Owensboro, Ky. – The Kentucky Wesleyan football team impressed with their effort and resilience in their 28-7 loss to 6th-ranked West Florida on Saturday afternoon at Steele Stadium.
Wesleyan moved to 0-1 on the young season. UWF improved to 2-0 after their big-time thrashing of Lenoir-Rhyne last week.
The Argos opened the game with a first-play 75-yard touchdown pass followed by a 21-yard touchdown pass, both in the first five minutes of the game, to put the Panthers on their heels early.
In a situation in which a lot of teams would have given in, Wesleyan just continued to fight. The Panthers' defense stood tall for the rest of the half, picking up a struggling offensive unit that couldn't yet get on the board.
Nehemiah Askew recorded an interception to halt a long Argos drive in the first quarter. Later, on back-to-back UWF drives, Dre Raven recorded an interception with just under a minute left and Brayden Matherson tallied yet another interception to end the half, sending the Panthers into the locker room with the score still at 14-0.
After KWC was forced to punt to begin the second half, West Florida marched down with a 12-play, 85-yard drive to push their lead to 21-0.
Wesleyan finally had a response. Looking for a spark, head coach Tyrone Young inserted true freshman Justus Wertzler into the game to begin the fourth. On his first and only attempt of the game (due to a later injury), Wertzler dropped back and delivered a dime to Camron Brogan for a 41-yard touchdown pass. Both the touchdown pass and catch were firsts for Wertzler and Brogan.
West Florida put their final touches on the game with a 13-play, 60-yard touchdown drive to make the final score 28-7, but that wouldn't overshadow the remarkable fight the Panthers showed all afternoon long.
"We talk about DIG IN mentality and understanding what that means to our program, Young said. "Today, we were able to put four years of culture building on display. I'm proud of the focus, intent, and the brotherhood that was on display today."
Brogan and fellow wide receiver Will Ray were the bright spots offensively. Both set career-highs in receptions and yards, with the former logging five catches for 90 yards and a touchdown and the latter adding eight catches for 72 yards.
Defensively, Jalon Baker shined with 10 total tackles, five solo and five assists. Nolan Forsha and Gage Eldridge each recorded seven total tackles, and Malik Bolling and Mason Bell weren't far behind with six each. Askew, Raven, and Matherson's interceptions were all the first of their careers.
Wesleyan heads on their first road trip of the season next, taking on William Jewell on Saturday, September 13, in Liberty, Missouri. Kickoff is set for 6:00 PM on the GLVC Sports Network.
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