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• The sixth-ranked and fourth-seeded UWF football team will travel to fifth-ranked and top-seeded Ferris State for the 2022 Division II Football Championship National Semifinal on Saturday. Kickoff at Top Taggart Field is at Noon ET.

FOUR DOWNS WITH UWF

1. UWF has one of the top offenses in the country, averaging 43.5 points per game (2nd) on 453.0 yards of total offense (12th) with 243.2 rushing (7th) & 209.8 passing (73rd).

2. UWF has had at least one passing TD in 58-consecutive games & 73 out of 76 all-time. The Argos have had at least two passing scores in 24 of their last 27 games, and at least 2 rushing TDs in 11 of 13 games this season.

3. UWF has forced at least three turnovers in each of its three NCAA Playoff games, coming up with five fumbles & seven interceptions. UWF has also blocked a punt & returned it for a TD.

4. UWF is playing in its third national semifinal in the last five years. The Argos are the No. 4 seed for the third time.

HERE ARE SOME MORE QUICK HITTERS ON THE ARGOS

• UWF is second in the country with 7.46 yards per play.

• Junior QB Peewee Jarrett is 21st in the country in passing efficiency, 7th in passing TD (32), 4th in passing yards per completion (16.3) and 10th in points responsible for per game (18.6).

• Shomari Mason and Ra'veion Hargrove lead the UWF rushing attack, which is ranked 7th in the country with 243.2 ypg. The Argos are No. 2 in D2 with 6.81 yards per rush. Mason is 43rd nationally with 82.2 ypg and 2nd with 7.52 yards per rush. Hargrove averages 8.9 yards per rush with 831 yards on 96 carries for 63.9 ypg.

• David Durden is one of the top playmakers in the country, ranking 58th in all-purpose yards/game (106.7), 22nd with 85.8 receiving yards/game, 88th with 4.2 receptions/game & is third nationally with 17.7 punt return yards/game - although he hasn't bee kicked to in the last two games.

• A year ago, UWF averaged 45.7 points per game and 485.3 yards of total offense. The squad churned-out 170.0 rushing yards per game while passing for 315.3 ypg - all school records.

• The Argonauts were the Gulf South Conference Co-Champions and qualified for the NCAA Playoffs for the third time in the last four championship seasons.

• UWF was picked to finish second in the GSC Preseason Coaches Poll and received two of eight possible first-place votes.

UWF FOOTBALL 101

• The 2022 campaign is the sixth for UWF in its history.

• Pete Shinnick was hired as head coach in Feb. of 2014. 

• UWF has won a share of the Gulf South Conference title in 2021 & 2022.

• UWF has made four appearances in the NCAA Playoffs (2017, 2019, 2021 & 2022).

• The Argonauts have won Super Region 2 & reached the semifinals three times (2017, 2019, 2022).

• UWF won the 2019 national championship and was the runner-up in 2017.

UWF POSTSEASON 101

• UWF is continuing its fourth appearance in the NCAA Division 2 Playoffs, with previous showings in 2017, 2019 & last season.

• UWF is 12-2 in postseason play and an amazing 9-0 in road contests.

• The Argonauts went 4-1 in 2017 and lost to Texas A&M Commerce in the national championship game. UWF became the fasted startup to reach the postseason in NCAA history.

• Two years later, they turned in arguably the greatest postseason run of all time on their way to the national title. UWF defeated four undefeated teams and three number 1 seeds - both for the first time in NCAA D2 history. UWF's title in its fourth season of play matched Georgia Southern in 1985 (I-AA) as the fastest to win a title since starting a program - 4 years.

• In 2021, UWF fell to Newberry, 33-30 in overtime at Blue Wahoos Stadium in downtown Pensacola. The Argos led 27-14 early in the fourth quarter.

DECEMBER SUCCESS

• UWF is 6-1 all-time in games played in December. The Argos went 2-1 in the 2017 playoffs and 3-0 in the 2019 playoff run.

UWF LEADS DIVISION 2 IN POSTSEASON WIN PCT.

• Following the 2019 run to the national championship, UWF took over the top spot in the NCAA Division 2 Record Book as the winningest postseason team in the division's history with a minimum of 10 games. The Argos are now 12-2 with a .833 winning pct.

NCAA DIVISION 2 CHAMPIONSHIP

HIGHEST WINNING PCT.

SCHOOL    RECORD    PCT.

