DeLAND, Fla. – After six lead changes in the final eight minutes and a goal-line touchdown with under 20 seconds on the clock, the Presbyterian College football team confirmed their third straight PFL victory in a 47-43 slugfest over Stetson on Saturday afternoon.
A grand total of 51 points were scored in the 4
th quarter as PC and the Hatters exchanged haymakers. Five total touchdowns took place over the last five minutes, including a short pass from
Landon Sharpe to
Jalen Patrick and a pair of
Jackson Burleson runs.
The Blue Hose eclipsed 500 yards of total offense for the third time this season as they arranged 33 second-half points. PC scored either a touchdown or a field goal in all but one of their seven drives after the break.
Following the Stetson win and a Drake loss to Marist, head coach
Matt Rahl's club is now the winningest team in the Pioneer Football League with a 13-3 record in their last 16 conference contests.
Saturday was the first half of a back-to-back road sequence for the Scotsmen, as they'll travel to Valparaiso on October 24 for a 1:00 EST kick.
FINAL SCORE: Presbyterian, 47 – Stetson, 43
RECORDS: Presbyterian (4-3, 3-1)…Stetson (1-6, 0-3)
LOCATION: Spec Martin Memorial Stadium (DeLand, Fla.)
BURLESON IS A BEAST
- Just seven days after putting up a career-high 134 rushing yards and three touchdowns in a triumph over Davidson to keep PC's 11-game home winning streak afloat, Burleson was again spectacular with 171 all-purpose yards and three more scores.
- He averaged six yards per touch on 26 carries and two receptions, earning his largest chunk of the day in the final minutes with a 45-yard gain after Stetson had taken the advantage.
- Burleson has found the end zone six times in the last two weeks of PFL action. His backfield mate,
Damion Moate, was also effective in Florida with 90 rushing yards and two touchdowns himself.
#RAHLBALL IN FULL SWING
- Presbyterian has assembled 1,588 total yards of offense over these three conference wins against the Hatters, Davidson, and St. Thomas. That comes out to an average of 529 per game.
- Rahl and offensive coordinator Mike Babock's group has stacked up 20 touchdowns over this three-game winning streak, getting exactly 28 first downs in each of those outings.
- The Blue Hose ran 92 offensive snaps compared to Stetson's 58, holding possession for 13 minutes longer than their opponent.
- PC has defeated the Hatters in all three of Rahl's seasons (counting the previous two as director of the offensive line), scoring at least 42 points in each attempt.
FOURTH QUARTER BONANZA
- Presby entered the final frame with a 24-15 cushion on the scoreboard. What unfolded over the final 15 minutes were 41 plays, 415 combined yards, and seven touchdowns.
- Stetson grabbed a 29-27 lead with eight minutes remaining after PC fumbled a kickoff, only for the Hatters to muff a punt in the immediate aftermath which allowed the Scotsmen to jump back ahead.
- A 75-yard touchdown pass allowed Stetson to reclaim the lead, but Presbyterian responded with a six-play, 62-yard drive that made it 40-36 Blue Hose.
- The excitement continued in the final minute as the home side produced the possible game-winning touchdown from 13 yards away.
- PC had 40 seconds to work with and 65 yards ahead of them, trailing by three points. Sharpe hit a home run on the first play of the drive, getting the ball to freshman
Anton Smith on a 48-yard missile.
- Burleson notched his third TD with fewer than 20 seconds to go, flipping the pressure back to Stetson in another dramatic turn.
- The Hatters would only reach midfield in their bid to steal the game, eventually fumbling as time expired after a standard pass and two laterals.
COACH RAHL'S COMMENTS
"What an exceptional team effort on the road! I am beyond pleased with how our team just kept competing until the final play as we weathered a ton of adversity late in the game."
"Obviously we were not perfect from start to finish, but we made the biggest plays when we needed them the most, which helped us overcome another good opponent."
HOW IT HAPPENED – FIRST HALF
- The Blue Hose caught Stetson off guard right from the first play, as rookie specialist
Kade Bailey popped up a textbook onside kick that gave PC the ball inside Hatter territory.
- Presbyterian made good use of the short field, scoring the game's first touchdown in less than three minutes (an 18-yard scamper by Moate).
- The score stayed at 7-0 for the rest of the 1
st quarter, as PC would have two separate drives that were a double-digit number of plays end with an interception.
- Senior cornerback
Noah Taylor (who entered Saturday with nine pass breakups which ties for the second-most in FCS) picked off Stetson quarterback Thomas von Grote late in the 1
st, giving PC possession at the Hatter 26.
- The Scotsmen benefitted from the short field again, paying off the turnover in the opening moments of quarter number two with a second rushing touchdown by Moate.
- Stetson got off the mat with 52 seconds remaining until intermission, converting a 4
th-and-4 for a 34-yard gain and then launching a 41-yard TD two plays later. They also opted to go for a two-point conversion and succeeded in that gamble.
- PC went three-and-out with 21 seconds left in the period, which opened the door for Stetson to acquire two gains of 30-plus yards and take the lead on the final play of the half.
HOW IT HAPPENED – SECOND HALF
- Suddenly down 15-14, Presbyterian's offense never wavered and hit a 24-yard field goal within the first four minutes of the third stanza to go back in front.
- PC outscored Stetson 10-0 in the 3
rd, notching an 80-yard touchdown drive on just six snaps to reach a nine-point lead at the end of the quarter.
- Beginning that series was sophomore
Jackson Thompson who caught a 36-yard pass from Sharpe for his first reception of the year. Burleson finished off the drive with a 23-yard wheel route from the backfield.
- Chaos erupted in the 4
th (as described in more detail above), with new points being added to the scoreboard on an average of every two minutes.
- The Blue Hose took the W with heroics from Burleson, Smith, Patrick, and others, giving PC their first true road victory of the campaign.
