Thursday, October 8, 2015
by Cody Bush, PFL Media Relations

All eleven Pioneer Football League teams will be in action during Week 6 of the college football season. Fans will be able to catch a glimpse of all six games involving PFL squads on their computer or digital device through live video offerings.

For the fifth straight week PFL action can be see on ESPN3 with Jacksonville hosting Stetson (6 p.m., Saturday) on the digital platform.

The remaining five games are available on various school and league live video platforms, as noted in the table below.

Week 6 Game Capsules

Kentucky Wesleyan at Davidson, 1 p.m.
Davidson continues its homestand when it hosts Division II Kentucky Wesleyan. The Wildcats were seven minutes shy of ending their long losing streak, but surrendered two touchdowns in that final span in a loss to Valparaiso. Quarterback Taylor Mitchell connected twice with wideout William Morris for touchdowns, including a go-ahead score with 7:16 left in the game. Mitchell finished with 19 completions for 196 yards and three touchdowns, while Morris had 114 yards on eight receptions. Kentucky Wesleyan enters the game after picking up its season’s first win in a 35-7 victory against Central State. Quarterback Dalton Oliver has 1,076 passing yards and eight touchdowns in four games this season. It will be the end of a five-game, season-opening road trip for the Wildcats.

San Diego at Dayton, 1 p.m.
The PFL’s marquee matchup in Week 6 features San Diego (2-0 in PFL) travels to Dayton (1-0 in PFL).  Dayton’s is off to a 4-0 start overall for the first time since 2007 and seeks a 5-0 mark for the first time since 2005. San Diego brings a nine-game PFL win streak into the meeting, a streak that dates back to its first PFL game last season. It will be a matchup of freshman quarterbacks between the two league co-leaders. The Toreros have leaned on quarterback Anthony Lawrence this season and he has nine touchdown throws while completing 65.5 percent of his passes, but was held to one touchdown throw in the win against Marist last week. The Flyers fourth win this season was its first in wire-to-wire fashion as they downed Stetson. Dayton saw running back Connor Kacsor stymied but quarterback Alex Jeske stepped up with a three-touchdown passing performance as he completed 15-of-23 passes for 223 yards. 

Butler at Morehead State, 1 p.m.
Two of the league’s top scoring passing attacks will square off when Butler travels to Morehead State. Butler returns to action after its off week while Morehead State returns home after a narrow loss at unbeaten Jacksonville. Last season, this matchup saw the teams combine for 114 points and 16 touchdowns, Butler winning a 62-52 decision after scoring 28 points off Morehead State turnovers, including an interception returned for a touchdown as well a punt return for touchdown. This season, the Bulldogs are the league’s third ranked passing offense, averaging 240.2 yards per game, and are third in the league with 10 passing touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Eagles are second in passing office (289.8 yards per game) but a league-best 15 of its 17 touchdowns have coming in the passing game. Butler’s Matt Shiltz and Morehead State’s Austin Gahafer – the two quarterbacks  in this matchup – are ranked second and third in total offense, respectively, but Shiltz is the league’s top rushing quarterback (320 yards), which may be a difference maker.

Valparaiso at Drake, 2 p.m.
Valparaiso seeks its first-ever win at Drake Stadium against Drake in a Saturday matchup between teams with 1-1 PFL marks. The Crusaders won the front-end of its back-to-back road trip in a see-saw affair at Davidson and a win Saturday would also move them above .500 in league play for the first time since 2003. Drake returns home after suffering a narrow defeat on the road at Campbell and looks to avoid falling below .500 in league play since losing the opening game of the 2013 season. Valparaiso quarterback Ryan Clarke was named the PFL’s Offensive Player of the Week after a five-touchdown performance in the win at Davidson. But it was return specialist Jarrett Morgan’s game-tying 89-yard kickoff return in the fourth quarter that helped turn the game’s momentum. Drake entered last week’s meeting at Campbell having allowed just 10 sacks in its first four games but saw quarterback Andy Rice sacked nine times in the loss. However, the Bulldogs defense is second in the league with 16 sacks, with defensive lineman Mack Marrin owning a team-best three sacks.

Marist at Campbell, 6 p.m.
Marist continues its coast-to-coast road trip when it visits Campbell. The Red Foxes remained winless in league play with a three-point loss at San Diego last weekend, which followed a four-point loss to Jacksonville. Campbell has scored 24 points in each of its first two PFL contests, but is just 1-1 in league play after a victory against Drake. Turnovers have been Marist’s downfall this season with opponents turning its 13 giveaways turning into 80 points. The Red Foxes defense has forced 10 turnovers but they have only scored 28 points off those turnovers.  Campbell boasts the PFL’s top ranked rushing offense (183.8 ypg) and rushing defense (91.6) at nearly the halfway point. On the offensive side, running back DeShawn Jones ranks second in the league with 107.6 yards per game. Defensively, Campbell is third in the league with 37 tackles for loss – a stark improvement over a year ago with it currently 28th nationally after finishing 113th in the category (50 TFL in 12 games) last season.

Stetson at Jacksonville, 6 p.m.
Jacksonville seeks its first-ever 5-0 start to a campaign when it hosts Stetson. The Dolphins will seek that 5-0 start at D.B. Milne Field where it owns a seven-game win streak – tied for the seventh longest home win streak in FCS. Stetson faces an unbeaten FCS squad for the second consecutive week after falling to Dayton in Week 5. Jacksonville narrowly escaped its home-opener last weekend with a victory against Morehead State. The Dolphins rode the running back tandem of Jamal Adjamah and Ulysses Bryant to the win. Adjamah amassing a career-high 164 yards on 14 carries, while Bryant finished with 207 all-purpose yards, including 114 rushing yards. The Hatters had success stopping FCS-leading rusher Connor Kacsor last weekend, but surrendered three passing touchdowns in a loss to Dayton. Defensive back Donald Payne amassed 16 tackles, including two for loss, to lead an effort that held Kacsor to a season-low 61 yards.