Presbyterian College vs. Monmouth
Saturday, October 25 - 2 p.m.
Bailey Memorial Stadium - Clinton, S.C.
LISTEN: 103.5 Sunny FM (sunny103-5.com)
WATCH: BigSouthSports.com
PC Game Notes
CLINTON, S.C. – A victorious Presbyterian College (4-3, 1-1 Big South) football team returns home this week for a Homecoming matchup against Monmouth (5-1, 0-0 Big South) at 2 p.m. The Blue Hose knocked off No. 22 Charleston Southern on Saturday afternoon in defensive battle, 7-3, holding the Buccaneers to only three points in three trips to the red zone. The win marked PC's first over a ranked team on the road in its Division I history and the second win over a ranked foe this season. This Saturday, PC welcomes new Big South Conference member Monmouth, who will make its League debut with a trip to Bailey Memorial Stadium in the first-ever game between the two sides.
The Hawks enjoyed a bye week last week and enter Laurens County with a 5-1 record following a 61-28 thumping of Columbia on October 11, their third straight victory. PC will aim to win its second straight Homecoming game with a repeat performance of last season's 49-19 win over Point on October 26.
Presbyterian football knocked off No. 22/23 Charleston Southern on Saturday afternoon in defensive battle, 7-3. PC held the Buccaneers to their lowest point total since a shutout loss at Illinois on September 15, 2012 and limited Charleston Southern to only three points in three trips to the red zone. PC also allowed only 250 yards of offense, a season-low for the Buccaneers and the win marked PC's fourth of the season, already tying the most for the Blue Hose in a Division I season. PC won four games in 2008 and 2011 (three in the Big South) and last won five games with a 6-5 campaign in 2007.
Monmouth rested up last week after a 61-28 win over Columbia that pushed the Hawks to 5-1 on the year. Monmouth picked up three votes in this week's FCS The Sports Network poll and lead the Big South Conference in scoring offense, averaging 39.0 points and 462.3 yards per outing. Lavon Chaney paces the rushing attack with 81.7 yards per game while quarterback Brandon Hill ranks in the nation's top 10 in passing efficiency, touchdowns (15 thrown), passing yards and passing yards per game (285.5).
With Saturday's win over No. 22 Charleston Southern, PC earned a program-first five votes in this week's FCS Coaches Poll. The Blue Hose also picked up 13 votes in the Sports Network FCS poll.
The three points, 97 passing yards, 272 all-purpose yards allowed, nine tackles for a loss and six completed passes against Charleston Southern all stand as new Presbyterian College Division I defensive records. The Blue Hose held Davidson (2011) and VMI (2012) to six points before holding the No. 22 Buccaneers to three on Saturday.
Ugonna Akoh earned Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors while DaRon Dickey nabbed College Sports Madness's National Defensive Player of the Week award. Akoh tallied season-highs of six tackles (four solo) and two sacks with a forced fumble in Presbyterian's 7-3 win at Charleston Southern. Dickey tied for the team lead in tackles, with eight, and broke up a pass. He also intercepted Charleston Southern's first pass of the fourth quarter, halting a drive that had already stretched into PC territory.
Saturday's win marked PC's first over a ranked team on the road in its Division I history and the second win over a ranked foe this season after a 10-7 victory over then-No. 12 Furman on September 13. PC's only three losses have come to Northern Illinois, NC State and No. 3 Coastal Carolina. Saturday's victory also stands as the fifth road win in PC's Division I history, improving the team's Division I road record to 5-41.
PC enters the week with the nation's eighth-ranked red zone defense after holding Charleston Southern to 1-for-3 inside the 20-yard line. The Blue Hose forced a turnover on downs at the 12 midway through the third quarter (a 14-play, 51-yard drive) and held strong in the fourth as CSU reached the one-yard line but missed a field goal three plays later, thanks in part to a four-yard tackle-for-loss from Isaiah Lynn. PC has held opponents to a 66.7 percent conversion rate in the red zone (16/24) this season.
Senior running back Demarcus Rouse rushed for a 48-yard touchdown on PC's first drive, his second straight week with the game's opening score. The touchdown gave Rouse the 22nd of his career, extending his lead for that category in PC's Division I history. He rushed for 76 yards, pushing him over the 1,500-yard plateau for his career. He stands as only one of two rushers to accomplish that feat in PC's Division I history, the other being two-year teammate Lance Byrd (2009-12). With injuries to the PC rushing corps, Rouse has assumed the feature back role and currently ranks second in the Big South with 5.6 yards per carry.
PC ranks in the top 25 among FCS schools in red zone defense (8), passing yards allowed (17) and punt returns (20).
Redshirt sophomore defensive end Ugonna Akoh picked up a career-high two sacks against Charleston Southern, including one on third down during the Buccaneers' final drive. Akoh leads the team with four sacks for 26 yards –second in the Big South–and checks in with 5.5 tackles for a loss, second to Khari Rosier's 7.5. PC has posted at least one sack in all but one game this season (Coastal Carolina) and leads the Big South with 14.
Linebacker Donelle Williams tied for the team lead with eight tackles on Saturday—six solo—and set a new career-best with two pass breakups, including one on the game's final drive. Williams, the 2011 Big South Conference Freshman of the Year, leads the team with 51 tackles on the year after playing only three games in 2013 with an injury. He ranks 19 tackles shy of the PC Division I career record, held by Justin Bethel's (2008-11) 279.
Following Saturday's game, PC stays in Clinton for its home finale on Saturday, November 1 against Liberty at 2 p.m. The game will mark Youth Day and the team's Senior Day.
