# 2018 Florida Tech Panthers football team

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.
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. 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.

## 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.
| 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.

## 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.
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.
Two of the eleven games will be broadcast on ESPN3, as part of the Gulf South Conference Game of the Week.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 1 | 6:00 p.m. | at Benedict* | Charlie W. Johnson StadiumColumbia, SC | | W 33-14 | 1,528 |
| September 8 | 1:00 p.m. | Newberry* | Florida Tech Panther StadiumMelbourne, FL | | W 17-10 | 2,500 |
| September 15 | 7:00 p.m. | Delta State | Florida Tech Panther StadiumMelbourne, FL | ESPN3 | W 30-12 | 3,567 |
| September 22 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 8 West Georgia | University StadiumCarrollton, GA | | L 21-30 | 2,524 |
| September 29 | 3:00 p.m. | at Wingate* | Irwin Belk StadiumWingate, NC | ESPN3 | W 26-23 | 2,171 |
| October 6 | 7:00 p.m. | Mississippi College | Florida Tech Panther StadiumMelbourne, FL | | W 31-24 | 2,543 |
| October 13 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 8 Valdosta State | Florida Tech Panther StadiumMelbourne, FL | | L 21-51 | 3,679 |
| October 20 | 5:00 p.m. | at No. 17 West Florida | Blue Wahoos StadiumPensacola, FL (Coastal Classic) | | W 30-28 | 5,191 |
| October 27 | 5:00 p.m. | at West Alabama | Tiger StadiumLivingston, AL | ESPN3 | L 22-29 | 5,106 |
| November 3 | 2:00 p.m. | North Greenville | Florida Tech Panther StadiumMelbourne, FL | | W 37-7 | 2,800 |
| November 10 | 1:00 p.m. | at Shorter | Barron StadiumRome, GA | | W 55-7 | 1,575 |
| November 17 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 17 Lenoir-Rhyne | Moretz StadiumHickory, NC (Division II Playoffs First Round) | | L 21-43 | 2,436 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AFCA Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||
    Schedule Source:

### Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | 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.
* 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

#### Gulf South Conference defensive player of the week

* September 10: J.T. Hassell
* October 1: J.T. Hassell
* October 29: J.T. Hassell
* November 5: Dezmond Morgan

#### Gulf South Conference special teams player of the week

* November 5: Trey Schaneville

### 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)