• This week's game features the only Division 2 football-playing schools in the state of Florida against each other - it's Coastal Classic week.

HURRICANE MICHAEL DONATIONS/SUPPLIES BEING COLLECTED
• Cat Country has secured Country music artist Granger Smith to host a 30-minute acoustic set at Maritime Park in front of Blue Wahoos Stadium from 3-3:30 pm and is asking fans to make donations for the Florida Disaster Fund.
• UWF and the Pensacola Blue Wahoos are also accepting donated supplies for those affected by Hurricane Michael. The list of items most in need of are:
Water
Gatorade
Tarps
Trash bags
Flash lights
Batteries
Cleaning supplies
Work gloves
Non- perishable food
Baby items
First aid kits
Items can be dropped off at the Main Gate at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

TOP STORYLINES
• Saturday's game marks the third edition of the Coastal Classic, matching the only Division 2 Football-playing schools from the state of Florida.
• After a record 3-0 start in Gulf South Conference, the Argos are 3-1 for the first time in program history.
• UWF is 11-9 all-time in GSC regular-season games, with a 5-5 record at home and 6-4 on the road.
• UWF is ranked No. 19 in the AFCA poll (17 by the media of D2Football.com), putting the Argos into the rankings for the ninth-consecutive ranking period after ending the 2017 season ranked No. 2.

THE COACHES
• UWF coach Pete Shinnick was hired as the first coach in program history on Feb. 6, 2014. He has a 124-58 career record in his 16th season as a head coach, which includes a 50-24 mark at UNC Pembroke from 2007-13 and 53-22 at Azusa Pacific from 1999-05. He was named the AFCA and D2Football.com National Coach of the Year last season.
• Florida Tech coach Steve Englehart is in his sixth season and has led the Panthers to a 31-25 record since being hired to start the program in 2011. Prior to his time on the Space Coast, he was the offensive coordinator at his alma mater, Indiana State & was the head coach for four years at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, compiling a 26-14 mark.

ABOUT UWF
    UWF is 5-2 on the season and ranked No. 19 by the American Football Coaches Association (No. 17 in the D2Football.com media poll). The Argonauts had their 4-game winning streak snapped last week in a 27-7 loss to No. 4 West Georgia.
    The Argonauts are averaging 260.4 passing yards and 150.0 rushing yards on the season. Their 410.4 yards per game are fourth in the GSC and 51st nationally.
    Graduate QB Sam Vaughn has completed 57 percent of his attempts for 1,788 yards (255.4 ypg) and 15 TD.
    The running back group of Chris Schwarz, Anthony Johnson, Jr., Jervon Newton and Quaide Weimerskirch have combined for 1,000 yards (153.8 ypg) on 192 carries.
    Junior Tate Lehtio is fourth in the GSC with 415 yards and fourth with 30 receptions, along with a touchdown. Senior Ishmel Morrow also has 30 receptions for 399 yards and two touchdowns. Ezra Saffold has caught a TD in four of the last six games and is tied for fourth in the GSC with four TD receptions.
    The defense allows 380.6 yards per game and has forced 18 total turnovers - good for seventh in the country. UWF is one of four teams that lead Division 2 with 11 fumble recoveries.
    Graduate LB Gavin Burford ranks third in the GSC in both tackles (53) and tackles per game (7.6).

ABOUT FLORIDA TECH
    Florida Tech is 5-2 on the season and 2-2 in Gulf South Conference play. The Panthers' two losses have come at West Georgia, 30-21, and at home last weekend against Valdosta State, 51-21.
    FIT averages 25.6 points per game and 343.0 yards per contest, while allowing23.4 ppg and  353.7 ypg.
    The Panthers have a very strong defense and has four defensive touchdowns which is first in the country.
    Junior quarterback Trent Chmelik is averaging 224.0 passing yards per game and has 11 touchdowns.
    The Panthers have the top receiver in the GSC in senior Romell Guerrier, who has 571 yards with three 100-yard games. He also has seven touchdowns.
    Senior running back Antwuan Haynes has 457 rushing yards for 65.9 yards per game and three touchdowns. He is a 3-time all-GSC selection and the league's Offensive Freshman of the Year in 2015.
    Senior linebacker J.T. Hassell leads the conference in tackles with 77 stops, along with six tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, four pass break-ups and two forced fumbles.

SERIES HISTORY
    UWF leads the all-time series 2-0 after a pair of exciting games played as part of the D2 National Showcase the previous two season. UWF won a shootout in 2016, 42-39, holding off a late FIT rally in which they outscored the Argos 22-14 in the fourth quarter. Last season, UWF capitalized on some late-game fortune to win 23-21 on a 44-yard Austin Williams field goal as time expired.

MORE ABOUT THE CLASSIC
    The teams will play for the Coastal Classic Trophy, which stands 24 inches tall on a six-inch wooden base. It features a large bronze anchor and 6-pointed ship's wheel with nautical sailing rope as the focal point of the trophy. A small bell is attached to the anchor with a white segment of sailing rope attached its clapper.
    The rivalry name comes from the fact that FIT is located on Florida's Space Coast and UWF is on the Emerald Coast of the state
    The game is one of 32 trophy games in Division 2 and the youngest, having started in 2016. The oldest is the Old Hickory Stick game between Northwest Missouri State and Truman State which began in 1931. UWF radio play-by-play broadcaster Tommy Thrall has been part of both rivalries, dating back to his time as a undergraduate broadcaster for KXCV Radio on the NMSU campus.

