* Records: UWF is 7-3 following a 34-29 win at #18/24 West Georgia. Wingate is 9-1 after it concluded the regular-season with a 25-17 loss at Tusculum.

* Rankings: Wingate is #16 in the AFCA ranking & #18 in the D2Football.com poll. UWF is receiving votes (4) in the AFCA listing.

THE COACHES
* UWF coach Pete Shinnick was hired as the first coach in program history on Feb. 6, 2014. He is 12-9 in 2 seasons at UWF and has a 115-55 career record in 15 years, which includes a 50-24 mark at UNC Pembroke (07-13) & 53-22 at Azusa Pacific (99-05).
* Wingate Coach Joe Reich is in his 17th season at Wingate and has a 110-74 record, making him the winningest coach in program history. He spent eight years as an assistant coach at the University of Buffalo, and was also an assistant coach at his alma mater Gettysburg College and a graduate assistant coach at Georgia Tech under Bobby Ross.

The UWF football team will travel to Wingate, N.C. to face 16th-ranked Wingate in the biggest game in its brief 22-game history. The Argonauts received their first-ever playoff bid on Sunday and were slotted as the No. 6 seed in Super Region 2.

    The winner of Saturday's game will face the winner of the #2 Virginia State-#7 West Georgia game next Saturday, Nov. 25.

ABOUT UWF
    UWF is 7-3 overall having secured a winning season in its second year of competition after its 30-7 win over North Alabama two weeks ago. The Argonauts finished in a 5-way tie for second in the Gulf South Conference with a 5-3 record.
    The Argonauts are fifth in the GSC in scoring offense (29.0) and sixth in scoring defense (23.2). UWF ranks sixth in total offense with 350.2 yards per game and sixth in total defense, allowing an average of 351.0 per contest. UWF's passing attack is third in the league at 237.1 yards per game, just behind West Georgia at 245.0 and West Alabama at 282.5.
    Redshirt freshman Mike Beaudry has appeared in nine games and thrown for 2,210 yards and 20 touchdowns while completing 54 percent of his passes. The Canadian-born signal caller from Oviedo, Fla. was named the GSC Offensive Freshman of the Year. He has also rushed for 76 yards and two scores.
    Sophomore Chris Schwarz, senior Leroy Wilson and freshman Anthony Johnson, Jr. have led the Argos ground game, which has averaged 113.1 yards per game and collected nine touchdowns. Schwarz has four scores and 486 yards on 126 carries for 48.6 per game. Wilson has 279 yards on the season with 219 coming in the last five contests. His 5.5 yards per rush lead the team and rank sixth in the GSC. Johnson has 253 yard on 59 carries.
    Reggie Barnes, Marvin Conley and Trent Archie all have at least 60 tackles and rank in the top 15 in the GSC. Barnes' 7.6 stops per game ranks sixth in the league. First Team All-GSC pick John Williamson leads the team with 10.0 tackles for loss and 8.0 sacks.

ABOUT WINGATE
    Wingate concluded the regular-season with a 9-1 record, tying the program record for wins in a season. The Bulldogs are ranked 16th in the latest AFCA Top-25, marking their sixth-consecutive week in the rankings.
    Wingate is making its second NCAA postseason appearance. In 2010, the Bulldogs defeated Morehouse, 63-41, at home before falling to No. 5 and undefeated Albany State, 30-28, in the Super Region 2 semifinals.
    Senior RB Lawrence Pittman leads the rushing attack, going for 1,147 yards on 246 carries for 114.7 ypg. He has 11 of the team's 42 TD. He was named the South Atlantic Conference Offensive Player of the Year this week. Classmate Blake Hayes has 730 yards on 134 rushes and 5 TD.
    Sophomore QB James Whitaker has thrown for 1,156 yards and 10 TD, while rushing 25 times for 86 yards. He missed the last two games with an injury. Sophomore Dylan Williams passed for 691 yards this season, including a career-high 239 in last week's loss to Tusculum. He also had 62 rushing yards against the Pioneers.
    Sophomore LB Robbie Wallace leads the team with 95 tackles, while adding 6.5 tackles for loss, six pass break ups, four QB hurries and a pair of forced fumbles.
    The Bulldogs had 10 players named All-SAC. In addition to Pittman's award, head coach Joe Reich earned the Coach of the Year honor and redshirt senior OL Daniel Owens won the Jacobs Blocking Trophy.     

