Saturday, November 9, 2013
by Cody Bush, PFL Media Relations

Butler, Marist and San Diego each picked up Week 11 wins and moved to 6-1 with one game remaining in their respective schedules. Mercer kept up with that trio, moving to 7-0 at home and 5-1 in league play with a come-from-behind win. Drake is still within sight of that group at 5-2 after a home win of its own. Meanwhile, Stetson recorded its first PFL victory with a homecoming win.

PFL SCORES
Butler 72, Valparaiso 12 (at Indianapolis, Ind.)
Marist 55, Campbell 28 (at Buies Creek, N.C.)
Drake 36, Dayton 10 (at Des Moines, Iowa)
San Diego 56, Morehead State 3 (at Morehead, Ky.)
Mercer 45, Jacksonville 42 (at Macon, Ga.)
Stetson 26, Davidson 13 (at DeLand, Fla.)

LEAGUE RECAPS

BUTLER defeated VALPARAISO, 72-12
INDIANAPOLIS - The Butler football team finished off their home schedule with a 72-12 Pioneer Football League win over Valparaiso Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs set records for total yards on offense (717) and most points scored in the post-World War II era in the win. Butler's 19 seniors were also recognized prior to the game.

Valparaiso quarterback Eric Hoffman and wide receiver Tony Taibi teamed up for an 86-yard touchdown pass for the second straight week, but the Butler Bulldogs handed the Brown and Gold a 72-12 loss Saturday at the Butler Bowl. The Crusader scoring play represented the sixth time this season that Valpo put points on the scoreboard first.

Butler answered right back though. Just 40 seconds later, running back Trae Heeter broke loose for a 58-yard touchdown run on the second play of the ensuing drive. Jon Treloar's extra point gave the Bulldogs the lead 7-6 with 7:50 to play in the first quarter. It was the first of 38 consecutive points Butler would score and it led 45-12 at halftime.

Butler quarterback Matt Lancaster completed 11 of 17 passes for 317 yards and four touchdowns in just over a half of action. Senior backup Wade Markley entered and threw for 72 yards. Lancaster also added 30 yards on the ground. Wide receiver Brendan Shannon caught five balls for 142 yards and three touchdowns. His three scores were 35 yards, 57 yards and 51 yards long, respectively. All of those catches came in the first half; he saw little action in the second half.

Hoffman completed 16-of-28 passes for 205 yards to pace the Crusader offense. He connected with wide receiver Andrew Cassara 10 times for 81 yards.

MORE>> Butler Recap | Valparaiso Recap | Box Score

MARIST defeated CAMPBELL, 55-28
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Marist tied the program record for victories in a season in a 55-28 victory at Pioneer Football League foe Campbell on Saturday.

With the win, the Red Foxes improved to 7-3 overall, and set a program record with its sixth PFL victory of the year. Marist remains tied for first place in the league with a 6-1 mark. The Red Foxes join San Diego, Butler and Mercer as one of four teams with only one loss in league play.

Fifth-year senior defensive end Terrence Fede recorded a sack to set the program's all-time record in that category. Fede entered the contest tied with Reid Ellis with 28.5 all-time. Senior linebacker Paul Sakowski led the Red Foxes with nine tackles, including one for a loss.

Senior running back Atiq Lucas ran for 174 yards and three touchdowns. Senior quarterback Chuckie Looney threw for 280 yards and four scores. Fifth-year senior wide receiver Bartley Leneghan had 145 yards receiving on five receptions and two touchdowns.

The Red Foxes led 14-0 after the first quarter on a pair of rushing touchdowns by Lucas. Marist doubled its lead on a pair of second quarter touchdown passes by Looney, with one going to Leneghan, and the other to junior wide receiver Matt Tralli. Marist led 28-7 at the half, and led by as much as 34 after Lucas’ third rushing touchdown and a 67-yard strike from Looney to Leneghan took place midway through the third quarter.

For Campbell (2-8, 1-6), quarterback Brian Hudson threw for 340 yards and three touchdowns. Matt Farris had six tackles, including two for a loss of yardage.

MORE>> Marist Recap | Campbell Recap | Box Score

DRAKE defeated DAYTON, 36-10
DES MOINES, Iowa – The Drake University football team scored 30 unanswered points, including 21 points in a 4:22 stretch in the third quarter, to power its way past the Dayton Flyers, 36-10, Saturday afternoon at Drake Stadium.

Junior quarterback Andy Rice was 19-of-30 passing for 351 yards and four total touchdowns – two passing and two rushing – for the Bulldogs (6-4, 5-2 PFL).

Rice and the offense’s afternoon came against a Dayton (6-4, 4-2 PFL) defense that was giving up less than 200 yards per game passing coming into the game. Freshman running back Conley Wilkins  rushed for 107 yards on 18 attempts, for the first 100-yard rushing game by a freshman in Drake history. Fifth-year senior Nick Rosa caught nine passes for 185 yards and one touchdown to lead the receiving corps in his final game at Drake Stadium on a ‘Senior Day’ that saw the Bulldogs honor its 16 seniors.

Dayton defensive end Pat Dowd tied an FCS record with six sacks in the loss. Robert Washington carried the ball 14 times for 72 yards for UD, but sacks and other lost yardage held the Flyers to a season-low 42 yards net rushing. Johnson was 18 of 37 for 214 yards in his first career start, with one touchdown and two interceptions. Ross Smith led UD with seven catches for 56 yards. Hunter (85 yards), Colin McManamon (26) and Cory Stuart (23) each had three receptions.

MORE>> Drake Recap | Dayton Recap | Box Score

SAN DIEGO defeated MOREHEAD STATE, 56-3
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Needing a win to stay in the hunt for their third straight PFL title, and more importantly, the league's nod for automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division I FCS Playoffs, the Toreros notched a convincing 56-3 road win over the Morehead State Eagles.

