NEWS

The ‘Cats will be back in Richardson Stadium this Saturday.

GAME 7 | OCT. 21, 2023 | 1:00 PM (EDT) | RICHARDSON STADIUM (5,000) | DAVIDSON, N.C.

DAVIDSON WILDCATS
2023 Record: 4-2 (3-0 PFL)
2022 Record: 8-4 (6-2 PFL)
Head Coach: Scott Abell
Davidson Record: 38-21, 6th year
Career Record: 77-45, 12th year

VALPARAISO BEACONS
2023 Record: 1-5 (0-3 PFL)
2022 Record: 5-7 (4-4 PFL)
Head Coach: Landon Fox
Valpo Record: 15-32, 5th
Career Record: Same

INSIDE THE SERIES
Meetings: 13
Series Record: Davidson leads, 9-4
First Meeting: Davidson Won, 24-7 (9/1/01)
Last Meeting: Davidson Won, 27-21 (11/2/19)
Streak: Won 2
In Davidson: 4-1
In Valparaiso: 5-3
Abell vs. Valpo: 2-0

1ST AND 10

• Winners of four straight, Davidson returns home to Richardson Stadium for a two-game homestand beginning with a 1 p.m. kickoff against Valparaiso.
• The Wildcats enter 4-2 overall and atop the Pioneer Football League at 3-0 following a 35-33 win at Butler last weekend.
• In addition to Coulter Cleland finishing 19-of-20 for 224 yards and two touchdowns, Mari Adams ran for a career-high 171 yards and three scores.
• Adams, who leads the PFL in rushing touchdowns and is second in yards per game (104.3), has rushed for 340 yards and seven scores over the last two games.
• Davidson has won 15 of its last 16 home games dating back to the 2021 season.
• The ‘Cats, who have won two of the last three conference titles, are 25-7 in PFL play dating back to the 2019 season.
• During its current four-game win streak, Davidson is averaging 55.7 points per game.
• The Wildcats rank among FCS leaders in scoring offense (43.5 ppg. / 2nd), total offense (491.8 ypg / 3rd), rushing offense (307.8 ypg / 2nd), team passing efficiency (189.02 / 1st), 3rd down conversion pct. defense (0.288 / 7th), first down defense (94 / 10th) and fewest penalties per game (4.0 / 5th).
• Head Coach Scott Abell ranks third on Davidson’s career wins’ list with 38 victories. He is just seven wins shy of becoming the program’s all-time winningest coach.

INSIDE THE SERIES

• Davidson and Valparaiso will meet for the 14th time this weekend.
• The Wildcats have won the last two and lead the all-time series, 9-4.
• This marks the first meeting between the two schools since 2019, when the ‘Cats won 27-21 in Davidson.
• Davidson has won the last two meetings.

LAST MEETING | DAVIDSON 27, VALPARAISO  21– NOV. 2, 2019 | DAVIDSON, N.C.

• Wesley Dugger’s 1-yard touchdown run with two minutes to play gave the Wildcats the needed edge in a 27-21 win over Pioneer Football League foe Valparaiso, and linebacker George Hatalowich’s interception with 52 seconds left sealed it on Nov. 2, 2019.
• With the score knotted at 21-all in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats defense stopped Valpo on a fourth-and-8 play at the Davidson 36 with 8:39 to play. That set up the game-winning drive, which included 13 plays and 64 yards. The Wildcats entered the red zone on a 12-yard run by quarterback Tyler Phelps on third-and-9 from the Valpo 30. It was the third third-down conversion of the march, and Phelps found an opening around the right end.
• His first score, a 3-yard run, came on Davidson’s first possession, after the Wildcats logged 84 yards in 12 plays. Valpo fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Davidson’s Sean Holton recovered at the Crusaders’ 33-yard line, setting up another Wildcats’ scoring drive. Six seconds into the second quarter, James Story’s 7-yard touchdown run made it 14-0.
• Valpo answered, however, with a Cody Boxrucker 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter and pulled within 14-13 on an 8-yard scoring pass from Chris Duncan to Deuce Larose in the third.
• Another Story touchdown run, this one from eight yards out at the 4:58 mark of the third, extended Davidson’s lead again before a Duncan 1-yard score early in the fourth, followed by a two-point conversion, tied it and set the stage for the final dramatic moments.
• And as the clock ticked under one minute, Hatalowich had his eye on the football near midfield.
• He secured it on the Davidson sideline, where he was immediately engulfed by his teammates.

LAST TIME OUT | DAVIDSON 35, BUTLER 33 – OCT. 14, 2023 | INDIANAPOLIS, IND.

• Mari Adams rushed for a career-high 171 yards and three more scores, and Coulter Cleland finished 19-of-20 for 224 yards and two touchdown passes, as Davidson held on for a 35-33 win at Butler Oct. 14 inside the Sellick Bowl.
• Luka Zurak had a chance to win it for Butler with three seconds remaining, but his 58-yard game-winning field-goal attempt missed short.
• In addition to its 224 yards in the air, Davidson ran for 282 to finish with 506 total yards.
• Mark McCurdy, who had a diving catch to extend Davidson’s final possession, led all receivers with 81 yards, while Aaron Maione had eight receptions for 80 yards to go along 40 on the ground.
• Davidson wasted little time grabbing the early lead as the ‘Cats scored less than three minutes into the contest on a 46-yard touchdown pass from Cleland to Brody Reina, capping a six-play, 87-yard drive.
• A Daniel Carter interception set up Adams’ first score of the day, but Butler responded again to even the score midway through the second quarter, 14-14.
• Carter led the Davidson defense with eight tackles, finishing just ahead of Jonathan Hammond, who ended with seven, a break-up and a quarterback hurry.
• The Wildcats started to take control late in the opening half with a pair of scores in the closing 4:11. Adams scampered 36 yards, followed by Cleland’s second touchdown pass, a 25-yard toss to a wide-open Maione, giving Davidson a 28-14 advantage at intermission.
• After the Bulldogs got back into the game with a blocked punt for a score and a 40-yard field goal from Zurak, the ‘Cats extended their lead back to 11, 35-24, with an Adams 8-yard yard to conclude the third quarter.
• Over his last two games, Adams has rushed for 340 yards and seven touchdowns.
• Butler provided the only scoring in the final quarter, including a short touchdown from Jyran Mitchell with 6:24 to play, but Davidson’s Sabin McGlaughlin came up with a huge stop on the two-point try to keep it 35-33.

UP NEXT

• Davidson will wrap up its two-game homestand next Saturday when Presbyterian visits Richardson Stadium for a 1 p.m. kickoff.