Tuesday, October 31, 2006
News and Notes Entering Catawba Game
SATURDAY'S GAME: Presbyterian continues its South Atlantic Conference title defense against Catawba on Saturday. The Blue Hose are 6-3 (4-1 SAC) on the season after their 28-7 victory last Saturday over Carson-Newman at Bailey Memorial Stadium, while the Indians are 4-4 (1-4 SAC) on the season after falling to Wingate, 24-8, last Saturday. Last year with a 37-7 victory, Presbyterian thwarted a six-game losing streak to the Indians. Overall, PC handily leads the all-time series between the two institutions at 39-16-2.
THE COACHES: Presbyterian — Head coach Tommy Spangler is in his 6th season in charge of the Presbyterian College Blue Hose football program. Spangler, the 13th head football coach in Blue Hose history, led PC to a 10-2 record and an unscathed 7-0 mark in the South Atlantic Conference last year, taking the SAC crown in the process. Spangler spent four years as PC’s assistant head coach and defensive coordinator before taking over as head coach. A 1983 graduate of the University of Georgia, he came to PC after spending five years as the defensive coordinator at Georgia Southern University. Spangler holds a 41-23 overall record. Catawba — Head coach Chip Hester is in his 5th season with the Catawba College Indians. A 1992 graduate of Guilford College, Hester has led the Indians to a 34-18 mark in his four-plus years at the helm and a South Atlantic Conference championship in 2003. Hester joined the Catawba football staff in 1995, serving under Presbyterian alum and current Coastal Carolina mentor David Bennett for seven seasons. The Indians won back-to-back conference titles in 2000 and 2001.
BACK IN THE SWING: Currently the Blue Hose are in the midst of a season-high three-game winning streak, with all three victories coming against conference foes. Prior to its loss to Wingate on Oct. 7, Presbyterian had not fallen in a league game since the Indians of Newberry took the Bronze Derby 28-25 in the Blue Hose’s last contest of the 2004 campaign on Nov. 6, 2004. The Wingate loss snapped an eight-game league winning streak for the Blue Hose. The victory over Carson-Newman last Saturday leaves the Blue Hose 11-1 in their last 12 SAC contests.
HOSE HAPPENINGS: S.J. Worrell concluded the Mars Hill victory with a career-high 100 yards rushing ... The 100-yard game by the redshirt freshman marked the first time this season that a Blue Hose running back surpassed the plateau ... The last time a Blue Hose running back reached 100 or more in a contest was in week 10 of the 2005 season when Corey Fidler rushed the ball 26 times for 115 yards in PC’s 27-21 SAC championship-winning victory over Wingate on Oct. 29 ... Worrell enters the Catawba game with a team-high 403 yards on the ground ... Chetyuane Reeder had 99 yards rushing in the C-N game to just miss out on the 100-yard mark ... The Clinton High product has a team-high four touchdowns this season on the ground ... Reeder also picked up a team season-high 51 yard run in the game with the Eagles ... Justin Durant had three catches in the victory over the Lions for 64 yards ... Durant has tallied 585 yards through the air on 32 receptions in 2006 ... Quarterback Grayson Mullins played the whole contest for the third consecutive week against the Eagles ... Mullins scored the first rushing touchdown of his intercollegiate career in the first quarter of the C-N contest ... The Columbia, S.C. native also threw two touchdowns in the victory over Carson-Newman, marking the first time that a Blue Hose quarterback has thrown more than one touchdown in a single game this season ... Mullins leads the Blue Hose in total offense, averaging 109.6 yards-per-game ... Antoine Carter plucked his team-high fourth interception last week ... The four interceptions are second most in the SAC ... Antwan Thomas has 68 total stops on the season to lead the team ... Thomas’ 68 takedowns are fifth most in the conference ... The Hawkinsville, Ga. native averages 7.6 per-game, which is sixth-best in the league.
