Monday, September 8, 2014
by Cody Bush, PFL Media Relations

AHEAD IN WEEK 3

Saturday, Sept. 13

San Diego [RV/–] at Jacksonville, Noon
Location: Jacksonville, Fla. (Milne Stadium)
Series: SAN leads, 5-3    Streak: SAN, two wins
Last Meeting: San Diego def. Jacksonville, 24-7 (2012)
Notably:  The 2014 PFL race will start in Week 3 with San Diego making the cross country trek to Jacksonville’s renovated Milne Stadium. Jacksonville lost at FCS nationally-ranked Southeastern Louisiana in Week 1 and took Week 2 off. San Diego opened its season with a win against Western New Mexico in Week 2. The Toreros are 1-2 all-time in Jacksonville, but posted a 24-7 win in their last trip (2012).

Dayton at Duquesne [RV/–], Noon
Location: Pittsburgh, Pa. (Rooney Athletic Field)
Series: DUQ leads 6-2    Streak: DAY, one win
Last Season: Dayton def. Duquesne, 23-20
Notably: Fresh off its season-opening win, Dayton will travel to Pittsburgh to help Duquesne open its home schedule. It will be a battle of teams picked second in their respective conferences, Dayton in the PFL and Duquesne in the Northeast Conference.

Davidson at VMI, 1:30 p.m.
Location: Lexington, Va. (Alumni Memorial Field)
Series: VMI leads, 38-17-3    Streak: VMI, nine wins
Notably: Davidson will make its first road trek of 2014 when it meets VMI, Saturday. It will be the Wildcats first contest against an FCS opponent this season, a tune-up for its PFL opener next week.

Drake at Western Illinois [RV/–], 4 p.m. [ESPN3]
Location: Macomb, Ill. (Hanson Field)
Series: WIU leads, 6-5    Streak: WIU, one win
Notably: Drake wraps up the nonconference portion of its schedule when it meets Western Illinois. It will be the first meeting between the two squads since 2002, a game Drake lost en route to its last losing season. Bulldogs linebacker John Hugunin has 25 tackles in his first two games this season.

Butler at Youngstown State [21/16], 4 p.m.
Location: Youngstown, Ohio (Stambaugh Stadium)
Series: YSU leads, 1-0
Notably:  Butler and Youngstown will meet for the second time (first meeting was in 2010). It will be the Bulldogs second consecutive road game and second straight in Ohio to start 2014. Butler won at Wittenberg to open the season in Week 2.

Morehead State at Eastern Kentucky [RV/25], 6 p.m.
Location: Richmond, Ky. (Kidd Stadium)
Series: EKU leads, 51-16-4    Streak: EKU, eight wins
Last Season: Eastern Kentucky def. Morehead State, 56-24
Notably: Morehead State’s final tuneup before starting PFL play takes it to Eastern Kentucky. The Eagles shook off a season-opening loss to post a dominating win against Pikeville. They will face an Eastern Kentucky squad that is 2-0 after an upset victory against FBS foe Miami (Ohio) in Week 2.

Mercer at Stetson, 6 p.m.
Location: DeLand, Fla. (Spec Martin Stadium)
Series: MER leads, 8-1    Streak: MER, seven wins
Last Season: Mercer defeated Stetson, 41-14
Notably: Stetson hosts former PFL member Mercer in a Week 3 matchup. Fast starts have determined the Hatters first two contests. They scored 25 points in the 2nd quarter of a Week 1 win and surrendered 30 first-quarter points in a Week 2 loss.

Georgetown at Marist, 6 p.m.
Location: Poughkeepsie, N.Y. (Tenney Stadium)
Series: GU leads 12-4    Streak: MAR, one win
Last Season: Marist def. Georgetown, 43-23
Notably:  Marist hosts Georgetown in a meeting of teams seeking their first 2014 win. The Red Foxes have just one touchdown in their first two games and will continue to seek answers in their final nonconference tilt. Meanwhile, the Hoyas will seek revenge after falling at PFL member Dayton in Week 2.

Campbell at Charleston Southern [RV/RV], 7 p.m.
Location: Charleston, N.C. (Buccaneer Field)
Series: CSU leads, 1-0
Last Season: Charleston Southern def. Campbell, 30-10
Notably:  Campbell will face its third Division I scholarship program when it travels to Charleston Southern, Saturday. The Camels enter their Week 3 tilt seeking a victory before it starts PFL play in Week 4.

