Presbyterian continued its hot start, defeating a Southern Conference foe for a second-straight weekend. San Diego capped the day with an overtime victory against a nationally-ranked United Athletic Conference member.
The Blue Hose improved to 2-0 by overcoming a 21-point halftime deficit to win in overtime at Furman, 39-38. The Toreros followed with an overtime winner of their own, never trailing in a 30-27 victory against Southern Utah. Other PFL victories included Dayton blanking Thomas More, Butler defeating Truman State, and Stetson swamping Warner. Elsewhere, St. Thomas gave nationally-ranked Idaho all it could handle before falling 37-30 and Marist challenged Bucknell before yielding 34-23.
PFL Scoreboard: Week 2
Saturday, September 6
Dayton def. Thomas More, 38-0
Bucknell def. Marist, 34-23
Butler def. Truman State, 37-27
Presbyterian def. Furman, 39-38 (OT)
Idaho def. St. Thomas, 37-30
Illinois State def. Morehead State, 41-13
Adrian def. Valparaiso, 10-7
Elon def. Davidson, 55-7
Stetson def. Warner, 59-6
San Diego def. Southern Utah, 30-27 (OT)
PFL Recaps: Saturday, August 30
Dayton def. Thomas More, 38-0
DAYTON, Ohio – Luke Hansen ran for 131 yards and two touchdowns as Dayton shut out Thomas More, 38-0, on Saturday at Welcome Stadium. After a scoreless first quarter, Dayton quarterback Bryce Schondelmyer tossed two touchdowns in the second quarter, both to Gavin Lochow, to open up a 14-0 lead at the break. Hansen then provided the game’s next two touchdowns, one in the third quarter and another in the fourth, to extend the lead to 28-0. Dayton’s defense held Thomas More to 200 offensive yards and forced three turnovers.
Bucknell def. Marist, 34-23
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. – Marist used a 14-point second quarter to close within three points at halftime but could get no closer, falling 34-23 to Bucknell on Saturday at Tenney Stadium. After Bucknell scored 10 points in the first quarter, Tristan Shannon got Marist on the scoreboard with a one-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter. Bucknell responded with a touchdown on its next drive, and Marist followed with another touchdown drive, capped by Sonny Mannino’s one-yard touchdown pass to Connor Hulstein with 33 seconds left, getting Marist within 17-14 at the break. But the teams traded third-quarter field goals before Bucknell secured the win with back-to-back scoring drives to start the fourth quarter.
Butler def. Truman State, 37-27
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Regan Andrew was responsible for four touchdowns and led Butler to a 37-27 victory against Truman State on Saturday at the Sellick Bowl. Andrew ran for the game’s first two touchdowns and, after a Truman State touchdown in the second quarter, threw for a touchdown on each side of the halftime break to give Butler a 28-7 lead. Truman State charged back with 20 unanswered points, but Butler’s Will Mason returned a blocked PAT kick 95 yards for a defensive two-point conversion to stem the tide with Butler leading 30-27. Griffin Caldwell found Ethan Malafa for a 24-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to secure the victory. Andrew completed 14-of-17 passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns and added 34 yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns.
Presbyterian def. Furman, 39-38 in overtime
GREENVIEW, S.C. – In overtime, Nathan Levecki caught a three-yard touchdown pass and then made a diving catch on a walk-off two-point conversion as Presbyterian overcame a 21-point halftime deficit to stun Furman 39-38 on Saturday at Paladin Stadium. Furman built a 31-14 lead with 9:43 left in the third quarter before Presbyterian scored the game’s next 17 points, around a nearly two-hour weather delay, to tie the game at 31-31 with 4:38 left. Neither team would score in the remainder of regulation, sending the game to overtime. In the extra period, Furman used six plays to score the go-ahead touchdown and converted the PAT kick for a seven-point lead. Presbyterian needed just two plays to respond as Collin Hurst found Nathan Levicki for a three-yard touchdown. The Blue Hose lined up for the two-point conversion with Hurst finding Levicki, who cradled the ball while diving to the ground to win the game. Hurst rebounded from three early interceptions to finish the day 26-of-41 for 275 yards and five touchdowns. Levicki caught six passes for 60 yards and two touchdowns, along with the game-winning two-point conversion.