WHAT A RUSH: Presbyterian finished the Carson-Newman game with a team season-high 285 yards on the ground, usurping the previous high by just over 100 yards. The Blue Hose averaged 5.3 yards-per-carry on 54 rushes in the victory over the Eagles.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Catawba signal caller Brad Roach enters the game against Presbyterian as the South Atlantic Conference leader in total offense and passing average per game. Roach has accounted for 247.9 yards-per-game. The junior has thrown for 1,917 yards in 2006 for an average of 246.4 per-contest. The Williamston, N.C. native has passed for 12 touchdowns this season, but has also hurled a league-high 15 interceptions. Roach’s favorite target all season has been Brent Johnson, the SAC’s leading receiver in terms of yards-per-game. Johnson has 41 receptions this season for an average of 73.9 yards-per-game. The junior has hauled in five touchdowns this season and averages a league second-best 5.12 catches-per-game. Preseason All-SAC first team choice Kory Fisher has not been as strong in 2006 as he was in 2005 when he finished the year as a first team all-league selection, but he still leads the Indians in rushing. Fisher has played in all eight games for Catawba and has acquired 261 yards on the ground for Catawba. The New Bern, N.C. native has found the end zone four times this season. Defensive lineman Ron Ellington has not disappointed in his junior season. Ellington has picked up a team-high 62 tackles in 2006. The Charlotte, N.C. native has 7.5 sacks this season and has forced the Indians’ opponents into 15 tackles-for-loss (81 yards). Ellington also has one interception, one fumble recovery, one pass breakup and six quarterback hurries. The Blue Hose have been led all season offensively by preseason All-America selection Justin Durant, who in nine games has corralled a team-high 32 catches for 585 yards and six touchdowns. The junior had three catches for a game-high 64 yards in the win over Carson-Newman. The Florence, S.C. native also picked up a touchdown catch in the contest. S.J. Worrell leads the Blue Hose attack on the ground this season. The Redshirt freshman had his first career 100-yard rushing game against Carson-Newman, finishing with 100 yards exactly and one touchdown. Fellow backfield mate Chetyuane Reeder almost gave the Blue Hose two players with 100-yard performances in the C-N win, concluding his day with 99 yards on the ground. Quarterback Grayson Mullins has now started in three consecutive games for the Blue Hose, leading the team to victories in all three. Mullins has passed for 762 yards in 2006, connecting on 68 of his 119 pass attempts. The sophomore transfer has thrown for five touchdowns in 2006. Defensively, linebacker Antwan Thomas is the leading tackler on the year for the Blue Hose. Thomas owns the team lead in stops with 68 on the 2006 campaign. Antoine Carter corralled his team-leading fourth interception in the win over Carson-Newman. Carter’s four picks on the season tie him with Wingate’s David Jones for second in the conference.
REGIONALLY RANKED: Fresh off its convincing 28-7 overtime victory over Carson-Newman last Saturday, Presbyterian moved up two spots and into the top five in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional rankings to No. 5. The NCAA Regional Ranking is a weekly poll of the top 12 teams in the four different regions in NCAA Division II football. The top six teams in the last region poll will participate in the NCAA Division II playoffs. However, earned access to the playoffs can be gained by a conference if a conference representative finishes in the top 10 of the final regional rankings. The 6-3 Blue Hose are one of three ranked South Atlantic Conference teams. Newberry (9-0) remains at No. 1 in the fourth NCAA Southeast Regional football rankings, while Wingate (7-2), stayed in fourth after its 24-8 win over Catawba.
C-N’s NUMBER: The Blue Hose have had one of the best seven-year stints against Carson-Newman in Ken Sparks’ prolific 27-year helm of the Eagles. In the past seven years the Blue Hose have emerged victorious in the rivalry five times. Under Spangler’s mentorship over the last six years, the Blue Hose have claimed four of six.
TRIPLE YOUR PLEASURE: The Blue Hose have now picked up three straight victories over the Eagles and five in the last seven seasons. The only other team to defeat Carson-Newman in three consecutive games under head coach Ken Sparks’ 27-years at the helm is North Alabama. Presbyterian (6-3, 4-1 SAC) is the only team in the SAC to accomplish the feat. Newberry came close in 1988 and 1989, but could not obtain three straight wins over Sparks and the Eagles.
ABOUT CATAWBA: One of the best most consistently successful football programs in the South Atlantic Conference over the last 20 years, Catawba commenced the 2006 season strong, garnering a national ranking at one point in the season. The Indians were 3-0 before traveling to Mars Hill to start the conference season. Catawba fell to the Lions and Newberry the next week to fall to 3-2 before tallying its first league win against then No. 15 Carson-Newman, 24-22. The Indians have faltered in their last two games (Tusculum and Wingate) to enter the PC game on a two-game skid and at .500 at 4-4.
BROWN BAG: The Blue Hose lead the South Atlantic Conference in sacks with 23 on the season. Presbyterian has caused opposing offenses to lose 138 yards in 2006 via the sacks.
