Blue Hose Blues: Presbyterian’s Perfect Season Goes Up in Dayton Air

Valparaiso Beacons Athletics

Valparaiso continues to struggle on the season as they took their seventh straight loss moving them to an overall of 1-7. This loss was also their fourth loss in the conference putting them at 0-4 in conference play. For the Beacons their most recent loss came against Morehead State by a score of 17-13. It was a game in which Valparaiso led 13-10 at the half but they were then shutout in the second half leading to the loss. In the game the Beacons had 339 yards of total offense with the passing game accounting for 195 of those yards. The run game was solid on the day with them producing 144 yards. For the Beacons they only had one penalty in the game with it giving up 10 yards, showing that while they struggle to move the ball at times they do play disciplined football. The Beacons did also give the ball away once from a thrown interception, but did not lose the turnover battle as they also took the ball away once from an interception as well. The Beacons will look to end their losing streak this week when they take on Presbyterian  in Clinton S.C., who is coming off of their first loss of the season. Catch this game on ESPN Plus at 1:00 p.m. ET with Presbyterian looking to keep their conference title hopes alive. 

Presbyterian Blue Hose Athletics

The Presbyterian Blue Hose had their undefeated season come to end as they fell 35-19 against the Dayton Flyers. Now the Blue Hose sit at 7-1, but third in the conference as they are 3-1 there. The Blue Hose do not play Drake at all this season and having just lost to Dayton they will need those two teams to lose a couple of conference games if they still want a chance to win the conference this year. When looking at this most recent game it was a performance to forget. Presbyterian wants to forget this game because they turned the ball over three times, all from interceptions with one of those interceptions being a pick-six. The defense also couldn’t stop the run as they gave up 274 yards on the ground. While the defense struggled to stop the run they did only give up 104 yards from the pass, but a majority of the reason why Dayton wasn’t passing was from their lead and ability to run the ball. On the other side the offense did well enough even though they turned it over three times. The passing game did have 215 yards, with the run game having 147 yards on the day. For the Blue Hose this is a game they want to forget but it is also one that is good for them in showing that they need to fix a couple things up while they make their push to make the playoffs this season. They have a chance to make things right at home in Clinton S.C. when they take on Valparaiso who has lost seven games in a row. To see the Blue Hoses next game check them out on ESPN Plus at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Davidson Wildcats Athletics

Davidson has suffered their fourth loss in row as they couldn’t keep pace with San Diego, in a game that ended 40-28. The loss makes the Wildcats 1-7, with a conference record of 0-4. For the Wildcats it was another game in which the defense struggled to get off the field as they gave up a total of 483 total yards. The Wildcats offense didn’t have a bad though, as they produced 356 total yards. The passing game had 277 of those yards, with the run game having the other 79. While their offense had one of their better performances they still turned the ball over two times from interceptions thrown. Now Davidson will try to end their losing streak when they take on Morehead State in Kentucky at 1:00 p.m. ET. This game can be viewed on ESPN Plus.

Morehead State Eagles Athletics

Morehead State has rattled off their second straight win in a row. This win moves them just one game below .500 as they are now 4-5 on the season and sit at seventh in the conference with them having a record of 2-3 in the conference. This most recent win was against Valparaiso as the Eagles got a 17-13 victory. In this low scoring affair the Eagles got the win due to their defense getting a second half shutout after being down 3 at the half. For the Eagles it was a game in which the passing and running numbers were very similar as they passed for 158 yards, and rushed for 173 yards. These two totals give the Eagles 331 yards of total offense in the game. Morehead State also got a turnover in the game as they had an interception in the first half of the game. While they did take the ball away once they also gave it away once from a thrown interception, meaning the turnover battle ended in a draw. While not the Eagles most efficient game offensively they still managed to get the win, and that's what matters most. Now Morehead State will look for their third straight win when they take on Davidson at home in Morehead Kentucky. This game will kickoff at 1:00 p.m. ET, with it viewable on ESPN Plus. 

Drake Bulldogs Athletics

Drake makes it four wins in a row as they take down the Marist Red Foxes 31-17. This win improves the Bulldogs to 5-2, and 4-0 in conference, giving them first place overall. The Bulldogs victory came off of a very balanced offense with the passing attack having 163 yards, and the run game having 189 yards. This gave them a total of 352 yards on the day. Drake did cough the ball up once as they lost a fumble but the defense took one away on an interception making it a draw in the turnover battle. The Bulldogs will try to continue their winning streak into week 10 when they go on the road again to Indianapolis Indiana to take on the Butler Bulldogs. This matchup will have bragging rights to who is the best Bulldogs in the PFL. To see who comes out victorious in this matchup tune in at 1:00 p.m. ET on ESPN Plus.

Butler Bulldogs Athletics

Butler comes into this week as fresh as possible as they had week nine off. The Bulldogs currently sit at an overall record of 5-3 with a conference record of 3-1. In their last game they took down the Dayton Flyers 23-17 ending their five game win streak. Now they look down to take down the Drake Bulldogs and show who is the best Bulldog in the Pioneer League. For Butler they will try to copy a couple of things from their most recent performance, as they kept the Flyers under 300 total yards. As well as keeping them off the board for large portions of the game. In that game the Flyers had a touchdown in the second and third quarter with a late field goal. Overall it was a very solid defensive game for the Butler Bulldogs. One thing they would like to improve on is turnovers as they couldn’t take the ball away at all in their last game. While they might not have taken the ball away the offense did its job of not turning the ball over either. Overall the offense had a good game as they had 360 yards of total offense with the passing game going for 256 yards, and the run game breaking the century mark with 104 yards. Butler will try and get their second win in a row when they host Drake at home in Indianapolis, Indiana. This game will be viewable on ESPN Plus with the kickoff happening at 1:00 p.m. ET.

