
'Cats Pitch Second Half Shutout in Rout of Stetson, 42-14
11/16/2019 3:27:00 PM | Football
DELAND, Fla. – Davidson held Stetson scoreless in the second half and picked up win number eight on the season with a 42-14 victory in Pioneer Football League action at Spec Martin Memorial Stadium on Saturday.
Tied at the half at 14-all, the 'Cats, according to head coach Scott Abell, came out looser out of the locker room and kept the Hatters off the board the rest of the way.
Exploding for 28 second half points it was not all offense as senior Hunter Murphy scooped and scored a blocked punt by junior Harrison Hill. Minus a few big plays from Stetson early, the Davidson defense proved stout in their final road test of the season led by senior captain George Hatalowich's 11 total tackles.
The 'Cats hounded the Hatter quarterbacks and got into the backfield for four tackles for loss. Davidson held the Hatters to 233 total yards of offense and less than 100 over the final 30 minutes.
The Wildcat offense had equally as good a day, scoring on four touchdown drives of over 90 yards including a 14-play, 99-yard, time consuming third quarter drive to regain momentum from the home team on senior day.
Davidson junior Wesley Dugger continued his torrid scoring pace, finding the end zone twice. In the process, Dugger snapped the PFL all-time scoring mark with 44, and the Davidson single-season rushing touchdown record with 20. The Henrico, Va., native finished with 84 yards on 20 carries and enters the final game of the season with 959 rushing yards, 41 yards shy of recording his third consecutive 1,000-yard season in as many tries.
Davidson junior quarterback Tyler Phelps had a spectacular day controlling the offense, completing all four of his pass attempts for 137 yards including a 20-yard scoring strike to sophomore Jalen Staples. Senior running back Jorell Story had a productive day on the ground, leading the run game with 91 yards, 6.5 yards per carry, and a touchdown.
For the second straight game, junior quarterback Louis Colosimo threw a touchdown pass, this week connecting with freshman Aris Hilliard for a 66-yard scoring strike down the near sideline.
Wildcat junior kicker Ragnar Schmidt rebounded well from a rough outing at Butler, converting all six of his extra point attempts and would have had his first field goal of the season if not for a Stetson penalty.
The Wildcats head home with an 8-3 overall record and moves to 5-2 in the PFL. The five league wins are the most since 2006.
Davidson wraps up the 2019 campaign at home Saturday, Nov. 23 against Drake University. There will be a Senior Day ceremony on the field prior to the 1 p.m. kick off at Richardson Stadium!
Tickets are still available and can be purchased here!
Team Stats

DAV 7, STET 0
DAV - DUGGER, Wesley 4 yd run (SCHMIDT, Ragnar kick), 13 plays, 88 yards, TOP 6:25

DAV 7, STET 7
STET - Gaven DeFilippo 2 yd run (Jonny Messina kick), 14 plays, 65 yards, TOP 6:33

DAV 14, STET 7
DAV - STORY, James 1 yd run (SCHMIDT, Ragnar kick), 11 plays, 97 yards, TOP 5:06

DAV 14, STET 14
STET - Justin Curtis 49 yd pass from Alex Piccirilli (Jonny Messina kick) 2 plays, 53 yards, TOP 0:46

DAV 21, STET 14
DAV - DUGGER, Wesley 1 yd run (SCHMIDT, Ragnar kick), 14 plays, 99 yards, TOP 8:01

DAV 28, STET 14
DAV - MURPHY, Hunter 15 yd blocked punt return (SCHMIDT, Ragnar kick)

DAV 35, STET 14
DAV - STAPLES, Jalen 20 yd pass from PHELPS, Tyler (SCHMIDT, Ragnar kick) 7 plays, 91 yards, TOP 4:23

DAV 42, STET 14
DAV - HILLIARD, Aris 66 yd pass from COLOSIMO, Louis (SCHMIDT, Ragnar kick) 5 plays, 85 yards, TOP 2:45