PETE SHINNICK IN THE POSTSEASON
    While this week's game is the first playoff game for UWF, it is not the first for head coach Pete Shinnick, He is 0-2 as a head in the Division II Championships with both games coming while he was at UNC Pembroke in 2009 and 2013.
    The 2009 team was ranked 13th before losing to Arkansas Tech, 41-13 on the road in Russellville, Ark. In 2013, the 8th-ranked and 2nd-seeded Braves had a first-round bye but fell to 16th-ranked and 3rd-seeded North Alabama, 37-13, in Pemboke, N.C.
    He also led Azusa Pacific to the NAIA Playoffs five times, reaching the semifinals in 1999 and 2004.

GSC IN THE POSTSEASON
    Four GSC teams qualified for the NCAA Division II Championship, including the GSC Champions from West Alabama, who earned the top seed. Delta State is the fifth seed, making the field for the first time since 2014. West Florida is the sixth seed, earning the spot in just its second year of existence. After one year away, West Georgia is back in the playoffs for the third time in four years, earning the seventh seed.
    It is the fourth straight year that the league has had at least three teams make the NCAA Playoffs, and the second time in four years that four teams have qualified.
    The last two seasons, seven different GSC teams have made the NCAA Championship.
    A GSC school has won the NCAA Division II Super Region 2, formerly the Southeast Region, crown 13 times in the last 15 seasons. 
    Since Division II went to regionalization in 1990, a GSC school has advanced to the semifinals 19 times in 26 seasons.

ARGOS ADDING TO 2016 WIN TOTAL
    Last season, UWF had five victories with three games remaining and struggled in its final games  - all losses to UWA, North Alabama and West Georgia and was unable to finish with a winning record. 
    The 2016 team appeared to hit a wall at that point last season and that need for improvement physically and mentally was a point of emphasis for the coaching staff and strength & conditioning staff coming into the 2017 campaign.
    Three weeks ago, UWF entered the same final 3-game stretch with the same win total.  The 2017 edition played well at West Alabama and,  despite losing 35-18, trailed 14-12 entering the fourth quarter. UWF got over the 5-win hump two weeks with a 30-7 victory over North Alabama. And last week's 34-29 come-from-behind win at #24/18 West Georgia propelled the squad into the playoffs for the first time ever.

UWF WITH ANOTHER SHOT AT A RANKED OPPONENT
    This week's game against #16/18 Wingate marks the fourth ranked opponent for UWF in the last six weeks.
    The Argonauts had been close to knocking off a ranked foe twice this season. UWF dropped a heartbreaker to #20 Delta State, 28-25 and fell at #25/23 West Alabama, 35-18, in Livingston after trailing 14-12 entering the fourth quarter.
    UWF collected its second-ever win over a ranked opponent last week when it went on the road to defeat #24/18 West Georgia, 34-29, and snap the Wolves' 6-game home winning streak.
    In their inaugural 2016 campaign, UWF upset #16 Florida Tech, 42-39 at home, before falling to #3 North Alabama, 51-3 in Florence.
    Earlier this season, UWF was scheduled to host then-#16 Midwestern State but the game was canceled due to the threat of Hurricane Irma.

RECAPPING THE WIN OVER WEST GEORGIA
    UWF scored 24 unanswered and got an outstanding effort from its defense over the final 45 minutes to end the regular-season tied for second in the final league standings. UWF's 395 yards of total offense was its third-highest this season and helped the squad finish 4-1 on the road in 2017.
    QB Mike Beaudry threw for 236 yards on 19-of-35 with four touchdowns against the top-rated defense in the league which was seventh nationally allowing just 268.8 yards per game. The Argonauts also rushed for 159 yards and averaged 4.7 yards per carry.
    Sophomore RB Chris Schwarz had a career-best 94 yards on 17 rushes, while senior Leroy Wilson and freshman Anthony Johnson, Jr. combined for 55 yards on 15 plays.
    Senior TE Austin Blake-Smith had a great game, hauling in five catches for 32 yards, including a pair of touchdowns.
    Defensively, UWF was in the UWG backfield 14 times on the 62 plays with five sacks and nine additional tackles for loss. The defense held the Wolves to minus-2 yards rushing over the final three quarters.
    UWG finished with 398 yards of total offense but just 199 after the first quarter. Willie Candler completed 19 passes for 295 yards, with scoring plays of 72 and 41 yards.

UWF EARNS FIRST EVER TOP-25 VOTE
    UWF received one vote in the AFCA Division 2 Top-25 poll three weeks ago, marking the first-ever vote for the second-year program. The Argonauts would be tied for 35th if the numbered listing continued past 25.
    This week, UWF was the beneficiary of four votes, effectively putting the team at 35th.

