James’ Big Day Leads San Diego Past Davidson in PFL Opener

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SAN DIEGO, Calif. – San Diego running back Kenny James compiled 161 all-purpose yards, and quarterback Mason Mills threw for 191 yards and three touchdowns in three quarters of work to lead the Toreros to a 42-0 Pioneer Football League victory over Davidson Saturday afternoon at Torero Stadium.

James returned a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown, rushed for 61 yards on 16 carries and caught three passes for five markers.

Davidson quarterback Jonathan Carkhuff finished the day 26-of-43 for 160 yards with an interception. Lanny Funsten caught seven passes for 45 yards to lead the Wildcats (2-2, 0-1 PFL).

Mills completed 16-of-24 passes and rushed for a touchdown, while receiver Brandon White had four catches for 54 yards for San Diego (4-1, 2-0 PFL). John McGough caught two passes for 46 yards and a score.

“You have to learn from it,” Davidson coach Tripp Merritt said of the loss. “You have to figure out a way to get better. They are a good team, and I was impressed with their receivers. They are big, strong, physical kids who can run.”

The Toreros dominated the first half, outgaining Davidson 264-90 in total offense and went into the break with a 28-0 cushion. San Diego also benefitted from two Wildcat fumbles in the frame, one that ended a Davidson drive inside the USD 20-yard line and one that gave the Toreros a 1st-and-goal on the Davidson 7.

Trailing 14-0, two great punts by Brenton Goodman and consecutive 3-and-outs for the Wildcat defense gave Davidson field position in San Diego territory on consecutive possessions midway through the second quarter.

The 'Cats had a drive going on the second possession after a 9-yard run by Chris Gorman and a 12-yard completion from Carkhuff to Chris Trinetti. Then on 1st-and-10 from the USD 16-yard line, Sherrod Davis caught a pass from Carkhuff made a nice move toward the middle of the field and had a 16-yard gain, but Bennie Harris punched the ball out from behind and it went into the end zone, where San Diego recovered for a touchback.

“That certainly hurt us because it was a momentum swing,” said Merritt. “If we are able to get some points there, it would have been something to build on.”

Mills completed four passes for 57 yards on the ensuing drive and then found Sam Scudellari for a 10-yard touchdown pass on a fade route. The Toreros added the extra point and led 21-0 with 4:19 to go.

On Davidson's first play from scrimmage after the kickoff, Mario Kurn sacked Carkhuff and forced a fumble, which the Toreros recovered at the Davidson 7-yard line. James found pay dirt on a 4-yard run two plays later, extending the margin to 28-0.

James put any thoughts of a second-half comeback on ice by returning the opening kickoff of the stanza 95 yards for a touchdown.

The San Diego defense got a 3-and-out on the opening series of the game and then went 60-yards in six plays, capped by a 21-yard TD pass from Mills to Nick Scudellari and a 7-0 lead 3:38 into the game. Mills hit John McGough for a 38-yard touchdown pass with 5:53 left in the first quarter for a 14-0 advantage.

Freshman for Bryant Bednarek, who made his first career start, had 14 tackles to lead the Wildcat defense. Patrick Moynahan had 10 hits.

Davidson is back in action next Saturday as the Wildcats host Marist in a PFL contest at 1 p.m. at Richardson Stadium.

Game Notes: James' kickoff return for touchdown was the first against Davidson since 1997… The Wildcats fall to 7-2 in the series against San Diego… It was the first time Davidson was shut out since a 17-0 loss at Dayton in 2009.

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