Off Week: Valparaiso

NEWS AND NOTES FROM AROUND THE PFL

PFL RACE STARTS IN WEEK 3, TOUGH SCHEDULE AWAITS | Week 3 will see the 2014 PFL race get underway when preseason favorite San Diego travels to Jacksonville (picked third in the league’s preseason poll). The remaining nine games on the league slate all see a PFL team face off against a fellow FCS opponent. Two nationally-ranked teams await PFL opponents as Butler travels to No. 16 Youngstown State and Morehead State travels to No. 25 Eastern Kentucky.

DAYTON’S KACSOR SECOND TO TOP 300 YARDS | Dayton running back Connor Kacsor became the second PFL runner to record 300 rushing yards in a game, piling up 301 yards against Georgetown, Sept. 6, in Welcome Stadium. It was the 55th 300-yard performance in FCS history and was a Dayton program record. The senior from Leo, Indiana, had just 14 yards in the first quarter but ran for 287 yards, including a 43-yard touchdown, in the game’s final 45 minutes.

EAGLES’ GAHAFER THROWS FIRST 5 TD OUTING | Morehead State quarterback Austin Gahafer put together the PFL’s first five-touchdown performance of 2014, in a 49-36 win against NAIA foe Pikeville. The PFL saw five five-touchdown efforts in 2013, but none occurred prior to Week 7 (Oct. 12).

MARIST’S FEDE MAKES DOLPHINS ROSTER | Marist alumnus Terrence Fede, the 2013 PFL Defensive Player of the Year, was named to the Miami Dolphins’ active 53-man roster. Fede, a 7th round pick in the 2014 NFL Draft, is listed on the Dolphins depth chard at right defensive end entering the NFL season’s opening week.

NEW SIGNAL CALLERS ABOUND | New quarterbacks will be at the helm of six of the PFL’s 11 programs in 2014. Butler, Campbell, Davidson, Marist, San Diego and Valparaiso will each be under new leadership on the field. Dayton and Drake each return a senior under center with Will Bardo and Andy Rice, respectively. Morehead State (Austin Gahafer) and Stetson (Ryan Tentler) each used a freshman quarterback in 2013 that returns for their sophomore campaigns in 2014. Jacksonville junior Kade Bell rounds out the list of returning quarterbacks.

WELCOME NEW HEAD COACHES | Two new faces will join the PFL’s head coaching fraternity in 2014 with Rick Fox taking over duties at Drake while Dave Cecchini grabs the reins at Valparaiso. Fox was as an assistant coach for six seasons under former head coach Chris Creighton, who took the head coaching position at Eastern Michigan. Cecchini became Valparaiso’s 17th head coach after four seasons as the offensive coordinator at Lehigh.

PFL TIEBREAKER MODIFIED | The PFL automatic qualifier tiebreaker was modified during the league’s August president’s council meeting. In 2014, the league will no longer use computer rankings to determine its automatic qualifier. Instead, the league will use a “Strength of Victory” and “Strength of Schedule” – both based on conference games only – to help determine its representative in the FCS Championship. The complete PFL tiebreaker is available online at pioneer-football.org/tiebreaker.

PFL ADDS SIXTH MAJOR AWARD | In addition to the change in the league’s tiebreaker procedure, the league’s presidents voted to add a Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award to its postseason accolades. The Scholar-Athlete of the Year will be selected as part of the league’s Academic All-PFL squad voting in November.

THREE PFL ATHLETES NOMINATED FOR 2014 ALLSTATE AFCA GOOD WORKS TEAM | Three PFL student-athletes – Davidson’s Dan Casey, Drake’s John Hugunin and Marist’s James Holodnak – were among a 182 nominees for the 2014 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team®, which recognizes the selfless contributions to volunteerism and community service made by college football student-athletes across the nation. Two 11-member teams will be selected, one composed players competing in the NCAA® Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and the other is a combined team representing the NCAA® Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Divisions II, III, and the NAIA.

NO ADDITIONAL SANCTIONS IN SAN DIEGO REVIEW | The PFL concluded its review of a matter involving the San Diego Football program. The league has ruled no additional sanctions will be imposed on the San Diego football team beyond its voluntary removal from the 2013 conference championship.

PFL’S 22ND CAMPAIGN | The 2014 season marks the 22nd year for the Pioneer Football League – the nation’s only non-scholarship, football-only NCAA Football Championship Subdivision conference. The league boasts 11 members in 2014 with the departure of Mercer after its first season.