CLINTON, S.C. - WLBG Real Radio 860 along with PC College station WPCX-FM 97.1 will kick things off on the first of PC's three home games at 11 a.m. on Saturday with tailgate coverage from Bailey Memorial Stadium. In Laurens, PC fans should tune their dials to 860 AM to hear the voice of the Blue Hose John Avery along with color analyst and former PC Football player Stan Reid break down PC's inaugural NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision contest at home. The duo will be joined by former Western Carolina standout and former Thornwell High School coach Walter Geary, who will prowl the sidelines for the Presbyterian College Sports Network during the 2007 football season.
In the Clinton area Blue Hose fans should turn their dials to the official student radio station of Presbyterian College, 97.1 WPCX, to hear the Presbyterian College Sports Network broadcast.
The broadcast can also be heard online at www.wlbg.com, which can also be linked to directly or from www.gobluehose.com. To link to the broadcast from GoBlueHose.com click on the WLBG Real Radio 860 logo on the main page of the website to the far right.
SATURDAY'S GAME: Presbyterian College will play its inaugural NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision football game at home against Pikeville College at Bailey Memorial Stadium.
THE COACHES: Presbyterian ? Head coach Bobby Bentley is in his first season in charge of the Presbyterian College football program. A 1990 alumnus of PC, Bentley is 0-1 as a college coach and will be looking for his first intercollegiate victory in the Pikeville game. Pikeville ? Mac Bryan is in his second season as the mentor Pikeville College. A native of Traphill, N.C., Bryan came to Pikeville after spending one season as head coach and director of athletics at Emerald High School in Greenwood, S.C. He was the Lakelands Coach of the Year and the Co-Region III Coach of the Year in the 2005 season. Bryan also spent three years at Tennessee-Chattanooga where he was assistant head coach and coached both the offensive and defensive lines. In the collegiate ranks, he was the head coach at Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, N.C., where he guided the Bobcats to a 44-10-1 mark in five seasons. Altogether after Pikeville's season-opening victory, Bryan 49-16-1 as a college head coach.
SERIES: Today's game will mark the first time that the Blue Hose and Bears have tangled on the gridiron.
PUT IT IN THE BOOKS: Chetyuane Reeder's 84-yard reception was the longest pass play that the Paladins have ever given up on their home turf at Paladin Stadium. It is the fifth longest pass reception that the Paladins have allowed in their history. Reeder actually broke a record held by former Blue Hose football player Rader Sellers, who hauled in a Tim Davis pass for an 80-yard reception in a PC loss to Furman in the 1991 PC Football campaign.
LETS MAKE IT TWO: Chetyuane Reeder and Terrance Butler both finished with 117 yards receiving to mark the first time that the Blue Hose had two players with over 100 yards receiving since the 2001 season when D.J. Humphries and Kevie Smith both finished with 100 yards receiving in a 41-19 win over Wingate.
KICKING IT: PC field goal kicker Bret DiTullio was successful on a field goal attempt of 35 yards or longer for the second consecutive season in PC's opener. DiTullio hit a 39-yard field goal in PC's 10-0 season-opening win over West Georgia last season and hit a 43-yard field goal in the loss to Furman on Saturday.
BEEN A WHILE: Prior to Furman's Mike Brown blocking a PC punt in the second quarter, the Blue Hose had not allowed a punt block since a 19-14 loss to Catawba on Sept. 25, 2004.
FREE TO MAKE TACKLES: PC free safety Caleb Massengill began his senior campaign on a high note against Furman, finishing the contest with career highs in both total tackles and solo stops. The Watkinsville, Ga. native had a game-high 12 total tackles in the game, which included nine solo stops.
CAREER NIGHT: Starting quarterback Grayson Mullins showed why in the first game of the 2007 season that Lindy's national preview magazine rated him the top offensive player among FCS independents with his showing against Furman. Mullins finished the game with a career and game-high 283 yards passing. He was 16-for-26 in the game on his throws. The nimble Mullins also rushed for both of PC's touchdowns in the loss.
LAST TIME OUT: Presbyterian College finished its first ever NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision football game with two receivers with 100 over yards receiving for the first time since the 2001 campaign, but it was not enough as the Blue Hose fell 40-16 to the Furman Paladins before 11,188 at Paladin Stadium on Saturday evening. Terrance Butler (Surfside Beach, S.C.) and Chetyuane Reeder (Clinton, S.C.) both hauled in four receptions and had 117 receiving in the contest. Both players also had long catches in the contest with Butler pulling down a 39-yard grab and a 53-yard catch, while Reeder brought in an 84-yard reception. Reeder's 84-yard reception was the longest pass play that the Paladins have ever given up on their home turf at Paladin Stadium. It is the fifth longest pass reception that the Paladins have allowed in their history. All of the passes that both players caught came from the arm of Grayson Mullins (Columbia, S.C.), who opened the 2007 PC Football campaign with 283 yards passing. Mullins was 16-for-26 in the contest with two interceptions. The junior also rushed the football for two touchdowns. Defensively, Presbyterian was led in the contest by Caleb Massengill (Watkinsville, Ga.), who finished his efforts on the evening with a career and game-high 12 total tackles, nine of which were solo.