WINNING VERSUS LOSING
* UWF is 7-0 when attempting fewer than 40 passes and 0-3 when throwing 40 or more.
* UWF is 6-1 when running for at least 100 yards and 1-2 when rushing for fewer than 100 yards.
* UWF is 6-2 when recording an interception.

FIVE ARGOS NAMED ALL-GSC
    The UWF Football team had six players recognized on the end-of-year all-Gulf South Conference teams, highlighted with quarterback Mike Beaudry being named Offensive Freshman of the Year as announced by the league on Wednesday.
    PK Austin Williams and DE John Williamson were voted onto the first team, while WR Antoine Griffin, LT Samuel Antoine and LB Trent Archie were chosen for the second team.
    Williams has been one of the biggest difference-makers from last year's inaugural season. The sophomore out of Phelan, California leads the league with 9.2 pts per game and is second with 92 total points. He has made 21 field goals which is tied for first in the NCAA this season and third in the GSC single-season record book. He has made four field goals in a game three times. He is 9-of-9 inside 32 yards and 16-of-17 up to 43 yards. Williams has also handled 55 kickoffs with a GSC-leading 19 touchbacks – 10 more than the next closest kicker.
    Antoine has started all nine games at tackle, moving from right to left tackle for the final six contests. He graded out at *0 percent or higher in nine games and reached 86 percent in six. The second-year player from Weston, Florida has helped UWF rank sixth in GSC with 345.2 yards of total offense and third in with 237.2 passing yards per game.
    Griffin has built upon last year's totals and finished the 2017 regular-season with team highs of 566 receiving yards and 41 catches. The redshirt junior out of Tampa ranks third in the GSC in receiving yards, yards per game (56.6) and receptions per game (4.1). He had a career-best 109 yards against Valdosta State, along with 94- and 99-yard games on the road against Shorter and West Alabama. He leads the team with eight catches of at least 20 yards.
    Williamson has continued to anchor the left side of the defensive line for the second-consecutive season. He leads the league with eight sacks – six in GSC play – and enters this week's postseason game with 45 total tackles. The redshirt junior from nearby Stockton, Alabama leads the Argonauts with 12 quarterback hurries, while forcing one fumble. He has 85 stops in 19 career games at UWF.
    Archie earned his second season award from the GSC after being named Defensive Freshman of the Year in 2016. As a sophomore in 2017, he made the move from defensive back to the nickel spot in defensive coordinator Darian Dulin's scheme. The Mobile, Alabama native has 61 tackles to rank third on the team and 19th in the GSC. He also has nine tackles for loss, three sacks, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble. He is the program's all-time tackles leader with 151 in two seasons.

BEAUDRY NAMED GSC OFFENSIVE FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
    UWF quarterback Mike Beaudry was voted the Offensive Freshman of the Year by the league's head coaches.
    Beaudry has thrown for 2,210 yards with 246 yards per game with 20 touchdowns. He ranks in the top four in the GSC in completions, attempts, passing yards, yards per game, touchdowns and passing efficiency – all of which place him first among freshman in each list as well. He has produced two 300-plus yard games and two additional 275-yard plus games – all against GSC teams.
    The Canadian-born signal-caller from Oviedo, Florida has shown increased mobility as the season has progressed, leading to 76 net rushing yards. He earned four Freshman of the Week honors - all in the last five weeks - which are tied for the second-most in league history.
    He gained notoriety as the first National Letter of Intent received during the Feb. 2015 Signing Day as UWF secured its first class of prep signees. He sat out the 2015 season as a redshirt, but then missed all of 2016 while rehabbing from a broken fibula that occurred during Spring 2016 camp - meaning his game action this season was his first since November 2014 - a span of 32 months.

FOUR ARGOS NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
    For the second-consecutive year, the UWF football team had mulitple student-athletes named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Team as announced on Thursday.
    LB Reggie Barnes, RB Chris Schwarz, LB Josh Smiley and DE John Williamson were each honored for their work in the classroom and on the football field.
    Barnes is a senior business major with a 3.60 GPA, Schwarz is a sophomore finance major with a 3.95 GPA, Smiley is a sophomore mechanical engineering major with a 3.47 GPA and Williamson is a junior supply chain logistics management major with a 3.45 GPA.
    Barnes and Williamson were All-District honorees a year ago as well, along with former QB and current QB coach Kaleb Nobles.
    UWF and Wingate (6 selections) led the way with 10 of the 28 student-athletes chosen in the district, which includes nominees from Division II institutions in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, Gulf South, South Atlantic, Southern Intercollegiate Conferences and two independent schools in the same footprint. They will now advance onto the Division 2 national ballot, with first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees announced in the coming weeks.
    To be eligible, students have to carry a 3.30 cumulative grade point average, be an important starter or reserve who has competed in at least 50 percent of that season's games and spent at least one calendar year at their current institution.

