NOTE: As voted by the staff and coaches of the Stetson Athletics Department, these stories tied for the No. 7 spot in our countdown from 2018.

The 2018 season Stetson Hatters football season was one Hatters fans will remember for years to come. The season marked the first winning campaign for the program since 1951. Coach Roger Hughes received due credit by being named Pioneer Football League Coach of the Year. The gridiron team wasn't the only fall squad with a big turnaround - the volleyball team also enjoyed a winning season, including a standout victory over defending ASUN Champion Kennesaw State.

Hatters Close Out Season in Style

On November 17, Stetson went out in style, taking a record-setting 45-31 victory over visiting Valparaiso at Spec Martin Stadium to close out an 8-2 campaign.

The eight victories tie for the most in a season in program history. Only the 1950 and 1951 Stetson teams had ever posted eight wins in a season before.

Stetson finished 6-2 in Pioneer Football League play to tie for second in the final league standings.
 
The records started falling early for the Hatters as senior quarterback Colin McGovern moved past Ryan Tentler in the Stetson record book for most career passing yards. It was not the last record McGovern, one of 13 seniors honored in pre-game ceremonies, would set in the game.
 
McGovern finished the day throwing for a program-record 498 passing yards, completing 31-of-50 pass attempts, with six touchdowns, also a program record. The big day allowed McGovern to surpass 3,000 passing yards for the season – he finished with 3,028 – establishing the program mark in that category as well.
 
Of course, McGovern didn't pile up his gaudy numbers in a vacuum. Of his 31 completions, 12 went to senior tight end Donald Parham, for a school-record 257 receiving yards. That total surpassed the mark of 191 yards set by Kegan Moore against Butler in 2014. Parham also had three of McGovern's TD passes, scoring on plays that covered 64, five and 53 yards.
 
Parham, who barely practiced during the week leading up to the game as the result of a high ankle sprain suffered at Butler last week, ran his program record career totals to 180 receptions for 2,591 yards and 20 touchdowns – all records. Parham finished his senior season by averaging 146.6 receiving yards per game, which has a chance to lead all of college football, regardless of division, this year.
 
McGovern's passing efforts also sought out some relatively unknown targets in the game as well. With regulars Steven Burdette, Justin Jordan and Jack Bowen all out with injuries, others had to step up.
 
Sophomore Bensley Bornelus finished with a career-high seven receptions for 85 yards and two touchdowns while senior Luke McDermott posted career-highs with five receptions for 78 yards and his first touchdown.
 
The Hatters amassed 373 points for the year, averaging 37.3 per game.
 
Even with all the record that fell, it was far from an easy victory.
 
The Crusaders opened the game with a six-play, 59-yard scoring drive that ended on a 19-yard pass from QB Chris Duncan to Parker Fox. The Hatters scored on their second drive of the game when McGovern found Parham on a short pass near the Valpo sideline before the big man dashed 64 yards to the end zone 64 to knot the score at seven. 
 
Bornelus put the Hatters up 14-7 with a 14-yard TD reception early in the second quarter, but was flagged for excessive celebration after the play. That penalty was followed by a kickoff out of bounds and then a pass interference call to give Valpo a first down at the Stetson 35.
 
The Crusaders cashed in that scoring chance on a one-yard plunge by Cody Boxrucker to tie the game. Moments later, after Stetson failed to move the ball on its possession, Valpo's Matthew Messler blocked Stetson's punt and Kellan McKeag recovered and scored on a 25-yard return for a 21-14 Crusaders lead.
 
Stetson answered with a classic two-minute drive, covering 70 yards in eight plays before McGovern hit Parham for a TD from five yards away.
 
Valpo got a tremendous kickoff return from Bailey Gessinger with just 29 seconds left in the half, and the Crusaders took advantage when kicker Dimitrios Latsonas connected on a 50-yard field goal for a 24-21 lead at halftime.
 
Stetson took control of the game in the third quarter, scoring on touchdown drives of 80, 51 and 76 yards. In that quarter, McGovern connected with Bornelus for 15-yard score to give the Hatters the lead. He then hit Parham for 53 yards and McDermott for a 23-yard score. The Hatters out-gained Valpo 227 yards to just 98 in the period.
 
