Saturday, September 2, 2023
by Cody Bush, PFL Media Relations

Week 1 Scoreboard

St. Thomas 36, Black Hills State 26
Georgetown 49, Marist 7
Illinois State 41, Dayton 0
VMI 12, Davidson 7
Montana 35, Butler 20
North Dakota 55, Drake 7
Cal Poly 27, San Diego 10
Stetson 34, St. Thomas (Fla.) 33
Murray State 41, Presbyterian 10

Game Recaps

St. Thomas 36, Black Hills State 26
ST. PAUL, Minn. - St. Thomas built a 20-point advantage in the opening 25 minutes and held on for a 36-26 victory against Black Hills State Saturday at O'Shaughnessy Stadium. On Black Hills State's opening possession, St. Thomas' Johnson Fallah picked off a pass and returned it for a touchdown. Quarterback Amari Powell extended the Tommies lead with touchdown runs in the first and second quarters and St. Thomas led 20-0 with 11:15 left in the second quarter. Black Hills State scored the game's next 13 points to cut the deficit to nine points after three quarters. The Tommies and Yellow Jackets traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter, St. Thomas getting rushing scores from Shawn Shipman (19 yards) and Hope Adebayo (14 yards). Powell completed 12-of-24 passes for 105 yards and rushed for 30 yards and two touchdowns on six carries. Shipman ran for 140 yards and a touchdown for the Tommies.

Georgetown 49, Marist 7
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Tristan Shannon's three-yard touchdown in the first quarter but Marist was held out of the end zone the rest of the way as Georgetown secured a 49-7 victory Saturday at Cooper Field. After Georgetown scored on Joshua Stakely's 42-yard run, the Red Foxes put together a 13-play, 64-yard drive capped by Shannon's touchdown that leveled the score. But the Hoyas scored twice before halftime to open up a 21-7 lead and didn't look back. Marist quarterback Brock Bagozzi completed 11-of-25 passes for 89 yards. Red Foxes running back Amin Woods added 63 rushing yards on 16 carries.

Illinois State 41, Dayton 0
NORMAL, Ill. - Quarterback Cole Dow passed for 63 yards and ran for 54 more but Dayton could not solve Illinois State and dropped a 41-0 decision Saturday at Hancock Stadium. Illinois State scored a rushing touchdown, passing touchdown, and recovered a fumble in the first quarter to build a 21-0 lead they did not relinquish. Dow completed 10-of-20 passes for 63 yards and added 12 carries for 54 yards.

VMI 12, Davidson 7
LEXINGTON, Va. - Christian Berry caught a 24-yard touchdown pass from Luke Durkin to give Davidson a third-quarter lead but host VMI scored with 51 seconds left in the game to escape with a 12-7 victory Saturday at Alumni Memorial Field. VMI scored with 71 seconds left in the first half to take a 6-0 lead into the break. Davidson struck next, piecing together a 16-play, 75-yard drive that Berry capped with his touchdown reception from Durkin. VMI would miss a field goal in the fourth quarter but ultimately responded with a 12-play, 85-yard drive that ended with a 25-yard touchdown throw from Collin Ironside to VJ Johnson with 51 seconds left. Durkin completed 6-of-12 passes for 83 yards to pace Davidson's offense. The Wildcats rushed for 101 yards on 39 carries.

Montana 35, Butler 20
MISSOULA, Mont. - Bret Bushka threw for two third quarter touchdowns, the second getting Butler within a point with 4:48 in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs could not close the gap as Montana pulled away late for a 35-20 victory Saturday at Washington-Grizzly Stadium. Montana led 21-6 at halftime, with Butler kicker Luka Zurak providing his team's only points with field goals from 29 and 39 yards. The Bulldogs scored twice in 2:09 as Bushka led them down the field in five plays, finding Jyran Mitchell for a 32-yard touchdown strike. On the ensuing Montana possession Butler's Lucas Kozlowski intercepted a pass. Butler needed just four plays to respond, Bushka finding Ryan Lezon for a 26-yard touchdown, trimming the Montana lead to 21-20. Montana battled back and scored a touchdown on its next drive to rebuild its lead. Bushka completed 24-of-35 passes for 263 yards and two touchdowns, completing passes to 13 different receivers.

North Dakota 55, Drake 7
GRAND FORKS, N.D. - North Dakota scored the game's opening 41 points to down Drake, 55-7, Saturday at the Alerus Center. After a scoreless first quarter, the Fighting Hawks broke through with two touchdowns in the second quarter to take a 14-0 lead into halftime. North Dakota broke the game open in the third frame, scoring four touchdowns to extend its lead to 41-0. Drake broke through early in the fourth quarter when Luke Bailey hit Ian Corwin for a five-yard touchdown pass. But North Dakota scored on its ensuing possession to regain its 41-point lead and did not look back. Bailey completed 15-of-33 passes for 194 yards to lead Butler.  

Cal Poly 27, San Diego 10
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - Ruben Lopez's 48-yard interception return for a touchdown proved to be San Diego's lone score as Cal Poly won a 27-10 decision Saturday at Mustang Memorial Field. The Toreros and Mustangs traded field goals for their opening scores, USD's Aidan Lehman connecting on a 38-yarder to tie the game 3-3. Cal Poly scored two touchdowns before the halftime break, building a 17-3 lead. Lopez would close that gap with his pick-six midway through the third quarter, but San Diego would not score again. The Mustangs scored the game's final 10 points to secure the win. Dom Nankil completed 15-of-27 passes for 145 yards to lead San Diego's offense.

Stetson 34, St. Thomas (Fla.) 33
DELAND, Fla. - Ty'Quan Wiggins scored from three yards out in overtime and Daniel Holbrook connected on the following PAT to deliver Stetson a 34-33 victory against St. Thomas (Fla.) Saturday at Spec Martin Memorial Stadium. In a nip-and-tuck affair, Stetson scored first on Kaderris Roberts' nine-yard touchdown run on the game's opening drive. But Stetson could not build more than a one possession lead and saw that small deficit evaporate when St. Thomas scored a touchdown with 8:47 remaining to tie the game 20-20. The Hatters and Bobcats scored touchdowns on their final possessions to force overtime. St. Thomas scored on its possession but saw its PAT miss leaving the door open for Stetson, which converted on its possession. Roberts ran for 124 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries to pace the Stetson offense.

Murray State 41, Presbyterian 10
MURRAY, Ky. - Stetson scored on consecutive possessions in the second quarter to tie the game, but Murray State closed with the game's final 31 points to secure a 41-10 victory Saturday at Roy Stewart Stadium. Murray State scored the game's first 10 points and led 10-0 with 11:25 left in the second quarter. On its next possesion, Presbyterian went 86 yards in eight plays with JB Seay scoring on a one-yard run. The Blue Hose struck again on their next possession with Mack Mikko hitting a 15-yard field goal to tie the game, 10-10, with 2:15 left in the half. But Murray State needed just 1:05 to break the tie, going 67 yards in six plays to take a 17-10 halftime lead it would not relinquish. Quarterback Tyler Wesley threw for 99 yards on 11-of-22 passes and ran for 82 yards on 11 carries to pace Presbyterian.