The calendar says it is a scary time of year, and the Stetson football team is hoping to put a scare into visiting San Diego on Saturday afternoon at Spec Martin Memorial Stadium when the two teams meet in a Pioneer Football League game.

Kickoff on All Hallows Eve is set for 1 p.m. and the game will be broadcast exclusively on ESPN3 with Tyler Murray and Evan Weston calling the action, with Brianne Welch reporting from the sideline. Stetson fans can also listen to the game on the Hatters Radio Network with Luke Mauro and Pete Blais providing the call of the game and with Aaron Berlin on the sideline.

The Hatters (2-5, 1-4) are coming off their first PFL victory of the year last week at Valparaiso and are looking to build momentum for a stretch run to the season that includes three of the final four games at home. The Toreros (5-2, 3-1) make the first of two cross-country trips among their last four games. USD also travels to play at Davidson on November 14.

Last year the Hatters gave the eventual league champion Toreros all they wanted in a 31-23 loss at San Diego, a game that was not decided until the fourth quarter. The impact player on that day was USD running back Jonah Hodges, who carried the ball 18 times for 274 yards and two touchdowns.

While Hodges is still on the roster, the preseason All-Conference pick has not played since suffering an injury in the Toreros' season-opening loss to San Diego State. Without him, the USD ground game has been led redshirt juniors Jereke Armstrong and Blake Martin, but it is senior Dallas Kessman who expected to get the start on Saturday.

Hatters coach Roger Hughes said that, regardless which running back the Toreros have on the field, the keys to their offensive success are an offensive line that averages 288 pounds and a redshirt freshman quarterback who makes very few mistakes.

“When you put the film on and look at their roster, it is no surprise that they have won three of the last four championships,” Hughes said. “They are very well coached and do the fundamentals very well. They are big and physical up front on both sides of the ball. They are sound, but they are not real flashy.”

Quarterback Anthony Lawrence has completed almost 65 percent of his 201 pass attempts this year, passing for more than 1,500 yards and 16 touchdowns with just four interceptions.

“He really does a good job of extending plays by running around until he can find someone open to throw to,” Hughes said. “Their offensive line just mashes you because they are huge. We are really stressing our run fits this week. Last year we had plays stopped, but we didn't fit one gap and, because we didn't fit that one gap, they had some really big plays.”

For the Hatters, the difference between a drubbing at the hands of the Toreros in 2013 and a nail-biter last year was a combination of confidence and having nothing to lose.

“In 2013, I think they had points on the board when they got off the bus because that was how fast it happened,” Hughes said. “I think our kids were intimidated. It was the first time we had seen a Pioneer League team and they were huge, relative to us. I think we were a little intimidated and a little unsure of ourselves.

“Last year we went out there with a nothing to lose attitude and the idea that if we could get it to a fourth quarter game we would have a shot.”

This time around the Hatters go into the game with San Diego carrying some confidence after giving their most complete performance of the year in the win over Valparaiso. The combination of getting players who have missed significant time with injuries back on the field, and cutting down on the mistakes that have haunted then all year, led to a much better result in that game.

“We have gotten some guys back and we have had some younger guys step up to contribute,” Hughes said. “I think the combination of those things and, for the first time this year, we were together as a team. The offense was feeding off the defense and vice-versa. We went up there with confidence that we were going to play well and then we executed like we were supposed to. Both sides of the ball got off to really good starts and, when you do that with a couple of record kicks on special teams, everything just clicked.”

Hughes attributed some of the change to protecting the ball better and reducing the number of critical penalties. The Hatters were still flagged for seven penalties for 75 yards in the Valpo game, and one of those helped the Crusaders to a score, but Stetson was able to overcome most of the others.

“The more you preach it, the more the players are starting to understand that those little things make a difference,” Hughes said. “We had fewer penalties to stop drives. We did still have penalties, but we were able to overcome them.

“There have been other times where there have been many more drives aided by penalties. You don't like to have one penalty, but those crucial penalties that stop drives, or keep drives going for your opponent, were minimal.”

The improvement in those two important areas – turnovers and penalties – may come from a change in the way the Hatters are practicing every day. Instead of just having goals for the week, the team has specific goals for each practice.

