— Will Kennedy Previews Newberry Showdown—
The University of West Florida Argos are riding high as they prepare for Saturday’s playoff matchup against Newberry. After suffering their only loss of the regular season to Valdosta in overtime, the Argos have responded with a dominant performance in an impressive victory over North Greenville—a team that had given them trouble earlier in the year.
“I thought it was really interesting to see how would they bounce back from that?” Will Kennedy, the “Voice of the Argos,” said on the “(We Don’t) Color on the Dog podcast.”
- “Would they come back hungry? Would they be distracted? So kudos to Coach Kaleb Nobles and his staff for getting them back on track, and I thought really maybe if not the most all-around game they’d played, it was right there with anything else they’ve done all year.”
The Valdosta loss, Kennedy believes, may have been exactly what the team needed. “I don’t know that you ever want to lose, but I do feel like that was a wake-up call,” he explained. “The good news is it was the last week of the regular season. You get to play next week, but now if you lose once in the playoffs, it’s season over, so you’ve got to clean up all those little things.”
New Era
This year’s squad represents a new era for UWF football. “This is really the first group that hasn’t had any of that Pete Shinnik connection,” Kennedy noted. “This team really has Caleb Nobles’ imprint on it more than any other group has had in his short tenure in his three years.”
- The addition of offensive coordinator Donnie Baker has transformed the offense. “A lot of these fun plays that you’re seeing, like double reverses and all this cool stuff. A lot of that’s Donnie, and I think that’s the difference,” Kennedy said.
History with Newberry
Saturday’s 1 p.m. home kickoff carries extra significance. Newberry defeated UWF in overtime during the 2021 playoffs, and Kennedy isn’t letting anyone forget it. “This team came down here and beat a superb football team in 2021. We’re going to have to be on our best on Saturday.”
- The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and ESPN Pensacola. Kennedy’s message to the community is clear: “Get out there and support them. They deserve it. These kids are putting in long days, they get up and practice in the morning, they lift weights in the afternoon, they watch film, they go to class.”
