The Lead
Can Drake and St. Thomas avoid falling to “trap week” ahead of their pivotal Week 11 Pioneer Football League matchup? The Tommies face the tougher test in Week 10 as they travel to a Morehead State squad riding back-to-back wins into third place in the league standings. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs have to rouse from a Week 9 bye and host a Marist team seeking its first win of 2024..
WEEK 10 SCHEDULE
• Stetson at Butler 1 PM BUT, 5-1 BUT, W1 Butler def. Stetson, 28-18 (9/23/23 in DeLand)
• Dayton at Presbyterian 1 PM DAY, 2-1 PRE, W1 Presbyterian def. Dayton, 20-17 (10/14/23 in Dayton)
• St. Thomas at Morehead State 1 PM STT, 1-0 STT, W1 St. Thomas def. Morehead State, 35-28 (9/23/23 in St. Paul)
• Marist at Drake 2 PM DRA, 8-2 DRA, W1 Drake def. Marist, 10-3 (11/4/23 in Poughkeepsie)
• Davidson at San Diego 4 PM SAN, 14-5 DAV, W1 Davidson def. San Diego, 55-33 (9/30/23 in Davidson)
PFL Notes
- Can Drake and St. Thomas avoid falling to “trap week” ahead of their pivotal Week 11 Pioneer Football League matchup? The Tommies face the tougher test in Week 10 as they travel to a Morehead State squad riding back-to-back wins into third place in the league standings. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs have to rouse from a Week 9 bye and host a Marist team seeking its first win of 2024.
- Elsewhere around the PFL, Dayton seeks to rebound from a narrow Week 9 home loss during its trip to Presbyterian, which posted its first PFL win in Week 9. Davidson heads cross country to San Diego in a matchup of teams looking to recover from Week 9 losses. Butler looks to start a new win streak after winning a Week 9 outing when it hosts Stetson, which is seeking its first PFL win.
- Drake brings a 15-game PFL win streak into its off week after escaping at Presbyterian last week to extend the streak. After several upsets in Week 8, the Bulldogs’ conference win streak is now the FCS’ longest. The Bulldogs’ last conference loss was on Oct. 22, 2022, when they dropped a 48-14 decision to Davidson as part of a then-season-opening eight-game losing streak. Since snapping that streak, Drake is 16-5 overall.
- St. Thomas is one of two FCS teams with an eight-game conference win streak—the second-longest such streak in the FCS.
- The PFL leads all FCS conferences with 28 blocked kicks in 84 games played during 2024. Dayton leads the league and all FCS squads with seven blocked kicks this season, while Presbyterian has three blocks to its credit, 13th-most in the FCS.
- The PFL is tied for third among FCS leagues with eight pick-sixes in 2024, trailing the Southern Conference (10) and the OVC/Big South (9). San Diego has returned four of their seven interceptions for TDs, with Davidson (2), Butler (1), and St. Thomas (1) claiming the others.
- Three Pioneer Football League student-athletes were among a record 203 semifinalists for the 2024 William V. Campbell Trophy®, college football’s premier scholar-athlete award, presented by the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame: Dayton redshirt senior center Dylan DeMaison, Marist graduate student and defensive lineman Gannon McCorkle, and Valparaiso senior defensive lineman Sam Hafner.
- Davidson defensive end Julian Rawlins was one of 13 student-athletes named to the FedEx Doris Robinson Award Watch List on Oct. 30. Earlier this season, he was among 22 student-athletes named to the 2024 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.
- PFL teams claimed four wins against their scholarship FCS brethren. Butler (at Murray State), Dayton (vs. Saint Francis), Drake (at Eastern Washington), and San Diego (vs. Cal Poly) victories helped the league post its most wins against FCS nonconference teams since 2019.
- The PFL’s coaches picked Drake to win the 2024 PFL title after winning the 2023 title, their seventh PFL championship and first since 2012. The Bulldogs received eight of the 11 first-place votes from the league’s coaches. St. Thomas was second in the preseason poll, followed by Butler and San Diego.
- Drake defensive end Finn Claypool, the reigning PFL Defensive Player of the Year, was named to the Buck Buchanan Award Preseason Watch List presented by Stats Perform. He also was named to the Stats PerformPerform’sson All-America Team.
