Davidson Football Hosts Morehead State Saturday

Davidson Wildcats (1-3, 1-1 PFL) vs. Morehead State Eagles (2-3, 0-2 PFL)
Oct. 10, 2009 - Davidson, N.C.
Smith Field at Richardson Stadium (4,500) - 1 p.m. - Natural Grass

Today's Game
• The Wildcats return home to take on Morehead State in a Pioneer Football League game at Richardson Stadium.
• Davidson is 10-5 in Richardson Stadium in its last 15, and 10-5 against PFL competition in its last 15 league games at home.
• The 'Cats own a 12-7 all-time mark in conference games at Richardson Stadium.
• The 'Cats are 13-11 in their last 24 PFL contests overall and own a 19-20 all-time PFL record.
• Davidson is coming off a 27-21 loss at defending PFL champion Jacksonville last Saturday.
• The 'Cats have lost nine of their last 12 overall, dating back to the 2008 season.
• Morehead State suffered a 30-15 home setback to perennial PFL power Dayton last Saturday.
• The Eagles have lost two straight games, both against conference opponents.
• This will be Morehead State's first league road game of the season.
• It will be a homecoming for Eagles' head coach Matt Ballard, a native of Davidson and graduate of North Mecklenburg High School.
• It's Take a Kid to a Game Day, and all children 12-and-under get free admission if accompanied by a paying adult.

Series Record
• The Eagles lead the all-time series, which began in 1999, 7-3.
• The Eagles have won six of the last eight against Davidson overall.
• Davidson is 2-2 against Morehead State at Richardson Stadium.
• Evan Sawyer threw for 210 yards and two touchdowns, and Mason Webb kicked four field goals to lead Morehead State to a 26-13 victory over Davidson last season.
• Ryan Alexander led Davidson with 253 yards and two TDs through the air, and Kirk Konert caught six passes for 81 yards.
• Mark Hanabury had five receptions for 51 yards, and Myles Potter posted five receptions for 45 yards.
• The Wildcats dug themselves too deep of a hole in the first half as costly turnovers and special teams play gave Morehead State great field position for a majority of the frame. The Eagles' offense started drives in Davidson territory on six of eight possessions and scored points on five.

Scouting the Eagles
• MSU's leading rusher is Jerrod Pendleton, who has 36 carries for 152 yards and one
touchdown. Desmond Cox has 23 carries for 119 yards and a score.
• Ronnie McDermott, who has 14 catches for 137 yards and one touchdown, leads
the Eagle receiving corps.
• Offensively, the Eagles have been a first-quarter team, scoring 65 of their 110 total points in the opening stanza.
• Defensively, Derek Harkness has three of the Eagles' six interceptions. All three came in the 28-21 overtime loss to Butler.
• Two-time All-PFL?selection Wes McDermott leads the Eagles in tackles with 41 (eight for loss) and has an interception.

Claw Marks
• Mark Hanabury had a career day at Jacksonville, catching nine passes for 146 yards and a touchdown. It was the most yards for a Davidson receiver since Kirk Konert had 153 against Dayton in 2008.
• Neither Davidson nor Jacksonville committed a turnover in their game Oct. 3. It's the first time Davidson has been involved in a game in which neither team committed a turnover since the 2008 season finale against Butler. That's also the last time the Wildcats had a turnover free game.
• With their 24-7 victory over Campbell Sept. 19, the 'Cats have now won their Pioneer Football League opener in six of the nine seasons they have been in the league.
• Running back Kenny Mantuo matched his career high with 135 rushing yards against Campbell. He had 135 at Jacksonville in 2007.
• The 'Cats are 4-0 when either running back Kenny Mantuo or Justin Williams rushes for 100 yards or more.
• Linebacker Tyler Lemons needs nine tackles to reach 200 for his career.
• Junior quarterback Michael Blanchard is making his fifth career start. Davidson is 1-3 with Blanchard as its starting quarterback.
• The Wildcats, who are playing their 111th season of football, are scheduled to play the 1,000th game in school history Nov. 7 at San Diego.
• Head coach Tripp Merritt is climbing the all-time victory list at Davidson. With 21 wins, he needs four to move into the top-5.
• The 'Cats need two more victories to make 2000-09 the winningest decade in school history.
• The Wildcats opened the 2009 home schedule with new red jerseys. The new look was a surprise to the team as they found them laid out by their lockers when they reported to the Richardson Stadium locker room on game day.
• Davidson's 56-0 loss at Elon was its worst since a 56-0 setback at San Diego in 2004. It was the first time the 'Cats were shut out since a 33-0 loss at VMI in the 2005 season opener.
• Davidson was shut out in its first two games of the 2009 campaign. It's the first time Davidson has not scored in consecutive games in the same season since the 1985 campaign, when the 'Cats lost 28-0 at James Madison and 15-0 to Penn the previous week. The 'Cats failed to score in three straight games that season as they lost 31-0 at The Citadel.
• It was the first time Davidson was held scoreless in consecutive contests since falling 23-0 to Georgetown in the last game of 2004 and opening the 2005 season with a 33-0 setback at VMI.
• The Wildcats have not scored in the first half this season.

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