UWF AFTER A LOSS
    UWF is 1-0 this season following a loss. The Argonauts are 6-3 in the same season after a loss and have won their last four.
    If you could season-openers after a loss form the previous year, the Argos are 8-3 and have won their last six.

VAUGHN AMONG TOP 20 DIVISION 2 QUARTERBACKS
    Graduate QB Sam Vaughn made his first career start at Midwestern State in week two in place of week-one starter Mike Beaudry, who suffered an injury against Carson-Newman. 
    Vaughn had a solid game, throwing for 251 yards on 19-of-37 passing with two touchdowns and  two interceptions.
    The Fort Pierce, Fla. native has continued to improve each week since. Against Shorter in week three he threw for a career-high 369 yards on 25-of-34 passing with three touchdowns. His 72.5 percent completion rate was the second-highest in program history, while his 193.8 passing efficiency is third.
    He currently ranks among the NCAA leaders in the following categories:
Category    NCAA Rk.    Stat
Passing TDs    22    15
Completions/game     23    20.1
Passing Yards    19    1,788
Passing Yards/game    21    255.4
Total Offense/game    32    262.9
Pass. Yds/Completion    68    12.7

    In week one, he came on in relief of Beaudry, completing 17-for-29 for 218 yards with a TD and an interception. It was the first time in program history that the Argos had to make an in-game switch at quarterback due to injury.
    Vaughn spent the past four years as a scout team/preferred walk-on at Georgia and did not appear in a game. Prior to the opener, the last time he played in a live game was as a senior at Fort Pierce (Fla.) Central HS in the fall of 2013.

RUSHING ATTACK CONTINUES TO MAKE PROGRESS
    Dating back to the 2015 season when UWF fielded a team of redshirts with five intrasquad scrimmages, head coach Pete Shinnick has continued to praise the improvement of the offensive line.
    That improvement was on display in week three against Shorter with 195 yards rushing on 41 attempts and again two weeks ago with a school-record 268 rushing yards on 36 touches at Delta State.
    Junior RB Chris Schwarz has posted two of his three 100-yard games this season, and with his 107 yards on 14 carries two weeks ago at North Alabama, he is the first player in program history with consecutive 100-yard games.
    He ranks 16th in the country with 6.57 yards per carry.

ARGOS HAVE FORCED TURNOVERS IN 30 OF 33 GAMES
    The UWF defense forced a school-record five turnovers earlier this season at Mississippi College and four more three weeks ago at Delta State.
    UWF has 11 fumble recoveries to lead the country, extending it's streak of games with at least one turnover to nine games.
    Further inspection shows the Argonauts have gotten at least one turnover in 30 of their 33 all-time games. UWF is 20-10 when getting a turnover and 1-2 when unable to force a sudden change.

AUSTIN WILLIAMS BREAKS INTO GSC ALL-TIME FG TOP 10
    UWF PK Austin Williams made three field goals against Delta State and was named the Gulf South Conference Special Teams Player of the Week for the third time in 2018 and sixth time in his two years in Pensacola.
    He went 1-for-3 a week later at UNA, seeing his consecutive field goals made streak end at eight.
    His 1.7 FG per game rank second nationally. He is 32nd in total points scored (56) and 35th in points per game (8.0).
    The junior from Phelan, Calif. made a GSC-record 27 field goals in 2017 and now has 39 career field goals, moving into a tie for eighth place on the Gulf South Conference career list.

GSC CAREER FIELD GOALS MADE
51    Will Rhody, Valdosta St.    2002-04
    James Knowles, UNA    1982-85
48    Ted Clem, Troy State    1984-87
46    Coy Nance, Harding    2000-03
43    Ki Tok Chu, UT-Martin    1986-89
40    Jason Williams, Southern Ark.    1997-00
    Nelson McMurrain, UNA    1978-82
39    Austin Williams, UWF    2017-PR
    Zach Wright, OBU     2005-08
37    Daniel Andersen, Valdosta St.    2009-12

    He has also kicked off 38 times this year with 20 touchbacks.

PUNT UNIT PROVING TO BE VERY STINGY
    UWF freshman punter Dawson Hamlin enters the Florida Tech game with a 36.4 yards per punt average over 27 kicks.
    While his gross yardage ranks seventh in the GSC, the UWF coverage unit has limited teams to attempt a return six times for a total of nine return yards - that's a 1.5 yards per return avg! That is second in the GSC behind Valdosta State's 0.5 yards per return on two returns.

RECORD CROWD SHOWS UP FOR WEST GEORGIA GAME
    A UWF & Blue Wahoos Stadium record crowd of 6,838 were in attendance for the 27-7 loss to West Georgia last week.
    The crowd was the largest for a GSC home game this season and pushed UWF into 13th place in the D2 attendance rankings, with a current average of 5,997 through three home dates.