CLINTON, S.C. – A three-week precursor to Pioneer League Football action has come and gone for the Presbyterian College football team, setting the stage for what will be the most important date of the young season on Saturday evening under the lights of Bailey Memorial Stadium.

In the 34^th all-time meeting among ancient rivals, the Battle for the 1919 Cup will see its next chapter as the Blue Hose and first-year head coach square up with the Davidson Wildcats to open the eight-game PFL calendar with a bang.

Given the moniker of the Carolina Border Clash since becoming Pioneer Football League adversaries in the abbreviated Spring '21 campaign, Saturday's rivalry affair last took place in Clinton on April 10 of last year, a 29-24 triumph for the blue and white which became the 15^th W all-time over the Wildcats in school history.

After that result, Davidson was able to exact a bit of revenge on the Blue Hose in North Carolina last fall on their way to a PFL regular season championship and a berth in the FCS Playoffs. The Wildcats will enter tomorrow evening's contest at 2-1 overall following back-to-back wins over Barton and St. Andrews (the latter in a 56-6 drubbing at home), broadcasted by ESPN+ in Presbyterian's second home scrap of the semester.
 
GAMEDAY CENTRAL
WHAT: Presbyterian (1-2, 0-0) vs. Davidson (2-1, 0-0)
WHERE: Bailey Memorial Stadium (Clinton, S.C.)
WHEN: 7:00 p.m.
 
FOLLOW THE ACTION
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast Live Stats
RADIO: WSPG (Ryan Clary and Tyler Shuggart)
TWITTER: @BlueHoseFtball
GAME NOTES: Presbyterian Notes | Davidson Notes | PFL Notes
 
Opponent Profile
• It's been a strong start to the 2022 slate for Davidson and fifth-yeard head coach Scott Abell, posting back-to-back W's over Barton and St. Andrews by a combined score of 93-23 after an initial setback at Jacksonville State.

• Anchored by a potent triple-option rushing attack, the Wildcats have already gathered six separate 100-yard efforts on the ground, averaging 350 rushing yards per contest. That's at least 42 more than every other team throughout FCS football.

• Davidson's three most profitable performers on the ground (Coy Williams, QB Jayden Waddell, and Bernard Turner) have added up for a whopping 501 yards between them.

• In the Wildcats' most recent victory over St. Andrews, the 2-time defending PFL champions blistered the other side with 523 total yards of offense, finding 15 different ball-carriers in the 50-point route.

• Only needing to throw the football a grand total of 26 times in three games due to their success on the ground, Davidson is led defensively by linebacker Jaden Pask with 21 tackles, while the entire team has picked up 22 stops behind the line of scrimmage approaching league competition.
 
Last Time Out
• The Catamounts of Western Carolina got the better of Presbyterian last Saturday despite a formidable opening half from the blue and white, taking a 77-21 decision in PC's first trip to Cullowhee, NC since 2015.

• Finding the end zone once in the final three quarters for the second time in a row, Presbyterian found four separate receivers with 30 yards or greater (led by a 49-yard afternoon by Jalen Jones on four catches).

• Alex Herriott and Braydin Samuels (the latter making his first appearance of '22) synced up for 16 combined tackles in the contest while the entire PC defense brought down WCU three times for a sack.
 
PC Atop PFL Ranks
• As a unit, the Blue Hose sit inside the Pioneer Football League's top five in both yards per completion (3rd, 13) and total passing offense (4th, 204 yards per game) through their first three matchups.

• Additionally, the Presbyterian defense has conjured up the second-most sacks among all PFL competitors with seven, attributing towards a total loss of 37 yards.

• Guiding the league's third-place holder in time of possession, redshirt-junior QB Nate Hayden has engineered a promising beginning to his individual '22 season, thus far ranking third in the PFL in passing efficiency (135.8) while sitting fourth in both completion percentage (57%) and overall passing yards (571).

• Hayden's favorite target through September, freshman wideout Dominic Kibby, has raced to 202 yards in receptions to place 5th in the PFL.

• Living up to his billing as a preseason all-conference honoree as only a sophomore, linebacker Alex Herriott enters this weekend's game boasting more solo tackles than any other defender in the PFL (20), ranking third in sacks with a pair that have backed up opposing offenses for eight yards.
 
Around the PFL
• Three homestanding PFL teams picked up victories in Week 3 with Dayton and Morehead State winning their home openers while Davidson won a home game for the second-straight week.

• Dayton scored in its 500th consecutive game in a rout of visiting Kentucky State, extending its NCAA all-divisions record.

• Davidson stretched its home win streak to nine games, the seventh longest active win streak in the FCS.

• Davidson's Aaron Maione and Dayton's Jake Chisolm became the first PFL players to score three touchdowns in a game this season, each doing so in their respective home wins.
 
Bailey Memorial Turns 20
• September 10th, 2022 stood as the home opener for the Blue Hose to commemorate the 20th season of Presbyterian football at Bailey Memorial Stadium, officially opened on Sept. 14, 2002 in a 26-6 victory over Charleston Southern.

•  Over the last two decades, Presbyterian has amassed 54 wins inside Bailey Memorial since its dedication, emerging victorious four times or more in the same season at home with seven different teams.

• PC has reached the 30-point threshold in 30 different games at Bailey Memorial, with three of those occasions coming last fall.