Saturday, October 12
Davidson, N.C.
1 p.m.
Davidson College Athletics
vs
Drake
Matt Casey ranks as one of the top tacklers in the nation this season.
Photo by: Tim Cowie - DavidsonPhotos.com
Davidson Hosts Defending PFL Champs Saturday
10/10/2013 11:33:00 AM | Football
Davidson Wildcats (0-5, 0-2 PFL) vs. Drake Bulldogs (2-3, 1-1 PFL)
Date: Oct. 12 - 1 p.m.
Site: Richardson Stadium (4,500 capacity) - Davidson, N.C.
Audio: Mark Plemmons and Lenny Batyicki call the action on the Davidson Radio Network (WHIP 1350 AM, Mi-Connection Ch. 4 -TV, online at DavidsonWildcats.com and mobile with the TuneIn Radio App Android | iTunes)
Video: DavidsonWildcats.com
Web sites: Davidson (DavidsonWildcats.com), Drake (GoDrakeBulldogs.com)
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Saturday's Game
• Davidson hosts 2011 and 2012 PFL Champion Drake in the first meeting between the two teams since 2010, Saturday at 1 p.m. in Richardson Stadium.
• The Wildcats return home after playing their last three games on the road. The 'Cats have played four of their first five games on the road, but the Drake game begins a stretch in which four of six are at home.
• It's "Take a Kid to the Game Day," as youths 12-and-under get in free. The Wildcats will also be signing autographs on the field after the game.
• It will be the sixth game as Davidson head coach for Paul Nichols '03, who was named to the position on Dec. 21, 2012. Nichols quarterbacked Davidson to its first and only undefeated season in 2000, as a sophomore (10-0).
• Senior QB Jonathan Carkhuff has surpassed many of Nichols' records, as he now ranks as Davidson's all-time leader in completions (960), attempts (1581), passing yards (9863) and completion percentage (60.7%). He is ranked second among FCS active career passing yards leaders and needs just 147 yards to become the first Wildcat to throw for 10,000 yards.
• Carkhuff will be recognized before the game for breaking the single-game and career passing yard records.
• A Davidson win would end a six-game losing streak dating back to last season.
• Steve Heckard '65 is serving as an honorary team captain for Davidson.
• Drake has claimed a share of the PFL title six times, including the past two seasons.
• The Bulldogs lost their PFL opener at Mercer, 31-17, but defeated Jacksonville last week, 27-17.
• The 'Cats were picked ninth in the PFL preseason poll while Drake was picked to tie for third with Jacksonville.
Series Record
• Drake holds a 5-1 series lead, with the one loss, a 24-21 setback, coming in Richardson Stadium in 2007. The Bulldogs have won the last three meetings.
• In the last meeting in 2010, then Davidson freshman quarterback Jonathan Carkhuff broke a 37-year-old school record by completing 41 passes, but the Wildcats gave up 28 4th-quarter points and fell 42-10 at Drake.
• Carkhuff threw to eight different receivers, led by Lanny Funsten, who caught 10 passes for 102 yards. Justin Williams finished with eight catches for 37 yards, Jonathan Adams posted six catches for 43 markers and Josh Yost had six receptions for 37 yards.
• The Bulldogs took two interceptions back for touchdowns in the contest, which proved too much for the Wildcats to overcome, despite outgaining Drake 337-290 and holding a 16-minute edge in time of possession.
• With Davidson trailing 14-7, Ben Behrendt knocked in a 21-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to get within four points. Carkhuff combined with Yost to convert two big third downs during the scoring drive. The first was a 4-yard gain on 3rd-and-3, and the second was a 13-yard pickup on 3rd-and-8.
• The Bulldogs answered right back with three scores in just over six minutes. Piatkowski hit Pat Cashmore with a 35-yard completion on 3rd-and-long in the middle of the field, then a few a plays later, he found Drew Blackmon for a 27-yard touchdown and a 21-10 Drake lead with 10:25 to play.
• Mike Lahart scored just 1:31 later, picking off a Carkhuff pass and going 40 yards for a touchdown and a 28-10 Drake cushion. Drake made it three scores in six minutes as Ben Sabal caught a 13-yard TD pass from Piatkowski.
Scouting Drake
• Drake is 2-3 with wins over Indianapolis and PFL foe Jacksonville, and defeats to Grand View, No. 9 Northern Iowa and PFL newcomer Mercer.
• Drake's offense ranks 11th in the PFL with 301.2 yards per game, while the defense ranks fourth allowing 370.8 yards per game. Davidson is 10th (321.6) and 10th (475.4), respectively.