WEST FLORIDA    12-2    .857

Northwest Mo. State    53-20    .726

North Dakota State    30-12    .714

Grand Valley State    37-16    .698

Texas A&M Commerce    9-4    .692

Ferris State    24-11    .686

Valdosta State    29-14    .674

North Alabama    35-18    .660

Delta State    16-9    .640

*Minimum 10 Games Played

UWF IN NCAA SEMIFINALS FOR THIRD TIME IN 5 YEARS

• Last week UWF made its third appearance in the NCAA D2 National Quarterfinals since 2017. That ranks tied for the second-most appearances during that time frame.

NATIONAL QUARTERFINAL 

APPEARANCES SINCE 2017

School    No.    Years

Ferris State    5    2017-18-19-21-22

WEST FLORIDA    3    2017-19-22

Minnesota State    3    2017-18-19

Angelo State    2    2021-22

Colo. Sch. of Mines    2    2021-22

Shepherd    2    2021-22

Indiana (Pa.)    2    2017-22

Northwest Missouri    2    2019-21

Valdosta State    2    2018-21

17 teams with 1 appearance each

* The 2020 Playoffs were not played due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• With their wins last week, UWF and Ferris State are the only teams to appear in three national semifinals in that same time span.

CHECKING THE PERFORMANCE INDICATOR IN SUPER REGION 2

• One of the metrics the NCAA Division II Football Committee uses to help determine the postseason field and seedings is the Performance Indicator (Takes results of home, road and neutral games and assigns a point value that is then averaged to give the PI number). UWF had the second highest in Super Region 2 entering the playoffs at 27.667.

• Of the quarterfinal teams, the Argos were fourth, behind Angelo State (29.636), Grand Valley (29.800), and Ferris State (29.222). They were ahead of Shepherd (27.636), IUP (27.300), Colorado Mines (26.727) and Wingate (26.364).

UWF WITH TOUGHEST SOS IN SUPER REGION 2

• At the end of the regular season, UWF's strength of schedule was listed at .538 which was 12th in Super Region 2 but first among the region's seven postseason teams. Wingate was the next highest postseason team at .531.

• Among the eight quarterfinalists, UWF's SOS is fourth behind Ferris State (.614), Grand Valley (.575) and Colorado School of Mines (.544).

GSC IN THE POSTSEASON

• In the last five postseasons, seven different Gulf South Conference teams have made the NCAA Playoffs.

• A GSC school has won a D2 best 12 national championships, with UWF claiming the most recent one in 2019. The GSC has put a team in the national title game each of the last five years, with three different schools in the first three years - North Alabama in 2016, UWF in 2017 & 2019 and Valdosta State in 2018 - marking the first time in D2 history that three different teams from the same conference made the title game in consecutive seasons.

• A GSC school has won the NCAA Division II Super Region 2, formerly the Southeast Region, crown 18 times in the last 20 seasons.

• Since Division II went to regionalization in 1990, a GSC school has advanced to the national semifinals 25 times in 32 seasons.

SHINNICK REACHES 150 CAREER VICTORIES, 50 UWF VICTORIES

• Pete Shinnick was hired as the first head coach in program history on Feb. 2, 2014 and has done a marvelous job since day one building the program from the ground up.

• Shinnick is in his sixth season at UWF (eighth year overall) and 20th as a college head coach, and enters the Ferris State game at 159-66 (.707) overall and 56-20 (.737) at UWF. He currently ranks seventh among active D2 head coaches in career victories.

• Shinnick was named the 2019 D2Football.com Division 2 National Coach of the Year and the 2017 AFCA & D2Football.com D2 National Coach of the Year. He was also the AFCA Region 2 Coach of the Year in 2017.

• He is 16-9 all-time in the postseason - 12-4 in the Division II Playoffs and 4-5 in the NAIA Playoffs while at Azusa Pacific from 1999-2005.

SERIES HISTORY

• Saturday is the second meeting between UWF and Ferris State in football, with the Argonauts holding a 1-0 series lead.

• In 2019, UWF was slotted as the No. 4 seed in the national semifinals and made the trip to Big Rapids for the program's second final 4 contest. The Argos forced a school-record tying six turnovers and scored 21 unanswered points for a 28-14 win. UWF scored 18 points off those miscues as they turned a 14-7 deficit into a 28-14 lead.

• UWF finished with 366 yards of total offense as Austin Reed threw for 299 yards with three TD. He completed passes to six players, led by seven to Tate Lehtio  who had 118 yards, two TD and caught a 2-point conversion.

