First Reaction Southwest Baptist
Argos with a Balanced Attack
I thought this was going to be a good opportunity to work on the run game with an overmatched opponent, and the Argonauts were much more balanced than last weekend in their 63-14 smothering of Southwest Baptist on campus in Pensacola. Rushing for 195 yards on 5.6 yards per carry and scoring, lead by Shomari Mason with 8 carries for 74 yards 1 TD while only playing the first half plus one drive in the second half. Senior Anthony Johnson Jr scored 3 TDs from short yardage in his first real action of the season, and Ra’Veion Hargrove had a 2 yard rushing TD in the 4th.
To that Argonaut QB Austin Reed completed 77% of his passes for 257 yards and 4 TDs, 2 each to Coates and Durden. Backup QB Wyatt Eget, who played most of the 2nd half, added 64 yards in relief. Overall the Argonauts offense ran 70 plays for 516 yards and scored on all but their last offensive drive. The offensive explosion was just 6 points shy of the Argonauts’ all time scoring record of 69.
Slow Start Strong Finish for the Defense
The Bearcats’ offense came out early and was executing well in the short to intermediate passing game. Staring QB Cooper Callis started 9-11 109 yards and 1 TD in the 1st quarter, but after giving up an opening TD drive the Argonauts buckled down and only allowed only 91 yards and no scores on the next 6 drives including 3 three and outs. West Florida got to Callis on 3 sacks. SBU attempted a surprising 25 running plays, only gaining 63 yards and finished with 230 yards passing.
Once again the Argos rotated a ton of players, even before the 2nd team got in in the 2nd half. Shea Campbell lead the team with 4 tackles (EDIT: Ricky Richardson lead the team with 5 tackles) and the Argonauts got all 3 sacks from Linebackers, Artis, Newton, and Richardson. The Defensive Line overwhelmed the SBU OL all day long, even if it doesn’t show up in the stat sheet. Myles Meyer and Matt Gotel both had solid outings, totally taking away the run and harassing Callis.
This Week’s Superstar: Rodney Coates
Senior WR Rodney Coates was completely unstoppable when he was in the game, hauling in 9 catches for 126 yards and 2 TDs. Not only was he the primary target for Austin Reed on the day, but he made three or four acrobatic catches, jumping up and over defenders and catching balls that looked like they were bound for the bleachers. On the opening offensive drive, Coates had all three receptions en route to a 7 yard TD reception.
After David Durden dominated Week 1, and Rodney Coates took over Week 2, it seems like it is time for Ka’Ron Ashley to have a big game at Texas A&M Commerce (1-1) next week.
