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Davidson Wildcats (1-10, 0-7 PFL) at Valparaiso Crusaders (3-8, 1-6 PFL)

Date: Nov. 22 - 1:00 p.m.

Site: Brown Field (5,000 capacity) - Vaparaiso, Ind.

Audio: Mark Plemmons and Mark Brumbaugh call the action on the Davidson Radio Network (online at DavidsonWildcats.com)

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4 Downs
1st - The 1 p.m. CST/2 p.m. EST, Saturday afternoon game at Valparaiso is the season finale for both teams and the record 12th of the year for Davidson.

2nd - WR William Morris and LB Matt Casey are in range of season and career milestones and records.

3rd - Although Davidson is 0-7 in PFL play, four of those losses have been by an average of 5.5 points.

4th - RB Jeffrey Keil is on the CFPA FCS Freshman of the Year Watch List.

XP - LB Dan Casey was named to the 2014 AFCA Allstate Good Works team. He will be honored at halftime at the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

A Davidson win would . . .
• Snap a 10-game overall losing streak
• Snap a 16-game PFL losing streak
• Extend a two-game winning streak over Valpo.
• Place Davidson in a tie for ninth with Valpo in the final PFL standings.

The Series
• Davidson leads the all-time series, which began in 2001, 7-1.
• This is the first meeting between the teams since a thrilling overtime game at Valpo in 2012.
• A spectacular catch by Lanny Funsten in the back corner of the end zone and a successful extra point by Robert Schick gave Davidson a 28-27 overtime victory over Valpo at Brown Field.
• The game was tied at 21-21 heading into overtime, and Tanner Kuramata hauled in a four-yard pass for Valpo to put the Crusaders on top, but Mike Pando missed the extra point and the Crusaders were tagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the touchdown, which gave Davidson the ball on the 13-yard line on its ensuing possession. A nine-yard pass to Funsten and a two-yard run by David Rogers gave the 'Cats the ball on the two, and quarterback Jonathan Carkhuff then found Funsten in the back right corner for the game-tying score and Funsten's Davidson all-time record 20th touchdown reception. Schick's extra point sealed the win.
• Carkhuff completed 37-of-56 pass attempts for 395 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for two touchdowns. Rogers caught a career-high eight passes for 87 yards and rushed for 37 yards (124 total) on 22 carries and a touchdown. Reese Williams caught a career-high 10 passes for a career–high 131 yards, and freshman Funsten finished with nine catches for 65 yards, the reception touchdown, and a 14-yard rushing touchdown on a fake field goal.

Scouting Valpo
• Valparaiso enters with just one league win (Butler), but nearly upset PFL Champion San Diego last week.
• Valparaiso is the most disciplined team in the league and ranks fifth in the nation with just 4.55 penalites per game.
• The Crusaders rank eighth in the PFL on both sides of the ball, respectively.

Rankings Leaders
• Nationally, WR William Morris ranks second in FCS in receptions with 88, seventh with 1,102 receiving yards and 27th with seven receiving touchdowns. He leads the PFL in the first two categories, while ranking third in receiving TDs.
• LB Matt Casey ranks sixth in the PFL with 8.5 tackles per game.
• KR Austin Wells ranks sixth in the PFL with 20.5 yards per return.

William Morris Milestone Watch
• In addition to being one of the nation's top receivers this season, William Morris is on pace to rewrite the Davidson record books.
• Morris has both career and single-season records in sight, and is most notably within 26 yards of the single-season receiving yards record of 1,128, held by Davidson Hall of Famer Mike Mikolayunas '71 since 1970.
• He caught his 100th career reception at VMI (9/13) as part of a 16-catch performance.
• Morris broke onto the Top 10 list for receptions at Princeton with six.
• Morris broke onto the Top 10 list for receiving yards in a career and moved up to ninth in receptions with a 15-catch, 158-yard performance against Dayton (10/4/14), passing Mikolayunas.
• He moved into a tie for fourth place with Barrett Johnson (2000-03) with a four-catch, 85-yard performance against Stetson.
• Morris then moved up to second with a 9-catch, 82-yard performance against Jacksonville.
• With 12 career TD receptions, Morris needs one more to move into the Top 10.
• Receiving Yards in a Season (5 to next)
1.   1128   Mike Mikolayunas (87-1128)   1970
2   1107   Lanny Funsten    (100-1107)   2011
3.   1102    William Morris    (88-1102)   2014
• Receptions in a Season (12 to next)
1.   100   Lanny Funsten    (100-1107)   2011
2.     88    William Morris    (88-1102)   2014
• Receiving Yards in a Career (531 to next)
1.   2770   Lanny Funsten    (229-2770)   2009-12
2.   2304    William Morris   (165-2304)   2012-pres.
• Receptions in a Career (14 to next)
1.   229   Lanny Funsten    (229-2770)   2009-12
2.   179   Mike Mikolayunas (179-1830)   1968-70
3.    165    William Morris   (165-2304)   2012-pres.