2022 TEAM IS UWF'S MOST BALANCED TEAM EVER

• Pete Shinnick's teams have usually been a pass-first look, with the run game serving as a complimentary component. Things have shifted this season with the steady emergence of the Argo rushing attack.

• UWF is averaging 7.46 yards per play (2nd in NCAA), due in large part to 6.81 yards per rush (2nd in NCAA) and  243.2 yards per game - both of those running stats are school records.

• Here is a look at the yearly breakdown of UWF's offensive production:

    Rush.    Pass.    R/P    R/P

Year    YPG    YPG    Pct. Ratio    TD Ratio

2016    99.2    308.4    24 / 76    12/32

2017    115.9    228.1    34 / 66    15/29

2018    132.3    228.8    36 / 64    7/23

2019    131.1    281.2    32 / 68    29/41

2021    162.4    313.3    34 / 66    27/38

2022    243.2    209.6    54 / 46    32/34

WIN STREAK REACHES 10

• UWF enters the Ferris State game with a 10-game winning streak.

• That is the longest stretch of wins in the same season in program history.

• The longest total win streak is 11, which includes the final six of the 2019 national championship season and the first five of last season.

• UWF's streak trails only Colorado Mines' 12-game stretch for the longest in Division 2. Ferris State is third at seven.

ROAD WIN STREAK AT 16, SECOND LONGEST IN D2

• UWF went 6-0 away from Pensacola this season to extend its road win streak to 16 games. That ranks second in Division 2 behind Ferris State's 27.

• Wingate had the third-longest streak at eight games prior to UWF's 45-14 win last week.

• The Argos have won their six road games in 2022 by an average of 20.6 points, which includes a 1-point win over Valdosta State.

• They have captured their last nine on the road by an average of 26.8 points.

• UWF is 33-9 (.786) all-time on the road and 31-5 (.861) since 2017.

• After a 2-4 road mark in the 2016 inaugural season, UWF has had a winning record away from home each year - 8-1, 4-2, 7-2, 6-0 and 6-0.

PEEWEE'S BIG ADVENTURE

• Junior QB Peewee Jarrett has steadily improved at UWF, gaining experience and mastering the playbook on a weekly basis. He has thrown for 2,385 yards on 144-of-282 passes with 30 touchdowns and a 153.7 passing efficiency rating.

• The Des Moines, Iowa native who was a NJCAA All-America at Iowa Central, has five games of 200 passing yards or more and has nine multi-TD passing games.

• Those numbers have increased on a regular basis, but in the last month he has really stepped up his rushing attack which has made him much more difficult to defend.

    First 7    Last 6

    Games    Games

Rushing YPG/TD    49.9/2    70.0/6

Passing YPG/TD    208.7/18    188.4/14

Total Offense    258.6    266.0

TD Responsible For    20    20

MASON GRABBING SOME RUSHING RECORDS, TIED FOR TOTAL TD MARK

• Junior RB Shomari Mason rushed for 120 yards on 16 carries (7.5 per rush) two weeks ago at Delta State, pushing him over 1,000 yards for the second time in his career. He enters the Ferris State contest with 1,068 yards on 142 carries this season.

• In the first meeting with Delta State, he busted out for a career-high 214 yards on 29 carries, establishing UWF single-game records for both categories (tied Chris Schwarz's 29 carries at IUP in 2017). He was equally impressive, powering through North Greenville a week later for 153 yards on 11 carries -- 13.9 yards per rush, and continued through the year on his way to First Team All-GSC honors for the second time in his career.

• As a result, Mason's 3-year career totals are now 2,499 yards on 316 rushes.

UWF CAREER RUSHING LEADERS

RUSHING YARDS

1. Shomari Mason (2019, 21-pr.)    2,499

2. Chris Schwarz (2016-18)    1,992

3. Anthony Johnson, Jr. (2017-19, 21)    1,668

YARDS PER CARRY

1. Shomari Mason (2019, 21-pr.)    8.0

2. Chris Schwarz (2016-18)    4.8

3. Anthony Johnson, Jr. (2017-19, 21)    4.5

RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS

1. Shomari Mason (2019, 21-pr.)    23

2. Anthony Johnson, Jr. (2017-19, 21)    20

3. Chris Schwarz (2016-18)    11

TOTAL TOUCHDOWNS

Listed as Rushing-Receiving-Total

1. Shomari Mason (2019, 21-pr.)     23-2-25

2. David Durden (2021-pr.)    1-22-24*

3. Ka'Ron Ashley (2017-19, 21)     0-23-23

4. Anthony Johnson, Jr. (2017-19, 21)    20-0-20

5. Quentin Randolph (2016-19)    0-16-16

* Durden also has one punt return for a touchdown.

