quarters.

The Argos' defense gave up 309 rushing yards and 400 yards of total offense. The 38 points scored by Ferris State was the second most points the West Florida has given up all season and they lost both games.

In a day that the offense struggled, the defense really needed to step up and shut down the Bulldogs' offensive attack. Unfortunately, that didn't happen and Argos' season came to an ugly end.

Optimism moving forward

Peewee Jarrett had huge shoes to fill at the quarterback position trying to replace former starting quarterback Austin Reed, who threw for over 3,400 yards and 38 touchdowns in 2021.

Jarrett led this team to 12 wins, which were the second most in program history. He had over 3,481 yards of total offense and 41 total touchdowns. His ability to use his legs and arms propeled their offense. Also, Jarrett showed the ability to perform best when plays breakdown and he was able to get outside of the pocket.

The Argos will return a lot of depth on both sides of the ball. For the offense: Ra'veion Hargrove, Shomari Mason, Peewee Jarrett, Caden Leggett, Jacob Bruce, and Zac Elam all return next season.

For the defense: Sharod Oliver, Willie Jordan, Pooda Walker, Anthony Johnson Jr., and Will Breland will return.

Shinnick has shown the ability to recruit and use the transfer portal to his advantage, so that is another plus.

This team has plenty of talent and could easily find themselves playing in another national semifinal in 2023.

"When have had some amazing runs. In six seasons, we have been to the playoffs four times, won a national title, had two national title game appearances, and three national semifinals' appearances. I am confident in the group that is coming will have this opportunity again. We have people that want to be apart of this program and the future of our program is extremly bright," Shinnick stated.

Greg Hollis is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at ghollis@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: UWF Football: Final Four, Ferris state, Division II Playoffs