POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – In possession of perhaps their biggest wave of momentum in the Steve Englehart era at exactly the right time, the Presbyterian College football team will be in hot pursuit of a third straight conference victory over the weekend as they fly to the Empire State to meet Marist.
Kickoff in Poughkeepsie is scheduled for 12:00 PM, as PC looks to continue their recent dominance over Pioneer Football League enemies. ESPN+ will have the call, with the Blue Hose notching consecutive W's in their last two tries by 49 combined points.
A win over the Red Foxes tomorrow would mean Presbyterian's first three-game winning streak since the abbreviated Spring '21 campaign, looking to right past wrongs against Marist and beat their conference foe for the first time in four attempts.
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHO: Presbyterian (4-6, 2-4) at Marist (1-9, 1-6)
WHERE: Tenney Stadium (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.)
WHEN: Saturday, November 16 | 12:00 PM
FOLLOW THE ACTION
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: SideArm
TWITTER / X: @BlueHoseFB
GAME NOTES: Presbyterian Notes | PFL Weekly Report
OPPONENT PROFILE
• While it's mostly been a season of anguish for first-year head coach Mike Willis and Marist, the Red Foxes will approach the PC bout on the heels of their first win this semester against Stetson.
• Last Saturday was only the second time in 2024 that Marist has surpassed the 20-point tally, a 40-31 decision against the dismal Hatters. They scored 20 in the 3rd quarter, led by reigning PFL Offensive Player of the Week Sonny Mannino.
• Mannino - the Foxs' lead quarterback - accounted for 343 total yards and four rushing touchdowns in the back-and-forth battle.
• Willis steps into the shoes that iconic head coach Jim Parady wore at Marist from 1992-2023, retiring at the end of last season as the longest-tenured coach in NCAA Division I football.
• Marist's new leader held four different positions at his alma mater (Princeton) over a period of nine seasons. He was a part of four Ivy League championships as both a player and assistant, posting a combined record of 40-10 over his last 50 games on the Tigers' staff.
WRECKING RUNNERS
• The focal point to a mid-season turnaround that has featured back-to-back PFL victories by a combined margin of seven touchdowns, the vaunted Presbyterian defense has emerged as one of the best at the FCS level in terms of stopping the run.
• PC has gone five consecutive games without letting their opponent reach 100 rushing yards, averaging 107 ground yards allowed per game. That ranks 13th in the nation and tops all teams in the Pioneer League.
• Three of those five opponents in this streak failed to reach even 60 rushing yards when going up against the Blue Hose front seven, allowing just three 20-yard carries in the last 20 quarters dating back to the San Diego game.
• Presbyterian has limited the other side to less than 20 points in four consecutive matchups, a feat that was last accomplished by the program in 2011.
• This has created a new sense of confidence in the Blue Hose, who have acquired back-to-back 20-point victories for the first time in three years and the fourth time in the school's Division I era (since 2007).
LIPSCOMBE x4
• The Maryland native is one of 11 FCS kickers to hit four FG's in one outing this year, navigating from what had been zero career field goals to Blue Hose history in the span of one Saturday.
KIBBY = KING
• Sitting less than 200 yards away from becoming PC's all-time D-I record holder (and still with one more full season of eligibility left), junior Dominic Kibby accomplished another Blue Hose milestone during the Stetson win last month.
• He snared a 94-yard touchdown in the 3rd quarter, not only the longest passing play from scrimmage in PC's Division I history, but also the play where Kibby gained his 15th career receiving TD to break the school record.
• On track for his third straight All-PFL honor, Kibby broke his own PC record on that play after scoring a 93-yard touchdown at Butler last season.
• Thus, he is now responsible for the two longest passing plays in Presbyterian history.
• The official number that Kibby needs to break the D-I era career record is 137 yards. In his career, he has passed the century mark in seven games (twice in 2024).
