Sunday, September 8, 2013
by Cody Bush, PFL Media Relations

Butler, Campbell, Dayton and San Diego each won their home openers in Week 2 action across the Pioneer Football League. Drake and Morehead State dropped road contests to nationally-ranked opponents while Davidson, Jacksonville, Stetson, Marist and Valparaiso also dropped road contests.

PFL SCORES FOR SEPT. 7 (WEEK 2)
Dayton def. Duquesne, 23-20
St. Joseph's (Ind.) def. Valparaiso, 34-31
Youngstown State def. Morehead State, 67-13
Northern Iowa def. Drake, 45-14
Georgetown def. Davidson, 42-6
Bucknell def. Marist, 27-14
Butler def. Wittenberg, 49-24
Campbell def. Virginia-Wise, 56-21
Florida Tech def. Stetson, 20-12
Jacksonville State def. Jacksonville, 48-13
San Diego def. Western New Mexico, 38-35

LEAGUE RECAPS

DAYTON def. DUQUESNE, 23-20
DAYTON, Ohio — Trailing 20-14 at halftime, the University of Dayton football team allowed Duquesne to run one play in Dayton territory and used three William Will field goals to edge the Dukes 23-20 in the Flyers' home opener. UD quarterback Will Bardo ran for 79 yards and two TD's while completing 16 of 32 passes for 171 yards. Linebacker Colin Monnier had 14 tackles for the Dayton defense, which forced three turnovers.

In addition to his game-high 14 tackles, Monnier had UD's only sack and 2.5 tackles in the backfield. Ryan Schwenke had his second interception of the year, and Chris Hagan recovered a fumble to account for the three turnovers forced by UD. The Flyers allowed just 62 yards on the ground, and 47 came on one play.

Bardo was the game's leading ground gainer with 79 yards on 18 attempts with the two TD's. He was also 16 of 32 passing for 171 yards. Hunter (59 yards) and Cory Stuart (39 yards) each caught five passes.

MORE>> Dayton Recap | Box Score | Dayton Photo Gallery

ST. JOSEPH'S def. VALPARAISO, 34-31
RENSSLEAR, Ind. – The Valparaiso football team entered the fourth quarter at Saint Joseph’s (Ind.) with a 23-18 advantage on Saturday, but the Pumas were able to put up 16 points in the quarter, including the eventual game-winning field goal with 4:51 to play, and a late Crusader fourth-down attempt came up short as Valpo fell by a 34-31 final.

Hoffman totaled 291 yards on Saturday on 22-of-40 passing while throwing for three touchdowns. A trio of Crusaders ended up with at least 50 yards receiving: Gladney (98 yards), Kuramata (87 yards), and Warren (50 yards).

The Crusaders rushed for 164 yards, led by 129 yards from Hutson, who averaged better than five yards per carry. Defensively, Alex Green (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville Community) totaled a career-best 14 tackles.

MORE>> Valparaiso Recap | Box Score

No. 25 YOUNGSTOWN STATE def. MOREHEAD STATE, 67-13
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio -- The No. 25 Youngstown State football team rolled up a school-record 718 yards on Saturday afternoon at Stambaugh Stadium en route to a 67-13 win over Morehead State before a crowd of 13,226.

The Penguins tallied 359 passing yards, 359 rushing yards, 33 first downs and converted 7-of-10 third-down chances. YSU's total included 207 yards in each of the first two quarters.

Freshman quarterback Austin Gahafer led Morehead State with a 16-of-23 performance, 148 passing yards and one touchdown. He also rushed for 32 yards and one score in his collegiate debut.

MORE>> Morehead State Recap | Box Score

No. 9 NORTHERN IOWA def. DRAKE, 45-14
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – The Drake University football fell behind early and couldn’t rally to close the deficit in a 45-14 loss to No. 9 Northern Iowa before a near sellout crowd at the UNI-Dome Saturday afternoon.

