Win over Virginia University of Lynchburg

Story Links  CLINTON, S.C. – Raking in their five-game 2022 home schedule with a back-and-forth dual against Virginia University of Lynchburg, the Presbyterian College football team battled through the rain and the Dragons to grab their first win of the season in their second try on Saturday afternoon.

Thanks to a 253-yard performance through the air by redshirt-junior quarterback Nate Hayden and a couple of career-best days from tight end Worth Warner and freshman wideout Dominic Kibby, the Blue Hose carried the momentum of a late-second quarter TD into a second half where they never trailed, producing 21 unanswered points en route to the victory.
 
FINAL SCORE: Presbyterian, 21 – Virginia University of Lynchburg, 13
RECORDS: Presbyterian (1-1), Virginia University of Lynchburg (0-2)
LOCATION: Bailey Memorial Stadium (Clinton, S.C.)
 
OPENING KICK:
- A number of notable offensive performances permeated the PC lineup in Saturday's triumph, the first W of head coach Steve Englehart's career in Clinton. The QB tandem of Hayden and rookie Ty Englehart gelled for quite the pass/run combination against the Dragons, with the former launching three touchdowns to go along with a 66% completion rate and the latter adding 33 rushing yards when lined up in the shotgun formation.

- Targeted seven times and not letting a single of those balls slip through the fingertips, Kibby soared to the best outing of the Presbyterian receiving core in the W, racing for 110 yards while responsible for PC's first score on the day toward the latter stages of the opening half.

- Three other Blue Hose members recorded 30 or more yards receiving, as fellow freshman Shawn Lodge compiled 43 on five snags while redshirt-junior Jalen Jones only needed a pair of catches to eclipse the 40-yard threshold.

- Similar to Kibby's breakout afternoon in that he hauled in every ball that was thrown in his direction, Warner was the recipient of PC's final two touchdowns in the third and fourth stanzas on a day where the Raleigh, N.C. native turned in the first two scores of his career.

- As a whole, the Blue Hose moved the chains in 67% of their third-down scenarios (10/15), only needing to punt twice despite the relatively low-scoring nature of the bout. Running back Delvecchio Powell II conjured 84 yards of total offense as Presbyterian continued to churn the ball forward, complimented by 438 total yards and 25 first downs.

- Fresh off a career-high defensive showing at Austin Peay the week prior, sophomore linebacker Alex Herriott swarmed for seven solo tackles out of nine total, backed up by seven more stops by Brooks Russ-Martin and a pair of tackles for a loss from T.J. Booker.


 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Only allowing a single offensive touchdown – which itself came when the damage had already been done in the 4th quarter – the Blue Hose defensive unit forced two three-and-out drive results from Virginia-Lynchburg in the first 15 minutes, letting a fumble recovery for a score in the other direction be the only blemish in PC's first frame at home this year.

- Starting the final series of the opening half from their own red zone, coach Englehart's club marched 80 yards to paydirt in just over three minutes, converting a trio of third-down attempts that started on two first-down scampers by Englehart as the backup QB. Sprinting to his first collegiate touchdown on a 41-yard bomb by Hayden, Kibby's catch reenergized a Presbyterian squad that had trailed for the majority of the way through up until that point.

- Putting Kibby over the 100-yard mark in receptions midway through the 3rd quarter, Hayden moved surgically past the VUL D on a drive where he connected on five of seven tries for 66 yards, capped off by a nine-yard loft to Warner to slide the Blue Hose in front with just over 20 minutes left.

- Stopping the Dragons from capitalizing on a 4th-quarter turnover and instead adding six more points on another Hayden-to-Warner collaboration (this one from 13 yards away), PC's 21-7 lead with 12:08 to go was only changed in the final box score by a very late Virginia-Lynchburg score, not enough to come back from a largely one-sided second half.
 
COACH ENGLEHART'S THOUGHTS:
"We're excited to get the win here today, since it's always hard to accomplish that no matter the opponent, although we still have some areas to clean up and different parts of the game where we need to get better. I was mostly pleased with our defensive effort, especially since we held Virginia-Lynchburg to just six points when they had the ball. As we get closer to Pioneer League play, we have to be a bit more crisp on both sides of the ball, but we're excited to have that first check in the win column today".
 
UP NEXT:
Continuing the topsy-turvy nature of the '22 slate by never having back-to-back road or home games all year, the Blue Hose will hit the road for the second time this season next weekend in a matchup with Western Carolina. Defeating the Catamounts in nine of the 19 meetings between the two programs all-time, PC's momentum-building win today sets them up for the final non-PFL contest in Cullowhee, N.C. on Sept. 17.

WCU visits Atlantic Coast Conference adversary Georgia Tech on Saturday after downing Charleston Southern by a 52-38 clip in Week 1. Kickoff at E.J. Whitmire Stadium is scheduled for 3:30 p.m., broadcasted by ESPN+.