- Davidson running back Mari Adams and Drake quarterback Luke Bailey were named to the 35-player Walter Payton Watch Award Watch List, also presented by Stats Perform.
- Seven PFL alumni are currently on active NFL and CFL rosters. A complete list of PFL alumni in professional football is on page 11 of the PDF.
PFL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offensive Player of the Week
Hope Adebayo , St. Thomas Senior, Running Back, Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota
Adebayo’s 277-yard rushing performance was the most by an FCS runner this season, and his three touchdowns keyed St. Thomas’ 34-14 victory against San Diego on Saturday. His rushing yardage was the most since Campbell’s Daniel Smith ran for 289 yards against Davidson in 2017. Adebayo set the tone against the Toreros with a 42-yard touchdown run to open the day’s scoring. He added a 60-yard scoring dash in the third quarter before closing the scoring with a 70-yard touchdown run. Adebayo’s rushing performance outgained San Diego, which was held to 265 offensive yards.
OTHER NOTABLES
• Butler quarterback Andrew Reagan ran for 112 yards and passed for 109 yards and two touchdowns in a 48-38 victory at Davidson. • Davidson wide receiver Brody Reina caught five passes for 118 yards and a touchdown in a loss to Butler. • Dayton running back Mason Hackett had 21 carries for 82 yards in a loss to Morehead State. • Morehead State wide receiver Nate Garnett Jr. caught nine passes for 212 yards and a touchdown in a 14-6 victory at Dayton. His 212 receiving yards were the most in the PFL since 2022 (Presbyterian’s Dominic Kibby vs. Dayton). • Presbyterian quarterback Collin Hurst completed 14-of-22 passes for 297 yards and a touchdown in a 42-14 victory at Stetson. • Valparaiso running back Michael Mansaray ran for 135 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries in a 17-14 victory at Marist.
Defensive Player of the Week
Mark Johnson, Valparaiso Sophomore, Defensive Back, Nashville, Tennessee
Johnson finished a one-two punch of late defensive stops that helped Valparaiso secure a 17-14 victory at Marist. Moments after teammate Nic Lendino batted away a pass in the end zone on 3rd-and-1, Johnson broke up a pass as Marist attempted a flea-flicker on fourth down to force a turnover on downs with 50 seconds remaining in the game. He also had a career-high 10 tackles (two solo) and 1.5 for loss
OTHER NOTABLES
• Butler cornerback Devaon Holman had a first-quarter 20-yard pick six and a half tackle for loss in Butler’s 48-38. • Davidson linebacker John Tessman recorded an interception and had a team-high nine tackles in a loss to Butler. • Dayon linebacker Gideon Lampron notched seven tackles (five solo), 3.0 for loss, a sack, and a hurry in a loss to Morehead State. • Marist safety Kade Werner finished with a career-high 13 tackles (three solo) in a loss to Valparaiso. • Morehead State linebacker had six tackles in a fumble recovery to lead a defense that held Dayton to 198 offensive yards and no touchdowns to claim a 14-6 victory. • Presbyterian defensive lineman Jacob Thornton had seven tackles (two solo), 2.0 for loss in a 42-14 victory at Stetson. • St. Thomas defensive back Grif Wurtz had an interception and four tackles (one solo) in a 34-14 victory at San Diego.
Special Teams Player of the Week
Sam Johnson, Valparaiso Senior (RS), Punter, Birmingham, Alabama
Johnson averaged 45.2 yards on his five punts in Valparaiso’s 17-14 victory at Marist. He helped the Beacons control the field position battle at key moments, with two of his five punts downed inside the 20-yard line, including one that forced Marist to start a drive from its seven-yard line. Johnson also uncorked a 61-yard punt – his 18th punt of 50-plus yards this season.
OTHER NOTABLES
• Dayton safety Ca’ron Coleman made two tackles inside the 15-yard line as part of his kick return defense role, helping the Flyers limit Morehead State to 16 yards on kick returns. NOTE: All individuals recognized on this page were nominated by the athletics communications staff at their respective schools.
NOTE: All individuals recognized on this page were nominated by the athletics communications staff at their respective schools.