• Gary Scott leads Drake's rushers with 61.8 yards per game and ranks 10th in the PFL. Junior QB Andy Rice ranks sixth in the PFL with 223.8 yards per game, and has eight touchdowns with five interceptions. WR Nick Rosa is fifth in the conference with 4.6 receptions per game and sixth with 77.6 receiving yards per game.
• LB John Hugunin is second in the PFL with 56 tackles, while LB Brandon Coleman is fifth with four sacks. Dustin Davis.
Last Time Out
• Despite three turnovers, a dominating running game and strong defense led Dayton to a 40-8 victory over Davidson in a weather-shortened game at Dayton. The game was called at 3:42 p.m. with 7:46 remaining due to lightning in the area.
• Running back Connor Kacsor and quarterback Will Bardo proved hard to stop on the ground for Dayton, as Kacsor rushed 26 times for 244 yards and two touchdowns, while Bardo added 69 yards on eight attempts and a touchdown. Ultimately, four Dayton rushers combined for 335 yards.
• Davidson quarterback Jonathan Carkhuff was held to a season-low 145 yards, completing 14 of 32 attempts with a rushing touchdown and his first interception since the season opener. William Morris was once again his top target, catching seven passes for 93 yards. Matt Casey led Davidson in tackles, matching his career high of 13. Freshman Nate Casey, playing in just his second game, made nine tackles and broke up one pass.
• The Flyers raced out to a 14-0 lead early. After receiving the kickoff, Bardo capped the opening drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Greg Macis. A John Cook punt on Davidson's next possession went off a blocker, giving the Flyers a short field at the Davidson 31, which they took advantage of with a Bardo 13-yard rushing touchdown.
• A botched option pitch by Dayton was recovered by Ricky Tkac at Davidson's 34 early in the second quarter, but the Wildcats were unable to take advantage. Freshman Ryan Leak made his first career interception to give Davidson the ball on the Dayton 23, but after reaching the Dayton one-yardline, the Flyers moved the 'Cats back to the two and broke up a fourth down pass.
• Dayton improved on its 17-0 lead early in the second half as Kacsor bounced off a few tacklers on a 32-yard touchdown run. Dayton added a 31-yard field goal on its next drive to go ahead 27-0.
• A 40-yard pass from Carkhuff to Morris keyed Davidson's scoring drive in the third quarter. Carkhuff kept the ball and followed center Caleb Krause into the end zone on 4th-and-1 from two yards out.
• Bryant Bednarek recovered a muffed punt late in the third quarter on Dayton's 42 after a steady rain began to fall, but Davidson was unable to advance after a personal foul negated a successful 4th-and-5 conversion.
Leftovers from Dayton
• Jeff McDaniels had a career long 59-yard punt.
• Nine of the 56 players on Davidson's travel roster were Ohio natives.
• QB J.P. Douglas lined up behind center for the first time in his Davidson career midway through the fourth quarter.
Jonathan Carkhuff Rewrites the Record Books
• Quarterback Jonathan Carkhuff has 36 career starts and Davidson owns a 9-27 record when he starts.
• Carkhuff is Davidson's career leader in passing yards (9863), attempts (1581), completions (960) and completion percentage (60.7%). His completion and attempts totals are also PFL records.
• He needs just 147 yards to become the first Davidson quarterback to pass for 10,000 yards.
• He is ranked second among FCS' active career passing yards leaders behind Eastern Illinois' Jimmy Garoppolo (10,159) and sixth in all NCAA football. The PFL career passing yard record is 11,230 yards set by Jacksonville's Josh McGregor (2008-11). To break that record before the end of the regular season, Carkhuff will need to average 228 yards per game to total 1,367 more yards.
• To equal the career record of 72 TD passes set by Ryan Alexander '09 by the end of the regualr season, Carkhuff will need to average 3.2 TD passes per game for the rest of the season. He presently has 53 to rank second all-time.
• Carkhuff holds the single-game records for most passing yards (459), most completions (41), completion percentage (78.7%) and longest touchdown pass (99).
• He also holds the season records for most completions (348), passing attempts (556 - also a PFL record), passing yards (3326) and completion percentage (62.6%).
• Of the 17 350+ passing yard games in Davidson histroy, Carkhuff has eight.
• He is working in his third offensive system in four years.
Taking Care of the Football
• After throwing two interceptions in the season opener at Georgetown, Jonathan Carkhuff went three consecutive games (vs. L-R, at JCSU, at Morehead State) without throwing an interception for the first time since his freshman season.
