DELAND, Fla. – Stetson Football has an enormous test Saturday with the Pioneer Football League leaders St. Thomas in O'Shaughnessy Stadium at St. Paul, Minnesota.

The game will be broadcast on the St. Thomas website.

SU and St. Thomas have only met one time before, with the Tommies taking the win in DeLand, 38-7 on October 16, 2021

The Hatters are about seven or eight plays from being undefeated in PFL play as each game has come down to the final minutes but resulted in four-consecutive Pioneer Football League losses with all but one by a single score.

As if battling the Tommies was not enough of a task, mother nature has decided to mark the occasion. Yesterday [Thursday] the high was 67 degrees in St. Paul. When the Hats board the airplane to leave Florida, the temperature will be around 75 degrees. The high for tomorrow's contest: 32. While not every Hatter is from Florida, practicing, playing and living in this environment for the past few months will make every moment of Saturday's game a strain.

To add to the home side's motivation, with no postseason available, the Tommies sit two games from an undefeated Pioneer Football League campaign, and a win tomorrow will lock up the conference crown.

The Tommies have four runners averaging over 25 yards per game. Running backs Shawn Shipman [72.25], Hope Adebayo [61.25] and Gabriel Abel [44.71] along with quarterback Cade Sexauer [27.56] represent running threats throughout the contest. Sexauer has 1,605 yards through the air on the season coupled with 16 passing touchdowns. Andrew McElroy is the favorite target with 38 receptions for 680 yards and seven touchdowns. Jacob Wildermuth and Wesley Juszczak are the second and third looks, combining for 47 catches and five touchdowns.

St Thomas has eaten quarterbacks this season with 17 players recording a sack in the team's 31.5 sacks, headed up by linebacker Jonathan Bunce with 4.5. The swarming defense records 8.6 tackles-for-loss per game and has created 11 turnovers, nine by interception. The defensive backs, Luke Glenna and Grif Wurtz, lead the team in tackles with both eclipsing 50 on the year.

The Hatter offense was red hot last weekend at Davidson, six passing touchdowns from Brady Meitz, three to Quinton Lane and one each to Connor Becker, Mason Proch and Michael Carley. The three-pronged attack of Jalen Leary, Kaderris Roberts and Devon Brewer notched more than 100 yards on the ground en route to 48 points for the visitors. With St. Thomas getting help from mother nature, the Hatters will need a similar performance against the stingy defense with quick passing to keep the pass rush honest and the deep threat to keep the defensive backs out of run support.

Stetson's defense was stretched by Davidson, but made enough plays to keep the Hatters in the game; however, St. Thomas operates a more balanced attack closest resembling Dayton's offense. For most of the game at Dayton, the Hatter defense was extremely disciplined and kept the Flyers in check. It will take that effort, a massive performance from Majeste' Hansberry, Ethan Hull and Ja'veon Ensley. Jordan Williams and Davion Maxwell made big plays for the Hatters last week against the Wildcats, repeating that act could get Stetson where they want to be after four quarters.
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program is driven by a shared purpose. It is what inspires, motivates and binds us together. More than a task, a reason for being. THE HATTER PURPOSE is to create and provide an experience of a lifetime through teamwork and relationships to achieve excellence. This purpose is achieved through five Core Values: Communication, Integrity, Excellence, Value People and Commitment. To learn more about the HATS program and our Core Values, visit GoHatters.com/HATS (PDF).

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