The Stetson football team will be back home at Spec Martin Memorial Stadium on Saturday evening to host Western New England University at 6 p.m.
 
The game will be available on ESPN+ with Evan Weston and Victor Anderson on the call. Fans can also listen to the radio broadcast of the game with Kenny Schierlinger and former Hatters player Davion Belk calling the action on WSBB AM 1230 and AM 1490.
 
This will be the final opportunity for Hatters fans who want to contribute to Hurricane Dorian relief for the Bahamas. Clothing items are no longer being accepted, but other items such as flashlights, batteries, personal hygiene products, cleaning supplies and even generators and other power tools and equipment can be donated at the gate. All donations to the drive will be loaded onto barges and taken to the Bahamas on Monday.
 
This game will be the first of four consecutive home games for the Hatters over the next five weeks, with games against North Carolina Wesleyan (9/28), Butler (10/5) and Dayton (10/19) before the next road trip to Valparaiso at the end of October.
 
The Hatters (1-1) will be looking to bounce back from a tough road loss at Marist last weekend while also trying to extend a seven-game home win streak that is the longest current streak in the Pioneer Football League and is tied for the eighth longest such streak in all of FCS football.
 
The task won't be an easy one against a Western New England (2-0) team that has won 10 of its last 13 games overall and has posted five consecutive winning seasons with an overall record of 47-10 during that stretch. The Golden Bears have been playing college football since 1970, starting as a club team before moving to NCAA Division III in 1981.
 
During its 38 years in Division III, Western New England has never played an opponent from outside that level of play. During the early 1990s, the Golden Bears did face off against Sacred Heart when the Pioneers were playing as a Division III program.
 
It will also be the first trip to play in Florida for the Western New England program.
 
For Stetson, the focus this week has been on correcting the costly mistakes that were major factors in the 26-23 loss at Marist last week. The Hatters allowed a blocked punt for a safety, surrendered a 45-yard touchdown pass on the final play of the first half and then allowed a 75-yard scoring pass in the fourth quarter that proved to be the difference in the game.
 
The Marist offense piled up most of its 421 yards in the game on big plays to either keep drives alive or score. The Red Foxes piled up 191 yards on third down plays, including the 75-yard scoring pass. Even when Marist failed to convert on third down, the Hatters allowed big chunks of yards that impacted field position, especially with Stetson gaining just three yards on nine punt return chances.
 
Offensively, the Hatters ran a total of 102 plays – a program record – for 471 yards, but converted on just seven of 22 third down chances and managed to score just six points off two Marist turnovers.
 
Young players are contributing for Stetson on offense. Freshman Jalen Leary had 46 rushing yards and scored twice while sophomore Jareem Westcott had 78 rushing yards against Marist. Freshmen Justin Curtis and Quinton Lane combined to record 13 receptions for 137 yards while the trio of freshmen on the offensive line – redshirts Billy Corte and Antonio Derry along with true freshman Avery Samuels – combined to play 303 snaps with just one missed assignment and one penalty.
 
Series History

• Not only is the game this week the first matchup between the two schools, it is also the first for Stetson football against a team from the state of Massachusetts.
• This is the second of three games against teams from NCAA Division III this year for Stetson. The Hatters are 2-1 all-time against Division III foes, including a 1-1 record against Birmingham-Southern in 2013-14.
• Stetson has played six schools currently playing in Division III overall and has a 10-4 record in those games.

 
About Western New England

• The Golden Bears, from Springfield, Mass., are coming off a huge rivalry victory over Westfield State last Friday night. During that game, junior receiver Steven Fedorchak set school records for receiving yards (319) and touchdowns (5) in a game, piling up those yards and scores on nine receptions. WNEU's pass for 524 yards and six scores in the game while the Bears also rushed for 177 yards and two scores.

 
Stetson Notes

• Both Justin Jordan (963) and Steven Burdette (952) enter play this week within range of 1,000 career receiving yards. That duo will become the third and fourth players - joining Donald Parham and Kegan Moore - in the 1,000-yard receiving club in modern program history.
• Jordan had a career-high 11 receptions in the Marist game, which tied for the fifth most in a game in the modern era.
• Sophomore Jareem Westcott (897) is within range of the 1,000-yard milestone for rushing yards. He will join with Cole Mazza and Ryan Tentler in the 1,000-yard rushing club in modern history.
• Senior Colby Duncan is 10 tackles away from 200 in his career. He will be the sixth player in the modern history of the program to hit that mark.

 
Ticket Information

• Tickets for Saturday's game, and all Stetson home football games this season, are available through the Stetson Athletics Ticket Office, which is open at the Edmunds Center from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. during the week. The ticket windows at Spec Martin Stadium open at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
• Single game tickets for Stetson football start at $20 for general admission seating.
• All Stetson University students receive free admission with a valid student ID card.
• For information on tickets, visit GoHatters.com/tix or call 386-738-4287.

 
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.