Idaho def. St. Thomas, 37-30
MOSCOW, Idaho – St. Thomas led after each of its first two touchdown drives, but saw its spoiler hopes upended in the second quarter as Idaho escaped with a 37-30 victory on Saturday at the Kibbie Dome. St. Thomas started strongly, using an interception on the game’s first play and scoring touchdowns on its first two possessions, with Andy Peters finding receivers for touchdowns of 17 and 27 yards to give St. Thomas leads of 7-3 and 13-10, the latter at the 8:08 mark of the second quarter. But Idaho scored on its next possession, recovered a fumble, and scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive to build a 23-13 halftime lead. St. Thomas scored three touchdowns in the second half, but Idaho responded after the first two to keep the Tommies at bay. Peters completed 21-of-29 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns, and the UST rushing game accounted for 181 net yards.
Illinois State def. Morehead State, 41-13
NORMAL, Ill. – Morehead State struck first, but Illinois State put together 27 unanswered points and posted a 41-13 victory on Saturday at Hancock Stadium. Morehead State took the opening drive 86 yards in 14 plays, with Craig Cunningham’s one-yard touchdown run capping the scoring drive for a 6-0 lead. The Eagles then ended the ensuing Illinois State drive with a fumble recovery, but could not take advantage of the momentum, turning the ball over on downs. Illinois State took advantage of a solid field position, scoring a field goal, then scored touchdowns on its remaining two drives of the half to build a 17-6 halftime lead. The Redbirds then scored on their first two possessions of the second half, extended the lead to 27-6 before Morehead State found the end zone for the final time on Carter Cravens' 14-yard touchdown pass to Montez Green. Cravens completed 14-of-28 passes for 134 yards and a touchdown.
Adrian def. Valparaiso, 10-7
VALPARAISO, Ind. – Valparaiso and Adrian ended the game with a flurry of action, but Adrian escaped with a 10-7 victory on Saturday at Brown Field. For more than 58 minutes, the game’s only score was Adrian’s 33-yard field goal right before the end of the first half. But with seven minutes remaining, Valparaiso pieced together an 11-play, 80-yard drive and took a 7-3 lead on Dawaiian McNeely’s three-yard touchdown run. But Adrian responded with a four-play, 83-yard scoring drive that saw Noah Beaudrie find Ethan Abberger for a 26-yard touchdown to take a 10-7 lead. Valparaiso’s last chance started well with a 34-yard completion, but the next play saw Adrian intercept a pass deep in its own end to seal the win. Rowan Keefe completed 15-of-19 passes for 153 yards but was intercepted three times.
Elon def. Davidson, 55-7
ELON, N.C. – Elon scored the game’s first 41 points to upend Davidson 55-7 on Saturday at Rhodes Stadium. Elon quarterback Landen Clark was responsible for four touchdowns, passing for three, to help the Phoenix build a 41-0 lead at halftime. After halftime, Davidson pieced together a nine-play, 62-yard drive, and Coulter Cleland found Ivan Hoyt for a 25-yard touchdown pass for the Wildcats' lone score. Cleland completed 10-of-25 passes for 81 yards and a touchdown.
Stetson def. Warner, 59-6
DELAND, Fla. – Stetson scored the game’s first 31 points, then outlasted a nearly two-hour weather delay to roll past Warner, 59-13, on Saturday at Spec Martin Memorial Stadium. Stetson quarterback Kael Alexander completed 11-of-15 passes for 336 yards and three touchdowns, tossing the game’s first touchdown before adding two touchdown throws in the third quarter as the Hatters' lead reached 51-3. On the ground, Marvin Duffey Jr. and Trey Clark had two touchdown carries each.
San Diego def. Southern Utah, 30-27 in overtime
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Matt McColumbo scored two touchdowns, including a three-yard walk-off touchdown in overtime as San Do stunned nationally-ranked Southern Utah, 30-27, on Saturday at Torero Stadium. The Toreros built a 14-0 lead midway through the third quarter thanks to Dan Nankil's 10-yard touchdown run before halftime and McColumbo’s five-yard reception from Nankil on the other side of halftime. San Diego fended off a Southern Utah 10-0 run by scoring 10 unanswered points of its own and led 24-10 with 8:14 remaining in the game. But Southern Utah scored two touchdowns in the final 2:20 to force overtime. San Diego held Southern Utah to a field goal on the first possession, then got help from a pair of Southern Utah penalties before McColumbo scored the game-winning touchdown. McColumbo finished with 202 rushing yards on 34 carries as San Diego ran for 396 yards in the victory.