The ninth-ranked Panthers (2-0) dominated early, jumping out to a 31-0 lead before Drake could put together a scoring drive early in the third quarter. Drake’s (0-2) first drive after halftime covered 65 yards in seven plays led by the efforts of junior running back Gary Scott, Jr. (Forsyth, Ill.) whose seven-yard touchdown reception put the Bulldogs on the board. Scott paced the Drake ground attack with 62 yards on 16 carries and also had two receptions for 19 yards.

The Panthers outgained Drake 388-167 yards, including a 267-33-yard advantage on the ground. Drake did hold an advantage in the passing game with a 134 passing yards to UNI’s 121. UNI scored on all four of their chances in the redzone, while Drake capitalized on its lone foray into the redzone.

MORE>> Drake Recap | Box Score | Drake Photo Gallery

GEORGETOWN def. DAVIDSON, 42-6
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Georgetown took advantage of short fields en route to a 42-6 victory over Davidson in non-conference football action Saturday evening on Multi-Sport Field.

Leading 14-6 late in the first half, Georgetown (1-1) took command with a pair of quick touchdowns. A botched Davidson (0-1) punt play with 2:01 remaining turned the ball over on downs at the Davidson 22-yardline, and a touchdown pass from Isaiah Kempf to Jake DeCicco extended the Hoya lead to 21-6. After the kickoff, Jonathan Carkhuff's pass on the first play from scrimmage was picked off by Preseason Patriot League Player of the Year pick Dustin Wharton and returned for a touchdown, sending the Hoyas to the locker room with a 28-6 lead.

Another botched punt early in the third quarter gave Georgetown the ball on Davidson's 17, and the Hoyas scored on their second play – a six-yard pass to Daniel Sprotte. Neither defense yielded the rest of the game until Kempf ran for a touchdown from 15 yards out with two minutes remaining.

MORE>> Davidson Recap | Box Score

BUCKNELL def. MARIST, 27-14
LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Marist football team suffered a 27-14 loss at Bucknell in a non-league game Saturday.

Bucknell scored on four of its first five drives to take a 24-7 halftime lead. The Bison started their first drive of the third quarter on the Marist two, but gained zero yards on three subsequent rushing plays and were held to a field goal. The Red Foxes made it a two-score game with 35 seconds left in the third period on a 20-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Chuckie Looney to senior wide receiver Armani Martin. However, neither team was able to score in the final 15 minutes.

Looney threw touchdown passes, both to Martin, who has now caught all four of Looney's touchdown tosses this season. Looney finished 23-for-44 for 216 yards. Martin caught five passes for 56 yards. Senior linebacker Paul Sakowski led the defense with nine tackles. Fifth-year senior defensive end Terrence Fede had six tackles, including two for a loss of yardage and a sack. Senior punter Jesse Signa averaged 45.7 yards on six punts, including a 52-yard boot that landed out of bounds at the Bucknell one.

MORE>> Marist Recap | Box Score

BUTLER def. WITTENBERG, 49-24
INDIANAPOLIS, IND. -- Quarterback Matt Lancaster passed for four touchdowns in the first half and Butler rolled to a 49-24 non-conference victory over Wittenberg at the Butler Bowl on Saturday, Sept. 7. The game was Butler's home-opener and the win lifted the Bulldogs to 1-1 on the young season.

Lancaster played only one half, but it was more than enough for the home squad. The senior quarterback completed 13 of 17 passes for 205 yards and found four different receivers in the end zone, before retiring for the evening with his team in front, 42-3.

Heeter led Butler's ground game, which accounted for 213 yards, with 69 rushing yards on seven carries, while sophomore Rico Watson, who scored Butler's final touchdown with a two-yard run in the fourth quarter, finished with 54 yards on 12 attempts. Eight different Butler players gained rushing yards for the Bulldogs.

MORE>> Butler Recap | Box Score | Butler Video

CAMPBELL def. VIRGINIA-WISE, 56-21
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Campbell scored on its first five possessions and opened an enlarged Barker-Lane Stadium Saturday night with a 56-21 win over UVA-Wise. The Camels made a winner of head coach Mike Minter in his home debut and second game of his career.

