Tuesday, October 17, 2006
News and Notes Entering Mars Hill Game
SATURDAY’S GAME: Presbyterian continues its South Atlantic Conference title defense against Mars Hill on Saturday. The Blue Hose are 4-3 on the season after their 30-21 victory last Saturday over Tusculum at Pioneer Field, while the Lions are 4-3 on the season after succumbing 37-0 to an undefeated Newberry on Oct. 14. The Lions started the season at 4-1, but have fallen in their last two contests to enter this weekend’s contest winless in the month of October.
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 39-23 overall record. Mars Hill — Head coach Tim Clifton is in his 14th season with the Mars Hill College Lions. A 1976 graduate of Mercer University, Clifton has led the Lions to a 75-68 mark during his tenure. Clifton’s 75 career wins rank second in SAC history and his 42 league victories place him alone in third place in league history. Clifton’s conference season-opening 25-7 win over Catawba garnered him sole possession of third place, usurping the tie that he held after the season with Presbyterian alum and former Catawba head man and current Coastal Carolina mentor David Bennett. If Clifton can secure two more SAC victories this season he will tie Cally Gault for all-time SAC wins. Gault ended his career with 44 league wins. Clifton owns a 5-8 mark versus PC.
BACK IN THE SWING: The Blue Hose had not succumbed to a league opponent in quite some time after going unscathed last year in the SAC. After its 24-13 victory over Lenoir-Rhyne the week prior, 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 Tusculum last Saturday leaves the Blue Hose 9-1 in its last 10 SAC contests.
HOSE HAPPENINGS: S.J. Worrell finished the Tusculum gamr with a team-best 60 yards to take back the team rushing lead with 231 yards on the year ... Worrell scored the first touchdown of his intercollegiate career in the fourth quarter of the Tusculum win ... Running back Chetyuane Reeder acquired his second touchdown of the season in the win over the Pioneers .... Justin Durant had argurably his best day of the season in the victory, concluding the game with a single-game team season-high tying seven catches for 128 yards ... Durant, who has four touchdowns on the season after corralling a Mullins pass in the second quarter of the TC game, is the South Atlantic Conference’s top receiver in terms of yards-per-catch at 18.7 yards commandeered on average every time he touches the football ... Durant has 27 catches for 504 yards this season ... Grayson Mullins played the entire game at quarterback for the first time in his career in the TC victory ... Mullins had his best outing as a member of the Blue Hose, finishing the contest 15-for-25 on his passes for 182 yards and one touchdown ... Antwan Thomas had one of his better games of the season against Tusculum ... Thomas finished with a team-high 11 tackles and two sacks ... Thomas is now the team leader in total stops on the season with 50 ... Chad Burgess was able to tally his first two interceptions of the season in the Tusculum game to tie for the team lead in the category.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: Running back Kendrick Johnson has carried the load for the Lions in 2006. Johnson has tallied a SAC second-best 519 yards in 2006 for an average of 74.1 yards-per-game. The majority of his carries in the beginning of the season had been handed off by preseason SAC second team member Brandon Sims, who in five games as the Lions’ signal caller in 2006 has thrown for 392 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 191 yards more. Lately though due to an injury to Sims, Ricky Spradling has taken over as the quarterback for MHC. Entering the PC game, Spradling has played in six games and thrown for 392 yards and two touchdowns. Whomever is quarterback they have a potent threat in wide receiver Demario Zachary, a 2006 preseason SAC second team selection. Zachary has played in all seven games for the Lions this season and has racked up 229 yards receiving on 18 catches. Zachary has two touchdown catches this season. Defensively, junior linebacker Nathaniel Smith has been the star this season for the Lions. Smith has acquired 61 cumulative stops in 2006 to sit just one off the lead in the league in total tackles. Only Newberry’s Will Newell has picked up more tackles (62). Free Safety Kenyari Addison is not far behind with 52 total takedowns. Addison also has one interception this season. The Blue Hose have been led all season offensively by preseason All-America selection Justin Durant, who in seven games has corralled a team-high 27 catches for 508 yards and four touchdowns. The junior preseason All-America selection had one of the best games of his career in the win over TC, finishing the contest with one touchdown and 128 yards receiving on a team season-high tying seven catches. S.J. Worrell leads the Blue Hose attack on the ground this season, ending the Tusculum contest with a team-best 231 yards rushing on 57 carries. The redshirt freshman had the best game of his career in the win over the Pioneers, racking up 60 yards and the first touchdown of his intercollegiate career. Defensively, Antwan Thomas led the way in the game with the Pioneers, finishing with 11 total tackles and two quarterback sacks. Thomas now owns the team lead in stops with 50 on the 2006 campaign. Fellow Preseason All-American Chad Burgess is just behind Thomas in total tackles with 43 thus far. Burgess has three tackles-for-loss in 2006 and picked up his first two interceptions of the season in the TC game to sit tied for the team lead in the department.
