American college football season
The 2018 Florida Tech Panthers football team represents Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) during the 2018 NCAA Division II football season . They are 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 are members of the Gulf South Conference .
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]
Gulf South Conference coaches poll [ edit ] 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 [ edit ] 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
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 33-141,528 September 8 1:00 p.m. Newberry * W 17-102,500 September 15 7:00 p.m. Delta State Florida Tech Panther Stadium Melbourne, FL ESPN3 W 30-123,567 September 22 2:00 p.m. at No. 8 West Georgia L 21-302,524 September 29 3:00 p.m. at Wingate * ESPN3 W 26-232,171 October 6 7:00 p.m. Mississippi College Florida Tech Panther Stadium Melbourne, FL W 31-242,543 October 13 1:00 p.m. No. 8 Valdosta State Florida Tech Panther Stadium Melbourne, FL L 21-513,679 October 20 5:00 p.m. at No. 17 West Florida W 30-285,191 October 27 5:00 p.m. at West Alabama ESPN3 L 22-295,106 November 3 2:00 p.m. North Greenville Florida Tech Panther Stadium Melbourne, FL W 37-72,800 November 10 1:00 p.m. at Shorter W 55-71,575 November 17 2:00 p.m. at No. 17 Lenoir-Rhyne L 21-432,436 *Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from AFCA Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time
Schedule Source: [ 8] Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes 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
1 2 3 4 Total Panthers 16 3 7 7 33 Tigers 7 0 0 7 14
1 2 3 4 Total Wolves 0 3 7 0 10 Panthers 0 7 10 0 17
1 2 3 4 Total Statesmen 0 6 6 0 12 Panthers 21 9 0 0 30
1 2 3 4 Total Panthers 7 7 7 0 21 Wolves 7 0 10 13 30
1 2 3 4 Total Panthers 0 7 7 12 26 Bulldogs 0 10 7 6 23
Mississippi College [ edit ] 1 2 3 4 Total Choctaws 0 14 7 3 24 Panthers 3 7 7 14 31
1 2 3 4 Total Blazers 14 10 0 27 51 Panthers 0 0 7 14 21
1 2 3 4 Total Panthers 3 7 10 10 30 Argonauts 14 7 0 7 28
1 2 3 4 Total Panthers 0 10 9 3 22 Tigers 14 0 7 8 29
1 2 3 4 Total Crusaders 0 0 7 0 7 Panthers 20 10 7 0 37
1 2 3 4 Total Panthers 10 28 10 7 55 Hawks 0 0 0 7 7
1 2 3 4 Total Panthers 7 0 14 0 21 Bears 17 10 13 3 43
Awards and milestones [ edit ] Gulf South Conference honors [ edit ] 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 All-Conference First Team [ edit ] J.T. Hassell, LB Adonis Davis, DL Romell Guerrier, WR Gulf South Conference All-Conference Second Team [ edit ] Gulf South Conference offensive player of the week [ edit ] October 22: Romell Guerrier [ 10] Gulf South Conference defensive player of the week [ edit ] September 10: J.T. Hassell [ 11] October 1: J.T. Hassell [ 12] October 29: J.T. Hassell [ 13] November 5: Dezmond Morgan [ 14] Gulf South Conference special teams player of the week [ edit ] November 5: Trey Schaneville [ 14] 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) ^ "Panthers' Season Ends with NCAA Playoff Loss to Lenoir-Rhyne" . Florida Institute of Technology. Retrieved January 8, 2019 . ^ "Florida Tech Comes Back to Win Coastal Classic" . Florida Institute of Technology. Retrieved January 8, 2019 . ^ "West Alabama Tops GSC Football Preseason Poll" . Gulf South Conference. August 2, 2018. Retrieved August 29, 2018 . ^ Gulf South Conference 2018 ^ "Football Announces 2018 Schedule" (Press release). Florida Institute of Technology Department of Athletics. March 2, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2018 . ^ "Florida Tech Panthers football adds Newberry to 2018 schedule" (Press release). Hometown News. March 26, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2018 . ^ "GSC Announces 2018 Football Game of the Week Schedule" . Gulf South Conference. Retrieved July 18, 2018 . ^ "Florida Tech unveils 2018 football schedule" . Florida Today. March 2, 2018. Retrieved June 25, 2018 . ^ "GSC Announces 2018 Football All-Conference Awards" . Gulf South Conference. Retrieved January 5, 2019 . ^ "GSC Football Players of the Week: October 22, 2018" . Gulf South Conference. Retrieved January 5, 2019 . ^ "GSC Football Players of the Week: September 10, 2018" . Gulf South Conference. Retrieved January 5, 2019 . ^ "GSC Football Players of the Week: October 1, 2018" . Gulf South Conference. Retrieved January 5, 2019 . ^ "GSC Football Players of the Week: October 29, 2018" . Gulf South Conference. Retrieved January 5, 2019 . ^ a b "GSC Football Players of the Week: November 5, 2018" . Gulf South Conference. Retrieved January 5, 2019 .