CLINTON, S.C. – The Presbyterian College football team hits the road on Saturday for a battle with Davidson at Richardson Stadium as kickoff is set for 7 p.m… The game will feature the first game in the Carolina Border Clash and the two teams will play for the 1919 Cup with the game being shown on Davidson All-Access on Saturday night.
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHAT: Presbyterian (2-3, 0-2) at Davidson (3-1, 1-0)
WHERE: Richardson Stadium (Davidson, N.C.)
WHEN: Saturday, October 16, 2021 (7 p.m.)
THE SERIES: Series Tied 15-15-2
LAST MEETING: Presbyterian 29, Davidson 24 (April 10, 2021)
FOLLOW THE ACTION
WATCH: Davidson All-Access
LIVE STATS: Sidearm Stats
RADIO: WSPG (Ryan Clary)
TWITTER: @BlueHoseFtball
GAME NOTES: Presbyterian Notes | PFL Notes
Last Time Out
• The Presbyterian College football team opened its home slate in PFL action on Saturday afternoon suffering a 38-30 setback against Morehead State at Bailey Memorial Stadium.
• Redshirt sophomore quarterback Ren Hefley went 50-for-80 with 539 yards and four touchdowns.
• Freshman wide receiver Jalyn Witcher recorded 12 receptions for a career-high 178 yards and two touchdowns.
Carolina Border Clash
• The 2021 Pioneer Football League (PFL) matchup between Davidson and Presbyterian will feature the inaugural Carolina Border Clash for the 1919 Cup. The history between the two schools dates back to 1919 and the rivalry stems from the dispute over the North Carolina and South Carolina border, also known as the 35th Parallel.
•The first matchup between the Wildcats and the Blue Hose was on Nov. 22, 1919. The teams played every year until 1926 before taking a 23-year hiatus when Presbyterian won 27-7. Since Presbyterian's entry into the PFL during the 2020-21 season, the Blue Hose are 1-1 against the Wildcats. All-time though, the series is dead even: 15-15-2. The opportunity to claim the 1919 Cup and the all-time series advantage ups the ante for both teams going into Saturday's game.
• The 1919 Cup trophy will be 27 inches tall, with a plaque showing the Davidson logo on top of the North Carolina state outline "clashing" with the Presbyterian logo on top of the South Carolina state outline.
Last Time vs Davidson
• Presbyterian faced Davidson twice in 2021 with both teams winning on its respective home fields including the Blue Hose winning the last meeting on April 10, 2021 by the score of 29-24 in Clinton.
• In that contest, Tyler Huff went 21-for-25 for 198 yards and two passing scores while also rushing a touchdown in. Wideout Keith Pearson totaled 114 receiving yards and two touchdowns in that contest as well.
• In that contest, Colby Campbell totaled a program-record 25 tackles including three tackles for loss in the victory.
Opponent Profile
• Davidson comes into Saturday's matchup with a 3-1 record coming off of a bye week. In their last game action, the Wildcats defeated Stetson 35-28 on October 2nd.
• The Wildcats run first offense is led by Coy Williams who has 284 yards on the ground and six rushing scores thru four contests. Mark McCurdy has 237 yards and three scores, while Dylan Sparks has 227 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
• On the defensive side of the ball, Jake Alexander has 23 tackles including a pair of tackles for loss on the season to pace the Davidson defense. Jonathan Hammond has totaled a team-high four sacks.
• As a team, the Wildcats are third in all of FCS averaging 287.2 rushing yards per game. Davidson is second in third down conversions converting 54.4% on the season.
• With his six rushing scores, Williams is 12th in FCS overall thru four games.
Blue Hose in the Ranks
• Quarterback Ren Hefley is tops in all of FCS with 21 passing scores and is second with 408.0 passing yards per contest. Hefley is also second in all of FCS with 33.4 completion per game on average in five games.
• Freshman wideout Jalyn Witcher currently leads all pass catchers with eight receiving scores and is seventh in receptions per game (7.0), and nine with 103.2 receiving yards per game.
• As a team, PC is first in the nation in passing offense with 461.0 yards per contest. PC is second in total offense with 570.2 yards per game. The Blue Hose are fourth among FCS teams with 45.0 points per game this year.
Receivers Racking Up the Yards
• The Blue Hose have had 23 different players record at least one catch which included 21 players in the season opener against St. Andrews.
• Freshman Jalyn Witcher has a team-high 35 catches to go along with 516 yards and a team-high eight touchdowns. Witcher has three 100 yard games on the year.
• Matthew Rivera has totaled 32 catches for 512 yards and four scores this season. He has also added three 100+ yard performances this season.
• Kiaran Turner has 336 yards receiving and a pair of scores as Turner had 100+ yards against Fort Lauderdale week two.
• Ren Hefley's 10 touchdowns in the opener against St. Andrews were spread around to eight different pass catchers on Saturday.
Airing it Out
• Hefley is pacing an offensive attack that is averaging 461 passing yards per game in PC's first five contests. Hefley has totaled 2040 yards thru the air while recording 21 touchdowns during the 2021 season.
Record Breaking Debut
• In Kevin Kelley's debut the Presbyterian College offense lit up the scoreboard in record breaking fashion. Ren Hefley totaled a DI School record 39 pass completions for 576 yards which ranks second in the same record book.
• Hefley also totaled a DI school record 10 passing scores with three of those going to freshman Jalyn Witcher who tied a single-game DI record.
• Witcher's 156 yards receiving ranked fourth in the DI single-game record book.
• As a team, Presbyterian totaled a DI record 51 completions, 669 passing yards, 10 passing scores, 94 total offensive plays and 814 total offensive yards.
Kelley Set to Lead the Blue Hose
• After coaching Pulaski Academy to nine state titles and totaling 200 wins in 18 seasons, Kevin Kelley is set to lead the Blue Hose beginning in the fall of 2021.
• Kelley was the offensive coordinator for six years at Pulaski before being named head coach of the Bruins.
• Under his tutelage, Kelley's players and teams have broken 15 national high school football records while compiling a 216-29-1 mark.
• Kelley approaches the game of football differently, as documented by media outlets such as ESPN, HBO Real Sports and Fox Business News. His philosophy and tactics have been featured in articles in several publications such as the New York Times and Sports Illustrated, as well as in the book "Sportscasting."
