BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Week in and week out, the Gulf South Conference seems to pose an even more daunting task than the week before.
After just coming out on the losing end of last Saturday’s game against No. 8 North Alabama, Florida Tech (1-3, 0-1 GSC) now faces No. 5 Delta State Saturday at 7 p.m. ET in Cleveland, Mississippi.
The game is featured as the GSC-TV Game of the Week and as such will be broadcasted live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app. Additionally, the game will be available on your TV screen as part of ESPN College Extra.
Not only do the Statesmen lead the GSC in passing offense and scoring offense at 369.8 yards per game and 47.5 points per game, those numbers are also good enough to rank fourth in the nation.
The Panthers will be tasked with slowing down one of the most prolific offenses in all of NCAA Division II football.
Steve Englehart
“There is just not an off week in this conference,” said head coach Steve Englehart.
“Delta State has as good of a quarterback and as good of receivers as we are going to see. They throw the ball around and are very creative on offense. They find ways to get their play makers in space. I think their run game can hurt you if you fall asleep on it as well. You have to be sound defensively. It is going to be a big challenge for our defense, no doubt.”
DSU signal caller Tyler Sullivan leads the conference in passing yards per game, slinging to the tune of 325.5 yards per outing. Sullivan’s three primary targets are Justin Leavy, Jarvis York and Patrick Bethley, who rank second, third and fifth in the conference in receiving yards, respectively.
Florida Tech will combat the Statesmen air game with the GSC’s fourth best pass defense in terms of yards per game allowed. The Panthers will also look to put on a show through the air, trotting out the GSC’s second ranked passing offense.
Defensively, the Statesmen allow the second most yards per game of any GSC team at 362.0. Richard Nash leads DSU in total tackles with 23, good for seventh in the conference. Joreco Beckwith has racked up a team-high five passes defended, ranking fourth in the GSC.
Panther linebacker Chris Stapleton has racked up the GSC’s second most tackles with 31 total stops, while corner back Manny Abad’s six passes defended ties for the conference lead.
Though the challenge will be great, the defenses for each team will need to step up in order to keep the respective offenses in check. Delta State and Florida Tech rank sixth and seventh, respectively, in the conference in total defense.