With a new 3000-seat West grandstand and press tower in place, the Camels set school Division I era (since 2008) records for total offense (659) and rushing yards (521) while playing in front of the largest crowd since the inaugural game of the school's modern era (Aug. 30, 2008).

The Camels matched their second-highest point total in their six-season tenure as an FCS member and did not punt until 2:01 was left in the game.

Campbell quarterbacks Brian Hudson (101) and Dakota Wolf (95) combined to run for 196 yards, while DeShawn Jones added 80 and Keith Goss 74 for the Camels, who averaged 7.3 yards per ground attempt.

MORE>> Campbell Recap | Box Score | Campbell Video | Campbell Photo Gallery

FLORIDA TECH def. STETSON, 20-13
MELBOURNE, Fla. – The Stetson Hatters had every opportunity to earn their second victory of the season on Saturday night, spoiling Florida Tech’s coming out party.

Instead, late mistakes costs the Hatters dearly and the Panthers celebrated a 20-13 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 5,000 at Palm Bay High School’s Pirate Stadium.

Stetson finished the game with just 182 yards of total offense, including just 58 yards on the ground on 33 rush attempts.

MORE>> Stetson Recap | Box Score

JACKSONVILLE STATE def. JACKSONVILLE, 48-13
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – Jacksonville State outscored Jacksonville 24-0 in the third quarter on the way to a 48-13 win over the Dolphins on Saturday evening at Burgess-Snow Field.

The Dolphins (0-2) struck first in the opening quarter sniffing out a fake punt by the Gamecocks (2-0) to set up an eight play 40 yard drive. The 1-yard touchdown pass from Kade Bell (Fleming Island, Fla.) to Dorian Guy (Jacksonville, Fla.) gave JU a 7-0 lead. After the Dolphins pitched a first quarter shutout for the second time in as many games this season, JSU tied the game in the second quarter on a 5-yard rush by Troymaine Pope. Pope added a 3-yard TD run two possessions later for a 14-7 lead.

JU answered back with a 29-yard field goal from Dylan Lynch (Jacksonville, Fla.) to cut the deficit to 14-10. The eight-play, 63 yard drive that was fueled by 48 all-purpose yards from Orlando Thomas (Ocoee, Fla.).

JSU was not done however as the Gamecocks went 75 yards down the field on the ensuing possession to capture a 21-10 lead heading into the second half. That momentum carried over into the second half. The Gamecocks scored on their first three possessions of the second half to build a 38-10 lead and take advantage of the game. The 17-0 spurt included a 70-yard interception return for a touchdown.

MORE>> Jacksonville Recap | Box Score

SAN DIEGO def. WESTERN NEW MEXICO, 38-35
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The USD Toreros improved to 1-1 on the season with tonight's hard-fought 38-35 victory over the visiting Western New Mexico Mustangs (0-1). It was USD's third straight win over the Mustangs in the past three seasons, and USD improved their home field winning streak to 13 straight. Senior quarterback Mason Mills threw for 313 yards and 3 touchdowns, and senior running back Joe Ferguson rushed for 156 yards and found the end zone twice. 

For the game USD amassed 583 yards of total offense (270 rush, 313 pass). Mills completed 15-of-27 passes for 313 yards and 3 touchdowns. Ferguson rushed 15 times for his 156 yards and 1 score, while also hauling in 3 passes for 15 yards and 1 TD. A trio of receivers also turned in solid games - Brandon White (5-49, 1 TD), Sam Hoekstra (4-144, 1 TD) and Reggie Bell (3-105). With his two punt returns for 24 yards, Hoekstra becomes the school's career leader in returns with 65, passing by Gavin Ng (64, 2000-2003).

Defensively for the Toreros Zach Devaney had a team-high 9 tackles to go with 1 sack. He was followed by freshman cornerback Jamal Agnew (8 tackles, 2 break-ups), safety Robbie Beathard (7 tackles), linebacker Troy McClelland (5 stops, 1 sack), safety Matt Miller (5 stops), tackle Clint Johnson (5 stops, 1 sack), end Steve Garguilo (5 tackles) and linebacker Michael Ruffino (5 stops). 

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