Career Passing Record In Reach for Carkhuff at JCSU Sat.

Davidson Wildcats (0-2, 0-0 PFL) at Johnson C. Smith (2-0, 1-0 CIAA)

Date: Sept. 21 - 2 p.m.

Site: Irwin Belk Complex (4,500 capacity) - Charlotte, N.C.

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)

Video: None

Web sites: Davidson (DavidsonWildcats.com), Johnson C. Smith (GoldenBullSports.com)

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Saturday's Game
• The 2 p.m., Saturday afternoon contest is Davidson's first during the day. Davidson is looking for its first win of the season after falling at Georgetown in the season opener, 42-6, and and in its home opener to Lenoir-Rhyne, 34-18.
• It will be the third game as 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 (904), attempts (1478) and completion percentage (61.2%). He needs 309 more passing yards to surpass Ryan Alexander (9376) for the school record and two more touchdown passes to move past Nichols into second all-time in that category.
• Senior TE Reese Williams was named to the Preseason All-PFL?first team. He currently leads the team and league with 8.0 receptions per game, and is fourth in the league and tops on the team with 84.0 yards per game. He earned first-team All-PFL honors in 2012 after hauling in a career-best 51 receptions for 522 yards to rank second on the team in both categories and 11th and 13th, respectively, in the PFL.
• Davidson's two wins last season came on the road and the Wildcats were 0-3 in non-conference games.
• A Davidson win would end a three-game overall losing streak dating back to last season and a five-game non-conference losing streak, also dating back to last season. It would extend a winning streak over JCSU to three games.
• Johnson C. Smith has gotten off to a 2-0 start with wins over Lvingstone College and Bowie State University.
• The Golden Bulls return 20 letterwinners from last year's team that finished with a 6-4 overall record and a second place finish in the CIAA Southern Division (5-2). They were 4-1 at home last season and won their home opener this season against Bowie State.
• The 'Cats were picked ninth in the PFL preseason poll while JCSU was picked seventh in the CIAA.
• Mills Ariail '94 is serving as an honorary captain for Davidson.

Series Record
• This is just the fourth all-time meting between to the two schools. Davidson leads the series 2-1. JCSU won the first meeting between the teams in 1989, but Davidson prevailed at home in the last two meetings in 1990 and 2011.
• In 2011, Davidson quarterback Jonathan Carkhuff passed for 427 yards and five touchdowns, and Lanny Funsten caught seven passes for a career-high 195 yards and two scores to lead the Wildcats to a 35-7 victory over Johnson C. Smith at Richardson Stadium.
• The duo hooked up for a school-record 99-yard touchdown pass, catch and run that put the game away for the 'Cats early in the fourth quarter.
• Leading 28-7, the Wildcat defense forced the Golden Bulls to turn the ball over on downs at the Davidson 1-yard line when Malcolm Moses-Hampton stopped JCSU quarterback Keahn Wallace with a big collision as he tried to leap into the end zone.
• On the next play, JCSU brought pressure, and Carkhuff rolled to his right and found Funsten with a few steps on his defender, who was playing press coverage. Funsten caught the ball at the 40 and took it the rest of the way for a 35-7 lead with 13:05 left in the game.
• Clem Butler had 16 carries for 120 yards and caught two passes for 49 yards for Davidson, and Tim Hines had four receptions for 95 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
• Davidson scored 35 unanswered points after the Golden Bulls took a 7-0 lead on a pass from Wallace to Daniel Taylor with 1:43 left in the first quarter.

Last Time Out
• Davidson quarterback Jonathan Carkhuff threw for 374 yards and three touchdowns, but Lenoir-Rhyne gained 419 yards on the ground in a 34-18 victory over the Wildcats on Stephen B. Smith Field at Richardson Stadium.
• Davidson trailed by five at halftime, but Lenoir-Rhyne added 17 more points in the second half and held the Wildcats to just one more touchdown.
• Carkhuff completed 27-of-46 attempts without an interception for Davidson, but was sacked six times. Over half of his completions went to Reese Williams and William Morris, who caught eight and seven passes, respectively, and had a touchdown each. All of Williams' receptions, which went for 106 yards, came in the first half. Morris enjoyed a career day with 119 yards receiving.
• In addition to scoring a pair of rushing touchdowns, Lenoir-Rhyne (1-1) also scored touchdowns on a kickoff return and on one of two completed passes.
• Defensively, Wildcats linebackers Matt Casey, Ben Prater and Dan Casey set career highs for tackles with 13, 11, and nine, respectively. Defensive back Myles Atkins also set a career high with 10 stops.
• The game got off to a fast start as Davidson received the kickoff and then drove 75 yards on seven plays in two minutes, 45 seconds for a touchdown. Carkhuff was a perfect 4-for-4 passing, connecting with Williams for a 20-yard touchdown.
• The Bears answered by blocking the extra point before Jarrod Spears returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a 7-6 Lenoir-Rhyne lead. Lenoir-Rhyne took a 17-6 lead early in the second quarter, as James Phillips was left all alone in the middle of the field for a 47-yard reception touchdown from quarterback Miles Freeman.
• Davidson closed the gap late in the half as Morris scored his first-career touchdown on a quick third-down pass from the 8-yardline. The 'Cats failed to convert a two-point conversion though, and went to the locker room down 17-12.
• Lenoir-Rhyne scored the first two touchdowns of the second half for a lead as large as 31-12 early in the fourth quarter.
• Davidson responded by covering 79 yards on just four plays. A 46-yard completion to Morris set up a 26-yard touchdown pass to Martel Campbell, who was left uncovered in the back of the end zone. The 'Cats' two-point conversion attempt failed, but kicker Chris Gorman recovered his own onside-kick attempt to give Davidson another chance to close the gap. However, the Bears held Davidson to a three-and-out and added a 47-yard field goal for the final margin.

