Davidson Travels to Dayton For Saturday PFL Contest

Davidson Wildcats (0-4, 0-1 PFL) at Dayton Flyers (2-2, 0-1 PFL)

Date: Oct. 5 - 1 p.m.

Site: Welcome Stadium (11,000 capacity) - Dayton, Ohio

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: Atlantic 10 Digital Network

Web sites: Davidson (DavidsonWildcats.com), Dayton (DaytonFlyers.com)

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Saturday's Game
• The 1 p.m., Saturday afternoon contest is the second Pioneer Football League contest for both Davidson (0-1) and Dayton (1-0).
• It will be the fifth 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 (946), attempts (1549), passing yards (9718) and completion percentage (61.1%). He is ranked third among FCS' active career passing yards leaders.
• Davidson's two wins last season came on the road and the Wildcats were 2-6 in conference games.
• A Davidson win would end a five-game overall losing streak dating back to last season.
• John Webel '74 is serving as an honorary team captain for Davidson.
• Dayton was 6-5 overall and 5-3 in PFL play last season.
• The 'Cats were picked ninth in the PFL preseason poll while Dayton was picked fifth.

Series Record
• Davidson trails the all-time series, which began in 1989, 10-1.
• The 'Cats posted their only victory over Dayton in 2006, 37-36 at home. Davidson has lost all four games at Dayton in the series.
• Last season, Davidson had chances to get back in the game late in the first half, but two fumbles proved costly as Dayton scored 31 points by halftime and totaled 289 yards rushing for the game in a 38-3 victory over the Wildcats in Richardson Stadium.
• Jonathan Carkhuff completed 22-of-39 attempts for 231 yards, with Garrett Diehl leading the 'Cats with six receptions for 76 yards. Six players combined to rush for 72 yards, led by freshman Colby Everett with 22 yards on four carries.
• Connor Kacsor led Dayton with 135 yards on 11 carries, including a pair of touchdowns going for 30 and 38 yards, respectively. Devon Morgan had a sack and forced a fumble that he returned 66 yards for a touchdown.

Last Time Out
• William Morris had five catches for 122 yards and Jonathan Carkhuff threw for 192 yards but the Davidson offense stalled in the second half as the Wildcats fell to Morehead State 45-14 in their first Pioneer Football League contest of the season.
• A career-long 63-yard touchdown was one of the highlights for Morris, who led the receivers with his second consecutive game of 100 yards or more. Jonathan Carkhuff was 17-of-33 with one touchdown on the day while being sacked four times. A.J. Pignone led the ground attack, rushing 12 times for a total of 43 yards. Freshman Dustin Atchley had eight carries for 34 yards in his first action of the season, while quarterback John Cook ran five times for 30 yards, including a touchdown and a two-point conversion, as Davidson debuted a read-option package. The Wildcats fumbled on offense three times, turning it over twice.
• Matt Casey had a team-high 12 tackles.
• Garrett Diehl gave Davidson good field position, as he had a career day returning seven kicks for 175 yards, with his longest return going for 37 yards.
• MSU quarterback Austin Gahafer was 25-of-36 for 238 yards and a touchdown. Jake Raymond was one of his primary targets, with five catches for 74 yards. Brandon Bornhauser had nine carries for 61 yards and had two of the Eagles' five rushing touchdowns.
• The Eagles scored a touchdown on their first possession after receiving the opening kickoff, marching down the field on just four plays.
• Diehl had a 37-yard kick return to set the Wildcats up with first and 10 at their own 45-yard line. The 'Cats took advantage as Cook capped the ensuing drive by rushing three yards for the touchdown, and then ran it in again for a two-point conversion to give Davidson an 8-6 lead with 8:32 to play in the first quarter.
• The Eagles countered by scoring the next three touchdowns. Macshara rushed in from two yards out for a 14-8 advantage with 5:22 remaining in the first quarter, and then a fumbled snap on a Davidson punt attempt gave MSU the ball on the Davidson five, resulting in another rushing TD. With 5:42 remaining in the half, MSU went ahead 28-8 on a 17-yard touchdown pass before Carkhuff connected with Morris to go into the locker room trailing 28-14.
• The Eagles held Davidson scoreless in the second half while adding two touchdowns and field goal for the final margin.

Diehl Garners Weekly Honor
• Junior Garrett Diehl was named an FCS Honorable Mention Kick Returner Performer of the Week by the College Football Performance Awards, it was announced Monday.
• Diehl set career highs with seven kickoff returns for 175 yards (25-yard average) in Davidson's defeat at Morehead State, and also had a career-long return of 37 yards. He was one of five FCS kick returners to be honored this week.
• Recipients are selected exclusively based upon objective scientific rankings of the extent to which individual players increase the overall effectiveness of their teams.
• Diehl is the third Wildcat to be honored this season, as wide receiver William Morris was honored last week and tight end Reese Williams was honored the week prior.

