'Cats Host First-Place Drake Saturday at 1 p.m.

Davidson Wildcats (2-4, 2-2 PFL) vs. Drake Bulldogs (5-1, 3-0 PFL)
Oct. 24, 2009 - Davidson, N.C.
Smith Field at Richardson Stadium (4,500) - 1 p.m. - Natural Grass

Today's Game
• The Wildcats return home to face Drake at Smith Field at Richardson Stadium.
• It's the second consecutive week the Wildcats have played an opponent with a share of first place in the PFL standings.
• Davidson is 11-5 in Richardson Stadium in its last 16, and 11-5?against PFL competition in its last 16 league games at home.
• The 'Cats own a 13-7 all-time mark in conference games at Richardson Stadium.
• The 'Cats are 14-12 in their last 26 PFL contests and own a 20-21 all-time PFL record.
• Davidson is coming off a 17-0 setback at Dayton last Saturday. The 'Cats have never won at Dayton.
• The Wildcats are allowing just 15.2 points and 99 rushing yards a contest in four PFL games this season.
• Drake is coming off a 21-14 victory at San Diego last Saturday.
• The Bulldogs are off to their best start since the 2006 team opened with a 6-1 overall record.
• This is Drake's third league game on the road.

Series Record
• Drake holds a 3-1 series lead, with the one loss, a 24-21 setback, coming in Richardson Stadium in 2007.
• The last two contests have each been decided by three points. Drake defeated Davidson 20-17 last season.
• The 'Cats had a chance to tie the score as time ran off the clock, but Drake blocked a Ben Behrendt 28-yard field goal try.
• Trailing 20-17, the Davidson defense got the offense the ball back on its own 33-yard line with 1:58 left in the game and no timeouts. Quarterback Ryan Alexander completed five passes, the last an 18-yard strike to Mark Hanabury, to move the ball down to the Drake 12-yard line with 12 seconds remaining.
• The 'Cats took a shot at the end zone, but after Alexander's pass fell incomplete with seven seconds left, had to settle for the field goal try. After Drake called a timeout, Behrendt's kick blasted into a host of Bulldogs that came crashing through the line as the horn sounded, and David Witkiewicz was credited with the block.
• Alexander finished the game with 210 passing yards and a touchdown, and Kenny Mantuo rushed 13 times for 72 yards and a score.
• Hanabury had 45 receiving yards, and Myles Potter posted 66.
• Tyler Lemons led the defense with nine tackles, while Daniel Hauffe and Matt Easton each recorded eight.
• Turnovers proved too costly for the Wildcats as Drake used three takeaways to score 17 points, including a 46-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Scouting the Bulldogs
• Drake is one of the top defensive teams in the league and is allowing just 14.2 points and 81.7 rushing yards a game.
• The Bulldogs have allowed an average of 11.3 points a game in three league contests.
• Drake has a +7 turnover margin and has had six giveaways in six games.
• Quarterback Mike Piatkowski averages 208.7 passing yards a contest and has thrown for seven TDs.
• His favorite target is Stephen Platek with 32 receptions for 359 yards and two scores.
• Tom Kostek leads the rushing attack with 220 yards this season. Pat Cashmore ran for 127 yards in his first action of the season at San Diego last week.
• The Bulldog defense has 13 takeaways and 47 tackles for loss. Dain Taylor leads the team with six sacks and 10 tackles for loss.
• Ben Morrison has 7.5 tackles for loss and has forced three fumbles.

Claw Marks
• Defensive back Peter Kidwell picked off his first career pass at Dayton Oct. 17. It was the first interception of the season for the Wildcats.
• The Wildcats allowed just 59 rushing yards against Morehead State Oct. 10. It was the least rushing yards Davidson has allowed since the 'Cats gave up minus-40 yards in a 24-21 home victory over Drake in 2007.
• Linebacker Tyler Lemons had nine tackles against Morehead State to give him 200 for his career. The senior now has 209.
• Mark Hanabury had a career day at Jacksonville Oct. 3, catching nine passes for 146 yards and a touchdown. It was the most yards for a Davidson receiver since Kirk Konert had 153 against Dayton in 2008.
• Neither Davidson nor Jacksonville committed a turnover in their game Oct. 3. It's the first time Davidson has been involved in a game in which neither team committed a turnover since the 2008 season finale against Butler. That's also the last time the Wildcats had a turnover free game.
• With their 24-7 victory over Campbell Sept. 19, the 'Cats have now won their Pioneer Football League opener in six of the nine seasons they have been in the league.
• Running back Kenny Mantuo matched his career high with 135 rushing yards against Campbell. He had 135 at Jacksonville in 2007.
• The 'Cats are 4-0 when either running back Kenny Mantuo or Justin Williams rushes for 100 yards or more.
• Junior quarterback Michael Blanchard is making his seventh career start. Davidson is 2-4 with Blanchard as its starting quarterback.
• The Wildcats, who are playing their 111th season of football, are scheduled to play the 1,000th game in school history Nov. 7 at San Diego.
• Head coach Tripp Merritt is climbing the all-time victory list at Davidson. With 22 wins, he needs three to move into the top-5. He is slated to coach his 50th career contest against San Diego Nov. 7.
• The 'Cats need one more victory to make 2000-09 the winningest decade in school history.
• The Wildcats opened the 2009 home schedule with new red jerseys. The new look was a surprise to the team as they found them laid out by their lockers when they reported to the Richardson Stadium locker room on game day. Davidson is 1-1 with the red jerseys.
• Davidson's 56-0 loss at Elon was its worst since a 56-0 setback at San Diego in 2004. It was the first time the 'Cats were shut out since a 33-0 loss at VMI in the 2005 season opener.
• Davidson was shut out in its first two games of the 2009 campaign. It's the first time Davidson has not scored in consecutive games in the same season since the 1985 campaign, when the 'Cats lost 28-0 at James Madison and 15-0 to Penn the previous week. The 'Cats failed to score in three straight games that season as they lost 31-0 at The Citadel.
• It was the first time Davidson was held scoreless in consecutive contests since falling 23-0 to Georgetown in the last game of 2004 and opening the 2005 season with a 33-0 setback at VMI.
• The Wildcats have scored 10 points in the first half this season.
• The 'Cats have been shut out three times this season. It's the first campaign Davidson has been shut out three times since the 1985 campaign, when opponents blanked the 'Cats in five games.

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