San Diego, CA – San Diego captures no worse than a share of its third consecutive Pioneer Football League title on Saturday afternoon, holding the visiting Stetson Hatters to just 79 yards of total offense in a 42-7 Toreros win.
 
USD (8-1, 7-0) showed that it is the class of the PFL by controlling the game throughout. The only bright spot for Stetson (4-6, 2-5) was an 84-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the first quarter by senior All-American Donald Payne.
 
The Toreros piled up 529 yards of total offense by controlling the ball. USD had almost 41 minutes possession time on the afternoon while holding the Hatters to just eight first downs.
 
"It is frustrating when you can't get off the field defensively and, offensively, we weren't helping each other because we couldn't get first downs," Hatters coach Roger Hughes said. "It is a credit to San Diego. They are the conference champs and they are clearly the best team we have faced in the league."
 
USD took the opening possession of the game and quickly drove down the field. After runs of 35 and nine yards by senior Jonah Hodges, sophomore quarterback Anthony Lawrence connected with junior Justin Priest for a 27-yard TD pass for a quick 7-0 lead.
 
Lawrence finished the day passing for 314 yards on 24-of-31 attempts with four touchdowns.
 
The Stetson defense got the Hatters even later in the quarter when Jeb Boudreaux sacked Lawrence, stripping the ball loose. Payne scooped up the ball and raced to the end zone for a touchdown. It was the longest fumble return in modern Stetson history, eclipsing the 60-yard run by Dylan Wydronkowski just last week.
 
"We have thrived on that from our defense all year," Hughes said. "It was Donald Payne, and you expect him to make big plays like that. Our defense has done some miraculous things this year and that gets our juices going. We just weren't able to capitalize on it by going down and scoring after that."
 
The Toreros answered with another scoring drive, with Lawrence and junior tight end Ross Dwelley hooking up for gains of 24 and 20 yards before Lawrence found Priest again, this time for a 14-yard TD pass. One play into the second quarter USD led 14-7.
 
Dwelley was the leading receiver for the Toreros with nine receptions for 125 yards.
 
That lead quickly grew to 21-7 on the next USD possession when Lawrence connected with Hodges for an 8-yard TD strike. Then, just before intermission, Lawrence hit Dwelley for his fourth TD pass, this one from two yards away for a 28-7 Toreros lead at halftime.
 
The Hatters had just three first downs and ran just 17 offensive plays in the first half.
 
"Offensively, we just never could get anything going," Hughes said. "Our margin for error right now, because we aren't running the ball effectively, is minimal. If we can't stay ahead of the chains, we aren't good enough with our protection and with limited experience at quarterback to overcome penalties."
 
USD led Hodges do most of the damage in the second half. The senior had a seven-yard TD run in the third quarter to make it 35-7. He finished the game with 142 rushing yards on 19 carries with the one touchdown to go with three receptions for 14 yards and a score.
 
The final Toreros TD came in the final quarter with another senior, Jereke Armstrong, running in from 17 yards out.
 
The Hatters finished the day with just 12 rushing yards on 19 attempts while sophomore quarterback Nick Andreas completed just eight of his 22 pass attempts for 67 yards. He was sacked four times in the game, but was also hurried, harassed and hit virtually every time he tried to throw.
 
Boudreaux led the way defensively for Stetson with 14 total tackles, including his sack and forced fumble that led to the Hatters' touchdown. It was just the second time all season that San Diego has allowed a sack.
 
Payne and Wydronkowski finished with 10 tackles each while freshman Rich Stanzione, who made his first start, had eight tackles in the game.
 
The Hatters will not get back to DeLand until late Sunday evening, meaning they will have a short week to get ready for the final game of the year. Hughes said he is confident the team will put this game behind them quickly.
 
"We have demonstrated our character all year," Hughes said. "I have no doubt that the leadership of this team will hold things together and keep us going the right direction. For those seniors, they realize they only have one left. You always remember your last game. We are going to put this one behind us and start working on Drake.
 
"We are all motivated to send these seniors out the right way, the 13 from the first class and the others from the class behind them. They have hung in here for five years and they are the ones responsible for the change we have seen. I could not be more proud of that group and I know the underclassmen are going to take a lot of pride in trying to send them out the right way."
 
The game against Drake next Saturday at Spec Martin Stadium is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program has a vision of developing a culture of champions athletically, academically and within the community. This vision is accomplished through a mission of recruiting and developing student-athletes, coaches and staff, creating a culture of champions, within and outside of competition. The department operates with five core values: Championship Culture, Integrity, Excellence, Pride/Tradition and Leadership. To learn more about the Vision, Mission and Core Values for Stetson Athletics, visit GoHatters.com and click on Mission Statement under the Inside Athletics tab.