Everyone around the Pioneer Football League knows about the talent the Jacksonville Dolphins bring to the field on the offensive side of the ball, but Stetson coach Roger Hughes said it is the JU defense that is the real challenge.

The Hatters (1-3, 0-2) will face that challenge when they travel up I-95 on Saturday for the first evening game at renovated D.B. Milne Field to face the unbeaten Dolphins (4-0, 2-0), with kickoff set for 6 p.m. The game, which will be the Dolphins Homecoming, will be broadcast on ESPN3 with Scott Manze, David Lamm and Patrick Wilkins on the call.

Stetson fans can also listen to the game on the Hatters Radio Network with Luke Mauro, Pete Blais and Aaron Berlin calling the action. The game can be heard on WSBB AM 1230 in New Smyrna Beach and AM 1490 in DeLand as well as CBS Radio AM 810 in Orlando.

JU opened the 2015 season with consecutive road wins over scholarship programs Delaware and Newberry. They followed with PFL wins at Marist and against Morehead State. Four or fewer points settled each of the Dolphins' victories, with the JU defense doing much of the heavy lifting in the wins.

“They are good on defense, really good,” Hughes said. “They don't blitz a lot, but their front is so quick and so active. They do a lot of twisting and a lot of stunting. Their coordinator just lets them play, and these kids are really good at playing. They want to hurt you and hit you. They really fly around to the ball and, if they get a chance, they'll physically punish you.”

JU is led on defense by junior safety Terrance Bryant's 37 tackles and two interceptions, but the Dolphins have had 14 different players record at least one tackle for loss this year in addition to the average of three forced turnovers per game.

“They want to beat you so bad that you have to see a psychiatrist,” Hughes joked. “They are very good, so we have to do some different things. With three freshmen starting in the offensive line against their defense, on paper, it looks like a total mismatch. If our kids play hard and we hang on to the football, hopefully some good things will happen.”

While it is hard to imagine that the JU offense has been overlooked this year, especially considering they return fifth-year senior quarterback Kade Bell, who is the reigning first-team All-Conference performer at that position. Bell, who is the son of Dolphins' head coach Kerwin Bell, has thrown for 1,266 yards and six touchdowns so far this year despite completing just 51.3 percent of his passes through four games.

For his career, Bell has thrown for more than 8,000 yards and 74 touchdowns despite missing games with injuries in each of his first two seasons.

You have to respect what Kade has done,” Hughes said. “He has put up great numbers, so we have to be really good in our coverage. He is really good at buying time, extending plays, and then finding someone down field. We have to make sure we stay in coverage and know who has the running back. They know that we like to blitz, so they did a good job last year of negating that by doing some screens and draws. Kade does a good job of buying time and finding his receivers, and his supporting cast is outstanding.”

That supporting cast starts with junior running back Ulysses Bryant, who rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown against Stetson last year. He is coming off a 115-yard, two touchdown performance last week against Morehead State. Making things more difficult, Bryant's backup, sophomore Jamal Adjamah, ripped the Eagles for 163 yards in JU's 30-26 victory.

When Bell throws the ball, which he does on average more than 48 times a game, he has a talented group of pass-catchers to throw to. The leading receiver for JU is senior Andy Jones, who leads the PFL in both receptions per game (8.3) and receiving yards per game (128.7). In addition, the Dolphins have five other receivers with more than 100 receiving yards on the year.

“When you have a guy like Kade, who can throw it down the field, you can't put an extra guy in the box or drop the safeties down for the run without being prepared to pay for it with a long one,” Hughes said. “They will pull it up after the play fake and throw it over your head. Our secondary is probably a stronger part of our defense, but they will be well tested when this game is over.”

The Stetson secondary got a boost – emotionally for sure – with the return of junior Glenn Adesoji last week. In addition to his return, the Hatters are starting to see some of the Donald Payne from 2014 when he led all of college football in tackles. Against JU last year he started his incredible second half run with 26 stops. In making 16 tackles against Dayton last week, there were definite signs of that kind of performance on the horizon.

