Davidson, NC – Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed would have been proud of the performance turned in by the Stetson and Davidson football teams on Saturday afternoon at Richardson Stadium.
Both teams connected with haymakers over and over again, only to see their opponent get back off the mat and come out swinging again.
The two teams combined to pile up 1,238 yards but, in the end, it was the Stetson defense making the decisive play when junior
Reggie Gantt intercepted Davidson quarterback Tyler Phelps with just one minute left to play to secure the Hatters' 56-53 victory over the Wildcats.
With the win, the Hatters (6-1) clinched their first winning season since 1950 and stayed in the hunt for the Pioneer Football League title with a 4-1 record, just one game behind front-running San Diego.
Davidson (5-4, 2-4) dropped its third consecutive PFL game.
Neither team was ever able to feel comfortable with a lead in this game. Stetson had the ball 13 times in the game, scoring eight touchdowns with one punt, two turnovers and two possessions at the end of a half.
Davidson also had 13 possessions with seven touchdowns, a field goal, a punt, two fumbles and an interception.
The offensive stars in the game were everywhere.
Stetson freshman running back
Jareem Westcott set program records for both rushing yards (213) and touchdowns (5) despite carrying the ball just 17 times. His fifth TD of the day came on the Hatters' decisive scoring drive in the fourth quarter, completing a 12-play drive that used 4:38 off the clock while covering 74 yards.
Twice on that drive the Hatters faced a fourth down, and both times senior quarterback
Colin McGovern delivered. He kept the drive alive early with a nine-yard completion to
Justin Jordan and then against later when he hooked up with
Donald Parham for 14 yards. Parham, who left the game twice after hard hits, finished with eight receptions for a career-high 171 yards in the game.
McGovern had another tremendous day throwing the ball, completing 21-of-34 pass attempts for 336 yards and three scores. But, it was his interception in the fourth quarter, his first in 88 pass attempts since the second quarter of the Drake game, that gave Davidson a chance to steal the win.
The Wildcats' Dreylan Hines returned the pick 29 yards to the Stetson 20 and, three plays later, Davidson punch in for the touchdown to take a 53-49 lead, their first lead since the second quarter when the Hatters took a 21-17 advantage.
After Westcott put Stetson back on top with 1:53 to play, Davidson still had all three time-outs to work with and 74 yards to cover. The Wildcats turned away from their running attack, which piled up 519 yards in the game, on the first two plays, leaving them with a third and nine.
Keylan Brown was stopped for a two-yard gain on third down by
Reggie Gantt, forcing a fourth down try for the Wildcats, who were already two-of-two on fourth down in the game. Phelps rolled to his right and threw directly to Gantt, who's second interception of the year set off a celebration on the Stetson sideline.
Gantt finished the day tied with junior
Colby Duncan with a game-high 12 tackles. He also forced a fumble to go with his interception.
Other standouts in the game for Stetson included junior receiver
Steven Burdette, who had seven receptions for 71 yards and two scores, redshirt freshman
Jack Bowen, who had seven kickoff returns for 134 yards and sophomore DB
JJ Henderson, who had a sack among his six tackles, forcing and recovering a fumble on the play.
Davidson also had some standout performers, including a trio of 100-yard rushers, none of who were the Wildcats top two season rushers, who both missed the game with injuries. Eli Turner led the way for the Wildcats with 148 yards on 18 carries while James Story had 117 yards, and three touchdowns, on 16 tries. Phelps, the Wildcats QB, had 114 rushing yards on just nine carries.
The Hatters will look to keep the magic rolling next Saturday at Spec Martin Stadium when they host Morehead State (3-5, 2-3) for a 1 p.m. start on Homecoming.
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.