BEAUDRY IN THE UWF RECORD BOOK
    UWF QB Mike Beaudry is in his first season playing at UWF, following two years of battling injuries. That being said, the redshirt-freshman from Oviedo, Florida is now 6-3 as a starter and steadily improving each game, including throwing for over 300 yards in two of the last three contests. Below are where he ranks in the UWF record books thus far.

SINGLE GAME - PASSING YARDS
503    Kaleb Nobles    Missouri S&T, 9/10/16
452    Kaleb Nobles    at Delta State, 10/15/16
368    Kaleb Nobles    at Chowan, 9/17/16
354    Mike Beaudry    Delta State, 10/14/17
330    Kaleb Nobles    Valdosta State, 9/24/16
327    Kaleb Nobles    Shorter, 10/22/16
322    Mike Beaudry    at Shorter, 10/21/17

SINGLE GAME - COMPLETION PCT.
.758    Mike Beaudry    at Shorter, 10/21/17
.714    Kaleb Nobles    at Ave Maria, 9/3/16
.688    Kaleb Nobles    at Miss. College, 10/8/16
.645    Mike Beaudry    at Missouri S&T, 9/2/17
.609    Kaleb Nobles    at Chowan, 9/17/16

KICK RETURN GAME STRONG
    The Argonauts possess some of the most dynamic kick and punt returners in the country in the group of Marcus Clayton, Carlos Duclos, Antoine Griffin and Caleb Robinson. Clayton (24.2 ypr, 4th in GSC/57th in NCAA), Duclos and Robinson have combined for a 21.5 kickoff return average to rank fifth in the GSC and 56th in the country, while Griffin's 13.5 punt return average is 14th in the country and second in the GSC.
    When combining the 30 yards from the blocked punt against Chowan in the home opener, UWF's season average of 13.9 leads the league and is 21st in the NCAA.

UWF PLAYING SMART
    UWF has committed just 63 penalties through 10 games, ranking second in the GSC and 33rd in the NCAA in fewest penalties. Additionally, the 507 penalty yards are the 21st fewest in the country.

END OF HALF EFFICIENCY PAYING OFF
    UWF has scored on its final possession of the first half in its first four games and seven of 10 overall.
* Against Missouri S&T, the team went 79 yards in 7 plays over 1:45 to score on a 25-yard Beaudry-to-Rodney Coates TD with 6 seconds left.
* Versus Chowan, UWF, needed just 41 seconds and two plays to cover 64 yards as Ka'Ron Ashley hauled in a 9-ayrd pass from Beaudry with 32 seconds to play.
* After converting a pop-up kick and recovering it at the Valdosta State 33 with 15 seconds left, the Argos used three plays before kicking a school-record-long 41-yarder as time expired.
* At FIT, the Argos got an Andre Duncombe interception with 1:35 left in the half and turned it into a field goal from Austin Williams with 34 seconds to play.
* Against Delta State, the Argos actually scored on their final two possessions. Austin Williams made a school-record 51-yard FG with 1:38 left, before adding a 48-yarder as time expired to give the Argos a 19-14 lead.
* At Shorter, UWF compiled a 4:39 drive to stake a 35-6 lead with 1:21 to play in the half. Beaudry was 4-for-4 for 38 yards, including back-to-back 9-yard completions to Antoine Griffin to cap the 8-play, 44-yard drive.
* Three weeks ago at West Alabama, the Argos got field goals on their final two possessions of the half, including a 39-yarder from Austin Williams as time expired.

SCHWARZ RUNS FOR CAREER-HIGH AT WEST GEORGIA LAST WEEK
    UWF sophomore RB Chris Schwarz had his best rushing performance last week in the win at West Georgia, rushing 17 times for a career-high 94 yards, which included a career-long carry of 26 yards. The bruising back from New Port Richey, Fla., now has five runs of 20-plus yards in his career.
    He currently leads the team with 486 yards on 126 rushes with 4 TD. He had 69 carries for 350 and 2 TD in 2016.
    Against Valdosta State he registered his longest reception with a screen pass that went for 52 yards.
    UWF has won 10 games in its brief history and is 6-0 when Schwarz scores a touchdown.