Leftovers from Lenoir-Rhyne
• Carkhuff became the first Wildcat to surpass 900 career completions.
• Carkhuff surpassed 350 yards passing for the seventh time in his career. His game total of 374 yards passing ranks as the ninth-most in a single Davidson game.
• Martel Campbell's touchdown reception was the first of his career.
• Attendance was 5,317.

Williams Garners Weekly Honor
• Davidson senior Reese Williams was named an FCS Honorable Mention Tight End Performer of the Week by the College Football Performance Awards, it was announced Sunday. Williams led the Wildcats in total receptions in a loss to Lenoir-Rhyne Saturday with eight for 106 yards and one touchdown.
• Recipients are selected exclusively based upon objective scientific rankings of the extent to which individual players increase the overall effectiveness of their teams. • Williams was one of seven FCS tight ends to be recognized this week.
• Last season, Williams was named the "National Tight End of the Week" once and received honorable mention honors twice.

Jonathan Carkhuff - Milestone Watch
• Quarterback Jonathan Carkhuff has 33 career starts and Davidson owns a 9-24 record when he starts.
• He is climbing the Davidson career records lists in multiple categories.
• He is working in his third offensive system in four years.
• Most Yards in a Career (309 yds. to next)
1.   9376   Ryan Alexander (775-1354)   2004-08
2.   9067   Jonathan Carkhuff (877-1432)   2010-Pres.
3.   5822   Paul Nichols (465-837)   1999-02
• Most Attempts in a Career
1.   1478   Jonathan Carkhuff (877-1432)   2010-Pres.
2.   1354   Ryan Alexander (775-1354)   2004-08
3.   837   Paul Nichols (465-837)   1999-02
• Most Completions in a Career
1.   904   Jonathan Carkhuff (877-1432)   2010-Pres.
2.   775   Ryan Alexander (775-1354)   2004-08
• Most Passing Touchdowns (1 TDs to next)
1.   72   Ryan Alexander   2004-08
2.   51   Paul Nichols   1999-02
3.   50   Jonathan Carkhuff   2010-Pres.
4.   41   Gordon Slade   1967-69
• Completion Percentage in a Career (min. 400 att.)
1.   61.2   Jonathan Carkhuff (877-1432)   2010-Pres.
2.   60.2   Gordon Slade (441-732)   1967-69

Head Coach Paul Nichols
• Paul Nichols '03, who as a student-athlete in 2000 quarterbacked Davidson to its first-and-only undefeated season, returned to his alma mater to serve as the football program's 27th head coach, Director of Athletics Jim Murphy announced Dec. 21, 2012.
• He is the second youngest head coach in all of NCAA Division I football, born January 25, 1981.
• Nichols most recently served as the director of player personnel at Illinois last season. Prior to his time at Illinois, Nichols spent three seasons on Tim Beckman's staff at Toledo as co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach.
• In 2011, Nichols helped guide the Rockets to a 9-4 record and a win over Air Force in the Military Bowl. Toledo was 7-1 in the MAC and shared the West Division title.
• Before Toledo, Nichols served as an assistant at Marshall University for three seasons after completing two seasons as a graduate assistant at Ohio State from 2004-05, where he assisted with the defensive backs and defensive line.
• A native of Dunwoody, Ga., Nichols graduated from Davidson College in 2003 with bachelor's degrees in political science and history.
• Nichols was a first-team All-Pioneer League and a first-team Pioneer League All-Academic selection as a senior in Davidson's first year in the PFL, and was named honorable mention All-America by Don Hansen's Football Gazette.
• Nichols departed as the school record holder for career passing yards (5,822), completions (465) and touchdown passes (51), and compiled a 22-6 record as a starting quarterback. After seeing limited action as a freshman, Nichols won the starting job prior to his sophomore year and guided the 'Cats to a 10-0 season. His junior year was cut short by a knee injury, but Nichols bounced back as a senior and matched the school record for touchdown passes in a single season with 25.
• Nichols now ranks third in passing yards and completions after being surpassed by Ryan Alexander '08 and senior Jonathan Carkhuff. He is also now second to Alexander in career passing touchdowns, with Carkhuff needing just six more touchdown passes to move past Nichols in that category.
• Nichols is the first Davidson alumnus to guide the football program on a full-time basis since Dave Fagg '58, who finished his second coaching stint with the Wildcats following the 1992 season. He joins Matt Spear '93 (men's soccer) as the only other Davidson alum currently serving as a head coach at Davidson.
• Nichols and his wife, the former Lauran Lightmas, a 2004 graduate of Davidson, have a son, Drew (2).

Difficult Decade
• In the 10 seasons since Nichols graduated, the Wildcats have tallied more wins than losses just twice, and have been unable to match the 7-3 mark of the 2002 team Nichols quarterbacked as a senior.

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
• The new staff has been tight-lipped on the schemes they will employ, but 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.

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.

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 (Off.), Ben Prater (Def.), Chris Gorman (ST), Tom Abernethy (Hon.); Mike Sheridan '79
• Week 2: Reese Williams (Off.), Colin Merrill (Def.), James Gessner (ST) and Caleb Krause (Hon.); John Giles '68

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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