CLINTON, S.C. – On a rainy Saturday afternoon where the Presbyterian College football team celebrated the numerous accomplishments of their 11 seniors prior to kickoff against the Dayton Flyers, a true freshman stepped into the spotlight and shined brightly for the most eye-catching performance by a PC receiver this year. Unfortunately for the Blue Hose, the visitors' offensive prowess was seldom slowed, translating to a 52-28 result that favored the Flyers in the 2022 Bailey Memorial Stadium finale.

Going for one touchdown in each quarter - three of them from the explosiveness of Kibby and another on a lengthy pick-six from sophomore A.J. Seay – Presbyterian was able to mostly keep pace with another PFL opponent that entered the contest playing their most consistent football of the late season. In the end, Dayton seized the victory for the fourth consecutive weekend and the sixth time in the previous seven outings.

After 10 straight Saturdays of battling on the gridiron, the Blue Hose will anticipate their BYE week before the 2022 curtain call on November 19 at Stetson. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. in DeLand, Florida.
 
FINAL SCORE: Dayton, 52 – Presbyterian, 28
RECORDS: Presbyterian (1-9, 0-7 PFL) – Dayton (7-2, 5-1 PFL)
LOCATION: Bailey Memorial Stadium (Clinton, S.C.)
 
OPENING KICK:
- Reaching not only the most receiving yards by any PC performer this year, Kibby's splendid afternoon under the clouds marks the first 200-yard effort by a Blue Hose member in 12 months, reaching a grand total of 212 on seven snags and three trips to the end zone. The rookie's trifecta of TD's added up for 169 yards while gathering a ridiculous 30 yards per reception, becoming the first Presbyterian wideout since Jalen Jones at Valparaiso last November to record three scores in a single outing.

- Head coach Steve Englehart's club split duties at the quarterback spot between redshirt-junior Nate Hayden and freshman Tyler Wesley, combining for 364 passing yards (a PFL season-best). 253 of those yards came from the latter, completing a personal-high 16 throws and a pair of touchdowns to Kibby in the 2^nd and 4^th frames.

- Linebacker Sebastian Conwell and defensive back Keegan Halloran (one of the PC seniors that were recognized earlier in the day) synced up for 16 tackles in the loss at eight apiece. The team's leading tackler, sophomore Alex Herriott, contributed seven stops to his credit to give him 90 for the year.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- It only took 14 seconds for the Blue Hose to answer an opening-drive score by the Flyers on their own first series, as Hayden found Kibby on a 75-yard bomb for six points on the first offensive play from scrimmage. At that moment, PC had outgained Dayton's entire first drive of 65 yards with just one play, leading to the most energetic start of the fall for the blue and white.

- A special teams miscue in the form of a yellow flag allowed the visitors strong field position on Presbyterian's side of the field, the first of five separate occasions that Dayton was granted a similar short field. They would ultimately capitalize on the advantage, avoiding a near disastrous turnover at the goal line to surge in front 14-7.

- Davin Moses was able to jar the ball loose from Dayton QB Shane Hamm on a 2^nd down play, seemingly giving possession back to the Blue Hose after Herriott recovered in the end zone. However, another costly penalty negated the turnover and kept the ball in the Flyers' hands for the one-score lead.

- That margin grew by another seven once Dayton swarmed into the backfield for a blocked punt that was ran back for a defensive TD. Once play transitioned into the 2^nd stanza, the Flyers continued the pressure on a 10-play, 54-yard scoring march that was capped by a seven-yard scamper past the pylon. The culprit of the extended deficit, running back Jake Chisholm, concluded the contest with 166 yards of total offense and four total touchdowns.

- Starting off yet another drive deep into Presbyterian territory (this one already in the red zone at the 19), the Flyers gambled on a 4^th and 1 scenario that paid off with a conversion and another short score on the goal line.

- Now with an uphill climb in front of them and a 28-point hole, the Blue Hose were able to finish off the half strongly by quickly finding their way to paydirt with 36 ticks remaining until the horn. Kibby again was the recipient of a long toss from Wesley on a 63-yarder, rolling into the locker room with some life to await the final 30 minutes.

- Unable to make do with any points on their first set of the 3^rd despite gaining a presence around midfield, Parker Maddrey's 53-yard punt was immediately answered with a 59-yard return from Sam Bubonics, initially setting up another profitable series for the visitors. That is until Seay stepped out in front of a short pass on the far sideline with nothing but grass in front of him, cutting the lead to 35-21 on the INT with under 13 minutes in the quarter.

- Once again able to begin their next set with a shorter yardage situation due to a PC flag, Dayton converted on their good fortune, but only with a 29-yard field goal from Sam Webster that pushed the edge back to 17.

- A stagnant 3^rd quarter from Presbyterian's offensive unit led to a missed 4^th-and-long attempt on the Flyers' end of the field, directly accounting for Dayton's ensuing scoring drive of 60 yards on six snaps. 54 of those yards came from Chisholm, who blasted into the end zone with 69 seconds left in the period.

- Continuing to fight hard in a theme that has remained throughout all of this semester, PC struck again with 13:16 to go on the third touchdown haul from Kibby to effectively put the newbie over the 200-yard threshold.

- While the Blue Hose's passing attack proved formidable in the conference setback, the team's rushing tendencies were mostly thwarted by a Dayton D that came into the bout boasting the sixth-best defense against the run in all of FCS football. When factoring in six sacks that deducted PC by 47 total yards, the home side finished the matchup with -9 yards in the rushing department.
 
UP NEXT:
- The lone team in the Pioneer Football League to have not yet engaged in their BYE week through the first 10 weeks of the campaign, PC will land at that date next Saturday to give themselves an extra seven days of preparation for the season finale at Stetson. The Blue Hose have emerged as the victor on nine occasions when taking on the Hatters over 12 meetings, recently taking a 56-14 defeat in Clinton to their southern foe last October.

- While Stetson has been on the losing end of their last four matchups, the Hatters nearly scooped up a surprise win over Davidson on Saturday in North Carolina, dropping a high-octane duel by a 56-48 clip. Currently at 3-5, Stetson will visit St. Thomas next weekend before hosting Presbyterian as part of the last day of the FCS regular season on November 19^th.