“He is finally getting into shape,” Hughes said of his All-American. “He missed a lot of fall camp, and a lot of the conditioning, so I think he is playing himself back into shape. Without having any scrimmages against teams other than yourselves, sometimes it takes a couple of games to get your game speed back. Hopefully, that is the case with Donald because, clearly, him playing at his best makes us a better defense.”

Another member of the defensive backfield who has enjoyed success against the Dolphins is Jacksonville native Chris Atkins. Slowed by hamstring problems that forced him to miss one game, Atkins is still trying to knock the rust off his game. The chance to face his hometown team, who he has four interceptions against in two years, will certainly help.

“Any time you go back home and can play in front of your home fans there is some added incentive, and certainly Chris has that,” Hughes said. “He has done very well in the past against Jacksonville and I know he is looking forward to that opportunity again.”

Overall, the Hatters have seven interceptions against JU in two games, but Bell has still thrown for 657 yards, completing 43-of-72 passes against Stetson. Hughes said one of Bell's many strengths is his touch throwing the ball, but that has also allowed the Stetson defense to make some plays.

“Even on screens, he can hang the ball eight or nine feet in the air and it comes down right on the money,” Hughes said. “When you hang the ball, it allows you to react to it as well and, last year, we got some great reactions to it. What we have to do is stay in coverage. We have to make him hold it when he doesn't want to, make him uncomfortable when he wants to hold it. We have to show him multiple looks and try to confuse him some so that we can force him into an error.”

Stetson Notebook

Hatter Homecoming

The Stetson roster is dotted with players from the Jacksonville area, including several starters. In addition to Chris Atkins (Potters House Christian), the Hatters have starters Eric Martin (First Coast), Darius McGriff (Mandarin) and Matt Wawrzyniak (Ponte Vedra). Running back Cole Mazza (Ponte Vedra) would also be among that group if he were healthy.

Other Jacksonville area natives on the roster, but not the travel squad this week, are Austin Waldron (Middleburg), defensive linemen Mike White (Paxon) and James Carey (Nease).

Reshuffling the Deck

In the game against Dayton last week the Hatters started three freshmen on the offensive line. That trend will likely continue this week, even with the potential return of senior Sean Gannon from a preseason knee injury.

As expected, the trio of freshmen – tackle Connor Donovan, guard Jim McCammon and center Cam Morgan – had some positives and some struggles.

“Inconsistent, which is what you would expect from a young line,” Hughes said of the group. “Sometimes they saw a few things that weren't there. Sometimes they got beat by quickness because the speed of the game is so much faster over the JV level. With that said, they got better as the game went along.

“I think our scheme gives them a chance because when you use the read option, you eliminate one of the guys they have to block. That helps to create more double-teams and create some movement. That is going to be crucial this week because we have to be able to control them. Hopefully, double-teams inside will negate their slanting and twisting.”

More Fresh Faces

In addition to the young players who are seeing increased work load on the offensive line, there is a chance the Hatters could employ some other young players on offense this week. Freshman running back Arkee Brown saw his first varsity action last week, on special teams, as did fellow running back Chance Jackson and receiver Joseph Holguin.

All three are on the travel squad for the game at Jacksonville, as is freshman defensive back JJ Lewis, who has not yet made his varsity debut. The group gives the Hatters 11 true freshmen, plus redshirt freshman backup quarterback Colin McGovern, on the 56-man travel squad.

“There is a reason we made the changes we did,” Hughes said. “It is nothing against the people we moved out, they just have to play better and more consistent. We have had those conversations and they know exactly what they need to do. We are continuing to work with them to get the better. The nice thing is that the young guys are getting opportunities to grow very early in their career and, hopefully, that bodes well for the future.”

Running Game Woes

The Hatters will again be without the services of starting tailback Cole Mazza (foot) and fullback Mike Yonker (knee) for the game at Jacksonville. In addition, backup fullback Mason Johnson (shoulder) is still out of commission. Those injuries are part of the reason that doors are being opened for younger players to get a chance.

“We won't have Cole and we won't have Mike, but you may see some new faces in the backfield,” Hughes said. “We are looking at a few things there, but it is what it is. No one is going to feel sorry for us, we just have to find a way to eek one out.”

