DELAND, Fla. – Stetson celebrated the yearly tradition of honoring the senior class before playing, and subsequently defeating Presbyterian, 42-21, Saturday afternoon at Spec Martin Stadium.

Stetson (4-6, 2-5 PFL) snapped a five-game skid when a margin of seven or eight plays could have easily flipped four of those results. Presbyterian (1-10, 0-8 PFL) fell in their final game of the fall campaign.

In a surprise move, due to the nature of an early season injury, graduate student Alex Piccirilli made a comeback to start in the final game of the season, also his career. A great portion of the offense was geared toward getting seniors and honorees involved in the contest.

The scoring kicked off with Stetson's third drive. The Blue Hose put together a 10-play 29-yard drive but were forced to punt after 5:06 came off the clock with the Hatters taking over at the 29-yard line. After an incompletion on first down, Michael Carley ran a seam route around the left hash marks and was left unmarked in a busted coverage. Piccirilli saw the player open without a defender within 15 yards and connected with him en route to a 71-yard passing touchdown, 7-0 SU with 2:03 left in the first half. The score held through the end of the first.

The guests tied it in the second quarter. After forcing Stetson over on downs, the Blue Hose marched 59 yards, tying the game at seven when Dominic Kibby got loose for a 35-yard touchdown catch [7-7].

That score held until Piccirilli found Mason Proch in a soft spot of PC's zone defense with the wide out scampering 22 yards for the go-ahead score. The play capped off a nine-play 73-yard drive leaving exactly five minutes on the second-quarter game clock.

In the third quarter, Stetson put some distance between themselves and the visitors. Presbyterian got the ball to open the second 30 minutes of play, but after a few first downs, the Blue Hose drive stalled, and the punt went into the end zone for a touchback. SU's response was an 80-yard touchdown drive with Jalon Warthen-Carr finding the end zone on Piccirilli's third touchdown pass on the day [21-7].

The following drive, set up by an excellent punt return from Michael Martinez putting Stetson on the Presbyterian five, the Hatters increased the advantage to 21, 28-7, following a touchdown-pass to Quinton Lane.

PC responded to each remaining touchdown but could no closer than two touchdowns as SU stretched the margin back out to 21, 42-21, for the game's final score.
 
To close out the 2022 season, we will include some career numbers of the honorees today and the legacy that will be left.
 
Alex Piccirilli ended his career with the most passing yards in a single game (334) and nearly 2,000 [1,935] yards through the air.
 
Quinton Lane fell one reception short of hitting the century mark with 1,419 career receiving yards with 13 touchdowns, eight this season.
 
Fermon Reid ended his career with the second highest amount sacks in Stetson's modern era of football with 19. With his two today, 4.5 on the year, that would put him in the top ten of PFL for sacks, or around depending on results, in one fewer games played.
 
Ethan Hull's 96 tackles entering the season seemed like he would fall short of the Stetson top 10, but through a brilliant campaign of over doubling that mark, 107 tackles this season for 203 career total, he has locked up the sixth all-time position in the modern era and was leading the PFL in tackles entering this weekend despite missing a game due to Hurricane Ian.
 
Rassie Littlejohn's pair of interceptions put him at seven on the season, 13 career. The seven mark is the most by a Stetson defender in the modern era for a single season, but the 13 mark sits second to the previous defensive back to wear number one, Chris Atkins.

A common theme from every player was that the Hatters did not accomplish all they wanted this year but laid a stable foundation for the future and knowing that this team was on the verge of being extremely competitive within Pioneer Football League play.
 
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). Get in on the conversation on social media by following Stetson Athletics on  Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For video content, visit our YouTube channels: Stetson Hatters, Stetson Athletics and, for live events, Hatter Vision.