HURST ON JERRY RICE AWARD WATCH LIST
• Redshirt freshman quarterback Collin Hurst has been recognized on the 2024 Jerry Rice Award Watch List, awaiting its 14th recipient at the conclusion of the season. The annual honor, presented by Stats Perform and FedEx Ground, is given to "the most outstanding freshman player in the Football Championship Subdivision."
• This is the second consecutive season that a PC player has been summoned to the Jerry Rice Award Watch List, following in the footsteps of then-rookie kicker Mack Mikko last year.
• Hurst is one of six QB's to make the cut for consideration of the esteemed award, and one of only two players in the Pioneer Football League to be mentioned (alongside Dayton signal-caller Drew VanVleet).
• Created in 2011 and named after legendary Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice – who attended Mississippi Valley State University – the award is voted on by a national panel of more than 40 sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers, and other various dignitaries.
• With a win, Drake clinches the 2024 PFL Championship outright and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship. However, the Bulldogs face another crucial test when they host a Morehead State squad seeking to keep the title chase alive into the regular season's final week.
• Nationally-ranked Butler, newly minted at No. 25 in the AFCA FCS Coaches Poll this week, hosts St. Thomas in a battle between two of the league's four 4-2 squads and in a series that the Bulldogs are seeking their first win.
• Drake has the second-longest PFL win streak in league history. The Bulldogs' 17-game PFL win streak is the FCS' longest current streak. The Bulldogs' last conference loss was on Oct. 22, 2022, when they dropped a 48-14 decision to Davidson as part of a then-season-opening eight-game losing streak. Since snapping that streak, Drake is 16-5 overall.
• The PFL leads all FCS conferences with 33 blocked kicks in 104 games played during 2024. Dayton leads the league and all FCS squads with seven blocked kicks this season, while Drake is next with five blocks while Presbyterian and Valparaiso have three blocks to their credit.
• The PFL is fourth among FCS leagues with nine pick-sixes in 2024, trailing the Southern Conference, the OVC/Big South and CAA who all have 11 pick-sixes this season. San Diego has returned an FCS-best four of their seven interceptions for TDs, with Davidson (2), Butler (2), and St. Thomas (1) claiming the others.
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – The Presbyterian College football team did all but dunk the Marist Red Foxes into the nearby Hudson River on Saturday afternoon in New York, blasting their conference foe by 19 points in a 42-23 triumph.
Head coach Steve Englehart and his uber-confident Blue Hose have now accomplished their first three-game winning streak since the 2021 campaign, defeating three conference opponents in succession for the first time since 2006.
PC's streak of limiting the other side to less than 20 points may have fizzled out at four games thanks to a Marist touchdown with 84 seconds left, although the performance was still more than strong enough to warrant a third consecutive comfortable win.
The Blue Hose have had their foot planted on the gas pedal in the month of November, winning the last three outings by a combined margin of 68 points.
Presbyterian summoned 456 yards of total offense (with almost 80 percent of that calculation coming in the air raid attack), grabbing a lead that hit its highest peak at 26 points thanks to a couple of touchdowns in three straight quarters.
Coach Englehart and company are one win away from closing the 2024 trek on a winning streak that hasn't been seen in 17 years, hosting Butler on Senior Day next weekend. Kickoff at Bailey Memorial will be held at 1:00 PM.
FINAL SCORE – Presbyterian, 42 – Marist, 23
RECORDS – Presbyterian (5-6, 3-4) – Marist (1-10, 1-7)
LOCATION – Tenney Stadium (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.)
NOTABLES
- Wide receiver Cincere Gill and tight end Nathan Levicki combined for more points than the entire Marist offense by themselves in the one-sided result, syncing up for 114 yards on six catches.
- Levicki and Gill caught two touchdowns apiece from marksman QB Collin Hurst, as they both found the end zone on their first two receptions.
- Speaking of Hurst (a midseason candidate for National FCS Freshman of the Year), the PC signal-caller was again terrific as he completed a full 60-minute game without an interception for the fourth game in a row and the fifth time versus a Pioneer Football League opponent.