Besides Mazza – who had 100 yards rushing in the first two games – and quarterbacks – who have 103 rushing yards, the Hatter have gotten just 132 yards rushing from the rest of the stable of backs.

“I think we are trying to find the right combination,” Hughes said. “No one has totally asserted himself as the guy who can fill in for everything we lost when we lost Cole. The guys behind him are more finesse runners who rely on their speed and quickness to get them the extra yards.”

Help From Tentler

Junior quarterback Ryan Tentler has always been a dangerous weapon running with the ball, and he showed that last week by gaining 90 yards on 11 carries, pushing his career total for rushing yards to 850 yards. The importance of his ability to run the ball also impacts the Hatters passing game.

“Anything we can do to lighten the load for those big guys up front is going to be crucial for us,” Hughes said. “By design, some of the things we are doing to get Ryan the ball on the perimeter, are run-pass options. If the pass presents itself where they come up to take away the run, then he can dump it off to someone else. We haven't gotten to the third option a lot of times but, as we get better at what we are doing, hopefully those options will begin to present themselves.

“When you can do that, you have taken away two from the defense. You take away one with the initial read on the dive play then, when you roll out, you have the guy who takes the quarterback, and you have finally evened the numbers. You are two short on offense every time you snap it, and you are always trying to even the numbers. A lot of people think that football is all about magic plays, but the best that you can hope for is one-on-one, and then you have to win that one-on-one battle.”

Serving as a Positive Example

When your primary job is to snap the ball back to the punter or holder on kicks, the last thing you ever want to see is your name in the paper. Long snappers, like the holders and, more often than not, offensive linemen, understand that there is little glory in the jobs they do.

Stetson junior Gary Gotling got a chance to get his name in the paper last week against Dayton but wouldn't you know it, even that didn't work out. Gotling hustled down the field on a punt in the second quarter to make a rare tackle but, because he is a long snapper, he shares a jersey number with freshman defensive tackle James Carey.

Since it is more likely for a defensive tackle to make plays in the game, Gotling, like others in the kicking game who share numbers with other players, is assigned 6K in the stat program instead of his actual number, 64. The result was Carey got initial credit for Gotling's tackle.

The Hatters' head coach has certainly not overlooked Gotling's efforts this year.

“Gary Gotling is someone I would love to write a story about,” Hughes said. “He gets up every morning, before our 6:30 practice, to run, just to make sure he maintains the right weight and stays in shape. His commitment to being the best long snapper he can be is an example that every athlete in America can learn from.

“While, stature-wise, he may not be the most football looking person, he has made himself into a very good long snapper and he is extremely competitive.”

Rivalry Game

It is only natural for Stetson and JU to develop a rivalry in football. The two programs have been rivals in numerous sports for many years as the longest tenured current members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. But, before there can be a rivalry, the Hatters have to get a win in the series.

“When I was a GA at Nebraska, Bill McCartney got to Colorado and declared that Nebraska was their rival,” Hughes said. “He used that as motivation, but it really wasn't a rivalry until Colorado was able to win a game. I think this is the same way.

“For us to say this is a rivalry is premature. It is a program that we have great respect for; that we want to be like. We want to find ways to have the kind of success they have had. Until we do that, we are always going to be looking up at the mountain trying to knock them off.”

Keys to the Game

Hughes kept the keys to the game simple for JU – disciplined coverage in the secondary; handle the stunts of the JU defensive line, turnovers and perfect execution by the Hatters kickers.

“Our defense has to be disciplined, stay in coverage and make sure they don't cover the decoys, cover the ones he throws to,” Hughes said. “We have to be able to mix it up on defense and give Kade some different looks so that he holds the ball longer than he wants, giving our rush time to get there.

“Offensively, we have to be more efficient and handle their stunts and moving around. If we can do that, they we'll have a chance to move the ball. If we don't do that, then it will be a long night.

“We have to win the turnover battle, that is a given. On special teams we have to place the ball perfectly in order to maximize our ability to cover and limit their ability to return it, because they have some kids who can get up the field.”