EXPERIENCE BLUE HOSE FOOTBALL: The Blue Hose open their 2007 home campaign at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 8 at Bailey Memorial Stadium against Pikeville College. It will be Take A Kid To The Game Day as children ages 12-and-under will be admitted to the contest for free with an adult paid admission. For more information on the Pikeville game, please visit GoBlueHose.com or call Sherry Medlin in the PC ticket office at 864-833-8240.
INSIDE BLUE HOSE FOOTBALL: The first edition of the Inside Blue Hose Football Television show will premiere at 1 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 7. The show will feature Coach Bentley along with host Brian Hand analyzing highlights from PC games. The show will hold the time slot for the rest of the 2007 PC Football season.
BENTLEY RADIO SHOW: Presbyterian College and Real Radio 860 WLBG, the flagship station of PC athletics, debuted the Bobby Bentley Show live on Monday, Aug. 27 from FATZ Caf? on I-26 at Exit 54 next to the Hampton Inn. For the rest of the season the show will be heard live from 7 p.m. until 8 p.m. The show features WLBG's John Avery joining Coach Bentley and several members of the team and coaching staff. The show can be heard throughout Laurens County on Real Radio 860 WLBG. It will also be simulcast on WLBG's website, www.wlbg.com.
PIKEVILLE RADIO COVERAGE: WLBG along with PC College station WPCX-FM 97.1 will kick off coverage of the Pikeville game with a tailgate show at from Bailey Memorial Stadium beginning at 11 a.m. on Saturday. In Laurens, PC fans should tune their dials to 860 AM to hear the voice of the Blue Hose John Avery along with color analyst and former PC Football player Stan Reid break down PC's inaugural NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision contest in the friendly confines of Bailey Memorial Stadium. The duo will be joined by former Western Carolina standout and former Thornwell High School coach Walter Geary, who will prowl the sidelines for the Presbyterian College Sports Network during the 2007 football season. In the Clinton area Blue Hose fans should turn their dials to 97.1 WPCX, the official student radio station of Presbyterian College to hear the Presbyterian College Sports Network broadcast. The broadcast can also be heard online at www.wlbg.com, which can also be linked to directly or from www.gobluehose.com. To link to the broadcast from GoBlueHose.com click on the WLBG Real Radio 860 logo on the main page of the website to the far right.
RECENT BLUE HOSE HISTORY VS. NAIA: PC has taken the gridiron against an NAIA institution since the 2004 season when they lined up against two in Cumberland and Webber International. The Blue Hose actually opened that season with a 33-29 home loss to Pikeville's Mid-South conference rival University of the Cumberlands (then Cumberland College) on Aug. 28, 2004. PC downed Webber International 28-0 that same season.
ALL-INDEPENDENT: The Blue Hose had seven players named NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision All-Independent in Phil Steele's national college football preview magazine. Steele's preview placed two Blue Hose on the All-Independent first team offense in senior wide receiver Justin Durant and redshirt sophomore running back S.J. Worrell. Senior captain and defensive lineman Sherman Burnett was named to the first team All-Independent defense along with fellow captain and junior middle linebacker Antwan Thomas. The defensive duo was joined on the first team defense by junior defensive lineman Adam McKinney and junior defensive back Antoine Carter. Junior Bryson Summers was named to the first team as a punter.
FAMILIAR FACES: Though the institution is in Kentucky, Pikeville has a very large South Carolina feel to its roster as 37 players on their roster call the Palmetto state home.
VERY FAMILIAR: Pikeville has two players on its roster that are more than a little familiar with the Clinton area as former Red Devils' Anson Cunningham and Vito Gaskins are both freshman for the Bears this season. Cunningham is currently listed on Pikeville's depth chart as a backup at outside linebacker. Cunningham, who had six solo stops and one sack in Pikeville's season opener, is also Chetyuane Reeder's cousin.
AND HE WILL GET YOU A DRINK FROM THE CONCESSION STAND: As anticipated, PC multi-faceted threat Chetyuane Reeder did a little bit of everything in the Furman game for the Blue Hose. Reeder played wide receiver, defensive back and on special teams. He even lined up as the quarterback on a designed running play.
BIG SOUTH TELECONFERENCE: The Big South Conference will hold their weekly coaches teleconference every Tuesday throughout the football season. Coach Bentley is scheduled to discuss Blue Hose football every Tuesday from 11-11:10 a.m. If you are an accredited media member and you would like to learn more please contact the Presbyterian College sports information office or the Big South Conference Public Relations Office.
THREE IS A CHARM: PC's move into NCAA Division I marks the third classification of football that the Blue Hose have been a part of in the last 20 years. The Blue Hose along with the South Atlantic Conference left the NAIA in 1992 to join the NCAA Division II ranks.
