Pensacola, FL—A late score and an onside kick put North Greenville in position for the team’s second road upset of the season but the Argos escaped the potential pitfall to earn a 17-14 win over the Crusaders.

North Greenville’s defense once again headlined the effort, holding the Argos offense, a unit which has averaged almost 400-yards and 38-points to just over 300 and to just 17-points. West Florida’s defense was equal to the task holding NGU to 276-yards and one touchdown.

The second-ever meeting between the two programs started off promising as Aaron Watson picked off a UWF pass and returned it 32-yards for a score. The touchdown was his first career touchdown and now gives him four picks on the season to lead the team. NGU defenders gave the offense a few extra opportunities to add to the early lead, forcing and recovering a pair of fumbles in addition to the Watson interception.

West Florida put up points in the first quarter in the form of a field goal to make it 7-3 in favor of the Crusaders. The score came with 1:04 left on the first-half clock. The next score wouldn’t come until the 2:22 mark of the third quarter. West Florida took its first lead of the game at that point when Jervon Newton scored from a yard out. Newton’s score capped a UWF drive that was 80-yards on 12-plays.

The Argos tacked on another touchdown four minutes into the final quarter to extend the lead to 10-.points. This time it was a 99-yard march on nine plays which extended NGU’s deficit. NGU’s first offensive score of the game came with 2:12 left in the game when Donny Baker hit Lucas Catalfomo in the back corner of the end-zone for the score.

North Greenville recovered an onside kick on the ensuing kickoff to add some drama to the game which was still very much in doubt. The Crusaders took over at the 49-yard line but were unable to make much happen. A third down and 18 conversion looked to keep the drive alive but the receiver was ruled out of bounds. The next pass for NGU fell incomplete on fourth down to end the suspense.

North Greenville got a solid performance out of Semaj Lakin who had 82-yards on the ground. North Greenville finished with 154-yards on the ground. Donny Baker finished with 122-yards passing and a touchdown. North Greenville missed a pair of field goals during the game, a first-quarter attempt of 28-yards and a third-quarter attempt from 37-yards.

Jacob Harper was the top tackler for North Greenville, finishing with eight stops total. He also forced a fumble for NGU. The Crusaders had a pair of sacks on the day from Dantevian Byrd and Rodney Evans.

Next Time Out

North Greenville will celebrate its seniors and wrap up the 2019 season when Florida Tech comes to Tigerville for a 1:30 PM kickoff on November 9th.