Wildcats Fall to Eagles 45-14 in PFL Opener

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MOREHEAD, Ky. – 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 Wildcat football team fell to the Morehead State Eagles 45-14 in their first Pioneer Football League contest of the season Saturday afternoon at Jayne Stadium.

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. Jeff McDaniels had three catches for 45 yards, including 22-yard reception, while Garrett Diehl caught four passes for 12 yards. Carkhuff was 17-of-33 with one touchdown on the day while being sacked four times.

AJ 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 John Cook ran five times for 30 yards, including a touchdown and a two-point conversion. The Wildcats fumbled on offense three times, turning it over twice.

Matt Casey had both a team and career-high 12 tackles and a quarterback hurry to lead the defensive effort. Bryant Bednarek made 11 stops, while Ryan Leak was credited with seven tackles, including one tackle for loss. Rick Tkac had six tackles and a forced fumble, while Myles Atkins and Will Flood each recorded six stops as well.

McDaniels and Cook split the punting duties, combining for 235 yards on six total punts, three of which were pinned inside the 20. Each had a long of 47, while Cook finished the day averaging 42.0 yards per punt. Diehl returned seven kicks for 175 yards, with his longest return going for 37 yards. Morris was the lone punt returner of the day, returning one for no gain. Chris Gorman finished the game with three kickoffs for 169 yards, averaging 56.3 yards per kick to round out the special teams action.

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 while Mason Rutherford also had five receptions for 35 yards. Justin Cornwall had three catches for 26 yards and caught the Eagles' lone passing touchdown of the day.

Brandon Bornhauser had nine carries for 61 yards and had two of the Eagles' five rushing touchdowns. Rees Macshara had 13 carries for 47 yards, also finding his way to the end zone for a score. Logan Johnson had a pair of carries for 33 yards and a touchdown while Gahafer rushed six times for 38 yards and a touchdown.

Morehead State punter Pat DiSalvio had five punts for 196 yards, averaging 39.2 yards per punt. He also split kickoff duties, with four kickoffs for 218 yards. Luke Boyd added a 30-yard field goal and was 6-for-6 on PATs.

Steven Lester had a team-high 10 tackles, including one tackle for loss, for the Eagles thought it was Ronald Cooper who had three of Morehead State's four sacks for a loss of nine yards. Cooper finished with eight total stops, while Mason Jones had six and Corey McSweeney finished with four tackles including a sack for a loss of four yards. Trey Watkins and Luke Keller were each credited with a fumble recovery.

The Wildcats kicked off to start the game and a 35-yard kick return by MSU's Cornwall nearly put the Eagles in Wildcat territory to start. Bornhauser rushed for 30 yards on the second play of the game, helping to set up a 13-yard touchdown run by Gahafer. After the extra point, the Eagles took a 7-0 lead with 13:35 to play in the first quarter.

Diehl had a 37-yard kick return to set the Wildcats up with first and 10 at their own 45-yard line. Trey Huelskamp had a 6-yard reception for a first down, followed by Carkhuff's 11-yard pass to Morris for another first down. The 'Cats picked up two more first downs on the drive, along with an offsides penalty on Morehead State to set up second and goal at the MSU 1-yard line. Cook rushed three yards for the touchdown and ran it in again for the two-point conversion to give Davidson the 8-6 lead with 8:32 to play in the first quarter.

The Eagles countered with another score, starting their drive at their own 31 after a 22-yard kick return. Macshara rushed for 14 yards and Gahafer threw a 14-yard pass to Kitaro Lewis to set up first and 10 at the Davidson 14 for the Eagles. A few plays later Macshara would rush the two yards in for the touchdown. Boyd's kick was good to give the Eagles the 14-8 advantage with 5:22 to play in the first half.

Davidson couldn't get anything going on their next possession with Carkhuff taking a sack for a loss of four. After an incompletion brought up third and 14, the Wildcat bobbled the snap punt causing a fumble. The ball was recovered at the Davidson 5-yard line, giving the Eagles an extremely short field. A pair of Bornhauser rushes led to a touchdown for Morehead State. The Eagles took a 21-8 lead after the extra point with 29 seconds to play in the first quarter.

The 'Cats couldn't pick up the first down on the ensuing possession, punting it back to the Eagles. Morehead State moved the chains just once and was also forced to punt to start the third quarter. The Wildcats were also unsuccessful, and the Eagles took over on downs.

Bornhauser and Rob Harden each picked up a first down on the Eagles' next drive, setting up first and 10 at the Davidson 28. Soon after, Gahafer found Cornwall for the 17-yard touchdown. Boyd's kick was good to keep Morehead in front 28-8 with 5:42 to play in the half.

Diehl returned the ensuing kickoff 16 yards to his own 33-yard line. Pignone rushed for four yards before Carkhuff hit a wide-open Morris for a 63-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion was no good as the 'Cats cut the deficit to 14 with the Eagles still leading 28-14 as they headed into the locker room for halftime.

Most of the third quarter was a midfield battle as neither team made it to the red zone for most of the period. With just over a minute to go, a three-and-out by Morehead State gave Davidson the ball at their own 25. A false start pushed it back to the 20 and the Wildcats fumbled the ball on the ensuing play. Morehead's Luke Keller recovered it at the Davidson 16, stetting up a short field for the Eagles. An 11-yard catch by Jake Raymond set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Bornhauser as the Eagles benefited from the turnover with a 21-point advantage at 35-14 to end the quarter.

The 'Cats couldn't pick up the first down on their first possession of the fourth, punting it away to the Morehead State 17. Rutherford had a 13-yard catch for the first down at the Eagles' 45-yard line before Jake Raymond moved the chains once again with a 12-yard catch at the Davidson 32. A pair of Borhauser carries and an incomplete pass left the Eagles shy of the first down, so they were forced to settle for a 30-yard field goal from Boyd to push the lead to 38-14.

Carkhuff completed a 17-yard pass to Morris as the Wildcats entered Eagle territory on the ensuing drive. However, Carkhuff was soon sacked for a loss of four before Diehl fumbled the ball after a catch. The Eagles recovered their second fumble of the day at the Davidson 47-yard line, though nothing would come of the turnover as the Davidson defense held strong to force a three-and-out.

Davidson was forced to punt from deep in their own end on their next possession, downing it at their own 45 to give the Eagles a short field. Johnson rushed for 14 yards for the first down on the Eagles' first play, while Brandon Reeves had two carries for a total of 17 yards to put the Eagles in the red zone. A 19-yard Johnson run was good for the touchdown, as Morehead State took the 45-14 lead with 4:40 to play in the game.

Atchley ran for a 20-yard carry on the 'Cats final shot, picking up the first down at the MSU 41. A pair of incompletions by Cook, who replaced Carkhuff at quarterback, and a false start penalty set up 4th-and-11 at the MSU 42, forcing Davidson to punt it away as they took the 45-14 loss.

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