Saturday, October 12, 2013
by Cody Bush, PFL Media Relations

Two unbeaten teams remain after three weeks of Pioneer Football League play as Butler and San Diego won at home to move to 3-0 in conference action. Mercer, Drake and Dayton also picked up wins to move to 2-1 in PFL play, joining Marist and Morehead State to create a five-team tie at 2-1.

PFL SCORES
Mercer def. Valparaiso, 35-21
Dayton def. Stetson, 49-20
Butler def. Campbell, 35-14
Drake def. Davidson, 27-6
San Diego def. Marist, 35-33

LEAGUE RECAPS

MERCER def. VALPARAISO, 35-21
MACON, Ga. – Mercer's football team used 478 yards of total offense and four total touchdowns from quarterback John Russ to race past Valparaiso 35-21 on Saturday afternoon at Mercer University Stadium in Pioneer Football League action.

Valpariaso wide receiver Tanner Kuramata enjoyed an outstanding day as he caught two touchdown passes and racked up 170 receiving yards. It was the third time in the last four games Kuramata recorded at least 120 receiving yards.

Up 28-14 entering the fourth quarter, Mercer kept the ball on the ground and completed its third touchdown drive of 90 yards or more when JeTarri Donald crossed the goal line with a 4-yard run up the middle to break the game wide open and make it 35-14 with 9:36 remaining.

The momentum immediately shifted back to the Crusaders over the next three minutes, however, as Valpo answered with a touchdown of its own and forced a fumble and turnover on the ensuing kickoff to take over in Mercer territory trailing 35-21.

After driving inside the 10-yard line, the Bears clamped down on defense and Aaron Avant swatted a fourth down pass away in the end zone to give Mercer the ball back with less than six minutes to play.

Mercer kept the ball on the ground and used a trio of first downs to ice the game and seal a perfect 5-0 start at home in its first season of football in 72 yards.

MORE>> Mercer Recap | Valparaiso Recap | Box Score

DAYTON def. STETSON, 49-20
DeLAND, Fla. – The tone was set in Saturday’s Pioneer Football League game between Dayton and host Stetson in the first 17 seconds.

That was how long it took for the Hatters to receive the opening kickoff at Spec Martin Memorial Stadium, fumble on the first play of the game, and for Dayton to score on its first offensive play.

The rest of the opening quarter followed a similar script, with the Hatters finding little success on the offensive side of the ball, and the Flyers scoring in a matter of seconds after getting their hands on it. With little exception, that would be the case of the rest of the half as Dayton built a big lead and then coasted to a 49-20 victory.

Statistically, the Hatters finished with 308 yards of total offense, including 213 passing yards. Tentler completed 11-of-18 passes for 173 yards and two scores while Jerozal completed 4-of-12 for 40 yards with a pair of interceptions. The two quarterbacks were also the leading rushers for Stetson, with Tentler gaining 33 yards on eight carries while Jerozal gained 29 on six, including a touchdown.

Dayton running back Connor Kacsor had his second straight 100-yard game, carrying the ball 22 times for 128 yards and three touchdowns. Robert Washington added four carries for 66 yards. Will Bardo ran eight times for 41 yards and a touchdown , and was seven for 13 passing for 164 yards and a 77-yard touchdown to Gary Hunter. All but two of Bardo's passes came in the first half.

MORE>> Dayton Recap | Stetson Recap | Box Score

BUTLER def. CAMPBELL, 35-14
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Butler scored on four of its first five possessions in the game and then held off visiting Campbell to post a 35-14 Homecoming victory on Saturday, Oct. 12. It was Butler's third straight win and lifted the Bulldogs to 5-2 on the season and 3-0 in the Pioneer Football League.

Senior Trae Heeter rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns and quarterback Matt Lancaster added two more scores to spark the Bulldogs in front of 3,400 fans at the Butler Bowl. The Butler tailback scored on a 15-yard run midway through the first quarter, and then he hit the end zone from one yard out late in the second quarter, Lancaster had a 26-yard scoring run and a 36-yard touchdown pass to give Butler a 28-0 first half lead.

That margin was more than enough for Butler's defensive unit, which held the Camels 16 points and nearly 200 yards below their season average. Campbell entered the game ranked second in the NCAA Division I FCS in rushing offense at 305.8 yards per contest, but managed just 184 yards on the ground against the Bulldogs.

Kurt Odom led Campbell with 71 rushing yards on 10 carries, while Jones gathered 68 on just six attempts with a touchdown. Hudson passed for 93 yards on 10-of-22 passing with an interception. Ben Bolling and Hildreth combined for 73 yards receiving on seven catches.

MORE>> Butler Recap | Campbell Recap | Box Score

DRAKE def. DAVIDSON, 27-6
DAVIDSON, N.C. – Gary Scott, Jr. rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns to push the Drake football team past Davidson, 27-6, Saturday afternoon.

Drake also added two scores through the air with Andy Rice connecting with Kevin Marshall (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) and Nick Rosa in the first half. Rice finished his afternoon 26-of-34 for 278 yards. Rosa was his top target with 108 yards receiving on eight catches while the offense put up a season-high 480 yards of offense

The defense held Davidson to just 303 total yards and the offense controlled possession for much of the second half to prevent any type of Davidson comeback. Drake had the ball for 35 total minutes in the contest, including a 9-minute scoring drive in the second half to keep the Davidson offense off the field.

Davidson had a chance early in the second half to take the lead, receiving the kickoff and driving 68 yards to the Drake two-yard line, but John Bloss broke up Jonathan Carkhuff's 4th-and-goal pass in the end zone. The Bulldogs then took over on downs and drove 98 yards on 20 plays, eating up the remainder of the third quarter, before Scott rushed into the end zone from five yards out. The extra point attempt went off the right upright though, resulting in a 19-6 advantage for Drake. Scott added a six-yard touchdown run with 7:58 remaining in the game, and a successful two-point conversion ended up setting the game's final score.

Carkhuff became the first Davidson quarterback to throw for over 10,000 yards, completing 20 of 35 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown. Will Morris caught six passes for 84 yards and a touchdown, while senior Jeff McDaniels caught a career-high seven passes for 85 yards.

MORE>> Drake Recap | Davidson Recap | Box Score

SAN DIEGO def. MARIST, 35-33
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – With the Red Foxes leading 33-32, San Diego kicker David Last missed a 33-yard field goal that would have ended the game. However, Marist was called for running into the kicker. With no time left, Last converted a 28-yard field goal attempt to lift the Toreros to a 35-33 triumph.

Marist senior quarterback Chuckie Looney set a single-game program record with five touchdown passes. Looney was 19-for-33 for 298 yards. Senior wide receiver Armani Martin caught six passes for a game-high 118 yards and three touchdowns, which tied a single-game program record.

For San Diego, quarterback Mason Mills was 20-for-39 for 349 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. The Toreros had a pair of 100-yard receivers in Brandon White (five catches, 100 yards) and Reggie Bell (four catches, 104 yards, one touchdown). San Diego outgained Marist in total yards, 463-374.

MORE>> San Diego Recap | Marist Recap | Box Score