Jacksonville, Fla. — For the second time in as many weeks, the Stetson football team had to play one of the few remaining undefeated teams in the FCS. And for the second week in a row, that said opponent remained undefeated.
The Hatters lost to Jacksonville 41-14 at D.B. Milne Field in front of a stadium record crowd of 6,324.
The loss by the Hatters leaves Stetson reeling on a four-game losing streak, as the Hatters fall to 1-4 overall, and 0-3 in the Pioneer Football League. Jacksonville is now 5-0 overall and 3-0 in league play.
“We have to stop beating ourselves,” Hatters coach Roger Hughes said. “With five turnovers, what are you going to do? Against a good team, you just can't play like that. We had personal fouls and five turnovers and you can't beat anyone when you play like that.”
The host Dolphins took an early 14-0 lead with a pair of first quarter drives. JU out-gained the Hatters 128-33 in that first period. Jacksonville's first score came after it drove 70 yards, capped by a four-yard TD pass from quarterback Kade Bell to Orlando Thomas. It was the first of five touchdown tosses in the game for Bell, all to different receivers.
The Dolphins registered their second first quarter score on a 48-yard drive that concluded in another four-yard touchdown pass by Bell, this one to running back Damien Strange.
Stetson gathered a mild run early in the second period, showing signs of life. After Jacksonville returned a punt to the Stetson 10, defensive back Donald Payne thwarted the Dolphins' plans to score with an interception at the goal line.
That interception only held the Dolphins at bay for a minute. JU took advantage of one of the Hatters five turnovers later in the quarter, this one a muffed punt by Eric Martin. Bell turned the mistake into points on a 10-yard TD pass to Andy Jones for a 21-0 lead.
Stetson finally got on the board midway through the second quarter when Ryan Tentler connected with Darius McGriff on a slant pass, which McGriff took to the end zone for a 55-yard score.
The Hatters had a chance to cut its deficit further, but in the last minute before halftime, Tentler was picked-off for the second time, and Jacksonville's Armani Sampson took it 46-yards to the end zone to put the Dolphins ahead 28-7 at the break.
“That interception was big because we didn't get a chance to play defense,” Hughes said. “They returned it all the way for a touchdown. We are getting a lot of balls that are not thrown appropriately, and we are not catching the balls when they hit our hands, we are tipping everything straight up. When you do that, the other team has a chance to come down with the ball, and bad things happen when the other team catches it.”
Stetson failed to put together a rally in the second half, and the Hatters mustered just 52 yards of offense in the third quarter and two first downs to go along with a turnover. Jacksonville pushed its lead to 35-7 when Bell threw his fourth touchdown pass of the night, a 15-yard strike to Austin Leach.
Both teams traded touchdowns in the fourth quarter. First Bell threw his fifth scoring pass, this one to Austin Lawrence from 21-yards pass. Stetson then scored in the final minute of play when Arkee Brown posted his first collegiate touchdown on a five-yard run, a score that was setup on a 35-yard screen pass from Colin McGovern to Brown on the previous play.
Defensively, Stetson was led by Payne with 14 tackles, an interceptions and two pass breakups, while Adam Vinson added 11 tackles and a sack.
Stetson will return to action next Saturday for a game against Campbell University, with kickoff set for 1 p.m. at Spec Martin Stadium.
