PENSACOLA, FL - The Kentucky Wesleyan football team opened their season on Friday, taking on national power West Florida in Pensacola. Wesleyan held their own, but a methodical Argonaut squad came out on top 35-3. After a 14 point opening quarter, West Florida scored one touchdown in each of the final three frames to grab the 32-point victory.
Wesleyan struggled against the Argo defense early, as they saw their opening two drives end in a punt and an interception. West Florida, on the other hand, took advantage of some short field situations, scoring on both of their opening drives to make it 14-0 after one.
On the Panther's first drive of the second quarter,
Khia Sherrard broke loose for a 25-yard rush to put the Panthers on West Florida's 21-yard line. Just a few plays later, sophomore
Blake Vivrette nailed a 38-yard field goal to put Wesleyan on the board. That score looked as though it would hold through the half, but UWF quarterback Peewee Jarrett reached over the Panther line on the final play of the half to score a touchdown and put the Argonauts up 21-3 at the break.
Defense was the name of the game in the second half, as just two of the nine drives ended in scores. Unfortunately for the Panthers, those both came from the Argonauts. West Florida's John Jiles hauled in a 51-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter, and Jamontez Woods capped off an 11-play, 92-yard drive with a four-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Najai Watson provided the highlight of the night for the Panthers, as his acrobatic interception in the end zone stopped what looked to be another UWF scoring drive.
Christian Arrambide went 4-for-12 with 40 passing yards and 21 on the ground in the loss. On just two attempts,
Khia Sherrard ran for 31 yards, while
Camden Williams caught two passes for 25 yards.
Zereoue Johnson led the way with 10 tackles, while
Bryce Yeast wasn't far behind with seven.
Wesleyan will travel to Liberty, Missouri, next week as they look to avenge last season's loss to the William Jewell Cardinals. Kickoff will be at 12 p.m. CT at Liberty North High School.
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