REGIONALLY RANKED: Fresh off its win over Tusculum last Saturday, Presbyterian entered the NCAA Southeast Regional rankings for the first time on Monday, ranking 10th. The top six teams in the Southeast Region advance to the NCAA Division II playoffs. The 4-3 Blue Hose are one of four ranked South Atlantic Conference teams.Newberry (7-0) remains at No. 1 in the second NCAA Southeast Regional football rankings, while Wingate (6-1), third in last week’s poll, moved up one spot to second. Wingate travels to face Newberry this week. Catawba, who defeated Carson-Newman last week, holds the 12th slot.
ABOUT MARS HILL: The Lions are 4-3 overall this season and 1-2 in South Atlantic Conference play. Mars Hill opened the season by winning its first two contests before falling in its third game to defending NCAA I-AA National Football Champion Appalachian State at Kidd-Brewer Stadium, 41-0. The Lions bounced back winning their next two contests, including a league-opening 25-7 win over then No. 15 Catawba. Mars Hill has now dropped two straight after succumbing to Carson-Newman two weeks ago and getting shutout by first place Newberry 37-0 last Saturday.
THAT’S SPECIAL: Presbyterian entered the Tusculum game with three field goals made the entire season. That quickly changed in the first half of the Tusculum game, as the Blue Hose connected on three field goals in the first half. Bret DiTulio hit his first field goal since the West Georgia win when he nailed a 42-yard attempt in the first quarter to give PC a 3-0 advantage. Carl Stevenson then hit from 20 and 31 in the second quarter to leave PC 3-for-3 in the contest in field goal attempts. Bryson Summers was equally prolific on his punts, averaging 40.4 yards-per-punt in the contest.
POSSESSIVE: Mars Hill is tops in the South Atlantic Conference in time of possession. The Lions have had the ball for 236:15 in 2006 for an average of 33:45 per-contest. Comparitively, Presbyterian is third in the SAC in the area with a total of 215:04 for a per-game average of 30:43.
ABOVE THE FOLD: The Blue Hose commenced the Tusculum contest 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.
MARS HILL LAST WEEK: Newberry College recorded 502 yards of total offense as the Indians defeated Mars Hill College 37-0 on Saturday afternoon at Meares Stadium ... The Indians (7-0, 3-0) totaled 355 yards on the ground and were led by Alex Haynes with 19 carries for 107 yards and one touchdown. Deshon Rodell carried the ball only four times, but gained 74 yards. Josh Stepp completed 16-of-20 passes for 147 yards on the day. The defense held MHC to 50 rushing yards on the afternoon ... The Indians used a six-play 94-yard drive on their first possession of the game to go up by a score of 7-0 when Derek Young took a handoff in motion from Stepp and raced down the sidelines for a 69-yard scamper ... On Newberry’s second drive, Ryan Lukshis connected on a 26-yard field goal to give the Indians a 10-0 lead ... The Indians extended their lead to 17-0 on their third drive when Haynes scored from 12 yards out. Newberry went on a 15-play, 91-yard drive just before the half to go up 24-0 when Stepp scored on a quarterback sneak from one-yard out with 23 seconds remaining in the first half ... In the third quarter, Rodell bounced out to the outside and raced down the sidelines for a 65-yard touchdown run to give the Indians a 31-0 lead. Stepp scored on his second quarterback sneak of the afternoon to make it a 37-0 lead at the 3:01 mark in the third quarter ... Will Newell led the Indians on defense with eight total tackles. Devin Robinson had three tackles-for-loss and one sack on the afternoon ... Kendrick Johnson led Mars Hill on the ground with 12 carries for 35 yards ... Ricky Spradling finished 9-for-19 for 105 yards ... Jamel Fayson caught four passes for 45 yards on the day ... Stan Gailbrath led the Lion defense with 11 tackles ... Nathaniel Smith and Ryan Douglas recorded 10 tackles apiece ... Kenyari Addison added nine stops.