• His career long streak of 164 pass attempts without an interception was snapped in his final pass attempt at Dayton when Chris Beaschler returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown.
• Davidson has had a favorable turnover margin in two games and is even for the season.
Youth Movement
• Of the 56 slots on the 2-deep, 28 are occupied by underclassmen, including 11 in first-team roles.
• The defensive side of the chart is the youngest with 18 of 28 slots occupied by underclassmen.
PFL and NCAA FCS Leaders
• QB Jonathan Carkhuff is second in the PFL and 15th in the country with 276.8 yards per game. He also ranks fourth in the PFL and 23rd in the country with 21 completions per game.
• WR William Morris leads the league and ranks seventh in FCS with 109.4 receiving yards per game. He also ranks third in the league and 39th in the country with 5.6 receptions per game.
• LB Matt Casey ranks third in the PFL and ninth in FCS with 11.0 tackles per game.
• KR Garrett Diehl ranks third in the PFL averaging 24.4 yards per kickoff return.
• Amongst defensive linemen, Chris Woods is second in the PFL with 5.4 tackles per game, while DB Myles Atkins ranks third at his position with 6.8 tackles a game.
Converts
• Davidson features several players in drastically different roles on the field.
• A.J. Pignone and Robert Klein have both moved from the defensive side of the ball to running back. Pignone was a starting outside linebacker and had his first 100-yard rushing game at Johnson C. Smith earlier this season. Klein had previously been a defensive back.
• Chris Gorman was Davidson's starting running back until an injury ended his season in just the fourth game last season. Unable to continue his football career at running back, he has taken over the Wildcats' kicking duties. Tyler Hickey, a wide receiver, also assists with kicking duties.
• Freshman QB John Cook had no idea he would be called upon to punt at Davidson, but he has seen the majority of long snaps on fourth down and posted a career long punt of 57 yards at Johnson C. Smith. Senior wide receiver Jeff McDaniels also assists with the punting duties, and posted a career long punt of 59 yards at Dayton.
Weekly Honors
• Kick returner Garrett Diehl (at Morehead State), wide receiver William Morris (at Johnson C. Smith) and tight end Reese Williams (vs. Lenoir-Rhyne) have all been honored with College Football Performance Awards this season, earning weekly honorable mention player of the week recognition at their respective positions.
• Recipients are selected exclusively based upon objective scientific rankings of the extent to which individual players increase the overall effectiveness of their teams.
Just One Agenda
• From team gear to posters to Twitter, the motto "Just One Agenda" (JOA) can be found throughout the Davidson football program. The agenda is, of course, to win, but to win not only on the field, but in the classroom, community and socially, as well.
Return to the Run
• Nichols and offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur have promised a much more balacned attack. Davidson employed an "air raid" scheme the past two seasons.
• In the first game of the season at Georgetown, Davidson ran 31 run plays to 42 pass plays.
• A.J. Pignone ran for over 100 yards vs. Johnson C. Smith. It was the first time Davidson had an individual 100-yard rusher in nine games.
Honor Committee
• Another change in leadership for this year's squad is amongst the players themselves. Instead of team captains that were typically juniors and seniors, Nichols has instituted an "honor committee" comprised of two representatives from each class (three for the freshmen as there was a tie in voting).
• Reese Williams and Dan Casey represent the senior class, AJ Pignone and Trey Huelskamp represent the juniors, Chris Woods and David Rogers represent the sophomores, and Dustin Atchley, Nate Casey and Ryan Leak represent the freshmen.
• The committee is tasked with handling discipline issues, representing the team in the community and serving as liaisons to the coaching staff to deal with issues ranging from team meals to equipment.
• Team captains will be selected on a per game basis based on leadership and performance, and a captain of the offense, defense and special teams will be voted on at the end of the season based on leadership demonstrated.
2013 Game Captains
• Week 1: Jonathan Carkhuff, Ben Prater, Chris Gorman, Tom Abernethy; Mike Sheridan '79
• Week 2: Reese Williams, Colin Merrill, James Gessner and Caleb Krause; John Giles '68
• Week 3: Matt Casey, Martell Campbell, John Cook, William Morris; Mills Ariail '94
• Week 4: Nate Larsen, Bryant Bednarek, A.J. Pignone, Trey Huelskamp; Steve Harvey
• Week 5: Jeff McDaniels, Chris Woods, Ethan Corcoran and Michael Corbett; John Webel '74
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