Monday, September 15, 2014
by Cody Bush, PFL Media Relations

AHEAD IN WEEK 4

Saturday, Sept. 20

Morehead State at Davidson, 1 p.m.
Location: Davidson, N.C. (Richardson Stadium)
Series: MOR leads, 9-6    Streak: MOR, two wins
Last Meeting: Morehead State def. Davidson, 45-14 (2013)
Notably: Davidson hosts Morehead State in the PFL opener for both squads.  Davidson has dropped two straight after its season-opening victory, but returns to Richardson Stadium for its homecoming contest. Morehead State  sandwiched its win between losses to nationally-ranked FCS squads. Davidson’s last win in the series came in 2011 when it hosted Morehead State for homecoming that season.

Marist at Drake, 2 p.m.
Location: Des Moines, Iowa (Drake Stadium)
Series: DRA leads, 4-0
Last Meeting: Drake def. Marist, 34-27 [OT] (2012)
Notably: Drake hosts Marist in the PFL opener for both teams. Drake is one of only two PFL teams Marist has not recorded a victory against. The two teams did not meet in 2013, but Drake won an overtime decision in 2012. Marist has just one offensive touchdown in 2014, that coming on its first drive of the campaign. Drake has six touchdowns on the young campaign, but has seen its touchdown count decline in each game this season.

Stetson at Birmingham-Southern, 1 p.m.
Location: Birmingham, Ala. (Panther Stadium)
Series: BSC leads, 2-0
Last Meeting: Birmingham-Southern def. Stetson, 49-34 (2013)
Notably: Stetson returns to the state of Alabama for the first time since 1950 when it meets Birmingham-Southern. Stetson’s lone win this season was its season-opener at Warner and it has dropped its two home games since that contest.

Robert Morris at Dayton, 1 p.m.
Location: Dayton, Ohio (Welcome Stadium)
Series: DAY leads, 14-2    Streak: DAY, 11 wins
Last Meeting: Dayton def. Robert Morris, 21-14 (2013)
Notably: Dayton continues its annual series with Robert Morris, but will face the Colonials for the first time since longtime head coach Joe Walton stepped down at the end of 2013. The Flyers began the season with a home win against Georgetown and lost last week on the road.

Penn at Jacksonville, 1 p.m.
Location: Jacksonville, Fla. (D.B. Milne Field)
Series: First Meeting
Notably: After its PFL opening win, Jacksonville will help Ivy League member Penn open its 2014 season. It is the first meeting between the two squads.  Penn was picked to finish fourth in the Ivy League this season while Jacksonville was picked to finish third in the PFL.

Valparaiso at William Jewell, 2 p.m.
Location: Liberty, Mo. (Greene Stadium)
Series: WJC leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: William Jewell def. Valparaiso, 36-34 (2013)
Notably: Valpraiso returns to action following an off week and travels to the Kansas City, Mo. area to face William Jewell. The Crusaders will seek to end an eight-game road losing streak, Saturday.

Princeton at San Diego, 4 p.m.
Location: San Diego, Calif. (Torero Stadium)
Series: PC leads, 2-0
Last Meeting: Princeton def. San Diego, 20-17 (2005)
Notably: San Diego continues its annual series against a member of the Ivy League, this season hosting Princeton. It will be a matchup of the preseason favorite in both the Ivy league and Pioneer Football League. San Diego will seek to bounce back from its PFL-opening loss at Jacksonville. Princeton, and the rest of the Ivy League, opens its 2014 campaign with the cross-country trip.

Taylor at Butler, 6:30 p.m.
Location: Indianapolis, Ind. (Butler Bowl)
Series: BUT leads, 3-0
Last Meeting: Butler def. Taylor, 23-6 (2011)
Notably: Butler hosts Taylor in the third meeting between the two teams since 2010. The Bulldogs are unbeaten in the series with their NAIA in-state foe. Butler quarterback Matt Shiltz is the PFL’s leading yardage producer, averaging 276 total offensive yards per game through two games. 

Off Week: Campbell

NEWS AND NOTES FROM AROUND THE PFL

FOUR TEAMS JOIN PFL FRAY IN WEEK 4 | After Jacksonville and San Diego lifted the lid on the 2014 PFL campaign last week, four more teams will join the race in Week 4. Morehead State travels to Davidson while Marist heads west to Drake in PFL action. Among the nonconference tilts, San Diego (hosts Princeton) and Jacksonville (hosts Penn) will help a pair of Ivy League teams get their 2014 seasons underway.

DAVIDSON’S MORRIS RUNS FOR 208 | Davidson wide receiver William Morris posted a 16-reception, 208-yard performance at VMI, Sept. 13. The 16 receptions are the most in the FCS this season while his 208 receiving yards were third most. It is the 21st 200-yard receiving performance in the PFL since 2002 and first this season.

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.