2018 Florida Tech Panthers football team
American college football season
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The 2018 Florida Tech Panthers football team represented Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) during the 2018 NCAA Division II football season. They were led by sixth-year head coach Steve Englehart. The Panthers played their home games at Florida Tech Panther Stadium, approximately one mile from the Florida Tech campus, and were members of the Gulf South Conference.
- Steve Englehart (6th season)
| 2018 Florida Tech Panthers football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Gulf South Conference |
| Record | 8–4 (5–3 GSC) |
| Head coach |
|
| Offensive coordinator | Jayson Martin (6th season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Rick Minter (2nd season) |
| Home stadium | Florida Tech Panther Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 1 Valdosta State $^ | 8 | – | 0 | 14 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 16 West Georgia ^ | 7 | – | 1 | 10 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Florida Tech ^ | 5 | – | 3 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West Alabama ^ | 5 | – | 3 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West Florida | 4 | – | 4 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Greenville | 3 | – | 4 | 4 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Delta State | 2 | – | 6 | 2 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mississippi College | 1 | – | 6 | 3 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shorter | 0 | – | 8 | 0 | – | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2018 season saw FIT finish with a record of 8-4, earning their second trip to the NCAA Division II Football Championship where they were eliminated in the first round at Lenoir-Rhyne.[1] The Panthers finished with a record of 5-3 in GSC play, including their first ever win over in-state rival West Florida with a 30-28 victory in Pensacola that saw them record the largest comeback in program history after trailing by 18 points in the first half.[2]
Preseason
Gulf South Conference coaches poll
On August 2, 2018, the Gulf South Conference released their preseason coaches poll with the Panthers predicted to finish in 6th place in the conference.[3]
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Alabama | 62 (6) |
| 2 | West Florida | 59 (3) |
| 3 | West Georgia | 44 |
| 4 | Delta State | 41 |
| 5 | Valdosta State | 38 |
| 6 | Florida Tech | 32 |
| 7 | North Greenville | 24 |
| 8 | Mississippi College | 16 |
| 9 | Shorter | 8 |
Preseason All-Gulf South Conference Team
The Panthers had four players at four positions selected to the preseason all-Gulf South Conference team.[4]
|
Offense Romell Guerrier – WR Antwuan Haynes – RB Defense Adonis Davis – DL J. T. Hassell – LB |
Schedule
Florida Tech 2018 football schedule consists of five home and six away games in the regular season. The Panthers will host GSC foes Delta State, Mississippi College, North Greenville, and Valdosta State, and will travel to Shorter, West Alabama, West Florida, and West Georgia.[5]
The Panthers will host one of the three non-conference games against Newberry from the South Atlantic Conference (SAC) and will travel to Benedict from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and Wingate also from the SAC.[6]
Two of the eleven games will be broadcast on ESPN3, as part of the Gulf South Conference Game of the Week.[7]
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 1 | 6:00 p.m. | at Benedict* | W 33-14 | 1,528 | ||
| September 8 | 1:00 p.m. | Newberry* | W 17-10 | 2,500 | ||
| September 15 | 7:00 p.m. | Delta State |
| ESPN3 | W 30-12 | 3,567 |
| September 22 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 8 West Georgia | L 21-30 | 2,524 | ||
| September 29 | 3:00 p.m. | at Wingate* | ESPN3 | W 26-23 | 2,171 | |
| October 6 | 7:00 p.m. | Mississippi College |
| W 31-24 | 2,543 | |
| October 13 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 8 Valdosta State |
| L 21-51 | 3,679 | |
| October 20 | 5:00 p.m. | at No. 17 West Florida |
| W 30-28 | 5,191 | |
| October 27 | 5:00 p.m. | at West Alabama | ESPN3 | L 22-29 | 5,106 | |
| November 3 | 2:00 p.m. | North Greenville |
| W 37-7 | 2,800 | |
| November 10 | 1:00 p.m. | at Shorter | W 55-7 | 1,575 | ||
| November 17 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 17 Lenoir-Rhyne | L 21-43 | 2,436 | ||
| ||||||
- Schedule source:[8]
Rankings
| Week | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Final |
| AFCA | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | RV | — | — | RV | RV |
Game summaries
At Benedict
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panthers | 16 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 33 |
| Tigers | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
Newberry
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wolves | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| Panthers | 0 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 17 |
Delta State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statesmen | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 12 |
| Panthers | 21 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 30 |
At West Georgia
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panthers | 7 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| Wolves | 7 | 0 | 10 | 13 | 30 |
At Wingate
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panthers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 26 |
| Bulldogs | 0 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 23 |
Mississippi College
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Choctaws | 0 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 24 |
| Panthers | 3 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 31 |
Valdosta State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blazers | 14 | 10 | 0 | 27 | 51 |
| Panthers | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 21 |
At West Florida
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panthers | 3 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 30 |
| Argonauts | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
At West Alabama
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panthers | 0 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 22 |
| Tigers | 14 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 29 |
North Greenville
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crusaders | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Panthers | 20 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 37 |
At Shorter
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panthers | 10 | 28 | 10 | 7 | 55 |
| Hawks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
At Lenoir-Rhyne
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panthers | 7 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
| Bears | 17 | 10 | 13 | 3 | 43 |
Awards and milestones
Gulf South Conference honors
Four players from Florida Tech were honored as All-GSC selections by the league's coaches. Linebacker J.T. Hassell was named the GSC Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the second Panther to receive the honor.[9]
- Gulf South Conference Defensive Player of the Year: J.T. Hassell
Gulf South Conference All-Conference First Team
- J.T. Hassell, LB
- Adonis Davis, DL
- Romell Guerrier, WR
Gulf South Conference All-Conference Second Team
- Antwuan Haynes, RB
Gulf South Conference offensive player of the week
- October 22: Romell Guerrier [10]
Gulf South Conference defensive player of the week
Gulf South Conference special teams player of the week
- November 5: Trey Schaneville [14]
School records
- Most career rushing yards: 3,496, Antwuan Haynes
- Most career rushing touchdowns: 25, Antwuan Haynes
- Most career sacks: 23, Adonis Davis
- Most career tackles for loss: 52, Adonis Davis
- Most touchdown receptions in a season: 13, Romell Guerrier
- Most tackles in a season: 124, J.T. Hassell
- Most interceptions in a season: 4, John McClure
- Most defensive touchdowns in a season: 3, Richard Leveille
- Most tackles in a game: 20, J.T. Hassell (October 6, 2018)
- Most sacks in a single game: 4, J.T. Hassell (September 29, 2018)
- T-Most interceptions in a single game: 2, Dezmond Morgan (November 3, 2018) and John McClure (September 1, 2018)
- T-Most tackles for loss in a single game: 4, J.T. Hassell (September 29, 2018)
- Most carries in a single game: 29, Antwuan Haynes (October 20, 2018)
- Largest comeback: 18 at West Florida (October 20, 2018)
- Most points scored in single game: 55 at Shorter (November 10, 2018)