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DAVIDSON, N.C. – Davidson quarterback
Jonathan Carkhuff passed for 427 yards and five touchdowns, and
Lanny Funsten caught seven passes for a career-high 195 yards and two scores to lead the Wildcats to a 35-7 football victory over Johnson C. Smith Saturday night at Richardson Stadium.
The duo hooked up for a school-record 99-yard touchdown pass, catch and run that put the game away for the 'Cats early in the fourth quarter.
Leading 28-7, the Wildcat defense forced the Golden Bulls to turn the ball over on downs at the Davidson 1-yard line when
Malcolm Moses-Hampton stopped JCSU quarterback Keahn Wallace with a big collision as he tried to leap into the end zone.
On the next play, JCSU brought pressure, and Carkhuff rolled to his right and found Funsten with a few steps on his defender, who was playing press coverage. Funsten caught the ball at the 40 and took it the rest of the way for a 35-7 lead with 13:05 left in the game.
“Lanny did a great job and got a great release,” said Carkhuff. “There was pressure up the middle, and I saw that Lanny had a few steps on his guy and let him go get it and he did.”
Clem Butler had 16 carries for 120 yards and caught two passes for 49 yards for Davidson (2-1), and
Tim Hines had four receptions for 95 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
“Clem had a very good night, and that's good to see,” said Davidson coach
Tripp Merritt. “You have to be able to run the ball in this offense, and if we continue to improve there, we'll be more effective offensively.”
Wallace completed 11-of-29 passes for 168 yards and one touchdown and rushed 20 times for 48 yards for Johnson C. Smith (2-2). Rico Poole caught three passes for 42 yards. The Golden Bulls were hurt by 127 yards in penalties to go along with three turnovers.
Davidson scored 35 unanswered points after the Golden Bulls took a 7-0 lead on a pass from Wallace to Daniel Taylor with 1:43 left in the first quarter.
Hines caught a 66-yard bomb from Carkhuff early in the second quarter to tie the score, and
Nick Orobello caught his first career touchdown pass, a 15-yard reception from Carkhuff, with 4:27 left in the frame to put Davidson ahead 14-7 at the break.
After missing a field goal after a 62-yard drive on their first possession of the second half, Davidson scored on its next three possessions. The Wildcats went 98 yards in eight plays and scored on a 20-yard pass from Carkhuff to Hines to open a 21-7 cushion with 3:41 left in the third quarter. Butler carried a bulk of the load with a 10-yard run and a 24-yard reception on the drive.
Davidson got a short field on its next possession after the defense got a three-and-out and JCSU was flagged for interfering with the catch on the punt. Butler rushed for 20 yards a play later, and then Funsten caught a 9-yard TD pass from Carkhuff to open a 28-7 advantage.
Moses-Hampton finished the game with eight tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss.
Dan Casey had seven stops.
Davidson opens the Pioneer Football League portion of its schedule at San Diego next Saturday.
Game Notes: The Davidson defense has given up just two touchdowns in the last eight quarters…. Butler's receiving and rushing totals were career highs… Carkhuff was four yards shy of the school record for passing yards, set by Damion White at Coastal Carolina in 2004… Carkhuff has now thrown for 300-plus yards in four career games, including all three contests this season.