BLUE HOSE DRAW VALPO IN PIONEER MATCH-UP.
One year after a breakneck-paced 65-55 shootout in Indiana that served as the first ever meeting between the two programs, the Presbyterian College football team hopes to dish the Valparaiso Beacons a taste of their own medicine on Saturday afternoon, hosting their PFL foe for the first time at noon from Bailey Memorial Stadium.
Airing live on ESPN+, as all PC home games are produced on the platform in 2022, the Blue Hose continues their search to hit the win column in Pioneer Football League action, nearly gaining that achievement last weekend against Morehead State before a frenetic 4th-quarter comeback fell just shy of completion.
Currently at 1-1 on the year when competing on their home turf, Presbyterian prepares for a Valpo team that has enjoyed an extra week of rehearsal due to a BYE that followed up a 28-21 victory over San Diego back on Sept. 24 for the league opener. Claiming a W in three of their last five contests to close last season, including the 110-point sprint with the Blue Hose in the Hoosier State, the Beacons have still yet to win a game away from Brown Field, falling to Illinois State and Dartmouth when competing away from home.
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHAT: Presbyterian (1-4, 0-2 PFL) vs. Valparaiso (2-2, 1-0 PFL)
WHERE: Bailey Memorial Stadium (Clinton, S.C.)
WHEN: 12:00 p.m.
ADMISSION: Football Tickets
PC GAMEDAY PROTOCOL: Bailey Memorial Stadium Policies and Map
GAMEDAY PROGRAM: Presbyterian Game Guide
FOLLOW THE ACTION:
WATCH: ESPN+ (Alex Smith)
LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast Live Stats
RADIO: WSPG (Ryan Clary & Tyler Shuggart)
TWITTER: @BlueHoseFtball
GAME NOTES: Presbyterian Notes | Valparaiso Notes | PFL Notes
Opponent Profile
• With an extra week of rest behind them awaiting Saturday's trip to Bailey Memorial Stadium, Valparaiso comes to Clinton for the first time in school history with a 2-2 resume and a 1-0 start to PFL competition.
• The Beacons were last seen pulling out a 28-21 decision over San Diego at home, taking a two-touchdown lead with 10 minutes to go and holding on from there.
• Striking quickly on a 44-yard pass to the end zone in the 4th quarter, Valparaiso QB Mason Kaplan enjoyed a 3-score afternoon against the Toreros, compiling 146 yards of total offense with one TD on the ground and a pair more through the air.
• Star running back Aaron Dawson has accumulated 263 yards on 60 carries through only four appearances this fall, averaging nearly five yards per attempt on what's been a sizable workload.
Last Time Out
• In what was otherwise a spectacular defensive showcase for a group that never allowed the other side a single point over the final 30 minutes, PC ultimately came up short in Morehead, Ky. over the weekend, narrowly falling to the Eagles 14-10.
• Holding MSU to just 27% (5-18) on third-down snaps in the back-and-forth matchup, while sacking Eagles' QB Grady Cramer five times, the Blue Hose completed a second-half shutout in the road environment after turning back-to-back Morehead turnovers into 10 straight points in the final frame.
Career-High Central
• Nine different PC performers either matched or set a personal best last Saturday against Morehead State on both sides of the field, anchored by a 4-TFL, 2-sack effort from linebacker Campbell Watson. That stat-sheet stands as the first time since '19 that a Blue Hose member reached both those marks against the same opponent.
• Dylan Thibault, Jordan Irizarry, Malek Horlback, Sebastian Conwell, Bradley Russ-Martin, Malik Busby, A.J. Seay, and George Wilder joined Watson in recording personal highs in the Bluegrass State last week versus the Eagles.
PC Atop PFL Ranks
• Over the course of the first five games of the 2022 season, the Blue Hose rank inside the Pioneer Football League's Top 5 among the following categories:
• PC leads the league in average yards per punt (33) behind the leg of junior Parker Maddrey, including a season-long 61-yard missile vs. Davidson.
• Powering their way into opposing teams' backfields, Presbyterian has gathered 12 sacks on the year, tied for the 2nd-most in the PFL. Additionally, coach Englehart's club also ranks 2nd in total passing yards, one of only two PFL schools in the quadruple digits in that category (1,031).
• Under the guidance of redshirt-junior QB Nate Hayden, the Blue Hose's 206 passing yards per contest place 4th among league competitors, while the team's 317 total yards also bring them a 4th-place spot.
• Hayden and true freshman Ty Englehart have combined for a completion percentage of 57% next to a quarterback efficiency rating of 117.4, the 5th highest mark in the 11-team league.
Bailey Memorial Turns 20
• September 10th, 2022 stood as the home opener for the Blue Hose to commemorate the 20th season of Presbyterian football at Bailey Memorial Stadium, officially opened on Sept. 14, 2002 in a 26-6 victory over Charleston Southern.
• Over the last two decades, Presbyterian has amassed 54 wins inside Bailey Memorial since its dedication, emerging victorious four times or more in the same season at home with seven different teams.
• PC has reached the 30-point threshold in 30 different games at Bailey Memorial, with three of those occasions coming last fall.
Around the PFL
• Week 5 in the conference was highlighted by Davidson posting its first shutout since the 2019 season, Dayton and St. Thomas opening PFL play with victories, and Morehead State leveling its PFL record with a home win.
• There were only five 100-yard rushing performances in the season’s first four weeks, but Week 5 saw six rushers surpass 100 yards. Davidson’s Dylan Sparks posted a PFL season-high 180 yards in the shutout victory of Butler. St. Thomas’ Hope Adebayo rolled up 132 yards at Marist. PFL Offensive Player of the Week Jake Chisholm went for 131 yards and two touchdowns in a win against Drake. Davidson’s Coy Williams also broke through for 109 yards against Butler. Morehead State’s Chance Harris added 103 rushing yards against PC. Butler quarterback Bret Bushka rushed for 102 yards at Davidson.
• PFL teams rank among the FCS’ least-penalized teams in 2022. Drake ranks third among the subdivision with just 3.6 penalties per game with Dayton and Morehead State both tied for fifth with 4.0 flags per game. Meanwhile, Morehead State is second in the FCS with just 28.4 penalty yards per game. Dayton is seventh (30.75 yards per game) and Drake is 11th (34.60 yards per game).
