By Bill Vilona
GoArgos.com Senior Writer 
 
BOX SCORE


BOLIVAR, Mo. – Another long road trip for UWF football led right into a wide-gap win. 

Sound familiar?

The seventh-ranked Argos showcased their latest, standard-setting performance with a 49-10 victory Saturday night against Southwest Baptist, complete with a record 99-yard interception return from newcomer Willie Jordan on his birthday and the second-best, per-play average (9.4 yards) in team history. 

UWF has now won its last 11 regular-season road games, the second-longest current streak in NCAA Division II. The Argos post-season road record (9-1) is already the best percentage in NCAA history across all levels. 

"I think that comes from Coach (Pete) Shinnick just preaching to us to focus on how we play," said running back Shomari Mason, who gained 103 yards on 12 carries, scored two touchdowns, and caught a pass for 49 yards.  "We're not really worried about what the other team is doing, we're just focusing on dominating on what we do and we're focused on what we do. 

"I feel like that has played a huge role on the road."

There were several runs where the 5-foot-6, 170-pound Mason, a junior from Fort Myers, was either carrying defenders or shedding them on a night where the running game generated 207 yards. 

"Shomari was unbelievable," Shinnick said. "And the o-line (offensive line) creating holes. I think that is what it all set up."

Two games into the schedule, UWF has outscored opponents 101-13. The Argos will get a full week to recover from a 750-mile, 12-hour bus trip home, before preparing for their next game on Sept. 24 at Pen Air Field against Gulf South Conference rival Delta State. 

The schedule ramps up from this point, but UWF's proficiency has impressed. In the same manner the Argos had few glitches in their season-opening win Sept. 3, there was no sign Saturday of any adverse effect from spending a long time on a bus. 

The Argos took a 21-0 lead on the first three times with the ball. They scored touchdowns on six of their first seven possessions. 

"I don't know, did we even run 50 plays?" said Shinnick.

Nope. Only 42 offensive plays. 

"That was crazy," he said. "We just kept getting yardage. (Southwest Baptist) did everything they could to milk the clock, keep it out of our offense's hands. They did everything they could to keep the ball away from us --- play as slow (on offense) as possible – and our guys still found a way to score 49 (points)."

And yes, even the defense got into the act. 

On the first play of the fourth quarter, UWF's Jordan stepped in front of an errant pass in the Argos end zone and was joined by a caravan of teammates on his school-record 99-yard, pick-6 return for a touchdown. It surpassed the 98-yard interception return by Marvin Conley in 2017.

"They were kidding him on the sideline, that was the fastest they've ever seen him move," Shinnick said, laughing. "That was awesome.

"Our guys just continued to play hard."

In his second game as Argos starter, quarterback Peewee Jarrett threw only 12 passes. He completed seven and two of those went for touchdowns to Larry Rembert and David Durden. After missing the opener to heal an injury, Durden returned after being UWF's top receiver in 2021 and had two receptions Saturday. 

All part of the 396 yards total offense the Argos generated. 

The Argos started the game with Jarrett trying a long pass on the first snap from the UWF 37. That didn't connect. The next eight plays were on the ground with CJ Wilson scoring from the 1. Wilson then added a 2-yard TD run to give UWF a 28-0 halftime lead. 

"That just had to do with the offensive line," Mason said. "The offensive line was making things happen, blocking the right people and executing. It's a good way to start the year."

The Argos started the second half Saturday with Mason catching his only pass and turning that into a big play, then finishing with a 1-yard TD plunge to make it 35-3. 

The first half featured multiple off-setting penalties between the teams with personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct. But once UWF put the game away early the second half, the Argos were able to play second-team players and finish out the game with little bad effect. 

The Argos will have a couple workouts this week, then go full bore on preparation for Delta State the following week.