Thursday, October 22, 2015
by Cody Bush, PFL Media Relations

All 11 Pioneer Football League teams will be in action during Week 8 of the college football season. Fans will be able to catch a glimpse of five games involving PFL squads on their computer or digital device through live video offerings, available on various school and league live video platforms, as noted in the table below.

Week 8 Game Capsules

Marist at Davidson, 1 p.m.
Marist returns to action after its off week and completes a three-game roadtrip at Davidson. The Red Foxes began their road trip at San Diego, Sept. 26, then travelled to Campbell, Oct. 10, before this week’s contest – a total of nearly 8,500 miles round trip. The Wildcats return home after traveling to Indianapolis last week where they suffered a 38-7 loss to Butler. Marist has won all eight trips it has made to North Carolina, posting 4-0 marks against Davidson and Campbell. Wide receiver Matt Tralli moved to within three receptions of the Marist all-time record, entering the break with 173 career catches. Meanwhile, free safety Zach Adler is nearing the Marist interceptions record, picking off his 17th career pass to move within one of the record. Davidson was held to a season-low 37 rushing yards at Butler while its 201 passing yards tied a season best. Quarterback Taylor Mitchell completed 16-of-28 passes for 201 yards, but was sacked five times, losing 30 yards. The Wildcats entered the game with just nine sacks allowed in their first five games.

Jacksonville at Drake, 2 p.m.
Unbeaten Jacksonville begins a two-game road trip that will provide its sternest test in PFL play this season when it travels to Drake. The Dolphins improved their best-ever start to 6-0 with a nonconference win against intra-city foe Edward Waters. The Bulldogs suffered their second PFL loss this season and second shutout this season at San Diego. Jacksonville meets Drake one week before its Week 9 showdown with fellow unbeaten Dayton. Wide receiver Ulysses Bryant led the Dolphins in rushing (75 yards) and receiving (119 yards) in last week’s win, tying his career best in receiving yards while also catching two touchdowns. Freshman Emoni Williams was named the PFL’s Special Teams Player of the Week, becoming the third PFL player to return a kickoff for a touchdown. Drake begins a stretch where it will play its final four games against teams ahead of it in the standings, giving it the opportunity to play spoiler down the stretch. The Bulldogs amassed just 274 offensive yards in the loss at San Diego, falling to 0-4 in games where they do not record 300 offensive yards. Drake punter Cam Bohnert averaged 41.5 yards on eight punts on the West Coast and now has punted a league-most 46 times this season, averaging 39.3 yards per boot.

Stetson at Valparaiso, 2 p.m.
Stetson makes the long trek northward to face Valparaiso in the first-ever meeting between the two teams. The Hatters were held to two Grant Amick field goals in a loss to Campbell last week. The Crusaders saw four turnovers turned into 17 points in a loss to Dayton. Stetson has played the league’s toughest schedule to date, meeting both unbeatens – Dayton and Jacksonville – along with two-win squads Campbell and Drake. The Hatters defense, led Saturday by defensive back Donald Payne’s 17-tackle outing, met the league’s top individual rusher for a second straight week and came out ahead in the battle. Stetson held Campbell running back DeShawn Jones to 44 yards after he entered the game with 639 rushing yards. Valparaiso scored two touchdowns in a game for only the second time this season. Saturday freshman wideout Jean Rene was on the receiving end of both Crusaders touchdowns – his only two catches on the day and he had three touchdowns on 15 receptions this season. Defensive end John Guilford had 3½ tackles for loss against Dayton and his eight tackles for loss leads Valparaiso and ranks third among PFL tacklers.

Morehead State at Campbell, 4 p.m.
Morehead State will head across the Appalachian Mountains for the fourth time this season to face Campbell in a battle of two-win PFL squads. The Eagles return to action after their off week as one of three PFL teams with one loss, tied for third with a 2-1 record. The Camels recorded their second PFL win, leveling their record at 2-2 on the road at Stetson last week. Morehead State quarterback Austin Gahafer has thrown three or more touchdowns in five consecutive games and its tied with Jacksonville’s Kade Bell with 17 touchdown throws this season. Cornerback Justin Grier intercepted two passes in MSU’s last game – one in the end zone and the second to end Butler’s final drive – and is tied for the PFL lead with five interceptions this season. Campbell turned up the defense in the second half to launch its come-from-behind effort. The Camels defense held Stetson to 38 offensive yards in the second frame, and finished the game with 11 tackles for loss and five sacks –bringing their league-leading totals to 56 TFLs and 28 sacks. Defensive lineman Ugonna Awuruonye is ranked second in the PFL with five sacks and seventh in tackles for loss (7.0)

Butler at Dayton, 6 p.m.
Dayton seeks its 100th PFL victory when it hosts Butler at Welcome Stadium, Saturday. The Flyers posted their 99th PFL victory in their 130th game, with a Week 7 win at Valparaiso. The Bulldogs improved to 2-1 in league play (one game behind Dayton) with a win at Davidson last week. Butler spread the ball out against Davidson with five different players scoring a touchdown, including three players recording their first career touchdowns. The Bulldogs have quietly become the PFL’s top scoring team, averaging 30.5 points per game, scoring at least two touchdowns in every game this season. Quarterback Matt Shiltz leads that offense as the PFL’s leading rusher among quarterbacks (454 yards, 75.7 per game) and ranking second in total offense (297.2 ypg) behind Jacksonville’s Kade Bell. Dayton is making due without running back Connor Kacsor who was lost for the season due to an injury before a Week 6 contest after leading the FCS in rushing through five weeks. The Flyers backfield is now composed of freshman running back Tucker Yinger and freshman quarterback Alex Jeske the duo combining for 258 of Dayton’s 342 offensive yards against Valparaiso. Senior kicker William Will made three field goals in that Week 7 win and leads all PFL kickers in field goals made (11) and points scored (52, 8.7 ppg).

Warner at San Diego, 9 p.m.
San Diego steps out of conference play when it hosts a NAIA Warner squad that will make the cross-country trip from Lake Wales, Florida. The Toreros pitched their first shutout since 2013 (24 games) in a PFL win against Drake. The Royals bring a five-game losing streak into the meeting after falling to Belhaven (Miss.) last week. San Diego quarterback Anthony Lawrence was named the STATS FCS Freshman of the Week after composing his first 300-yard against a Drake team that had not allowed a 300-yard passing performance this season. Meanwhile, the Toreros defense held Drake to 274 offensive yards, including just 61 rushing yards, as it posted 12 tackles for loss and six sacks in the game. Nine different tackles notched a TFL, including Jonathan Peterson, who had a team-best 2½ tackles for loss. It was a rare outburst by the USD defense which had just nine sacks and 27 tackles for loss entering the affair. Warner quarterback D.J. Davis is averaging 181.9 total offensive yards per game and has four rushing touchdowns, five passing touchdowns and eight interceptions this season.