Marist Red Foxes Athletics

Marist suffers their third straight loss on the season, putting them at 3-5 overall and 1-3 in the conference. The loss to Drake also virtually ends their chance to win the conference as they will need several things to go right through the remainder of the season to have a shot at the crown. In their most recent loss they took on the Drake Bulldogs with the outcome being 31-17. It was a game in which the Red Foxes only scored three points in the second half, giving them no chance at winning the game. For the Red Foxes it was a game in which they had a total of 329 yards of offense. The passing game had 185 yards, and the run game went for 144 yards. The Red Foxes did turn the ball over once from an interception but also took it away once by recovering a fumble. Not a bad day for Marist, just not the best either as they search for answers on how to get back into the win column. Their next chance to do so won’t be easy either as they take on St. Thomas has three wins in a row where they scored at least 52 points. Catch all the action on MidcoSP at 2:00 p.m. ET with the game taking place in St. Paul, Minnesota. 

St. Thomas Tommies Athletics

St. Thomas put up another monster performance as they got their third win in a row with them scoring 52 or more points. This third win has moved them to an overall of 5-3 and a conference record of 3-2. This last win was against the Stetson Hatters who they took down 52-10. It was a game in which they had both sides of the ball clicking with the offense producing 558 yards of total offense while the defense held Stetson to 120 total yards. In this game the offense was only stopped from scoring four times when not counting the final drive where they ran out the clock. Giving them seven scoring drives on the day. For the Tommies it was a game in which the passing game was on fire as they had 356 yards. 292 of those yards came from Andy Peters, the quarterback who returned after missing the Tommies week eight game. In the game Peters went 22-28 averaging 10.4 yards a pass per completion. He had three touchdowns along with a career high in passing yards. Peters also had 80 yards on 10 carries, and was never stopped for a loss on any of his rushes. Peters day finished at the end of the third quarter with him having 372 yards. All these great stats earned Peters the PFL Offensive Player of the Week. He had a great day on the field for the Tommies as he accounted for a large majority of their passing yards and had a nice chunk of rushing yards. When including his rushing yards the Tommies had 202 yards on the ground, giving both the run and pass a great day. The Tommies will now and repeat this dominant performance at home in St. Paul, Minnesota when they take on the Marist Red Foxes, in a game where both teams try to keep their season alive. This game will start at 2:00 p.m. ET, and can be seen on MidcoSP.

Dayton Flyers Athletics

Dayton has done what seemed impossible at this point in the season and that is taking down the Presbyterian Blue Hose. In a matchup that all of the Pioneer League had their eyes on it was the Flyers coming away with a 35-19 victory. This win moves Dayton to 6-2 and second place in the conference at 4-1. The win was huge as they now have control of their destiny to win the conference as they play the first ranked Drake Bulldogs later in the season. For the Flyers this most recent game was one where they exposed the Blue Hose by beating them 35-19. In this game the Flyers were able to take the ball away, as well as run away from Presbyterian’s defense. They were able to run the ball extremely well as they nearly had 300 yards of just rushing offense, with them having a total of 274 yards on the ground. The passing game didn’t need to do much in the win as they only went for 104 yards in the passing game. Giving them 378 total yards in the game. While the passing game wasn’t needed a bunch it did hurt them once, as one of their three incompletions was an interception. That interception didn’t help in the turnover battle, but the Flyers did win it by getting three interceptions, with one of them being a pick-six. That pick-six helped Vincent Firenze earn the PFL Defensive Player of the Week. Aside from the pick-six Firenze had a career-high 14 tackles (seven solo). Overall a great day for the Flyers as they now go on the road, with a trip to San Diego California to take on the Toreros. Dayton will need to focus on this game so that they don’t slip up after getting a great win the week before. Dayton can be watched on ESPN Plus at 2:00 p.m. ET. 

San Diego Toreros Athletics

San Diego got back back into the win column on Saturday as they took down the Davidson Wildcats 40-28, moving them to 4-4 overall and 2-2 in the conference. The Toreros most recent win was one that didn’t come without drama at times as they were up 28-14, before the Wildcats tied it up in the third. Then the Toreros defense stood tall in the fourth shutting them out and getting a safety to help them win. The other side of the ball had a great day as they produced 483 yards of total offense. The passing game went for 288 yards with the run game also having a good day by producing 195 yards. It wasn’t just a great defensive and offensive performance but also a great special teams day, as Emiliano Salazay earned the PFL Special Teams Player of the Week. He earned it by making a 23-yard field goal, five PATs, as well as averaging 51.0 yards on the two punts he attempted, and finally handling kickoff duty with three of his seven kicks going for touchbacks in the game where he had a net of 40.4 yards per kickoff. The Toreros will now play their next game at home in San Diego California, when they host the Dayton Flyers at 2:00 p.m. on ESPN Plus.