ROME, Ga. – On Saturday afternoon, the Shorter Hawks (0-2, 0-1 Gulf South) dropped a tough contest to the University of West Florida Argonauts (1-1, 1-0 Gulf South) by a score of 42-14.  Despite the lopsidedness of the score, the game was closely contested in all aspects for the majority of the contest.
 
"The first half of the game on Saturday was some of the most fun I have had while coaching here.  Guys were playing their hearts out," said Shorter football coach Zach Morrison. "Going in at half tied 14-14 showed that we can play with teams in our conference. Every week will be a new challenge, but if we can get 11 guys on offense, defense, and special teams playing as hard as they can for 60 minutes, can can be a tough team."
 
Tupac Lanier took off for one of the longest touchdown runs in school history when he went 65 yards nearly untouched through West Florida's defense late in the first quarter.  Trevor Smith ran the ball well when he was called upon as well.  "We got some good production from the receivers; I'm proud of Andrew Warren, Christian Da-Silva, and Elijah Gilbert making plays," said Morrison. "There are a lot of positives to pull from the game, but we still need to execute better."
 
Defensively, Coach Morrison loved the intensity, energy, and enthusiasm that was delivered throughout the first half. "We love adding those turnovers!  We had an opportunity for a couple more throughout the game as well.  The mindset for all of our defensive players is 'Get The Ball', which Coach Creamer has done a great job of installing into the team," Morrison stated. "Terrance Snelling did a great job ripping the ball out and causing a fumble, which Drew Tossie was able to scoop up and get us the ball back."
  Offense: Kameren Barnes (Freshman, Leary, GA) – Barnes was named this week's Scout Team Offensive Player of the Week after an impressive week of battling with the defensive line.  Throughout the week, Barnes put on an excellent display of maintaining blocks and creating gaps for the running backs to work with.

Defense: Tristen Escoe (Freshman, Newman, GA) – The freshman linebacker earned his first Special Teams Defensive Player of the Week honors after a phenomenal week in all aspects of the defensive scheme.  Escoe was creating havoc not only by filling gaps and stopping the run, but dropping back in pass coverage as well.

Special Teams: Stone Dorough (Freshman, Birmingham, AL) – Dorough's leadership and commitment to giving maximum effort at all teams helped earn him a spot as this week's Scout Team Special Teams Player of the Week. Dorough was consistently shedding blocks and making tackles on kickoff and punt return coverages throughout the week.
 
  Offense: Tupac Lanier (Sophomore, Statesboro, GA) – As previously mentioned, Lanier broke off one of the longest touchdown runs in Shorter football history with his 65 yard touchdown run in the first quarter against the Argonauts. Lanier finished the game with 80 yards and a touchdown on 7 carries.

Defense: Terrance Snellings (Senior, Ellenwood, GA) – Snelling was also near the top of Coach Morrison's list for Defensive Player of the Week in Week One's matchup against East Tennessee State. Snelling has been playing at a different speed than anyone else on Shorter's defense throughout the first two weeks. Snelling tallied two tackles against West Florida, including a tackle for a loss and a forced fumble.  In addition, Snelling was constantly in the backfield creating havoc for UWF's quarterback and tailbacks.

Special Teams: Gregory Fields Jr. (Freshman, Orlando, FL) – Fields picks up his first nod as Special Teams Player of the Week following the West Florida contest, where he led the Hawks in all-purpose yards. Fields had four kickoff returns for 68 yards and did an outstanding job of finding holes to gain some extra yards.  In addition, Fields had four rushing attempts for 14 yards and caught two passes out of the backfield for 8 more yards.
  Shorter will head south to Fort Valley, Georgia to take on Fort Valley State University (0-2, 0-0 SIAC).  Kickoff for Saturday's game is slated to take place at 1:00 p.m.