USD jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the game and never looked back in earning their third straight victory. The Toreros put their final stamp on the outcome with a 28-point fourth quarter that was highlighted by a 77-yard interception return by Yogi Hale for a touchdown.

Offensively the Toreros were paced by the potent tandem of Mason Mills and Reggie Bell. Mills finished the day 23-for-31 for 378 yards and 4 touchdowns. Bell was his favorite target as the junior receiver hauled in 9 balls for 211 yards and two scores. Both players cracked season milestones - Mills went past 3,000 yards passing (3,176) and Bell topped 1,000 receiving yards (1,032).

Quarterback Austin Gahafer paced Morehead State by connecting on 22-of-35 throws for 159 yards. All three of MSU's turnovers were via the interception, with two coming in the first half. Running back Rees Macshara tallied 55 yards on 14 carries. Defensive back John Coleman led the Eagles with seven tackles, while freshman defensive back Brandon Louder had six.

MORE>> San Diego Recap | Morehead State Recap | Box Score

MERCER defeated JACKSONVILLE, 45-42
MACON, Ga. – In a game that will go down as one for the ages, the Mercer University football team erased a double-digit second-half deficit and came storming back to defeat Jacksonville 45-42 in front of a raucous crowd Saturday evening at Mercer University Stadium.

Looking to remain unbeaten at home and in the hunt for a Pioneer Football League championship, Mercer (9-1, 5-1) did just that with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to send Jacksonville (4-6, 3-4) to its second consecutive loss.

Trailing 35-24 with less than two minutes to play in the third quarter, Mercer flipped a switch and started a span of 21 unanswered points, when JeTarii Donald leaped in the end zone from three-yards out to make it 35-31.

The run continued into the fourth quarter, when Alex Avant snatched a deflected pass for an interception near midfield and the Bears made them pay four plays later, when Russ hit a wide open Josh Jones in the end zone to give Mercer the lead at 38-35.

The Mercer defense followed with a three and out and the offense made them pay again, this time using a 33-yard flea flicker pass from Russ to JT Palmer, who stretched out in midair to record his seventh touchdown of the year and give the Bears a 10-point lead at 45-35 with just 6:17 remaining.

Jacksonville would not back down however, driving right back down the field and cutting the Mercer lead to three with a 14-play 81-yard score to make it 45-42 with under three minutes to play.

After an unsuccessful on-side kick for the Dolphins, Mercer was stopped on three downs and sent redshirt freshman punter Rob East on the field and he executed his job to perfection, recording a 49-yard punt to pin JU inside its on 5-yard line.

With the Bears up by three points and the Dolphins looking at a long field, the stage was set for the Mercer defense to come up with another game-winning stand. After moving the ball into Mercer territory with under two minutes remaining, Tosin Aguebor did what he has done all season, when he sacked JU quarterback Kade Bell, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Devin Davidson to seal a comeback three-point win for the Bears.

Russ ended the day with his best collegiate performance, going 11-for-23 through the air for 217 yards and three touchdowns, while rushing for 145 yards and two scores on the ground. His five total touchdowns marked a career-high, while his three passing scores tied his collegiate record.

Jacksonville (4-6; 3-4) racked up 637 yards of total offense, but it was three turnovers that proved to be costly for the Dolphins. Quarterback Kade Bell once again set the tone passing for a career high 405 yards and rushing for a career best 69 yards. Running back Frantz Caudio also had a big day with a career best 89 yards and three touchdowns.

MORE>> Mercer Recap | Jacksonville Recap | Box Score

STETSON defeated DAVIDSON, 26-13
DeLAND, Fla. – Ryan Tentler passed for 296 yards and rushed for 108 more to lead Stetson to a 26-13 Homecoming victory over Davidson before an overflow crowd of 6,544 on Saturday at Spec Martin Memorial Stadium. The win snaps Stetson’s seven-game losing streak and gives the Hatters their first-ever Pioneer Football League victory.

Tentler was 24-of-31 passing, including a pair of touchdowns. He also rushed 17 times and scored once, on an 85-yard run late in the third quarter. Overall, the Hatters collected a season-high 520 total yards on offense. Stetson rushed for 224 yards, getting 4.8 yards per carry for the game.

for the second week in a row, Stetson’s kick coverage team had a let down following a Hatter score. Following Tentler’s run, Davidson’s Garret Diehl took the kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown, cutting the lead to 16-13 with 1:28 left in the third.

After the teams traded punts, Tentler marched the Hatters down the field again with a pair of long passes. On first and 10 from the Stetson 37, Tentler connected with Terrance Burt on a 41 yard completion, and on the next play found Darius Chapes wide open in the front corner of the end zone. The extra point gave Stetson a 23-13 lead with 10:06 left in the game.

LaGamma capped the scoring with a 25-yard field goal with 3:39 to play.

While Stetson’s offense was piling up the yards, the Hatter defense was holding Davidson in check. The Wildcats gained just 286 total yards and quarterback Jonathan Carkhuff was harassed all day. Carkhuff completed just nine of his 27 pass attempts for 164 yards and was sacked four times, a season-high for the Stetson defense. Donald Payne (2.5) and Dave Lazear (1.5) combined on the sack total.

William Morris moved within 53 yards of Davidson's single-season record for receiving yards with a five-catch, 130-yard performance. He ended up catching over half of quarterback Jonathan Carkhuff's completions, as he finished 9 of 27 for 164 yards. David Rogers gained 95 yards on 10 carries with a 49-yard touchdown run, and Robert Klein carried the ball 11 times for 65 yards. Garrett Diehl also returned a kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown.

MORE>> Stetson Recap | Davidson Recap | Box Score