UWF wins share of Gulf South Conference title in thrilling overtime win

The University of West Florida won a 32-31 overtime thriller over Valdosta State on Saturday from Bazemore-Hyder Stadium.

With the victory, the team claimed a share of the Gulf South Conference title after West Georgia pulled off a road upset over Delta State during the Statemen's homecoming. It's the second year in a row UWF has shared the GSC crown.

Argos quarterback PeeWee Jarrett put on his superman cape and converted a two-point conversion on a quarterback keeper for the walk-off win.

"It was working all night for us. I told coach you brought me here for a reason and I can get us one yard. He put it in my hands and we got it done," Jarrett said.

UWF never led in this game until when it mattered the most.

After a stop by the defense, the Argos had a chance to win it with 1 minute, 48 seconds left in regulation. Starting at its own 13-yard line, the offense traveled inside the red zone, but an interception by Eric Ross with 13 seconds left sent the game into the extra period.

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The Blazers struck first when quarterback Ivory Durham raced into paydirt with a 25-yard rushing touchdown to give them a 31-24 lead.

With the game on the line, West Florida faced a critical fourth down, but Jarrett answered with a 6-yard scramble. Then, he found Caden Leggett for a 12-yard touchdown reception on the very next play.

"It's something about when me and 7 (Jarrett) get into the red zone," Leggett said. "We have that connection, we were able to make it happen."

Valdosta State committed a personal-foul penalty at the end of the score to move the ball to the 1-yard line, leading to a two-point conversion attempt.

After an Argos' timeout, the offense came out in a heavy package with extra blockers and C.J. Wilson lined up at running back. Jarrett took the shotgun snap and bulldozed his way past the goal line for the win.

"He called it and he wanted it," Shinnick said of Jarrett's two-point conversion. "Once we got the penalty, it was a no-brainer. I was thinking about doing it even if we didn't have the penalty, but when we got the penalty it was no stopping us."

Jarrett added: "Any win in this conference is huge. You see teams beat each other every week and records don't matter. Valdosta has been a great team for years. Any win is huge and that is why we celebrate our wins like it's a Super Bowl because a lot of other teams didn't win this week. We are blessed to win and it was huge."

The visitors punted on two of their opening three drives to start the game, with Griffin Cerra missing a 28-yard field goal on their second offensive possession.

The Blazers' offense got going early in the second quarter when Durham found Victor Talley for a 41-yard touchdown reception to put them up 7-0.

The Argos answered on the next drive after Jarrett found Nate Howard on a 43-yard completion to tie the game at 7-7. Howard stepped up after senior wide receiver Larry Rembert went down early in the quarter with a shoulder injury and did not return.

VSU reclaimed the lead when Jamar Thompkins capped off an 11-play, 72-yard drive with a 1-yard run. Jarrett and the Argos' offense had a chance to answer right before halftime, but an unsuccessful drive forced them to punt.

Getting the ball to start the second half, West Florida needed just three plays to tie it, with David Durden hauling in a 46-yard touchdown pass from Jarrett.

The back-and-forth continued because the Blazers answered again, with Durham running a bootleg before finding running back Seth McGill out the backfield for a 1-yard touchdown pass to give them a 21-14 lead.

The Argos offense didn't go away. They responded on the next drive with a Jarrett-to-Leggett 26-yard touchdown pass.

Both teams traded field goals during fourth quarter as they headed into the overtime tied at 24-24.

Here are three takeaways from Saturday's game.

Argos' passing 

West Florida has had its struggles in the passing game. On Saturday, the team wasn't especially efficient, but the aerial attack came through every time it needed it most.

Jarrett finished the day 15-for-34 passing for 309 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions. While his completion numbers weren't great, the quarterback made his best throws of the night in critical situations.

Most of his targets went to three receivers. Leggett led the way with six catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns. Durden added three receptions for 97 yards and one score while Howard had four receptions for 95 yards and one touchdown.

VSU's secondary has taken its fair share of punishment this season. UWF took advantage of that.

Jarrett also paced the team in rushing with 17 carries for 134 yards. The Argos needed every bit of yardage from him.

Back-to-back

After dropping its conference opener in double overtime to Delta State on Sept. 24, UWF marched its way to a share of the GSC title with six straight victories.

Last season, West Florida spanked Valdosta State 61-42 to earn a share of its first-ever conference title. This time, it took a more dramatic victory over the Blazers to reign over the conference again.

"That is great and congratulations to our players. They stayed true to this thing after the loss to Delta State," Shinnick said.

UWF entered the night ranked eighth in NCAA Division II and fourth in Super Region II.

After this wild weekend where teams ranked ahead of them went down, the Argos' are surely to move up in both rankings and now may get a chance to host multiple playoffs' games at home.

Injury concerns

The Argos have a lot to celebrate, but are banged up going into the playoffs.

Shomari Mason has been in-and-out a walking boot over the last three weeks with a right foot/ankle injury. Mason played Saturday, but had just six carries for 38 yards in the game.

UWF lost Rembert early on Saturday. He has been primarily the third option in the Argos' wide receiver group. A sure-handed option on third down, Rembert has caught 13 passes for 204 yards and two receiving touchdowns this year.

Those two injuries will be something to monitor going forward. The Argos might elect to sit some players next week at Mississippi College with everything locked up and that game not counting in the GSC standings.

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: Argos claim second straight GSC title with OT win over VSU