IS SHOMARI MASON THE MOST EFFICIENT RUNNER IN THE NCAA? WE THINK SO

• A year ago, Shomari Mason led D2 with 8.5 yards per rush, finishing with 1,015 yards on 120 carries. This year has seen him continue to bulldoze his way into opposing secondaries, totalling 1,068 yards on 142 carries for 7.5 yards per rush (2nd nationally).

• Those numbers, along with his 416 yards on 54 rushes (7.7 ypr) in 2019 have placed his career yards per rush at 8.0, a figure that is third among all active rushers in all NCAA Divisions.

NCAA ACTIVE CAREER 

RUSHING LEADERS (All Divisions)

YARDS PER CARRY

1. Ronnie Brown, Shepherd    8.1

2. Ivory Durham, Valdosta State    8.1

3. Shomari Mason, UWF    8.0

4. Jaden Shirden, Monmouth    7.8

5. Toriano Clinton, UIndy    7.7

HARGROVE TURNING IT ON IN THE POSTSEASON

• RB Ra'veion Hargrove had 121 yards on nine carries with a TD in the NCAA First Round win over Limestone. His yards per carry hit 13.4!

• At Delta State, he went for 83 yards on nine rushes for 9.2 yards per rush, before  35 yards on seven runs last week against Wingate.

• His 2022 postseason numbers are now 239 yards (2nd most this postseason) on 24 rushes for 9.6 ypc - eighth most in the playoffs.

• On the year, he has 831 yards on 96 rushes for 8.7 yards per carry, which would lead the NCAA if he had the minimum of 10 rushes per game.

DURDEN CONTINUES TO CLIMB THE RECORD BOOK

• When senior WR David Durden caught eight passes for 142 yards at West Georgia this season, he moved to the top of the UWF record book with his sixth 100-yard receiving game. He added to that list a week later at Shorter, tying his career high with nine receptions on his way to 111 yards.

• He currently ranks fourth at UWF in single-season receiving yards and last week against Wingate became just the fourth player in program history to tally 1,000 yards in a season.

• In 2021, he set the UWF record for consecutive games with a TD reception, crossing the goal line in the first five games of the season. This season, he has gone a step further, catching a TD in 11 of his 12 games with a current streak of six-straight games with a TD catch.

SINGLE-SEASON RECEIVING YARDS

1. Tate Lehtio    1,120    2019

2. Quentin Randolph    1,169    2019

3. Ishmel Morrow    1,038    2016

4. David Durden    1,030    2022

SINGLE-SEASON RECEPTIONS

1. Tate Lehtio    95    2019

2. Ishmel Morrow    71    2016

3. Antoine Griffin    63    2017

4. Quentin Randolph    58    2019

5. David Durden    51    2022

SINGLE-SEASON TD RECEPTIONS

1. David Durden    12    2022

    Ka'ron Ashley    12    2021

    Quentin Randolph    12    2019

4. David Durden    10    2021

5. Caden Leggett    9    2022

CAREER RECEIVING YARDS

1. Tate Lehtio    2,463    2016-19

2. David Durden    1,807    2021-pr.

3. Antoine Griffin    1,697    2016-18

CAREER TD RECEPTIONS

1. Ka'ron Ashley    23    2016-19, 21

2. David Durden    22    2021-pr.

3. Quentin Randolph    15    2016-19

4. Tate Lehtio    14    2016-19

DURDEN, LEGGETT THE TOP RECEIVING DUO IN THE GSC

• WRs David Durden and Caden Leggett have proven to be Peewee Jarrett's top targets this season - and that's a good thing because the duo has combined for 1,605 yards on 87 catches. They each average over 16 yards per reception and have 21 of the team's 34 receiving TDs through the air.

ARGO DEFENSE HAS FORCED A TURNOVER IN 66 OF 76 GAMES

• The UWF defense has always been a ball-hawking, aggressive unit that has forced at least one turnover in 66 of their 76 all-time games. UWF is 50-16 (.754) when getting a turnover and 6-4 (.600) when unable to force a sudden change.

• The Argos have forced 153 turnovers  in 76 games for an average of 2.01 per game.

• The UWF defense forced a school-record six turnovers last week against Wingate and twice in 2019 - at West Georgia and at Ferris State. Those big plays were part of the UWF record 15-consecutive games with a turnover.

