DAVIDSON, N.C. – In the most unorthodox edition of the Carolina Border Clash – competed on a Sunday evening due to the effects of Hurricane Helene – the Presbyterian College football team erased a rough beginning against Davidson by scoring 19 unanswered points. However, the final result tilted to the Wildcats by a 48-37 margin.

Head coach Steve Englehart's offense evolved into a yard-munching machine after falling behind 35-6, turning a dire deficit into a 10-point game midway through the 3^rd quarter.

Quarterback Collin Hurst and senior tight end Worth Warner each turned in career-best performances in the Battle for the 1919 Cup, the key figures of an offense that collected 494 yards.

The Blue Hose outscored their arch-rivals by a 25-12 difference in the second half, ending the game with more first downs than Davidson (28-23) and converting 9-of-13 third-down situations.

Presbyterian will now get set for a cross-country flight next Saturday to face off with San Diego, tangling with the Toreros at 4:00 PM eastern time on October 5.

 
FINAL SCORE: Davidson, 48 – Presbyterian, 37
RECORDS: Presbyterian (2-3, 0-1 PFL) – Davidson (3-1, 1-0 PFL)
LOCATION: Davidson College Stadium (Davidson, N.C.)

 
NOTABLES
 
- Hurst continued his ascension as a redshirt-freshman, passing for 358 yards and three touchdowns in the PFL opener. His favorite target on Sunday was Warner, who caught eight targets for a game-high 132 receiving yards.

- Sunday was the first time in the Englehart era that a QB threw for at least 350 yards, following in the footsteps of Ren Hefley who was the last Blue Hose to achieve that feat in the 2021 campaign (versus Valparaiso).

- A dangerous weapon no matter if it's pass, run, or kick return, senior Zach Switzer found the end zone three times against Davidson (two rushing and another through the air). It's the first time that a PC player tallied two rushing TD's in the same game since November 2022.

- Presby's 37 points are the most scored against the Wildcats – a stalwart program in the Pioneer League – since the 2010 matchup, producing their second-highest scoring quarter of the year in the 3^rd (18 points).

- Switzer's all-purpose totals topped out at 143 yards (58 of which came in special teams), while Hurst completed a pass to six different receivers on the night.

- Senior linebacker Alex Herriott registered yet another double-digit performance in tackling (13), joined by Sebastian Conwell and Brooks Russ-Martin who combined for 23 stops themselves.

- For Herriott, it's the 12^th time in his career with at least 10 tackles in one outing. In the first quarter, he became the third player in PC's Division I history (since 2007) to reach 300 tackles altogether, joining the company of Donelle Williams and Colby Campbell.

- During a game that featured 13 total touchdowns and 1,008 yards from scrimmage, the Blue Hose witnessed four TD's in the second half while gathering 195 yards in the 3^rd quarter alone.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED – FIRST HALF
 
- It took some feeling out before the touchdowns came frequently by both sides, with Davidson leading 7-0 at the end of the 1^st. They rambled a 12-play drive to start off the contest that covered 70 yards, plunging to the end zone from 16 yards out.

- Only getting two drives in the first frame due to the Wildcats' run-focused strategy, the Blue Hose committed a critical error in their first series of the 2^nd, throwing a 99-yard pick six that made the score 21-0.

- In true PC fashion, the miscue didn't hamper the mood and coach Englehart's crew answered that turnover with a touchdown on the next series. Hurst lofted a 15-yard TD to Switzer with 4:26 until intermission, finishing a 70-yard series in eight snaps.

- Overall, six touchdowns were submitted in the 2^nd period. After the Scotsmen's first score, Davidson answered with consecutive touchdown drives to push the advantage to 35-6.

- Now facing a 29-point hole, PC closed the half on a positive note by managing another scoring drive that landed at eight plays. Warner hauled in a 40-yard reception to set up Switzer for his second TD of the evening, making it a 35-13 discrepancy.
 

HOW IT HAPPENED – SECOND HALF
 
- All of Presbyterian's drives in the 3^rd quarter ended in six points, turning into a game of seesaw between two offenses who wouldn't be denied. Dominic Kibby landed his 13^th career touchdown from 23 yards away in the early moments of half number two, beginning PC's lengthy rally.

- The Blue Hose forced a Davidson three-and-out immediately thereafter, going on to score their third touchdown in a row with a 15-yard dart to Nathan Levicki.

- Coach E's unit had now gone on a 19-0 spurt with lots of game still remaining, whittling the once-commanding lead to 35-25 with 5:40 left in the 3^rd stanza.

- At this point, PC's output stood at 25 points instead of 28 due to a pair of missed PAT's and a failed two-point conversion try.

- The Wildcats delivered a haymaker to stop the bleeding, offering a 63-yard rushing TD just two minutes later that brought the lead back up to 17.

- Continuing the chaos, Presby bounced back again in only three plays, handing the ball to Quante Jennings for a 33-yard sprint and his first career touchdown. Another misfire in the point-after attempt left the score at 42-31 with three minutes until the 4^th.

- Davidson's final scoring spree proved to take the wind out of PC's sails, going 64 yards in 12 plays on a touchdown-drive that gobbled up seven minutes of clock.

- By this point, Presbyterian trailed 48-31 and was dealt only three minutes of time at their disposal. They made the most of the dwindling comeback, converting a 4^th-and-10 from just outside the red zone and later giving Switzer his 3^rd TD of the night.

- From there, Davidson maintained possession of the ball until the final horn, escaping PC's furious resurgence with an 11-point win.

 
UP NEXT
 
- The blue and garnet will traverse to the Pacific Time zone next weekend to face San Diego in California, setting up a PFL matchup between two clubs who came up short in their first conference encounter.

- SD grabbed the W over both Cal Poly and Central Washington to start off the year 2-0, although they've tasted consecutive losses against tough competition since that point.

- The Toreros were defeated by #10 North Dakota and reigning PFL champion Drake in last-minute nail-biters, losing those two affairs by nine combined points. They'll return home for the first time in almost a full month when PC comes flying in.