CLINTON, S.C. – In the 34^th edition of the Carolina Border Clash and the Battle for the 1919 Cup, the Presbyterian College football squad fell behind in the early going against rival Davidson before ultimately taking a 56-24 loss under the lights of Bailey Memorial Stadium on Saturday night.

The Wildcats were unable to deny the Blue Hose from reaching paydirt in the final three stanzas – securing a pair of rushing TD's from junior Mikai Stanley and another through the air received by Delvecchio Powell II – as PC gathered 331 yards of total offense. In the end, Davidson's vaunted triple-option rushing attack proved too much to overcome on Saturday, leading to the visitors' second straight win in the series and their first victory in Clinton since 1966.
 
FINAL SCORE: Davidson, 56 – Presbyterian, 24
RECORDS: Presbyterian (1-3, 0-1 PFL), Davidson (3-1, 1-0 PFL)
LOCATION: Bailey Memorial Stadium (Clinton, S.C.)
 
OPENING KICK:
- Stanley's two-touchdown performance registered as the first time in the last five appearances that a PC running back found the end zone twice in the same outing (joining Powell's pair of scores against Marist last November), the first of which went for a season-long 61 yards. The Wilmington, N.C. product finished the contest with 74 yards on seven attempts, backed up by 132 all-purpose yards from Powell (75 receiving, 57 rushing).

- Only four yards away from obtaining his second 200-yard passing effort of the young campaign, redshirt-junior quarterback Nate Hayden completed 20 of 31 attempts next to the aforementioned 4^th quarter dart to Powell, finding PC's RB and true freshman Dominic Kibby five times each in the '22 PFL opener.

- Keegan Halloran and George Wilder – the former in a return to the lineup after consecutive injury-caused absences – ended the night as staples of the Blue Hose secondary, syncing up for 27 total tackles. With 14 altogether (nine solo, five assisted), Halloran tied an individual best while also recording a tackle for a loss. Alex Herriott joined the redshirt-junior and Wilder's career-high 13 stops with 10 of his own.

- Presbyterian enacted their most efficient special teams performance of the fall against the Wildcats, as freshman wideout Shawn Lodge posted 119 yards in kickoff returns. Additionally, punter Parker Maddrey consistently put Davidson in unfavorable field position throughout the evening, booting the ball for a total distance of 246 yards behind a season-long 61-yarder (the first of three kicks to eclipse the 50-yard mark). The junior also drilled his first field goal attempt of the semester on PC's opening drive from 27 yards out.
 
 HOW IT HAPPENED:
- A 38-yard pitch-and-catch from Hayden to Powell preceded another 15-yard gainer to Kibby on Presbyterian's first series, which took place after Davidson ran the game's opening kickoff 89 yards for a TD. Maddrey's kick through the uprights brought the Blue Hose within four before the visitors entered the 2^nd frame ahead 14-3.

- Trailing by 18 at the midway point of the 2^nd quarter, Stanley's first strike down the middle of the blue and white offensive line brought the Blue Hose within 21-10, although the Wildcats broke through for the next 14 points before the intermission.

- Following an interception in the opening moments of quarter no. three, Davidson looked as if another trip to the end zone was on the horizon, although a fourth-and-short stop for a loss by A.J. Seay prevented that chance, directly leading to Presbyterian's second touchdown of the night, again off the hands of Stanley from two yards out.

- The first collegiate catch in the career of Honrae Murray set the stage for the Blue Hose to hit the 20-point mark for the third straight weekend, going for 24 yards at midfield. 41 of the team's 78 yards on that drive came on the ground from either Powell or Stanley, eating up five minutes of clock against a team that has dominated time of possession through their first four games of the season.

- A 30-yard lob to Kibby and a 15-yard pattern to Powell allowed head coach Steve Englehart's unit another score in their final drive. Davidson – the FCS leader in rushing yards per game with 350 – put up 396 in that category for the W, averaging six yards per carry to stay briefly ahead of the Blue Hose across one of the program's oldest rivalries.
 
COACH ENGLEHART'S THOUGHTS:
"This isn't anything new with this group, but I was again very proud of the effort that our guys put out there tonight. They competed hard until the final snap, like they've done every Saturday, although I think this game was decided on the number of big plays that were given up. Obviously this Davidson team is as good as anybody you'll see at this level when they run the football, but their big passing plays were too much for us to overcome tonight, not to mention some big special team turnarounds."
 
UP NEXT:
Having to wait another two-week period before returning to Bailey Memorial Stadium, the Blue Hose and their ever-increasing offensive production will once again play in a visiting capacity next Saturday, traveling to Kentucky to battle Morehead State on the first day of October.

Only having been regular opponents for the past two seasons – since PC joined the Pioneer Football League in the Spring of 2021, as a matter of fact – the Blue Hose will hope to avenge a one-score defeat at the hands of the Eagles last season in a 38-30 barnburner.

MSU has started the campaign with an identical record to coach Englehart's group at 1-3, falling to Stetson on Saturday by a 38-26 clip. Kickoff at Jayne Stadium is slated for 1:00 p.m. seven days from now.