• The turnover prize for UWF is a navy blue Turnover Shield and was created by Defensive Coordinator Darian Dulin prior to the 2018 campaign. The 3-inch round wooden disk has a large UWF logo on a navy blue background. The shield, which is a replica of what Jason and the Argonauts may have used in mythological times, is then signed in silver marker by the player(s) who had a hand in creating the turnover.

SOME NUGGETS ON THE DEFENSIVE LEADERS

• Will Breland: Leads the team with 80 tackles from the middle linebacker spot ... Second Team All-Region ... Has 23 tackles, 1 forced fumble, 2 fumble recoveries and 2 interceptions in the playoffs.

• Willie Jordan: Has 28 tackles with 15 solos in the playoffs ... Has a career-high 11 tackles in two games this season ... First Team All-Gulf South Conference.

• Anthony Johnson, Jr.: Has five career interceptions and returned three of them for touchdowns ... In the 2022 playoffs, he has 10 tackles, two pick-6s, a QB Hurry and two pass break-ups ... Leads the team with eight PBUs and three interceptions.

UWF & STEVE DAWSON AMONG PUNTING ELITE

• UWF is second in the country in net punting, putting up 40.8 yards per punt. The Argos are allowing 5.17 yards per return.

• A large part of that goes to punter Steve Dawson, who averages 41.5 yards per punt on 31 kicks this season. That would rank 14th in the country, except he doesn't have enough attempts to meet the NCAA minimum of 3.6 punts per team game to qualify for the rankings. He has five of his last 13 punts have gone for at least 40 yards.

• Additionally, 19 of his 31 have been inside the 20 and 15 have been fair caught, including 11 of his last 15 over the last five weeks.

• Of his nine punts in the playoffs, seven have been fair caught, two went out of bounds at the one and three yard lines and one was downed at the six.

SINGLE-SEASON PUNTING AVERAGE

1. Dawson Hamlin    52-2261    43.5    2019

3. Steve Dawson    25-1046    41.8    2021

2. Steve Dawson    31-1287    41.5    2022

4. Andrew Bogaenko    28-1122    40.1    2016

5. Dawson Hamlin    51-1977    39.2    2018

CAREER PUNTING AVERAGE

1. Steve Dawson    56-2333    41.66    21-22

2. Dawson Hamlin    103-4238    41.14    18-19

CERRA BECOMING AN ELITE FIELD GOAL SPECIALIST

• Redshirt junior Griffin Cerra (pron. Sara) was named a Second Team All-GSC kicker last month.

• He earned the third of his GSC Special Teams Player of the Week after he made five field goals and three PATs in the win over West Alabama. The FG total set a UWF single-game record and tied the GSC mark, which has been set twice already this season.

• Cerra had made his last 10 kicks prior to a miss at Valdosta State. He is 15-for-21 on the season. He is third in the GSC in scoring with 109 points and 9.1 points per game.

CERRA A BE THE MATCH DONOR, SAVED A LIFE LAST WEEK

• For the past few years, UWF assistant head coach/offensive line coach Steve Saulnier has spearheaded the on-campus push to participate in the Be The Match, operated by the National Marrow Donor Program.

• UWF placekicker Griffin Cerra came up as a match for a 32-year-old female with leukemia. Originally listed as the backup, he was asked to donate when the primary donor opted to not participate.

• His preparation involved five days of three injections per day that began on Thanksgiving day. Long snapper and nursing major Wyatt Adams helped administer the shots. The side effects (mostly intense bone pain & headaches) set in after 24 hours, but Cerra played in the NCAA Second Round win at Delta State. On Sunday after the game, he flew to Seattle for Monday's collection, which took about 4.5 hours.

• He is the second player with UWF ties to be a match. Former QB Mike Beaudry did a cheek swab when he was a student at UWF and was found to be a match last winter, helping provide stem cells for a 68-year-old male battling lymphoma. Beaudry is currently a backup QB with the Edmonton Elks in the Canadian Football League. 

11 ARGOS EARNED THEIR DEGREES THIS WEEK

• Saturday is a big day in Pensacola as it is the Fall Commencement for the University. With 11 current football student-athletes competing, UWF President Dr. Martha Saunders held a special grauation ceremony for those students and their families on Tuesday in Pensacola.

• Jacob Bruce, Griffin Cerra, David Durden, Ian Edward, Ra'veion Hargrove, Sharod Oliver, Onelio Rios, Oake Stipe, Kee Whetzel and Maverick Wolfley were awarded their bachelor's degrees by their college deans and other university dignitaries. Steve Dawson was hooded for completing his requirements for a master's degree.