Jonathan Carkhuff Rewrites the Record Books
• Quarterback Jonathan Carkhuff has 35 career starts and Davidson owns a 9-26 record when he starts.
• Carkhuff is Davidson's career leader in passing yards (9,718), attempts (1549), completions (946) and completion percentage (61.1%). His completion and attempts totals are also PFL records.
• He needs just 282 yards to become the first Davidson quarterback to pass for 10,000 yards.
• He is ranked third among FCS' active career passing yards leaders behind Eastern Illinois' Jimmy Garoppolo (10,159) and Montana State's Denarius McGhee (9.768). 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 216 yards per game to total 1,512 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 2.7 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.

PFL Leaders
• QB Jonathan Carkhuff leads the league with 309.8 yards per game.
• WR William Morris ranks fourth with 21 receptions and and second with 113.5 yards per game.
• KR Garrett Diehl ranks third averaging 24.4 yards per kickoff return.
• LB Matt Casey ranks fifth 42 tackles.
• Amongst defensive linement, Chris Woods leads the PFL with 5.2 tackles per 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. The tandem, along with the punt coverage team, ranks third in the PFL with a net punt average of 36.0.

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

More Marbles on the Table
• Davidson will be competing for an automatic bid to the Division I Football Championship in 2013, as the Pioneer Football League earned an automatic berth as a result of the NCAA tournament's expansion to 24 teams.
• The PFL will join 10 conferences currently awarded an automatic bid. The PFL champion will be placed into the 24-team bracket by the NCAA Football Championship selection committee along with 13 at-large qualifiers. The committee will select its eight national seeds which will receive first-round byes. The remaining 16 teams will then be placed in the bracket with an emphasis on geographical proximity.

New Additions to the PFL
• Mercer University and Stetson University begin in the PFL with the 2013 season, bringing the league's membership to 12 teams.
• Davidson will host Mercer Nov. 2 and travel to Stetson Nov. 9.
• Mercer, located in Macon, Ga., had not competed in football since 1941.
• Stetson, located in DeLand, Fla., will return to the football gridiron for the first time in 57 years.
• Mercer plans on adding scholarships for the 2014 season and will depart the league.
• The PFL is a truly national conference with members on each coast and throughout the nation's heartland. The league still retains four of its charter members (1991) – Butler University, the University of Dayton, Drake University and Valparaiso University, plus the University of San Diego (joining in 1992) – which were joined in 2001 by Davidson College, Jacksonville University and Morehead State University. Campbell University joined the PFL in 2008, its first season of intercollegiate football. Marist College, which joined prior to the 2009 season, further extended the league's footprint into the northeast.

Preseason Honors
• TE Reese Williams was named to to Phil Steele's All-Pioneer first team and also elected to the preseason All-PFL team by the league's coaches. Both he and QB Jonathan Carkhuff were named to the 2013 College Football Performance Awards Watch List at their respective positions.

Everywhere a Wildcat
• Given that there are roughly 950 males at the school, that means one of every 10 male students at Davidson plays football.
• A total of 28 freshman are on the roster, making them the largest class on the team. The roster totals 82 active players (16 seniors, 16 juniors, 22 sophomores). An additional six are serving as assistants.
• The roster has a local flavor with 19 players hailing from North Carolina (but just three from South Carolina - brothers Dan and Nate Casey and James Brumbaugh). Georgia (12), Ohio (9), Texas (9) and Virginia (9) are the next most represented.
• DB Aidan Scrivens hails from England and joined the team as a walk-on during the spring of 2012.

Overtime Fortunes Improve
• With its 26-20 loss to Campbell Oct. 29, 2011, Davidson had lost its last four games that went into overtime, but an OT win at Valpo last season snapped the steak. The Wildcats are now 4-5 when playing beyond 60 minutes.
• Here's a list of Davidson overtime games:
11/10/12, at Valparaiso, W 28-27 (OT)
10/29/11, vs. Campbell, L 26-20 (3 OT)
10/11/08, at Valparaiso, L 35-29 (OT)
9/9/06, vs. Wingate, L 22-16 (OT)
11/6/04, at Austin Peay, L 20-17 (2 OT)
10/20/01, at Randolph-Macon, W 27-24 (OT)
10/7/00, at Morehead St., W 38-31 (2 OT)
9/19/98, at Sewanee, W 16-9 (OT)
11/15/97, vs. Bridgewater, L 13-10 (OT)

One-Point Wins
• With its 28-27 OT victory at Valpo last year, Davidson improved its all-time record in one-point games to 20-18.
• The Wildcats have won five of their last six games decided by one point.

Live Video and Audio
• Davidson will provide live video and audio streams on its website, DavidsonWildcats.com, for all six home games this season.
• All 11 games can be heard online at DavidsonWildcats.com.
• Fans can hear the Davidson Radio Network on their mobile device by downloading the TuneIn Radio App. Once the App is open, type WHIP NC or WHIP Mooresville in the top search bar, and a link to WHIP will pop up. Click on the link to listen to Davidson football and men's basketball.

Social Media
• Fans can connect directly with the Davidson Football staff on Facebook (facebook.com/DavidsonFootball) and Twitter (@DCFootball_Cats)
• Head coach Paul Nichols is on Twitter and can be found at @coach_nichols

Davidson Football Coach's Show
• Play-by-play man Mark Plemmons is hosting the Davidson Football Coach's Show every Monday. Plemmons will discuss with Coach Nichols the week that was and the week ahead to give fans an inside scoop on the Wildcats.

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