By Jim O'Hara

MELBOURNE, Fla. – They could taste it, they were that close.

But instead of it being a sweet taste of victory, the Shorter Hawks tasted the bitterness of defeat for the seventh time this season – and clearly the toughest to swallow – when the Florida Tech Panthers rallied from a 17-point deficit by scoring three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to hand the Hawks a 28-24 Gulf South Conference defeat Saturday at Pirate Stadium.

The win was the first-ever for the Panthers, now 2-5 overall and 1-3 in the GSC, while Shorter remains winless for the season with an 0-7 record and an 0-4 conference slate.

After breaking out to a 17-7 halftime lead, Shorter extended the margin to 17 points on the first series of the second half as the Hawks marched 63 yards down the field on 13 plays, got some help on a third down penalty that kept the drive alive and made it 24-7 when junior quarterback Eric Dodson scored his third touchdown of the afternoon, this time from a yard out.

But the Panthers simply refused to fold their tent.

Shorter seemed headed to adding to the margin early in the fourth quarter, moving the ball to the FIT 26 but fumbled the ball away for the first time in the game. The Panthers quickly capitalized on it as the home team needed just five plays to cover the 85 yards and score on a 21-yard pass from quarterback Bobby Vega to Xavier Milton that made it 24-14.

After forcing Shorter to punt on the Hawks' next possession, Florida Tech pulled even closer, making it 24-21 when Trevor Sand broke up the middle for a 20-yard gain and fumbled the ball at the Shorter 46 where FIT's Wayne Sanders scooped up the ball and raced into the end zone with 9:28 to play.
Florida Tech was far from finished.

The Panthers kept the pressure and momentum going.

Following another defensive stand that forced Shorter to punt, the Panthers started what proved to be the game-winning drive, starting at their own 33, converting a key fourth-and-nine situation at the Shorter 37 when Vega hit Milton on a 23-yard pass and took the lead for the first time in the game and for good, 28-24, when Vega and Milton teamed up again for a 10-yard touchdown with 4:30 remaining in the game.

The Hawks never recovered. Shorter managed to move the ball down to the Florida Tech 39 in the final minutes after a Shorter penalty – the Hawks were flagged 13 times for a season-high 139 yards – a fourth and long pass into the end zone fell incomplete to seal their fate.

The loss overshadowed what up until the final 15 minutes was a near flawless performance by the Hawks.

Senior fullback Bradley Moon ended the afternoon rushing for a season-best 130 yards on 24 carries, while Dodson ran for the three touchdowns and completed seven-of-10 passes for 78 yards. All told, Shorter compiled 368 yards on offense.

Florida Tech, who totaled 222 yards of offense, was led by Vega's 185 passing yards that came on 21 completions of 34 attempts.

As has been the case for most of the season, the Hawks broke out to the lead when they took the ball on their first possession 66 down the field on just five plays, with Moon providing the power up the middle and Moon capping the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run. Kenny Langford added the first of three extra points that gave Shorter a 7-0 lead just over four minutes into the game.

The Hawks appeared ready to equal that march on their second series, moving to the Florida Tech 48 where it stalled and then saw a high punt snap sail over punter Aaron Mize's head. Mize fell on the ball at his own 14 but the Panthers found themselves in the red zone after the turnover on downs.

Florida Tech wasted little time taking advantage of the field position as Vega hit Aaron George for the 14-yard touchdown pass on the first play and Brion Ashley converted the point after to tie the game with 4:11 left in the opening period.

Shorter, however, regained the advantage early in the second quarter when they took the ball from its own 24 to the Tech 20 where the Hawks settled for a 28-yard field goal by Guy Hunt, his second of the season, to put the Hawks back on top 10-7.

A little over three minutes later Shorter had the ball back and this time the Hawks went all the way, marching 71 yards on 11 plays– one play included a Dodson pass that was deflected into his own hands for a 20-yard reception, his first career catch – with the final play coming on an 11-yard touchdown scamper when Dodson rolled to his right to pass, tucked the ball and reached the end zone with 3:36 remaining until the intermission.

The Hawks' 17-7 advantage held at the half when the Panthers saw a 50-yard field goal try by Ashley fall short of the uprights.

Shorter will have a short week to prepare for their next test on Thursday night when the Hawks host Delta State in a conference clash that is being broadcasted as the Arby's GSC-TV Game of the Week. Game time is at 7:30 p.m. at Barron Stadium.