Matt Casey Milestone Watch
• Matt Casey enters the game with 252 career tackles, making him poised to break into the
Top-10 all-time at Davidson. Adam Elmore '03 ranks 10th with 258.

Signs of Improvement
• The Wildcats have shown progress this season despite some heartbreaking setbacks.
• In its first two PFL games, Davidson had opportunities to force overtime on its last regulation possession both times. It was unsuccessful against Morehead State, losing by eight, but went to quintuple overtime against Dayton before losing by six.
• Against Campbell, Davidson led from its opening drive until the final minute.
• For the second consecutive week, Davidson outgained the opposition in its matchup with Stetson, but turnovers proved costly in a six-point defeat.
• Davidson's 32 points against Morehead State were its most in a PFL game since 2009, and its 48 against Dayton were its most since 2007.
• The 'Cats are averaging 143.9 yards per game rushing so far this season after averaging just 88.2 last season. The rate is seventh in the PFL.
• If Davidson were to maintain that average, it would be its highest since 1999 (188.6). In fact, the Wildcats have not averaged over 100 yards per game throughout an entire season since 2009.
• Davidson finished last in the PFL in scoring last season, only averaging 14.0 points per game, but the 'Cats are currently sixth in the league averaging 24.2 points per game.

Keil Breaks Out
• Making his third career start, Jeffrey Keil rushed 33 times for 215 yards and two touchdowns against Stetson (10/25).
• In his first eight games, he had 53 carries, 262 yards and four touchdowns.
• It was just the sixth 200-plus yard rushing game ever for a single Davidson running back.
• He earned his first College Football Performance Awards honorable mention for the performance, and was added to the CFPA's Freshman of the Year Watch List.
• Keil is one of 16 running backs and one of two Pioneer Football League players (Sam Schrader, Butler, RB) on the initial 30-player list.
•The Tampa, Fla., native has seen action in all 10 games so far this season and has started the last four.

Kicking It
• After missing three out of his first four field goal attempts, freshman K Trevor Smith has converted eight out of his last nine tries, including a 44-yarder that forced overtime against Dayton.
• He is perfect on 27 consecutive PATs so far. The Davidson record is 38 by Brian Langley (1997-98).

Tremendous Trey
• Trey Huelskamp has a career-high 45 catches for 431 yards through 11 games this season after totaling 17 catches for 182 yards in 11 games last season. He caught 28 passes for 228 yards as a freshman.
• He was without a touchdown in his first 38 games, but had one in each of the last two games.
• In a loss at Princeton, Huelskamp led the Wildcats in receiving, setting career highs with nine catches for 82 yards.
• Huelskamp was one of four FCS Tight End Performer of the Week honorable mentions recognized by the College Football Performance Awards for games played through Sept. 27.

Freshman In Charge
• Taylor Mitchell is the first freshman quarterback at Davidson to start consecutive games since 2010 when Jonathan Carkhuff moved into the starting lineup for good in the third game of the season.
• This will be his fourth career start
• Mitchell threw for two touchdowns and 264 yards in his first start against Stetson (10/25), but has thrown 10 interceptions in his three starts.

Young 'Cats
• The team is very young, with 36 freshmen and just 25 upper-classmen (9 seniors, 16 juniors.) It's the largest freshman class since the 'Cats also had 36 in 2009.
• Of the 22 slots on the offensive two-deep, 13 are occupied by underclassmen (5 sophomores, 8 freshmen), while 16 (9 sophomores and 7 freshmen) are listed on the defensive side. Eight of 12 specialists slots are filled by freshmen.

Academic All-District Repeats
• Second-time honorees Bryant Bednarek and Colin Merrill, and first-time honoree Josh Daryoush will represent Davidson on the Capital One Academic All-District III Division I Football Team.
• As first team selections, all three are eligible for consideration for the Capital One Academic All-America team. Bednarek and Merrill, both senior defensive backs from Ohio, were named Academic All-District last season and become the eighth and ninth Wildcat football players to earn the honor twice.
• To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.

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Bryant Bednarek

Jonathan Carkhuff

Dan Casey

Matt Casey

Josh Daryoush

Trey Huelskamp

Jeffrey Keil

Colin Merrill

Taylor Mitchell

William Morris

David Rogers

Trevor Smith

Austin Wells

Reese Williams

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