Saturday, September 14, 2013
by Cody Bush, PFL Media Relations

Jacksonville defeated Morehead State in the opening game of the Pioneer Football League's 2013 race. Butler, Dayton and Marist each won road non-conference tilts while Mercer improved to 2-0 with a home non-conference win. Campbell, Davidson and Valparaiso each lost home contests.

PFL SCORES FOR SEPT. 14 (WEEK 3)
Jacksonville 69, Morehead State 19
Dayton 21, Robert Morris 14
Marist 43, Georgetown 23
William Jewell 36, Valparaiso 34
Charleston Southern 30, Campbell 10
Butler 31, Franklin 28
Mercer 61, Warner 0
Lenoir-Rhyne 34, Davidson 18

LEAGUE RECAPS

JACKSONVILLE def. MOREHEAD STATE, 69-19
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Lighting seemed to be the only thing that could slow down the Dolphins on Saturday as Jacksonville University put on a show in its first home game of the season, defeating Morehead State, 69-19. The Dolphins improved to 1-2 on the season behind 719 yards of total offense and a D.B. Milne Field record for points scored.

The game was called with 1:42 left in the fourth quarter due to lighting in the area.

Sophomore running back Orlando Thomas broke an 84-yard TD run in the second quarter and powered the attack with a career best 176 yards and two touchdowns on 10 carries. Sophomore receiver D'Andre Randle had a career day as weel catching eight passes for 134 yards and a touchdown.

Morehead State sophomore running back Rob Harden and freshman quarterback Austin Gahafer registered MSU's rushing touchdowns, while junior kicker Luke Boyd connected on a pair of field goals (33 & 44 yards).

MORE>> Jacksonville Recap | Morehead State Recap | Box Score

DAYTON def. ROBERT MORRIS, 21-14
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Dayton gained 140 yards and scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to beat Robert Morris 21-14 on the road Saturday. Dayton's second straight win improves the Flyers 2-1 on the year, while RMU fell to 1-2.

UD outgained Robert Morris 327-187 despite being held to just eight yards in the third period. Wideout Brandon Johnson scored two TD's on the afternoon, catching six passes for 133 yards. Quarterback Will Bardo was 13 of 26 passing for 183 yards and the pair of touchdowns. The running back tandem of Robert Washington and Connor Kacsor combined to gain 123 yards on 33 attempts, Kacsor scored Dayton's third touchdown on a two-yard run with 5:44 left in the game.

MORE>> Dayton Recap | Box Score

MARIST def. GEORGETOWN, 43-23
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Six different Marist football players scored touchdowns as the Red Foxes won at Georgetown, 43-23, in a non-league game Saturday night.

Senior quarterback Chuckie Looney tied a program record with four touchdown passes. Looney was 17-for-27 for 275 yards passing, and rushed for 42 yards and a touchdown. Junior running back Emmanuel Onakoya ran for 105 yards on 12 carries and a touchdown, a 50-yard burst in the third quarter. Senior wide receiver Armani Martin had 114 receiving yards on six receptions. Senior free safety Nick Kaszei (Brook Park, Ohio) led the defensive effort with 13 tackles, 10 of which were solo.

Marist (1-2) earned its first road victory over a Patriot League school in program history.

MORE>> Marist Recap | Box Score

WILLIAM JEWELL def. VALPARAISO, 36-34
VALPARAISO, Ind. – Eric Hoffman turned in a career day at Brown Field but a scoring lull in the middle quarters hamstrung the Crusaders Saturday in a 36-34 defeat to William Jewell. Hoffman finished the afternoon completing 36 of 55 pass attempts for 495 yards and four touchdowns.

From the end of the first quarter to the nine-minute mark of the final stanza, the Crusaders went a little more than 38 minutes between scores. Meanwhile, the Cardinals rattled off 26 unanswered points. Valpo answered with three touchdowns in the latter stages of the fourth quarter, but William Jewell recovered an onside kick in the waning moments of the home opener to end Valpo's comeback attempt.

MORE>> Valparaiso Recap | Box Score

CHARLESTON SOUTHERN def. CAMPBELL, 30-10
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Malcolm Dixon ran for 135 yards and passed for 118 more to lead Charleston Southern to a 30-10 win over Campbell Saturday night at Barker-Lane Stadium.

The senior quarterback averaged 8.4 yards per carry and ran for two fourth-quarter scores as the Buccaneers pulled away from a 10-3 half-time lead to win its third-straight game to open the season.

A Barker-Lane Stadium record crowd of 6044 saw the Fighting Camels (1-2) move the ball deep into Charleston Southern territory twice in the second half only to be stopped on downs.

Charleston Southern out-gained the Camels on the ground 327-149 and held CU to 0-for-9 third-down conversions and 0-of-2 on fourth-down attempts.

MORE>> Campbell Recap | Box Score | Photo Gallery

BUTLER def. FRANKLIN, 31-28
FRANKLIN, Ind. – Quarterback Matt Lancaster passed for one touchdown and ran for two more to lead visiting Butler to a 31-28 come-from-behind victory over Franklin at Red Faught Stadium on Saturday night (Sept. 14). The win was Butler's second straight and lifted the Bulldogs to 2-1 on the season.

Lancaster completed 24 of 33 passes for 221 yards, and he added 37 rushing yards on nine attempts. Heeter, who sparked Butler's initial scoring drive, rushed for 129 yards on 27 carries. Wide receiver Brendan Shannon was Lancaster's top target, and he finished with 11 receptions for 119 yards.

Defensive back Sean Grady led the Bulldogs with nine tackles in the win, while linebackers Phillip Powell and Bryce Barry each finished with eight stops. Defensive back David Burke had one of the team's biggest defensive plays with an interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter with the game tied, 21-21. Butler scored the go-ahead touchdown on its next possession.

MORE>> Butler Recap | Box Score

MERCER def. WARNER, 61-0
MACON, Ga. – The Mercer University football team jumped all over Warner in the opening half Saturday evening and cruised to a 61-0 victory in front of another capacity crowd at Mercer University Stadium.

John Russ' four total touchdowns in the first half sent Mercer to the fifth most points in school history as the Bears continued to impress in their return to the gridiron. The shutout is the first since the final season of play in 1941 when Mercer ran past Georgia Southern 25-0.

MORE>> Mercer Recap | Box Score

LENOIR-RHYNE def. DAVIDSON, 34-18
DAVIDSON, N.C. – Davidson quarterback Jonathan Carkhuff threw for 374 yards and three touchdowns, but Lenoir-Rhyne gained 419 yards on the ground in a 34-18 victory over the Wildcats Saturday night on Stephen B. Smith Field at Richardson Stadium.

MORE>> Davidson Recap | Box Score