Friday, October 7, 2016
by Cody Bush, PFL Media Relations

Five games dot the Week 6 schedule across the Pioneer Football League. The league's featured matchup between Campbell and Jacksonville was postponed due to the arrival of Hurricane Matthew on the Florida coast. The league's other two unbeaten squads – San Diego (2-0) and Marist (1-0) – will face the league's two winless teams. In the other two PFL matchups, 1-1 squads will square off against each other with Morehead State traveling to Dayton and Drake headed north to meet Valparaiso. In addition, Stetson will step out of league play this week when it travels up the coast to face Ivy League member Brown.

Stetson at Brown, 12:30 p.m.
Video: IvyLeagueDigitalNetwork.com

Setting the Scene: Fresh off its first  PFLwin of 2016, Stetson steps out of conference play in Week 6 to face Ivy League member Brown. The Hatters secured their first PFL win thanks to the Gaven DeFilippo-Kegan Moore pairing that connected for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter at Davidson. Meanwhile, Brown returns home after a competitive 28-13 loss at Rhode Island last week.

Stetson Matchup to Watch: Stetson put together its best offensive outing of the season at Davidson, posting season bets in scoring (31 points) and total yardage (442). DeFilippo led that offensive effort with 26 pass completions for a season-best 326 yards, finding Moore on nine completions totalling 150 yards. That duo will run up against a stingy Brown squad that ranks 12th among FCS programs  in total defense, holding opponents to 301.3 yards per game.

Brown Matchup to Watch: Brown quarterback Kyle Moreno is ranked among the FCS’ top 20 passes in completions per game (22.3) and points responsible for per game (18.7). He threw for three touchdowns in each of his first two games before being held to one touchdown in last week’s contest. Stetson will face him with the PFL’s fifth ranked pass defense, which has limited opponents to 176.2 passing yards per game and only eight touchdowns in four games. 

Marist at Butler, 1 p.m.
Video: ButlerSports.com

Setting the Scene: A week after its first win of 2016, Marist will look for a second straight win when it travels to Butler. The Red Foxes held a high-octane Campbell offense to one touchdown (the Camels had 20 touchdowns entering the game) in a Week 5 win, largely thanks to winning the field-position battle as Campbell’s averaging starting position was inside its own 20-yard line. Butler opened its PFL schedule with an overtime loss to that Campbell side in Week 4 but could not build off its late charge in that game in a Week 5 loss to league-leading San Diego.

Marist Matchup to Watch: Marist proved it could win via a field-position battle against Campbell as punter Mike Maccarone averaged 42.8 yards per punt in the game and placed three kicks inside the Campbell 10-yard line. This week’s matchup pits that Marist punting unit which is ranked second in the league (36.2 net yards per punt) against a Butler unit that is the league’s best (39.7 net yards per punt). Marist has allowed just 1.7 yards in punt returns (45 yards on 26 punts) this season while Butler has held returners to minus-3 yards total on 25 punts.

Butler Matchup to Watch: The Bulldogs turned to Will Marty at quarterback against San Diego and he responded to his first start by completing 15-of-39 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown. He connected with wide receiver Pace Temple seven times for 94 yards, keeping Temple atop the PFL’s receiving leaders list at 99.2 yards per game. Marist owns the PFL’s top rated pass defense, forcing opponents into more interceptions (five) than touchdowns (three) and limiting those opposing passing games to a 85.8 pass efficiency rating.

Morehead State at Dayton, 1 p.m.
Video: DaytonFlyers.com

Setting the Scene: A battle of 1-1 squads will take shape when Morehead State makes the trip to Dayton. Both teams posted home wins in Week 5 action to get to 1-1 in league play after PFL-opening road losses. The Eagles eked out a victory against upstart Valparaiso last week as Austin Gahafer threw his second touchdown of the game to Jake Raymond with 22 seconds left. The Flyers had an easier time in a 35-10 victory against Drake as quarterback Alex Jeske found his legs and ran for a pair of touchdowns.

