Presbyterian College

CLINTON, S.C. – For the first time since it was created in 2021, the Presbyterian College football team has grasped the 1919 Cup, signifying the Carolina Border Clash rivalry against nearby Davidson. PC churned out nearly 350 rushing yards as a team to down the Wildcats 38-21 on a drenched Saturday afternoon.

The Blue Hose shrugged off an early 14-0 deficit to nab five consecutive touchdown drives, propelled to the victory thanks in large part to the backfield duo of Jackson Burleson and Damion Moate: 39 combined carries for 243 rushing yards and four TD's.

Presbyterian has set a new all-time program record for their longest-ever home winning streak, surpassing 700 days since their last Clinton loss and getting the W in 11 straight games at Bailey Memorial Stadium.

One week after head coach Matt Rahl's crew stacked up five passing touchdowns in a 34-point drubbing over St. Thomas, they secured five rushing touchdowns against Davidson to end the Cats' bragging rights in the series.

Now with back-to-back Pioneer League wins on their resume, Presby will play their next two matchups away from the Palmetto State as they turn their attention to Stetson next weekend. Kickoff in Florida will take place at 2:00 PM.


 
FINAL SCORE: Presbyterian, 38 – Davidson, 21

RECORDS: Presbyterian (3-3, 2-1)…Davidson (2-5, 0-3)

LOCATION: Bailey Memorial Stadium (Clinton, S.C.)






 
RUNNING AMOK

 
- Moate and Burleson took turns gashing the Davidson defense as they erased an early two-score hole, both setting individual career-highs in rushing yards (109 for the former, 134 for the latter).

- Saturday was PC's highest accumulation of rushing yards since a 41-0 smashing over Morehead State last season, factoring in 90 yards by quarterback Landon Sharpe as well (who also threw for 149 and one touchdown).

- The Blue Hose averaged almost six yards per carry on 59 attempts, building an 18-point halftime advantage and keeping that double-digit lead for the entire second half.

- Over the last two weeks, Presbyterian has punted just four times in 23 drives. Their five straight touchdown series added up to 44 snaps and 274 total yards.


 
ELEVEN IS HEAVEN

 
- A new Blue Hose record has been reached after disposing Davidson: the 11^th consecutive win at PC's home site. That beats out the previous high of 10 straight Clinton wins, which was gathered over a four-year period from 1963-66.

- The Scotsmen are averaging 43 points per game throughout this streak. Saturday's result is the ninth time in the past 10 home encounters that PC has collected at least 400 offensive yards.

- Eight of the 11 wins at Bailey Memorial in this streak have occurred over PFL opponents. In fact, Presbyterian is now 12-3 in their last 15 conference games (dating back to October of 2024) which ties Drake for the best mark of any school in the league over that span.

- The Blue Hose have scored 57 touchdowns during this 24-month-long streak, with Saturday being the most points that PC has put together against Davidson specifically since their 2010 clash.


 
CAUSING CHAOS

 
- PC's defense was an underrated compliment to the victory, holding the Wildcats to just seven points in the final three quarters and stopping Davidson on nine of their 12 third-down snaps.

- Junior safety Ryan Largin was one off his personal career-best with eight tackles, and he also snagged an interception in the 1^st quarter after a breakup from Shyne Johnson.

- Seven different Presbyterian players recorded at least one tackle-for-a-loss, including Bryce Stringer and Tymaries Durant who each had a sack.

- Davidson was only 2-of-5 on fourth-down gambles, including a key stop late in the first half that helped PC grow an 11-point lead with another touchdown.

- With just over nine minutes to go in the 4^th and the Blue Hose ahead 32-21, Davidson QB Casey Bullock tried a keeper on 4^th-and-2 at the Presby 36. He was stopped short of the line to gain by Andrew Ruppe and Jalyn Turner, opening the door for PC to drive 65 yards on eight plays and land their final touchdown of the contest.


 


HOW IT HAPPENED – FIRST HALF

 
- The first four minutes were severely suboptimal for Rahl's club, fumbling the opening the kickoff (which led to a Wildcat touchdown) and losing the ball again on their first true series.

- Davidson quickly led by 14 points with Presbyterian only taking three offensive snaps, but Sharpe and co. settled in and overcame that adversity with flying colors.

- Freshman wideout Anton Smith crept close to the red zone with a 17-yard reception, setting up Burleson to get past the secondary for his first of three touchdowns overall.

- Largin's pick happened just two plays later, and PC reaped the benefits with a short field by scoring again. This time, Sharpe found rookie tight end Sean McNamara for his first collegiate TD with 3:58 left in the 1^st, a 13-yarder.

- Presbyterian was still trailing by a deuce going into the 2^nd period (due to a blocked PAT and failed two-point try), but they would jump ahead nonetheless just two minutes into the quarter change with a two-yard plunge by Moate.

- Durant sacked Bullock on the Cats' next trip to signal a three-and-out, and the Scotsmen were swiftly back in the end zone for the fourth drive in a row.

- Another Burleson house call pushed the lead to 25-14 with eight minutes until the break. Davidson held possession for the next five minutes, but an incomplete pass on 4^th down gave PC the opportunity for a bonus touchdown with 25 seconds on the clock.

- This one was a direct snap to Burleson, concluding the 32-0 avalanche and giving Presby a comfortable advantage at the midway point.


 
HOW IT HAPPENED – SECOND HALF

 
- The home side did not separate themselves any further in the 3^rd quarter, and Davidson would manage their first TD since the opening moments with 4:46 to go in the period.

- Presbyterian fumbled for the third time with 1:53 left until the 4^th, but the Wildcats could not cut into the deficit and punted the ball back to PC on the last play of the stanza.

- Davidson would only have two full drives in the final 15 minutes, and both of them ended with a 4^th-down failure. The aforementioned stop by Turner and Ruppe allowed Sharpe to score on a 17-yard keeper with 4:41 to go, effectively ending any comeback hopes.



COACH RAHL'S COMMENTS