The Crusaders closed to within 42-31 early in the final quarter when Duncan capped a five-play drive with a 21-yard TD run, but the Stetson defense clamped down from there. Valpo's next three possessions resulted in a punt, a turnover on downs and, after a 22-yard field goal by Stetson kicker Jonny Messina, a fumble.
 
Stetson managed just 78 rushing yards in the game, thanks in part to three sacks against McGovern. Freshman running back Jareem Westcott did have a solid game on the ground, finishing with 19 carries for 81 yards.
 
Defensively, the Hatters got another big game out of junior Colby Duncan who had a game-high 14 tackles, including one for loss, a fourth down stop and a forced fumble. Redshirt freshman Hunter Stephens and junior Reggie Ganttadded six tackles each.
 
Senior, and DeLand native, Jackie Jay Johnson – who may have competed in more football games at Spec Martin Stadium than anyone in the venue's history with four years at Deland High School and four more at Stetson – closed out a great career with five tackles.

Roger Hughes Named PFL Coach of the Year

Little was expected of the Stetson football program entering the 2018 season with the Hatters coming off a 2-9 season in 2017, but Stetson turned the tables this fall, finishing with an 8-2 overall record, including a 6-2 mark in Pioneer Football League play.
 
That six-game improvement in Stetson's overall record, as well as earning a tie for second place in the PFL race after being picked to finish ninth in the 10-team league, helped Stetson coach Roger Hughes earn his first PFL Coach of the Year honor.
 
Hughes is the 15^th coach to be recognized by the PFL as its coach of the year in the 26 years the award has been presented. Former Dayton coach Mike Kelly owns the record, having been named PFL coach of the year seven times.
 
Hughes completed his sixth season as the Hatters' head coach in 2018 and his 16^th year overall as a college head coach. He spent 10 seasons as the head coach at Princeton from 2000-09, helping the Tigers to a share of the Ivy League title in 2006.
 
In addition to the PFL Coach of the Year honor, Hughes is one of 15 finalists for the annual Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award, which is presented to the top head coach in all FCS football.

Hatters Stun Kennesaw State

Hao Jin's solo block broke a 23-23 tie and Julie Varga followed with the game-winning kill as Stetson defeated ASUN leader and defending conference champion Kennesaw State in straight sets Saturday night at the Edmunds Center.


The Hatters won by scores of 25-20, 25-21, 25-23 to snap the Owls' 14-game overall win streak and 23-game ASUN win streak.  

"We feel very excited and all the work we put into practice showed up on the court," Jin said.  "It was a tight game, but we handled the pressure very well."

The Hatters were exceptional down the stretch, battling through 18 ties and nine lead changes in the third set alone.  Stetson built a 21-17 lead before Kennesaw rallied to take a 23-22 advantage late in the frame.  The Hatters bounced back to capture the final three points, including the go-ahead block by Jin, to bring home one of the signature wins in program history.

"That was a huge confidence builder, period," head coachYang Deng said.  "It doesn't matter how hard a situation is, we have to do what we practice, which is blocking, passing, and defense.  That all paid off in the third set."

Making just her fourth start of the year, Riley Nieporte gave the offense a huge lift, collecting a career-high 13 kills while hitting .367.

"Coach talked about two things before the game - playing together and always being relentless," Nieporte said. "Just going for the ball and putting your body out for everything, and that's what we did. We left it all out on the court."

Setter Emily DeStaffino had 30 assists and helped the offense hit .310 overall.  Stetson committed just eight errors in 100 attack attempts.

Defensively, Jin totaled six blocks while Brianna Schmid and DeStaffino added three blocks apiece.  Eva Deisa (13) andChelcie Spence (12) each recorded double-digit dig totals.

"I really enjoyed watching them," Deng said.  "I am very proud of all of them. Riley and Lele (Hao) did an awesome job."

Kennesaw State had not lost a conference match since Oct. 6 of last season (at Jacksonville).  The Owls were ranked 13th in the VolleyballMag Mid-Major poll.

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.