WILSON TURNING INTO A BREAKOUT RUSHER
    UWF senior RB Leroy Wilson has come into his own this season, rushing for 279 yards on 51 carries. But he has busted out for 219 yards on 40 carries in the last five games.
    He has a 31-yard TD against Delta State, a 20-yard run at Shorter and another 31-yard scamper three weeks ago at West Alabama.

GRIFFIN LEADING WR CORPS
    Redshirt junior WR Antoine Griffin has emerged as the top receiving target for the UWF quarterbacks, catching 41 balls for 566 yards in 2017. He is averaging 56.6 yards per game and 13.8 yards per catch.
    The Tampa native who attended Cocoa HS (just north of Melbourne) before moving back to Tampa after graduation, is also averaging 13.5 yards on 19 punt returns this season with a 50, 40, 35, 33, 31 and 20-yard returns to his credit. The 50- and 40-yarders came two weeks again against North Alabama and the 35-yarder set up a score last week at West Georgia. He was named to the Preseason All-GSC team as one of two return specialists.
    In 2016, he was third on the team in receptions (43), receiving TD (7) and reception yards (560). He also returned 18 punts 240 yards for a 13.3 return average, including a career-long 35-yarder at Valdosta State.

BAMBI THUMPS HIS WAY INTO NCAA TOP PLAYS
    Redshirt freshman WR Ka'Ron Ashley had quite an exciting first career game in Week 3 against Chowan, bringing in two catches for 27 yards, with both going for TDs.
    Against the Hawks, his first came from 9 yards out late in the first quarter where he beat his defender by a good five yards. But it was his second ball that turned heads when he jumped and caught a 19-yard pass from Mike Beaudry by jumping high and coming down with a foot just inches inside the back corner of the end zone for a TD with 32 seconds to play in the half. That catch earned the No. 3 top play among NCAA Division II Football for Week No. 3.
    He hauled in a 76-yard TD grab at Florida Tech and finished with a career best game of five receptions for 106 yards.
    The Jacksonville, Fla. native who was home-schooled as a youngster, sat out the 2016 season as a redshirt but earned the nickname 'Bambi' after a coach commented on his leaping ability in a film session during the year.

BARNES RELISHING FINAL SEASON
    UWF senior Reggie Barnes currently ranks seventh in the GSC with 76 tackles. He also has 2.5 sacks to rank 10th in the GSC.
    The Odessa, Fla. native finished last season as a senior but still had one semester of eligibility remaining. He made the decision to sit out the spring semester and come back this year for a final season of college ball. Barnes started his career at Air Force where he appeared in 21 games in 2012-13 before eventually transferring to UWF for the 2015 redshirt season.
    A CoSIDA Academic All-District and GSC All-Academic selection last season, Barnes ranked third on the team in 2016 with 67 tackles and added six tackles for loss, six QB hurries and a pass break-up.

WILLIAMS TURNING HEADS WITH HIS RIGHT FOOT
    Sophomore PK Austin Williams has been one of the biggest bright spots for the team this season. The sophomore out of Phelan, California leads the Gulf South Conference with 9.2 pts per game and is second with 92 total points. He has made 21 field goals which is tied for first in the NCAA this season and third in the GSC single-season record book. He has made four field goals in a game three times.
    He is 9-of-9 inside 32 yards and 16-of-17 up to 43 yards. Williams has also handled 55 kickoffs with a GSC-leading 19 touchbacks – 10 more than the next closest kicker.

GSC SINGLE-SEASON FG MADE
23 Anthony Pistelli, Valdosta State    2014
22 Will Rhody, Valdosta State    2004
21 Austin WIlliams, UWF    2017
20 Jason Williams, Southern Arkansas    1998

NORRIS THRIVING IN PUNTER ROLE
    In 2016, UWF battled a number of injuries and inconsistency with the punting position, finishing the year ranked 136th in the country with a 30.83 net punting average.
    This year has seen true freshman Colton Norris step in and put up some booming kicks that have resulted in a 35.3 net punt average, which ranks 52nd overall and fourth in the GSC. The Niceville, Fla. native  has a 38.9 yards per punt average and has put 11 inside the 20-yard line and 12 have been fair caught - including all three at West Alabama last week.
    He boomed a career-long 55-yarder at Florida Tech before flipping the field against Mississippi College with a 56-yarder a week later.