ST. LOUIS – Drake and Presbyterian rolled to home wins and finished Week 8 as the Pioneer Football League’s co-leaders. Butler dropped Dayton from the ranks of the co-leaders with its road win, but both the Bulldogs and Flyers are just one game behind the co-leaders. St. Thomas picked up its second PFL win, and Morehead State claimed its first win this week.

PFL Week 8 Quick hits

• Presbyterian improved to 7-0 on the season and won its 11th consecutive game.
• Drake posted its second shutout win of the season and now has only allowed 16 points in its first three PFL games.
• Butler bounced back from its Week 7 loss to Presbyterian with a road win at Dayton and still has not lost back-to-back games this season.
• St. Thomas followed a 57-point outing last week with 55 points this week in back-to-back PFL wins.
• Morehead State played its third straight one-possession game – and fourth this season – and leveled its record in one-possession contests.

PFL Scoreboard

Saturday, October 18
Butler def. Dayton, 23-17
Presbyterian def. Stetson, 42-7
Drake def. Davidson, 45-0
St. Thomas def. Valparaiso, 55-17
Morehead State def. Marist, 23-21

PFL Recaps

Butler def. Dayton, 23-17
DAYTON, Ohio – Andrew Reagan threw two first-half touchdowns and Ryan Short hit three field goals to push Butler past Dayton 23-17 in PFL action at Welcome Stadium. Reagan’s touchdown tosses went for 67 yards to Ethan Loss and 16 yards to Archie Cox for a 14-7 lead with 3:32 left in the first half. Short then provided a 41-yard field goal as the half expired to extend the lead to 17-7. Dayton would get back within that field goal on its first drive of the second half as Drew VanVleet connected with Donovan Weatherly on a four-yard touchdown pass. But Short hit field goals of 29 and 26 yards in the third and fourth quarters to build a 23-14 lead. Dayton scratched out a 34-yard Trevor Henkle field goal with 52 seconds left but could not close the gap further. Andrew completed 18-of-23 passes for 256 yards and ran for 78 yards on 20 carries. Luke Hansen’s 105 yards on 15 carries led the Dayton offense.

Presbyterian def. Stetson, 42-7
CLINTON, S.C. – Presbyterian scored 14 points in both the second and third quarters en route to a 42-7 PFL victory against Stetson at Bailey Memorial Stadium. Running back Justin Montgomery scored three of the Blue Hose’s first four touchdowns, scoring on runs of 21, four, and two yards as Presbyterian built a 28-0 lead with 10:42 left in the third quarter. Stetson broke through early in the fourth quarter as Gunner Chenier found Cayden Betts for a 26-yard touchdown, trimming the deficit to 35-7. Collin Hurst completed 19-of-27 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown, while the Blue Hose ground game scored five touchdowns while amassing 147 yards on 31 carries. Chenier completed 8-of-14 passes for 90 yards.

Drake def. Davidson, 45-0
DES MOINES, Iowa – Drake scored 21 points in the first quarter and the defense held Davidson to 31 rushing yards in a 45-0 PFL victory at Drake Stadium. Logan Inagawa threw three touchdown passes, the last of which came with 7:43 remaining in the third quarter to put Drake up 38-0. Nick Herman ran for a touchdown in a 14-carry, 135-yard outing. Davidson quarterback Coulter Cleland completed 22-of-41 passes for 252 yards.

St. Thomas def. Valparaiso, 55-17
ST. PAUL, Minn. – Amari Powell passed for three touchdowns and ran for another, leading St. Thomas to a 55-17 victory against Valparaiso at O’Shaughnessy Stadium. Valparaiso struck first, scoring on the game’s first drive with Caron Tyler’s three-yard run. But St. Thomas scored the next 24 points with Powell passing for a touchdown late in the first quarter and running for another at the 9:40 mark of the second quarter. The Tommies took a 34-10 lead into halftime after Ben Holland’s 43-yard field goal and didn’t look back. Powell completed 13-of-20 passes for 265 yards and ran for another 42 yards on three carries. Valparaiso’s Michael Mansaray ran for 121 yards on 20 carries.

Morehead State def. Marist, 23-21
MOREHEAD, Ky. – Thomas Schwartz V’s 41-yard field goal with three seconds remaining helped Morehead State escape with a 23-21 PFL victory against Marist at Jayne Stadium.