The Stetson football team will close out September on Saturday by hosting North Carolina Wesleyan for the final non-conference game of the 2019 season.
 
Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Spec Martin Memorial Stadium. The game will be video streamed on ESPN+ with Evan Westin and Victor Anderson on the call. Kenny Schierlinger and former Hatter Davion Belk will have the radio call on WSBB.
 
This weekend the Stetson coaching staff will be wearing special arm patches in honor of the AFCA's Coach to Cure MD program. This is the 12th year coaches around the country join together to raise funding and awareness of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Fans can participate by texting the word CURE to 501501 to donate $25 on their next mobile phone bills, or by logging on to CoachToCureMD.org to make a donation to their favorite coach, or by sharing our content from @CoachToCureMD's Twitter account.
 
The Hatters (2-1) will be looking to build on the momentum from last week's 59-28 victory over Western New England. Stetson comes in off a record-setting offensive performance that included a program-high 643 yards of total offense. In three games this year, Stetson is averaging 542.7 yards per game.
 
In addition to the production, the Stetson offense has not turned the ball over this year. The only true turnover was in the opening game when a punt was fumbled. The Hatters also had a punt blocked in the loss at Marist, but the offense has played clean football through three games.
 
That is not the case for the visiting Battling Bishops. North Carolina Wesleyan (1-1) has turned the ball over 10 times in just two games, with eight of those coming on interceptions. Senior quarterback Donielle Totten has thrown for 674 yards and six scores in two games, but he has also been intercepted eight times.
 
Totten has a trio of favorite targets with sophomore Jai Irvin (11-196-1) and Tyler Roberts (5-179-2) combining with senior Kevin Alford (8-95-2) to account for almost 70 percent of the Bishops' passing yards.
 
Stetson's graduate quarterback, Gaven DeFilippo, has spread the ball around more, with 13 players having at least one reception and seven having scored at least one touchdown. The favorite targets, with senior Steven Burdette out of action with an injury, have been redshirt freshman Justin Curtis (18-200-1) and junior Justin Jordan (17-197-2).
 
While DeFilippo, who is a semifinalist for the National Football Foundation's Campbell Trophy, has been efficient in the passing game, average 260 yards per game, it has been the ground game that has established the tempo for an offensive unit that is running more than 88 plays per game.
 
The Hatters have employed a three-headed attack with junior Chase Blackmon (31-198-1), sophomore Jareem Westcott (38-197-4) and freshman Jalen Leary (32-148-3) equally dividing the work load. Westcott, who has scored 17 touchdowns in just 13 career games, enters play this weekend needing 28 rushing yards for 1,000 in his Stetson career, making him the third in the modern era to hit that milestone.
 
The Stetson defense, which has forced seven turnovers so far, is led by seniors Colby Duncan and Peter Katz. Duncan is just two tackles shy of 200 in his career going into the weekend and has been part of a unit that has collected 22 QB hurries to go with five sacks, five interceptions and 19 pass breakups.
 
The N.C. Wesleyan defense is led by senior linebacker Antonio Johnson, who has been credited with 27 tackles through two games. The Bishops have been stingy on defense, having allowed just 127 yards per game on the ground to go with 261.5 passing yards, but short fields as a result of the offensive turnovers have cost them.
 
Series History

• This is the first meeting between Stetson and North Carolina Wesleyan in football.
• Stetson has faced four other schools from the state of North Carolina with a 9-9-2 record in those games. Opponents have included Campbell (2-3), Davidson (6-4), East Carolina (0-2-2) and Lenior-Rhyne (1-0).
• This is the third, and final, game for Stetson this year against teams from NCAA Division III. The Hatters are 3-1 all-time against D3 teams, including 1-1 against Birmingham-Southern in 2013-14.

About North Carolina Wesleyan

• North Carolina Wesleyan College is a private Methodist liberal arts college in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Founded in 1956, the school offers a number of degree programs in the arts and sciences and selected professional disciplines.
• About 1,000 students are enrolled in the traditional program on campus, up 75% since 2014. Another 1,200 students are enrolled in adult studies programs on campus and at satellite locations. Wesleyan has a growing international student population that made up 12% of students in 2019.
• The baseball program has two Division III National Championships in 1989 and again in 1999.
• The football program was established in 2005 and the Battling Bishops made it to the NCAA Division III Football playoffs as the USA South champion in 2007, where they upset top-seed Washington & Jefferson in the first round 35-34. 

Stetson Notes

• The Hatters got touchdown receptions from five different players last week, four of who scored for the first time in their collegiate careers. The four first-time TDs went to graduate transfer Max Draper (9 yards), senior Tony Gilotti (10 yards), freshman Connor Becker (14 yards) and redshirt freshman Justin Curtis (11 yards).
• Stetson has had 31 players record TD receptions through 69 games starting in 2013. Six of those players have recorded their first TD reception in the first three games this year, with Jareem Westcott and Jeremiah Nails joining with the four from last week.
• Graduate QB Gaven DeFilippo has attempted 125 passes since he was last intercepted, with that pick coming on September 8, 2018, against Waldorf.
• The Hatters carry an eight-game home win streak into play this weekend. The stretch is the eighth longest active home win streak in FCS football.

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.