“This week, one of our objectives for preparation is to spend one percent more time doing off the field things that will help you play better – watch more film, study your scouting report a little more, study yourself at practice to get better. The second thing has been to make sure to make three people better at each practice – yourself, someone on offense and someone on defense.”

The Hatters coach is also excited by the continue improvement of some of the youngest members of the team. With Cole Mazza out injured, the running back position has been a weekly audition. Last week freshman Arkee Brown made his first start there, and sophomore receiver Darian Wright made his starting debut almost 14 months after a knee injury wrecked is freshman season.

“It just got to the point where we felt that Arkee, and even Chance Jackson, have shown some really good things and worked their way up to a point where they deserved that opportunity,” Hughes said. “With the injury to Cole, it opened the door a little and they have taken advantage of it. I thought Arkee played very well.”

Other young players who have continued to push forward include sophomore defensive end Jeff Fallabel and freshman defensive tackle Brendt Green.

“Jeff had a great game and he is getting better every week,” Hughes said. The nice thing is that he is only a sophomore and has a long way to go and we have some time to nurture him and continue to get better.”

Fallabel, who has started the last two games, was named the Hatters defensive player of the week for the game at Valpo and also earned the big hit award for a block he delivered on Chris Atkins' interception return for a touchdown.

The bonus with those young players stepping up is that players like Mazza, Mike Yonker, Kegan Moore and Sean Gannon are back from their injuries to contribute as well and, on defense, players like Atkins and Glenn Adesoji, who both missed time, are back to near full speed.

With the team as healthy as it has been at any point this year, and coming off a victory last week, things around the football practice field this week were much brighter.

“Everyone is a little more up beat, everyone is a little happier,” Hughes said. “The bumps and bruises don't hurt as bad and there is a general sense that maybe we are on an upswing. That is the way the players have put it to me. We have to continue to play well, but everything is better when you win. Winning cures a lot of issues.”

Hatters Notebook

Solid First Step

After missing four games with a broken bone in his foot, Cole Mazza got back on the field for the first time last week in the win at Valparaiso. He only touched the ball eight times in the game, but he ran for 32 yards and had a one-yard touchdown on a jump pass to Rob Coggin.

“Cole is such a competitor and wants to play,” Hughes said. “A lot of times when you have an injury, especially a foot or knee injury, you may be healed physically, but there is still some discomfort and you have to learn to trust it. Cole had to show that he could tolerate a little discomfort and still be able to cut and do the things he needs to do. I thought he got much better as the game went along.”

Bag of Tricks

In the last two games the Hatters have dipped into their bag of tricks three times for plays that many would consider unconventional. They opened the game against Campbell with a flea-flicker pass that gained 37 yards. Against Valpo they used the jump pass to score a touchdown and also tried a reverse pass from receiver Darian Wright. That one fell incomplete.

“We have had that play (jump pass) in for a couple of weeks and it just worked out for us,” Hughes said. “Cole has an accurate arm, and part of that is to have a little fun as well. Part of the uplift in attitude is we have done some things that are fun. We had the reverse pass in there and we had a flea flicker the week before.

“I think the kids see us having more confidence in them to do things like that and we are having more fun as a team by doing those things. We needed some shots in the arm to keep their attention and to show them that we are willing to do whatever it takes to come up with the win.”

The Wright Stuff

Even though he has just two receptions, for 17 yards in his two games back, Darian Wright is the kind of big-play threat the Hatters haven't had for most of the year. With his return, along with the return of the chief big-play receiver from last year in Kegan Moore, the Hatters have a much better chance to stretch the field on offense.

“We had great expectations for Darian before his injury,” Hughes said. “His work ethic in practice has been remarkable. We felt it was a time where he deserved an opportunity. With Darian coming back, and with Kegan Moore coming back, and freshman Joseph Hoguin coming on, it has really stepped up the competition at receiver. With those guys back, you had better be doing everything correctly or someone is going to take your place.”

Those three players combined with this year's leading receiver – sophomore Ja'Vonta Swinton – and Stetson's two all-time leading receivers in terms of yards (Darius McGriff) and receptions (Chris Crawford), not to mention Coggin at tight end, should give opposing defensive coaches much more to worry about over the final four weeks of the year.

But, with that many players vying for snaps, the competition at practice has also intensified.