Morehead State Matchup to Watch: Eagles quarterback Austin Gahafer has steadily improved week to week and has opened PFL play with back-to-back 300-yard passing performances. He leads the PFL in completions (115), attempts (203) and touchdown passes (nine) this season, but is only fifth in efficiency (119.9). However, he has been stymied by Dayton in his three previous seasons, throwing just three touchdowns against five interceptions despite averaging 220 pasing yards per game and a 61.3 pass completion percentage.

Dayton Matchup to Watch: Dayton got a key piece of its offense back when Tucker Yinger returned after missing the two previous games. He made his presence felt in his return, his 172 yards on 21 carries ranking as the second-best rushing performance in the PFL this season. The Eagles defense is ranked 10th in the league in rushing defense, allowing 200 yards per game. However, the bulk of that came in Week 1 at James Madison. Since then, MSU has held opponents to 125.8 rushing yards per game, which would rank fourth among PFL opponents.

Drake at Valparaiso, 2 p.m.
Video: ESPN3

Setting the Scene: Another pair of league 1-1 squads will meet when Drake travels north to face Valparaiso. Drake saw its road losing streak extended after a slow start limited it to three points on its six first-half drives en route to a loss at Dayton. Valparaiso saw a potential 2-0 start snatched away with 22 seconds remaining at Morehead State

Valparaiso Matchup to Watch: Running back Jarrett Morgan has posted a 100-yard rushing performance in each of his last three games. And while that may not seem like an accomplishment of note, it is a vast improvement for a Crusader rushing offense that did not produce a 100-yard rusher in all of 2015. He will meet a Drake rush defense seeking to bounce back from its season’s worst outing at Dayton, allowing a pair of 100-yard rushers and a season-worst 323 rushing yards last week. It was the first 300-yard rushing outing permitted by the Bulldogs since Sept. 14, 2012 against Indiana State.

Drake Matchup to Watch: Eric Saubert continues to be the hardest working tight end at the FCS level, as he leads the subdivision’s tight ends in receptions per game (6.6) and is third in receiving yards per game (85.6). However, after catching a touchdown pass in each of his first three games in 2016, he has been held out of the end zone in his first two PFL contests. Meanwhile, Valparaiso has allowed a 100-yard receiver for the first time this season at Morehead State and has allowed just 208.6 passing yards per game – fifth in the PFL.

Davidson at San Diego, 4 p.m.
Video: TheW.tv

Setting the Scene: Davidson makes the cross-country trek in Week 6 to face league-leading San Diego. While the Wildcats are 0-2 to start PFL play, those two losses have been by just four points each and both required a fourth-quarter score to deny a Davidson win. San Diego improved to 2-0 in PFL action with a dominant win at Butler that saw it roll up 526 offensive yards while holding Butler to 263 yards.

Davidson Matchup to Watch: The Wildcats own the PFL’s stingiest rush defense after five weeks, holding opponents to 111.2 yards per game and only 2.8 yards per carry – both league bests. That’s largely thanks to a league-leading 2.8 sacks per game and 8.6 tackles for loss per outing (2nd in the PFL). However, it will run into a San Diego offensive unit that has permitted just one sack in its first four games (the 0.25 sacks permitted per game the 2nd lowest in the FCS) and only 5.5 tackles for loss per game (44th fewest in the FCS).

San Diego Matchup to Watch: San Diego’s two-headed monster of quarterback Anthony Lawrence and Jonah Hodges enjoyed their trip to Butler, as Hodges ran for 128 yards and two touchdowns while Lawrence passed for 326 yards and was responsible for two touchdowns. The Toreros 526-yard offensive outing was its best this season – the second straight week it has posted its best offensive outing. Davidson permitted a season-high 442 yards of offense at Stetson last week, and its first 300-yard passing performance.