CATAWBA LAST WEEK: Wingate took advantage of four Catawba turnovers and earned a 24-8 win in South Atlantic Conference football action on Saturday afternoon at Belk Stadium and Martin Field. Catawba’s defense intercepted Wingate on the second play of the game and took over on its own 20. David Jones would return the favor a few plays and after his return and a late hit penalty, Wingate had the ball at the Tribe 16. Marcus Davis scored from six-yards out to give the Bulldogs an early 7-0 lead. Neither team could muster much offense for the rest of the half. Catawba had a chance to tie the game early in the second quarter after a Davis fumble was recovered by Julian Samolu at the Wingate 24. Jones would end the threat with his interception at the 15 on the first Tribe play. Wingate added a 28-yard field goal from Jonathan Beford just before the half to grab a 10-0 lead at the break. Wingate increased its lead to 16-0 on its first possession of the second half as Chris Conklin scored on a 16-yard pass from Anthony Metzelaars, but the point-after try was missed. Catawba responded with a nice drive deep into Wingate territory, but Boby Floyd grabbed the Bulldogs third pick of the game when a Brad Roach pass went off Joe Mitchell and ricocheted into the air at the eight-yard-line. The Bulldogs drove the length of the field and turned to Beford to increase the lead, but his 20-yard attempt was blocked by Charles Morman at the end of the third quarter. Floyd would get his second interception of the day early in the fourth quarter on another ricocheted pass and the Bulldogs cashed in as Metzelaars connected with Dan Brooks on a 25-yard scoring play. A two-point conversion built the Wingate lead to 24-0 with 9:24 left. Roach completed four-of-five passes on the next Tribe drive that covered 66 yards and ended with a 20-yard strike to Brent Johnson for the score. Roach tossed a two-point pass to Antwan Strong to trim the deficit to 24-8. Catawba drove to the Wingate 21 with five minutes to play, but Roach was sacked on fourth down to end the drive. Roach threw for 241 yards, completing 25-of-51 passes. Johnson had six catches for 91 yards, while Strong added five grabs. The Tribe was held to just nine yards on the ground. Defensively, Thomas Presley had 10 tackles and an interception, while Ron Ellington produced the lone Tribe sack. Metzelaars completed 18-of-35 passes for 203 yards and two scores to lead Wingate. Gary Tatum had six receptions for 48 yards, while Brooks added four for 63 yards. Davis ran for 75 yards. Tyler Johnson recorded 11 tackles with Stuart Sheppard adding 10 and two for losses.
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BLUE HOSE: Presbyterian scored 21 points in the first quarter and never looked back, defeating No. 20 Carson-Newman 28-7 before 3,421 at Bailey Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Blue Hose have now picked up three straight victories over the Eagles and five in the last seven seasons. The only other team to defeat Carson-Newman in three consecutive games under head coach Ken Sparks’ 27-years at the helm is North Alabama. Presbyterian (6-3, 4-1 SAC) is the only team in the SAC to accomplish the feat. Newberry came close in 1988 and 1989, but could not obtain three straight wins over Sparks and the Eagles. Presbyterian’s S.J. Worrell for the third consecutive week had his best performance in a PC uniform. The Blue Hose redshirt freshman running back finished the win over Carson-Newman with a career-best 100 yards on the ground and one touchdown. The 100-yard rushing performance was the first of the year for the Blue Hose. The Blue Hose almost had two players achieve or surpass the 100-yard plateau, as Clinton native Chetyuane Reeder finished with 99 total yards, including a game-high 51-yard run. In total, the Blue Hose rushing attack concluded the afternoon with 285 net yards rushing. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Presbyterian’s defensive unit held the Carson-Newman veer option attack to just 104 yards on the ground. Antwan Thomas continued to rack up tackles, registering a double-digit total of 10 sacks to lead the Blue Hose.Thomas, who now has a team-best 68 total stops on the 2006 campaign, also had 1.5 tackles-for-loss and a quarterback sack. Sophomore defensive back Anthony McKnight had one of the better days of his career in the victory, finishing with nine tackles and one quarterback hurry. Presbyterian wasted little time putting their first points on the scoreboard when Grayson Mullins found Chris Pope for a 10-yard touchdown with 7:57 left in the first stanza. It was Pope’s only catch of the afternoon. A little over three minutes later, Grayson Mullins acquired the first rushing touchdown of his career when he rushed up the middle from one-yard out to score the eventual game-winning touchdown and place the Blue Hose on top 14-0. PC went ahead 21-0 when Worrell found the end zone from three yards out with 0:52 left in the first quarter. Carson-Newman (6-3, 2-3 SAC) was able to get on the scoreboard in the second quarter when C-N starting quarterback Alex Rouse connected with Reggie Hubbard for a 19-yard touchdown. Presbyterian found the end zone for the final time in the victory in the third quarter when Grayson Mullins found Justin Durant for a 17-yard touchdown and his second touchdown pass of the afternoon. The two touchdown passes by Mullins marked the first time this season that a Presbyterian quarterback has hurled more than one in a contest. Coupled with the rushing touchdown, Mullins – starting for his third consecutive game – had one of his better days as the Blue Hose signal caller, throwing for 107 yards (11-for-19).
