Halloween for the Stetson Hatters included more trick than treats as San Diego's Anthony Lawrence passed for 453 yards and three touchdown, leading the Toreros to a 47-16 victory over Stetson in Pioneer League Football play on Saturday at Spec Martin Stadium.

Lawrence was 20-of-28 passing and had touchdown throws of 33, 4 and 76 yards. The Toreros (6-2 overall, 4-1 PFL) amassed 644 yards of total offense. Both the passing yards and total yards were the most the Hatters (2-6, 1-5) have allowed in a game since restarting their program in 2013.

“You have to credit San Diego because they had a good scheme and had us scouted very well,” Hatters coach Roger Hughes said. “They used some double moves and we got sucked up on the first move and got beat deep. We didn't do a very good job of tackling, and that extended runs. I don't know how many times we had third and 10 or more and we didn't get off the field.

“They were just better than us today – it is not a secret, the score indicates that. I told the team that there is nothing magic that I can say. Look at the score and look at the film, we got our butts kicked.”

San Diego scored on its opening possession of the day when Blake Martin capped a five-play, 75-yard drive with an eight-yard scoring run. Lawrence completed his first big pass of the day, a 39-yard hookup with Justin Priest, on the second play of that drive.

Stetson answered right back with a 12-play scoring drive that quarterback Ryan Tentler capped with a three-yard touchdown pass to Rob Coggin. It was just the fifth scoring toss for Tentler this season. The extra point was no good, allowing San Diego to maintain the lead, 7-6. Tentler was 7-of-7 passing on the drive and also had a 20-yard run, part of his game-high 105 yards on the ground.

“We were having some success running the ball early, so they brought some guys into the box to stop that,” Hughes said of the San Diego defense. “The way to keep them out of the box is to throw the ball deep, but we couldn't hold up against their pass rush to get the ball down field. The kids are going to be disappointed when they see the film because we missed some opportunities when we didn't have time to get them the ball.”

The Toreros began to take control of the game in the second quarter. After stopping the Hatters near midfield at the end of the first quarter, San Diego needed less than a minute to go 89 yards for its second score. Lawrence connected with Brian Riley for a 33-yard touchdown pass with 14:43 left in the first half. That same duo hooked up on the first play of the drive for a 53-yard gain.

Lawrence tossed another TD pass less than two minutes later when he hooked up with Dallas Kessman for a four-yard score. The drive was aided by a 48-yard completion to Priest on third and 20. The TD pass came on the next play to give San Diego a 21-6 advantage.

As Stetson's offense continued to sputter and Lawrence kept on having his way. The redshirt freshman found Jereke Armstrong open over the middle, and he raced untouched 76 yards for the fourth scoring pass of the half. The PAT kick failed, leaving San Diego with a 27-6 lead.

“The quarterback put the ball in places where only their receivers could get it,” Stetson cornerback Chris Atkins said. “They knew we would bite up, and he got a couple of us and then put the ball where the wide receiver could get it and we couldn't. Days like this are very frustrating. Our secondary is supposed to be one of the best, but it is very frustrating when you have a quarterback who puts the ball where you can't get it.”

The Hatters stopped the bleeding late in the second quarter with an 11-play drive that ended in a 36-yard James LaGamma field goal. The biggest play in the drive for Stetson was a 20-yard completion to Chris Crawford.

After a scoreless third quarter, San Diego put the game out of reach early in the fourth quarter as the Toreros and Hatters alternated touchdowns on three consecutive possessions. Chris Campano scored the first on the three on a one-yard run with 13:26 left in the game to make it 34-9. The score was set up by a 46-yard completion to Brian Riley on the previous snap.

Tentler answered back when he scored on a 57-yard quarterback keeper with 12:02 to play, making it a 34-19 game.

“All week we talked about how they were going to man-free and blitz us,” Tentler said. “When we ran the option, it was two-on-one and, if they want to play the running back, I could run, and if they want to play me, I could pitch to the running back. We read the end, and he came down and their linebacker got caught in no-man's land. I thought I'd be able to get five yards, but I just kept running.”

San Diego answered right back when Matthew Cecil scored on a 45-yard run. The Toreros tacked on another score in the final minute of the game when Campano scored on a 20-yard.

The Toreros had two receivers, Riley and Priest, who finished the game with more than 100 receiving yards. Riley had six receptions for 177 yards and Priest had four for 103, which equaled Stetson's passing total for the day.

“Their guys went up and made plays,” Hughes said of the USD receivers. “It is a physical game and we have to win those battles. To this point in the season, for the most part, we have. That is why this is so disappointing because today we didn't do that.”

Chris Atkins and Donald Payne – who was playing on a bad ankle that he injured late in the game at Valparaiso last week – led the Hatters with nine tackles each. Despite playing in pain, Payne recovered a fumble for the only turnover of the game and was credited with 2.5 tackles for loss.

“It was iffy if he was going to play at all,” Hughes said. “He went out there and got nicked up early and I thought he would be done for the day. He was able to push through it, but he certainly didn't have the kind of day that he normally has.”

The Hatters now must turn their attention to the final road game of the year, a trip to New York to face Marist next weekend. The Red Foxes are 4-4 on the season after defeating Butler 35-14 on Saturday.

“Marist is getting better and better and their defensive line is the best I have seen in this league,” Hughes said. “They are big and mean.”

Tentler said the Hatters would have to regroup this week.

“We have three games left and, for our seniors, we aren't playing as well as we should be,” Tentler said. “We set a goal of winning a conference championship and now there is a lot of finger-pointing. We aren't playing our best football. We have to get back to basics and do what we are good at.”