- Hurst went for 269 passing yards while finding his target in 21 out of 27 attempts, his third effort with at least 250 yards this fall.
- The Blue Hose needed 13 seconds to register the first touchdown of the day, perfectly executing a 79-yard trick play where Dominic Kibby lofted a deep ball to Gill on a double pass.
- All-star senior linebacker Alex Herriott clocked in yet another masterful showing with 10 tackles, officially surpassing Colby Campbell (2017-20) for the second-most in a career throughout PC's Division I era (359).
- In their second-to-last game suiting up for the Blue Hose before graduation in the spring, the senior Russ-Martin twins (Brooks and Bradley) each tallied an interception on the same day. They were responsible for both of Marist's turnovers in the 2nd and 3rd frames.
- A major factor in PC's ability to pull away was their proficiency in third down, converting 9 out of 14 plays in that scenario while stopping Marist in the same situation 12 times.
HOW IT HAPPENED – FIRST HALF
- It was a helter-skelter start to Saturday's affair, as two TD's were submitted in the first two minutes and 34 seconds. The Red Foxes countered the Kibby-to-Gill trickery just five snaps later with a 62-yard touchdown pass of their own.
- With 2:50 on the board in the opening chapter, Marist penned their only lead of the contest with a one-yard dive past the pylon, although the follow-up PAT was no good which made the new score 13-7.
- PC closed the 1st quarter in picturesque fashion, capitalizing on a 57-yard kick return by Zach Switzer to secure their second score.
- Hurst accounted for the 14-13 edge with a six-yard scramble on second-and-goal, a play that went down with just eight ticks to go in the period.
- On the second play of quarter number two, Brooks Russ-Martin snagged a deep pass for the first takeaway of the game. Gill promptly hauled in his second TD in as many catches on a 51-yard burst that boosted the lead to eight.
- Presby denied the Red Foxes from creeping into the red zone on the next series, although Marist was able to connect on a 43-yard field goal to stay within striking distance.
- That slim differential was beefed up considerably thanks to a near-seven-minute drive by the Scotsmen that ended in another touchdown with just over three minutes remaining in the first half.
- Levicki was the recipient this time, pawing a crossing route in the end zone on third and goal from the 17. That widened the advantage to 28-16 at the game's midway point.
HOW IT HAPPENED – SECOND HALF
- Marist was unable to find any points in six straight drives following the 2nd-quarter kick, in danger of being on the wrong side of a second-half shutout had it not been for the aforementioned garbage-time TD.
- Presbyterian marched 50 yards on four plays in their first series of the 3rd, churning out gains of 22, 14, 15, and 36. Levicki tip-toed the sideline and dragged multiple defenders with him to bring the Blue Hose a 35-16 cushion.
- The final sequence of the 3rd stanza ended in another interception for Fox quarterback Sonny Mannino, picked off by Bradley Russ-Martin right at midfield.
- Coach E's squadron turned that TO into seven more points with their sixth touchdown of the contest, a two-yard option run from Worth Warner that made it 42-16.
- That was the final play of the quarter and Warner's second career touchdown of the rushing variety.
- PC controlled the clock for the rest of the affair and, despite the late Fox score, still cruised to another stress-free W.
UP NEXT
- In all likelihood, Butler will travel to Clinton next weekend as a top-25 program thanks to a four-game winning streak and 9-2 overall record.
- The Bulldogs entered the weekend at #25 in the national FCS poll, not deterred by the pressure in a 36-20 win over St. Thomas in Indianapolis.
- This week will be a marquee matchup between the Blue Hose defense and Butler's offense, a unit that has surpassed the 40-point mark in six games this season.
- Presbyterian opened last year's PFL slate by taking on Butler in a spirited 27-17 setback, now ending the season full-stop against that same team with the goal of achieving their first four-game winning streak since 2007.
- ESPN+ will be streaming the Pioneer League showdown, a pre-Thanksgiving bout where PC will honor 21 seniors prior to kickoff.
