Wildcats Return to the Road to Face JU Saturday

Davidson Wildcats (0-7, 0-4 PFL) at Jacksonville Dolphins (3-4, 2-2PFL)

Date: Oct. 26 - 1 p.m.

Site: D.B. Milne Field (5,000 capacity) - Jacksonville, Fla.

Audio: Mark Plemmons calls 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)
TV: CW 17 Jacksonville

Web sites: Davidson (DavidsonWildcats.com), Jacksonville (JUDolphins.com)

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Saturday's Game
• After two consecutive home games, Davidson will alternate between road and home games for its final four games, returning to the road to face Jacksonville Saturday at 1 p.m.
• Senior QB Jonathan Carkhuff ranks as Davidson's career leader in passing yards (10,221), attempts (1,639), completions (994) and completion percentage (60.6%). His completion and attempts totals are also PFL records.
• He is six completions shy of becoming the first Davidson or Pioneer Football League quarterback to complete 1,000 passes in a career.
• He leads all active FCS players in career pass attempts and completions and ranks second and third, respectively, in both in all of NCAA football. He also is ranked second among FCS' active career passing yards leaders and sixth in the NCAA.
• A Davidson win would end a eight-game losing streak dating back to last season.
• Mike Kelley '73 is serving as Davidson's honorary captain.
• It will be homecoming for Jacksonville, which has PFL wins over Morehead State (69-19) and Campbell (52-45), but has lost to Butler (27-45) and at Drake (17-27)
• The 'Cats were picked ninth in the PFL preseason poll while Jacksonville was picked to tie for third.

Series Record
• Jacksonville leads the all-time series, which dates back to 1998, 9-6 after winning the last four contests.
• The 'Cats and Dolphins have played each season since the inception of Jacksonville's program in 1998.
• Nine of the 14 games between the teams have been decided by 10 points or less, including four of the last six contests.
• Five games in the series have been decided by a touchdown or less.
• Last season's game was won by Jacksonville 34-24 in Richardson Stadium. Lanny Funsten caught a Pioneer Football League record 17 passes, totaling 246 yards, and also broke Davidson's all-time reception and receiving yardage records.
• Funsten's 17 receptions in the game tied a school record, first set in 1969 by Mikolayunas, and his 246 yards was just two yards shy of the school-mark set by Rick Lyon in 1968. The previous PFL record of 14 for receptions was most recently reached by Zach Watkins of Butler in 2011, and the receiving yards in a game is 275 set by Valparaiso's Rob Giancola in 2003.
• Davidson quarterback Jonathan Carkhuff set multiple season highs, completing 34-of-53 pass attempts for 404 yards and three touchdowns. Linebacker Patrick Moynahan led all defenders with 13 tackles.
• Jacksonville was led by quarterback Kade Bell, who completed 23-of-36 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns and wide receiver D'Andre Randle, who caught six passes for 117 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Eric Baker gained 115 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries.
• Davidson was the first to score in the game as Funsten's 12-yard touchdown reception to cap a 15-play, 81-yard drive with 3:35 remaining in the first quarter gave Davidson a 7-0 lead, but Jacksonville quickly responded and outscored Davidson 24-3 for a 24-10 lead at halftime. Carkhuff threw two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, but Jacksonville was able to maintain a double-digit lead throughout the game.

Scouting Jacksonville
• The Dolphins boast the top offense in the Pioneer Football League averaging 496.6 yards per game, which also ranks seventh in the country. However, the defense yields 448.1 yards per game, which ranks eighth in the PFL. Davidson ranks 11th and 10th, respectively.
• JU scored 69 points in back-to-back games with Morehead State and Warner University.
• Quarterback Kade Bell threw four touchdowns last week in a win over Campbell and ranks fifth in the PFL with 12 touchdown passes in four games. Andrew Robustelli has been one of the top receivers in the PFL, ranking third (11th nationally) with 98.3 yards per game. D'Andre Randle ranks ninth in the league with 4.6 receptions per game.