PIKEVILLE LAST TIME OUT: Redshirt freshman quarterback Dan Wideman opened the 2007 football season with three touchdown passes to lead the Pikeville College Bears to a 30-6 win over Faulkner University Saturday afternoon at Hillard Howard Field at the W.C. Hambley Athletics Complex. Early on it looked as if the Eagles were interested in more than just their first win. Taking the opening kickoff at their 27, they needed only five plays to score, coming on a pass from Frank Chinoski to Frankie Padula covering 13 yards. The kick failed, but the Eagles led 6-0 with 12:57 still to play in the opening period. But from there, the Bears controlled the scoreboard. Opening with a safety when senior Ryan Brown tackled Chinoski in the end zone, the Bears scored 30 unanswered points to end the game. All-American candidate Kyle Chilton kicked the first of two easy field goals, this one coming with 9:25 remaining in the first half from 30 yards out, to cut the baseball-type score to 6-5. Just before the half, Wideman found Antwan Surratt for his first touchdown pass from 20 yards out. It ended a six-play, 66-yard drive, and when Wideman hit Michael Serafine for the conversion, the Bears led 13-6 with 49 seconds left. Wideman and Surratt started the scoring in the second half on a 26-yard pass. The play was set up when junior linebacker Sean McKinley recovered a fumble, one of five turnovers the Bears forced in the win. Chilton's kick made it 20-6 with 13:11 left in the third. The Bears tacked on seven more before the end of the period when Wideman hit junior Justin Lamb on a 68-yard pass for a 27-6 lead. Chilton ended the scoring with a 22-yard chip shot with 5:13 left. Wideman finished the day 15-of-30 for 201 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Senior chip English was 2-of-5 for 34 yards as well, giving the Bears 235 yards in the air. Surratt led the Bears with seven catches for 93 yards; Lamb had 98 yards on three catches on the day he became the all-time leader in receiving yards in school history. He set the mark for receptions as a sophomore. Sophomore tailback De'von Joseph led the Bears on the ground with 55 yards on 14 hauls. Wideman had 46 on 11 tries as the Bears ran for 112 yards. Faulkner ran the ball for only 35 net yards on 31 carries. Maurice Whiting had 45 on 13 carries to lead the way. Quarterbacks Chinoski and Chad Kilgore combined to go 9-of-22 for 114 with two interceptions and a score. The balanced receiving corps saw seven players catch passes, with Quinton Roberts having 39 yards on two receptions. Padula, who caught the touchdown pass, had 22 on two catches. Defensively, three Bears had six tackles each, with freshman Anson Cunningham having all of his on solos. He had two tackles for loss of 11 yards and a sack, one of five the Bears recorded in the game. Redshirt freshman Jamar Porter had five solos and an assist, matching Cunning's two tackles for loss and sack. McKinley, the junior from Wilsonville, Ala., playing a school from his homestate for the first time as a Bear, had three and three with a tackle for loss and a fumble recovery.
TOUGH ROAD SCHEDULE: The Blue Hose do not get any breaks in their 2007 road schedule as it will go down as one of the hardest road schedules in program history. The Blue Hose open the season against perennial national championship contender and Southern Conference power Furman and then two weeks later take on new SoCon member Samford on a Thursday night. In fact, three of PC's first four games will be against SoCon competition as PC's fourth game of the year will be against Western Carolina in Cullowhee, N.C. The Blue Hose close out the month of September with a game against a tough North Carolina Central squad before playing three of their four games in October against Big South teams. PC will face off against Virginia Military, Liberty and defending Big South champion Coastal Carolina in October. PC closes out the its season and the month of November with a game against 2005 Big South co-champion Charleston Southern.
STRONG HOME SLATE: Things are not especially easy for the Blue Hose at home either as PC faces a strong trio in the friendly confines of Bailey Memorial Stadium. The Blue Hose begin their 2007 home slate with a Sept. 8 contest against Pikeville College of the NAIA and the Mid-South Conference. The Bears finished 4-6 overall last season and 2-3 in the strong Mid-South Conference. Presbyterian College will then face off against North Greenville University on Homecoming day at PC at 2 p.m. on Oct. 6, 2007. The Crusaders enter the 2007 season coming off one of the best years in program history. NGU finished the year as the top offense in NCAA Division II, averaging 472.2 yards-per-game. The Crusaders also downed the Malone College Pioneers 56-28 to win the National Christian College Athletic Association's 2006 Victory Bowl. The first college football bowl game ever to be played in the Palmetto State gave the Crusaders a school record 10 wins in the 2006 season. The Blue Hose close out their 2007 home schedule with a 1:30 p.m. game on Saturday, Nov. 3 against NCAA Division II's Chowan University.
IT'S A FIRST: PC Football will face six teams in the 2007 campaign that they have not squared off against on the gridiron before. The Blue Hose will take on Chowan, Coastal Carolina, North Carolina Central, Pikeville College, Samford and Virginia Military Institute for the first time in the upcoming season.