“I think some of those guys are really starting to take pride in their blocking and doing the little things very well at the receiver positions,” Hughes said. “Now, there is a sense that if they don't do those things well, their time on the field will be reduced.

“Every day is a job interview and with the competition, especially from the younger guys, and our ability to recruit more and more good players, it puts pressure on those older guys. As a culture, they have to realize that they need to elevate their game to keep up and, if they do elevate their game, everyone gets better and the team gets better.”

Late Touchdowns A Concern

For most of the game last Saturday the Stetson defense dominated Valparaiso. The Crusaders managed just 25 yards of total offense in the game with the exception of two drives, one at the end of each half.

It was during those drives that the Hatters employed their two-minute defense, and the result was certainly not what the coaches wanted.

“It was a prevent style of defense,” Hughes said. “The only time we practice that defense is when we are in a two-minute type of situation. I think it may have inadvertently sent a signal to our players to not get beaten deep, to keep things in front of you and, as a result, we didn't play as aggressively on the ball as we should have.

“In our discussions this week we are going to look at modifying that or simply not use it because we were playing pretty good defense prior to that, so why change it? It is the old line about the prevent defense preventing the win. It certainly did not prevent them from scoring touchdowns in this case.”

Keys to the Game

It is one of those stats that very few people ever pay much attention to, but for the Hatters in the game against San Diego on Saturday, it will be one of the most important stats in the game – time of possession.

“We have to find a way to run the ball and keep it out of their hands,” Hughes said. “It is going to be a difficult matchup for our line against their line, if you just look at it on paper. What we have to do is make sure we don't turn it over.

“Any time a series ends with a kick, it is good. It may be a punt, and we are going to have to do that, but we are also going to have to take our shots when we need to. We have to make sure to maintain ball-control and keep their offense off the field.”

To keep the clock rolling, the Hatters will look to play things close to the vest.

“We have to be able to take care of the football and have a four-yard mentality,” Hughes said. “We will still take our shots, but we have to have a four-yard mentality to keep the chains moving. We have to have manageable third downs and get another first down. Points are the number one key, but time of possession will be big this week. They can only score with the football and if we have it, they can't score.”

Like in many games this year, the Hatters will be focused on shutting down the running game and forcing San Diego to move the ball through the air. The key to that plan is having a secondary that can cover man-to-man long enough for the pass rush to do its job.

“That has certainly been a focus for us and we have been lucky enough to this point to have had adequate play in the secondary to make sure we can back up the run defense,” Hughes said. “To get extra guys in the box you have to play man coverage. So far we have been able to hold up in coverage long enough for the blitz to get there or for the quarterback to throw it where he doesn't want to.”

While Toreros' quarterback is not a big threat to pull the ball down and run, he does try to buy time with his legs.

“I know it sounds cliché, but we have to keep their quarterback bottled up,” Hughes said. “We can't let him run around back there and make plays. We also have to have our run fits very sound because, when you go against very well-coached teams, they are going to exploit your weaknesses.”

As usual, the Hatters keys include turnovers and penalties and, on special teams, kicking the ball to the right place on the field to keep San Diego's returners from hitting a big return.

Halloween Activities

The Hatters are counting on a great turnout at the game on Saturday to give them a boost against one of the best teams in the PFL. With it being Halloween, there is no reason that fans of all ages can't put on their costumes a little early and come support the Hatters.

“The energy in the stadium always comes from the students,” Hughes said. “If we can get a great student turnout, that is going to lead to a great atmosphere for everyone. While it may be Halloween, we are going to be done playing long before time to take the kids to trick or treat. It is going to be a great day with absolutely beautiful weather so, hopefully, people will show up and support our team and help us get a win and then go out and get their treats.”

In addition to the game on the field, activities on Saturday at the stadium will include a corn hole tournament in Hatter Village, with the winner receiving $50 and a catered tailgate for 30 at the Hatters' homecoming game on November 14. Second place in the tournament will receiver $25.

Fans can also register in Hatter Village for a chance to participate in the Little Caesar's Hot and Ready Kick for free pizza and well as for the Seminole Powersports Kick for a Yeti cooler.

Inside the stadium there will be a Halloween candy station for kids and, all kids 12 and under who come to the game in costume will get to form a victory line on the field (accompanied by an adult) to welcome the Hatters before the start of the game.