Monday, November 12, 2012

AHEAD IN WEEK 12
Saturday, Nov. 17
Drake at Jacksonville, Noon
    Location: Jacksonville, Fla. (D.B. Milne Field)
    Series: DRA leads, 9-2    Streak: DRA, one win
    Last Season: Drake def. Jacksonville, 31-24

Marist at Campbell, 1 p.m.
    Location: Buies Creek, N.C. (Barker-Lane Stadium)
    Series: MAR leads, 2-1    Streak: CAM, one win
    Last Season: Campbell def. Marist, 35-21

San Diego at Davidson, 1 p.m.
    Location: Davidson, N.C. (Richardson Stadium)
    Series: SAN leads, 7-2    Streak: SAN, two wins
    Last Season: San Diego def. Davidson, 42-0

Valparaiso at Morehead State, 1 p.m.
    Location: Morehead, Ky. (Jayne Stadium)
    Series: MOR leads, 14-3    Streak: MOR, five wins
    Last Season: Morehead State def. Valparaiso, 38-14

Off Week: Butler, Dayton

All times Eastern.
FCS rankings in brackets prior to school’s name:
[Sports Network Poll/FCS Coaches Poll]

WEEK 12 PREVIEW
HIGHLIGHTS: Drake travels to Jacksonville seeking to gain a share of the PFL title for the second consecutive year. San Diego, also seeking to remain in the PFL title race, heads to the East Coast for a game against Davidson • The game of the day will take place in JACKSONVILLE where DRAKE will seek to claim a share of the PFL title. The Bulldogs kept their name in the hunt with a decisive Week 11 victory in which they rolled up a season-best 546 yards, including 175 on the ground. Quarterback Mike Piatkowski threw for five touchdowns as part of a 29-for-40, 366-yard effort. The Dolphins ended a two-game losing streak with an equally decisive Week 11 win as they posted 371 rushing yards as part of a 503-yard offensive outing. Running back Keith Dawson finished with 25 carries for 217 yards and two touchdowns • MARIST travels down the eastern seaboard for a contest at CAMPBELL, which will be seeking to avoid a winless PFL campaign. The Red Foxes were held to 299 yards in a Week 11 loss, its second-lowest offensive output in a game this season. Running back Max Jacques rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. The Fighting Camels also suffered their second-worst offensive performance this season, recording only 178 yards in a Week 11 loss. Quarterback Dakota Wolf finished with 115 total offensive yards, with touchdowns both on the ground and through the air • SAN DIEGO makes the first of two trips eastward to end its season when it visits DAVIDSON. The Toreros scored 40 points for the third time in their last four outings in a Week 11 win. Running back Dallas Kessman finished with 31 carries for 190 yards, the best rushing performance by a Torero this season. Davidson used a season-best 512-yard offensive outing to win a see-saw Week 11 affair in overtime. Quarterback Jonathan Carkhuff completed 37-of-56 passes for 395 yards and was responsible for three touchdowns in the win • VALPARAISO’s surging offense will return to the road to face MOREHEAD STATE, the PFL’s top offensive team. The Crusaders have scored 68 of their 178 points in the last two weeks, including 27 in a one-point overtime loss in Week 11. Quarterback Eric Hoffman completed 26-of-39 passes for 219 yards in that Week 11 loss, including two completions for 31 yards and a touchdown in overtime. The Eagles scored 28 points in a Week 11 loss, their fifth consecutive game scoring 27-plus points. Wide receiver Donte Sawyer caught 13 passes for 152 yards in Week 11 and has 22 catches for 278 yards (12.6 yards per catch) in the last two weeks.

NEWS & NOTES
BUTLER CLAIMS SHARE OF PFL TITLE | With its last second victory against Jacksonville, Nov. 3, Butler claimed a share of the 2012 PFL Championship. It is the Bulldogs third championship and first since the 2009 season.
DRAKE, SAN DIEGO WITHIN SIGHT OF CROWN | Both Drake and San Diego enter Week 12 with one conference loss, meaning both are still within sight of a share of the 2012 PFL crown. Drake will travel to Jacksonville needing a win to claim a share of the title. San Diego has two games remaining, a Saturday contest at Davidson followed by a Dec. 1 outing at Marist, needing to win both to pick up a share.
SAN DIEGO-MARIST CONTEST RESCHEDULED | The Pioneer Football League contest between San Diego and Marist has been rescheduled with the teams now slated to play at noon (EDT), Saturday, Dec. 1 in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The game was originally scheduled to be played Nov. 3 but postponed due to Hurricane Sandy’s effects on travel into and out of the New York City area.
SAN DIEGO’S KESSMAN NAMED NATIONAL FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK | San Diego redshirt freshman running back Dallas Kessman was named the National FCS Freshman of the Week by The Sports Network, Nov. 12. Kessman rushed for a career-high 190 yards and two touchdowns on 31 carries in the Toreros 41-28 win against Morehead State. He finished the day with 203 all-purpose yards.
OTHER WEEK 11 NATIONAL HONORS | Davidson tight end Williams was named the National FCS Tight End of the Week by the College Football Performance Awards after Week 11 action. He caught 10 passes for 131 yards in the Wildcats overtime victory against Valparaiso. In addition, eight PFL student-athletes received honorable mention recognition from the CFPA.
SIXTEEN PFL STUDENT-ATHLETES NAMED TO CAPITAL ONE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT TEAMS | Sixteen Pioneer Football League student-athletes were named to the Capital One Academic All-District teams as selected by the College Sports Information Directors Association. Dayton and San Diego each had four student-athletes recognized while Campbell and Drake had three each and Butler and Marist had one student-athlete named. A complete listing of those Pioneer Football League student-athletes receiving Academic All-District recognition are listed on the league’s website.
PFL = PASSING FOOTBALL LEAGUE? | The PFL’s passers have enjoyed near record-breaking seasons through four weeks. The league’s teams are averaging an 241.0 yards per team game, fourth among FCS conferences. Drake’s Mike Piatkowski (299.6 ypg) is ranked eighth and Davidson’s Jonathan Carkhuff (290.1 ypg) is ranked ninth among the FCS’ quarterbacks in passing yards per game. They are two of five PFL signal callers ranked among the top 25 nationally.
HOME SWEET HOME, WEST COAST | San Diego extended its home win streak to 12 games (second-best in the FCS) with a Week 11 win against Dayton. The Toreros finished 2012 with a clean home slate (6-0), a repeat of their 2011 accomplishment (6-0).