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE BLUE HOSE: Presbyterian’s S.J. Worrell scored the first touchdown of his intercollegiate career at the 2:39 mark of the fourth quarter to commandeer the Blue Hose a 30-21 win over Tusculum College before a homecoming crowd of 2,132 at Pioneer Field … Presbyterian led for almost the entire contest, but Tusculum closed the margin to two with just under five minutes left when Travis Oliver caught a Corey Russell pass to make the score 23-21 … Worrell, who finished the game with 60 yards, found daylight up the middle on Presbyterian’s next series to net the final score of 30-21 after Carl Stevenson’s extra point sailed through the uprights … Justin Durant led the Blue Hose in the victory, finishing the contest with a team season-high tying seven catches for 128 yards and one touchdown … The real story of the day might have been the Blue Hose special teams, particularly the kicking unit. PC, who had hit only three field goals all year prior to the TC game, was successful on all three of its field goals, with Bret DiTulio hitting one and Carl Stevenson picking up two … Bryson Summers had probably his best game of the season punting, averaging 40.4 yards-per-punt on 7 punts … With the score 16-14 after a 26-yard pass from Tusculum’s Russell to Jamaal Gray for a touchdown, Chetyuane Reeder scored what would eventually become the game-winning touchdown at the 12:02 mark of the fourth quarter when he scored from 12 yards out to give the Blue Hose a 23-14 advantage … It was the second touchdown of the year for the Clinton native … Presbyterian went into halftime up 16-7 after Carl Stevenson hit his second field goal of the afternoon and the third of the half for the Blue Hose with no time left on the game clock. Stevenson’s 31-yard kick was made plausible after PC obtained the ball at the TC 36-yard line after a bad snap by center Mike Simpson gave the Blue Hose opportune field position … The Blue Hose deferred the coin toss to the second half to commence the game, but once PC obtained the ball the Blue Hose wasted no time on etching their name on the scoreboard … DiTulio, who had not hit a field goal since the West Georgia game, nailed his second field goal of the season to place Presbyterian ahead 3-0 with 11:30 left in the first quarter. DiTulio’s 42-yard field goal was the longest of the year for the Blue Hose … Presbyterian garnered its first touchdown of the game in the second quarter when Grayson Mullins connected with Justin Durant for a 19-yard touchdown. It was the second touchdown pass of the season from Mullins and it gave PC a 10-0 lead … Under three minutes later PC took advantage of preseason All-American Chad Burgess’ first interception of the year, getting its second field goal of the afternoon when Carl Stevenson hit a 20-yard field goal through the uprights to spot Presbyterian a 13-0 lead … Tusculum did not take long though to get on the board, as the very first play on the next series Jamichael Caldwell caught a Corey Russell pass for a 61-yard touchdown to make the game 13-7 after a successful Glen Black extra point … Defensively, the Blue Hose were led by Antwan Thomas and Burgess. Thomas concluded the game with 11 total stops and a season-high tying two sacks, while Burgess hauled in his first two interceptions of the season … Burgess’ final interception with just under a minute left in the game gave the Blue Hose a chance to run out the clock offensively.
PC-MHC LAST YEAR: The No. 16-ranked Presbyterian Blue Hose scored 31 unanswered points in the second half to come from behind to defeat Mars Hill College 45-24 ... The Blue Hose improved to 8-1 on the season with the win ... PC’s senior quarterback Zach Ellis completed 24-of-37 passes for 256 yards and four TD’s on the day, while senior wideout Kip McAlister and redshirt junior wideout Brett Wilhoit each caught a pair of touchdown receptions ... PC fought back from a 24-14 halftime deficit by scoring 31 points after intermission and holding the Lions’ offense to 63 yards ... Wilhoit led the PC receivers with 95 yards and two TD’s on seven receptions, while McAlister added six catches for 36 yards and two scores ... Defensively, the Blue Hose were led by redshirt freshman linebacker Antwan Thomas who tallied a career-high 17 total stops including 2.5 tackles for loss (-13) and one sack (-9), while senior linebacker Cheyenne Keener added 10 total stops ... Mars Hill was led by Jones’ 208 yards rushing and one score on 35 carries, while junior quarterback Brandon Sims completed 10-of-13 passes for 122 yards. Defensively, the Lions were led by senior linebacker Jeremy Stewart with a team-best seven total stops and one sack (-8).
400 AND COUNTING: PC’s football program, which began play in 1913, enters the 2006 campaign with 461 all-time wins. After Presbyterian’s win over Tusculum, PC’s record all-time is 465-418-35.
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.