Last Time Out
• Davidson pulled back within two touchdowns early in the fourth quarter, but Marist scored twice more to take a 42-14 victory.
• Davidson led 8-3 late in the first quarter, but Marist (4-3, 3-1 PFL) scored the next four touchdowns to build a 28-8 lead by the start of the fourth quarter. J.P. Douglas then entered the game at quarterback for the Wildcats and engineered a four-play, 72-yard touchdown drive capped by a 5-yard touchdown pass to Jeff McDaniels, but a 44-yard touchdown pass from Chuckie Looney to Bartley Leneghan with 4:40 remaining and a 78-yard interception return for a touchdown in the final minute by Cameron Gibson secured the 42-14 victory for the Red Foxes.
• Looney completed just 11 of 22 passing attempts for Marist, but totaled 283 passing yards by completing four passes for more than 44 yards with a long of 65. Leneghan's 44-yard touchdown reception and the 65-yarder were part of a four-catch, 163-yard performance, while Matt Trailli also caught four passes, totaling 44 yards with one touchdown. The Red Foxes also made big plays on the ground as they totaled 207 yards. Atiq Lucas gained 131 yards on 20 carries with a touchdown and a long rush of 34 yards, and Wale Onakoya scored a pair of touchdowns, including 41-yarder, in totaling 78 yards on just six carries.
• McDaniels enjoyed another career day in leading Davidson offensively, setting career highs with eight catches for 87 yards and also scoring the first two touchdowns of his career. Sophomore William Morris also set a career high with 11 receptions and totaled 87 yards. A trio of quarterbacks were utilized as Jonathan Carkhuff completed 14 of 23 passing attempts for 130 yards and a touchdown with one interception, Douglas went 8-for-13 with his first Davidson passing touchdown and two interceptions, while John Cook went 3-for-5 for 19 yards in an option package.
• On the ground for Davidson, David Rogers played in his first game of the season after missing the first six due to injury and totaled 60 yards on 10 carries. Defensively, linebackers Dan Casey and Matt Casey and defensive back Colin Merrill had eight tackles each and all came up with big plays. Dan Casey made back-to-back sacks in the first half, Matt Casey made his first career interception and Colin Merrill did the same and also blocked an extra point.

Jonathan Carkhuff Rewrites the Record Books
• Carkhuff is Davidson's career leader in passing yards (10,221), attempts (1,639), completions (994) and completion percentage (60.6%). His completion and attempts totals are also PFL records.
• He became the first Davidson quarterback to pass for 10,000 yards in a career vs. Drake on Oct. 12, 2013.
• He is six completions shy of becoming the first Davidson or Pioneer Football League quarterback to complete 1,000 passes in a career.
• He leads all active FCS players in career pass attempts and completions and ranks second and third, respectively, in both in all of NCAA football. He also is ranked second among FCS' active career passing yards leaders and sixth in the NCAA. 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 252.25 yards per game to total 1,009 more yards.
• 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 (3,326) 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 only had an unfavorable turnover margin in three games, and is -2 for the year.

Youth Movement
• Of the 56 slots on the 2-deep, 30 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 third in the PFL and 19th in the country with 1,742 yards this season. He also ranks sixth in the PFL and 29th in the country with 19.86 completions per game.
• WR William Morris ranks second in the league and ninth in FCS with 102.4 receiving yards per game. He also ranks second in the league and 19th in the country with 6.4 receptions per game.
• LB Matt Casey ranks third in the PFL and 21st in FCS with 10.1 tackles per game.
• Amongst defensive linemen, Chris Woods is second in the PFL with 4.9 tackles per game, while DB Myles Atkins ranks fifth at his position with 6.9 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.

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
• Week 6: Jeff McDaniels, Robert Klein, Bates Taylor and Ryan Leak; Steve Heckard '65

• Week 7: Jeff McDaniels, Ethan Corcoran, Myles Atkins and William Morris; Mike Kelly '70

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