DAVIDSON, N.C. – Steadily building an 18-point halftime edge and staying in front from that point, the Wildcats of Davidson outgunned the Presbyterian College football team on Saturday night in the latest edition of the Carolina Border Clash. Although PC ended the rivalry affair with the advantage in total yards (419-365), the board displayed 45-20 in favor of the home side.

Unable to slow a grueling Davidson offense that specializes in a punishing ground game and time of possession, the Blue Hose were nonetheless able to come away with points in exactly half of their 10 drives.

Despite a new career-high of 387 total yards by starting QB Tyler Wesley along with three touchdowns accounted for, the Wildcats tallied their sixth consecutive victory as one of two undefeated PFL teams inside of league action.

Two of Presby's next three dates will have Bailey Memorial Stadium as the backdrop, flipping back home on November 4 to go head-to-head with San Diego for a noon kickoff.
 
FINAL SCORE: Davidson, 45 – Presbyterian, 28
RECORDS: Presbyterian (3-5, 1-4) – Davidson (6-2, 5-0)
LOCATION: Richardson Stadium (Davidson, N.C.)



 
NOTABLES
 
- Wesley eviscerated his previous best in the rushing attack (79 yards against the Toreros in 2022), gaining 110 more than that particular day while responsible for 92% of the team's offense versus the Wildcats.

- The sophomore found his target on 65% of his 23 throws (15 completions). Deverious Abercrombie collected a personal-high 82 receiving yards to go beside his second end-zone grab of the fall, followed closely by familiar face Dominic Kibby (70 yards on five catches).

- A trio of Blue Hose defenders posted double-digit tackling numbers in another spirited showing, carried by junior linebacker Alex Herriott for the fifth consecutive outing. The reigning PFL Defensive Player of the Week, Herriott evened his individual-high with 16 stops (a figure he also amassed just seven days back against Marist).

- Lining up against a Davidson core that elected to run the ball 62 times, Herriott – who has moved his season-total to 92 tackles – was joined by Malik Lewis and Brooks Russ-Martin as impact-players (20 combined stops at 10 each), while Malek Horlback and Anthony Thornton produced nine and seven tackles respectively.

- Head coach Steve Englehart's club accomplished an average of 7.2 yards per snap in a hostile environment, scoring on all four trips to the red zone (21 of their 28 points).

 
HOW IT HAPPENED – FIRST HALF
 
- Resembling more of a boxing match rather than a football game in the first 15 minutes due to the swiftness that both squads would counter each other's big blows, the score read 14-10 Wildcats after the opening period. The Pioneer League enemies traded punches in the early going, with DC striking first following a high snap on a Presby punt try.

- Immediately showcasing what was to come with his feet, Wesley nearly single-handedly moved the chains on PC's second set by notching a 14-yard conversion on a third-down scramble and a 68-yard sprint to paydirt at the 8:37 mark.

- A special teams miscue – in the form of a muffed punt return – gifted Davidson possession with just 26 yards to the end zone, finding their destination with 5:20 to go in the 1^st that thrusted the lead back to seven.

- Keeping the Wildcats guessing by switching signal-callers on their ensuing series, sophomore Ty Englehart piggybacked off of Wesley's positive yardage for a 24-yard scamper which allowed Mack Mikko to connect on a 22-yard field goal.

- By the time that the first frame had wrapped up, PC had grabbed 119 rushing yards just by the quarterbacks' doing. Unfortunately for the visitors, Davidson's offense equaled their efficiency by reaching a 43-yard touchdown run 39 seconds into the 2^nd.

- Continuing to match the Wildcats with sizable gains from the line of scrimmage, Wesley caught the defense napping for another huge progression of 73 yards. That's a new career-long for the Floridian, while also standing as PC's longest carry of the year thus far.

- Although the rest of Presby's plays stalled immediately after, Mikko was able to keep the points flowing with another made FG from the same distance of 22.

- Now down by eight at 21-13, the Blue Hose D was able to halt their Carolina foe just past midfield, although a surprising connection from 50 yards out by kicker Adam Zouagui lofted the lead back to 11.

- The first time that a PC opponent made a field goal from that range in four years, Davidson kept up the momentum with 64 ticks on the clock by shifting a 12-yard TD pass just before the first-half horn (increasing the advantage to 31-13.)

 
HOW IT HAPPENED – SECOND HALF
 
- Stuffed on 3^rd and short thanks to Horlback's maneuver, the Wildcats opted for a risk and was successful on a 4^th-down call, translating that to another TD moments later that hoisted the deficit to its largest perch of 25 points.

- Not going down quietly, Wesley guided his offense to another profitable sequence with big plays aplenty. Staying alive on a 24-yard third-down burst and a 20-yard toss to Kibby back-to-back, Presbyterian wouldn't be saddled with a turnover on downs behind a four-yard lob to Abercrombie on a must-score scenario.

- Capping a 75-yard series that whittled the hole to 38-20, the remainder of the 3^rd saw no more offensive excitement via three straight punts on no first-down formations.

- While the Wildcats extended the lead back to 25 on their last full series – eating up close to eight minutes thanks to 15 run designs and a short TD through the air – PC again responded with an impressive late-game drive that included a rare two-point conversion.

- Wesley completed five passes on what turned out to be their final trip, succeeding on a pair of 4^th downs and finishing things off with an 18-yard dart to Cincere Gill and a two-point laser that found Jordan Irizarry's hands.

 
UP NEXT
 
- While it hasn't been smooth sailing for the majority of San Diego's tenure in 2023 (only able to take a W twice in two months), the latest of those victories came on Saturday in California over Morehead State by a 17-11 clip.

- After taking a 28-3 win against Presbyterian on the west coast 12 months ago, the Toreros will travel to Clinton while PC searches for revenge and their second triumph at home this semester.

- Kickoff at Bailey Memorial is slated for 12:00 PM with an ESPN+ broadcast, denoting the penultimate bout from Presby's turf until the season's conclusion.