FREE FOOTBALL: Prior to its overtime victory over Mars Hill earlier this season, Presbyterian had not played in an overtime contest since 1999, falling to Lenoir-Rhyne 24-21 in Hickory, N.C. The Blue Hose have not fallen to the Bears since, winning seven straight including this year’s 24-13 victory on Sept. 30 at Bailey Memorial Stadium.
PC-CATAWBA LAST YEAR: Presbyterian held the No. 22 ranked Catawba College Indians to 60 yards on the ground, while the Blue Hose offense rolled out 398 yards of total offense en route to a 37-7 victory over the Indians at Bailey Memorial Stadium. The game was the South Atlantic Conference league opener for both teams with PC picking up their first win over the Indians in six years. The Blue Hose defense keyed the win by forcing a safety, blocking one field goal attempt, and pulling down one interception on the day. The PC offense continued their balanced attack with 167 yards rushing, while throwing for 231 yards on the day. Zach Ellis led the Blue Hose with the 231 yards passing and two TD’s on 24-of-32 completions. He completed passes to eight different receivers and he also rushed for one touchdown. Senior wideout Kip McAlister caught five passes for 77 yards while Justin Durant caught six passes for 36 yards and one score. Nine different players for PC rushed the ball on the day with junior halfback Corey Fidler running for a team-high 54 yards on 10 carries. Chetyuane Reeder added 42 yards on eight carries and one score. Catawba was led on the day by then sophomore quarterback Brad Roach who completed 19-of-45 passes for 276 yards and one score to go along with one interception. Trevan Davis led the Indian receivers with four catches for 91 yards and one score while senior wideout Rod Tenor caught four passes for 118 yards. Defensively, PC was led by Doe who tallied six total stops to go along with one interception, two pass defenses, three quarterback hurries, and one blocked field goal. Catawba was led on defense by junior linebacker Bryan Biggs who tallied a game-high 11 total stops.
ABOVE THE FOLD: The Blue Hose commenced the Tusculum contest three games ago at 3-3 and in danger of falling under .500 with a loss. With the victory over the Pioneers, Presbyterian has not fallen below .500 in over two years. The last time they fell below the mark was in 2004 when they fell to 2-3 after a 19-14 loss to Catawba on Sept. 25, 2004. The Blue Hose managed to finish that particular season above .500 at 6-5 overall and 4-3 in league play.
FIDLER & BURGESS NAMED 2006 CAPTAINS: Presbyterian College senior running back Corey Fidler and strong safety Chad Burgess have been named captains for the 2006 season.
400 AND COUNTING: PC’s football program, which began play in 1913, entered the 2006 campaign with 461 all-time wins. After Presbyterian’s win over Carson-Newman, PC’s record all-time is 467-418-35.
ON THE AIR: PC football can be heard on WPCC 1410 AM as Chris Burgin and Sandy Cruickshanks handle the play-by-play chores. PC football comes on the air 45 minutes prior to kickoff. On Thursday nights, the PC Football Show will air live from Gooney Bird’s in Laurens. Burgin and Coach Spangler will discuss football at all levels, while taking calls from fans and having special guests throughout the campaign.
BLUE HOSE FOOTBALL ON THE INTERNET: Presbyterian College football can be heard via the Internet again this season. To hear the broadcast, just to go http://www.presby.edu/bluehose and click on the GoLive Logo. The Texas Sports Radio Network and GoLiveSports.com are providing the internet broadcast this season.
TOMMY SPANGLER’S COACH’S SHOW ON INTERNET: Presbyterian College head football coach Tommy Spangler will have his weekly coach’s show available via the internet this season. Radio voice of the Blue Hose, Chris Burgin, will host the show each week. To download the show each week go to: http://www.presby.edu/bluehose/coaches_shows.html.