Bulldogs Face Defending PFL Co-Champ Dayton
LEAGUE CHALLENGE: Butler will face one of
the toughest challenges in the Pioneer Football League when it
visits Dayton on Saturday, Oct. 1. The game against the
defending PFL co-champion Flyers is slated for a 1 p.m. (ET) start
at Welcome Stadium. Dayton has been the most dominant team in
the PFL since the league’s inception in 1993. The
Flyers (3-1, 1-0 PFL) have compiled a 77-19 league record and
captured 11 PFL championships. And the Dayton has been
particularly tough on its opponents at home. Since 1974, the
Flyers have posted a 200-41-2 record in Welcome Stadium.
Dayton has won eight of its last nine PFL home games, with the lone
setback coming to Butler, 31-28, in 2009. That victory was
Butler’s first at Welcome Stadium since 1988. The
Bulldogs (2-2, 0-1 PFL) are coming off a 24-14 home loss to Drake
in the PFL opener for both teams. Butler’s game at
Dayton will be the first of consecutive PFL road contests for the
Bulldogs. Following the Dayton game, Butler will visit North
Carolina for a game with Campbell on Saturday, Oct.
8.
Butler is 1-1 in Welcome Stadium under head coach Jeff
Voris.
LEAGUE START: Visiting Drake used 18
unanswered points in the second and third quarters to hand Butler a
24-14 setback at home last weekend. Butler grabbed a 7-6 lead
at the start of the second quarter on a 24-yard touchdown pass from
split end Jeff Larsen to wide receiver Zach Watkins. But the
visitors responded with a three-yard Mike Piatkowski to Kevin
Marshall touchdown throw, a 14-yard touchdown run by Patrick
Cashmore and a 31-yard Billy Janssen field goal to take
control. Butler rallied late in the contest and cut the
margin to 10 points on quarterback Andrew Huck’s 28-yard
strike to wide receiver Jordan Koopman, and the Bulldogs drove deep
into Drake territory in the final minute. But the visitors
sealed the victory with a pass interception at their own 10-yard
line with just 0:31 remaining.
TOP DOG: Senior Zach Watkins (right)
completed his climb to the top of Butler’s all-time receiving
charts with a seven-catch, 91-yard performance against Drake.
He became the first player in Butler football history to record 200
career receptions with his third catch in the game, and he
surpassed Butler’s all-time record for receiving yards with
his 24-yard touchdown grab. Watkins, a 6-2, 200-pound wide
receiver from Chicago, Ill., boosted his career totals to 204
receptions and 2,308 yards. He passed former teammate Dan
Bohrer (2,241 yards, 2006-09) on Butler’s all-time receiving
yards list, one week after breaking Bohrer’s
receptions’ record (192).
Zach Watkins ranks third in the PFL in both receptions (7.5)
and receiving yards (89.05).
AIR DELIVERY: Senior Andrew Huck recorded
the third-highest passing yardage total of his Butler career in the
Bulldogs’ game against Drake. The Butler signal caller
completed 27 of 51 passes (with two interceptions) for 291 yards
and two touchdowns in the contest. It was his highest passing
total since Sept. 12, 2009, when he threw for 316 yards in a
non-league victory over Franklin. One week earlier, Huck made
his first collegiate start and passed for a career-high 327 yards
in a win over Albion. Huck’s effort against Drake
boosted his career totals to 523 completions, 848 pass attempts,
5,384 passing yards and 41 passing touchdowns. He currently
stands third on Butler’s all-time list for passing yards, 525
yards shy of Bill Lynch (1972-76) in second place on the all-time
chart. Lynch, a former head coach and current Associate
Athletic Director at Butler, is the Bulldogs’ all-time leader
in touchdown passes with 60.
Andrew Huck set a Butler single game record with 51 pass
attempts against Drake.
HIT PARADE: Junior Jordan Ridley led the
Bulldogs in tackles for the third time in four games this season
and for the 14th time in Butler’s last 15 games. Ridley
finished with a game-high 13 tackles against Drake, including one
quarterback sack. The 13 tackles were the sixth-highest
single game total of his Butler career and his second-highest total
this season. It was the 12th time in his Butler career that
he’s had at least 10 tackles in a game. Ridley owns the
top two single game totals for tackles (14 vs. Taylor, 13 vs.
Drake) in the PFL this season.
Jordan Ridley leads the PFL and ranks 13th in the NCAA
Division I FCS in tackles per game (11.5).
QB HUNTER: Senior Grant Hunter recorded his
first two quarterback sacks of the season in Butler’s game
against Drake. Those two stops boosted his career total for
sacks to 27.5, tops among all players in the NCAA Division I
FCS. The 6-3, 245-pound defensive end also is the PFL’s
active leader in tackles for loss (43.5).
BULLDOG BITS:
•Running back Trae Heeter, who ran for 75 yards on 14
carries against Drake, ranks second in the PFL in rushing
(86.5).
•Trae Heeter, who had 175 all-purpose yards against Drake
last week, ranks second in the PFL and sixth in the NCAA Division I
FCS in all-purpose yards (184.2). Heeter had 123 all-purpose
yards against Dayton last year.
•Quarterback Andrew Huck ranks third in the PFL in total
offense (289.0). He stands second in the league and third in
the NCAA Division I FCS on the list of active career leaders with
6,344 total offense yards.
•Andrew Huck ran for three touchdowns and threw for two more
in his last visit to Welcome Stadium. Huck was responsible
for all five Butler touchdowns in the win.
•Senior wide receiver Jordan Koopman posted career-highs of
11 receptions and 130 yards against Drake.
•Jordan Koopman ranks fourth in the PFL in receptions (7.2)
and fifth in the league in receiving yards (80.5).
•Jordan Koopman stands seventh in the NCAA Division I FCS in
punt return average (18.0). He’s the top PFL player on
the NCAA rankings list.
•Wide receiver Jeff Larsen threw his first collegiate
touchdown pass with a 24-yard strike to Zach Watkins on an
end-around play in the first half of the Drake game. Larsen
was a quarterback in high school.
•Linebacker Jordan Ridley had 10 tackles to lead the Bulldogs
in last year’s game against Dayton.
•Sophomore Sean Grady recorded with his first career pass
interception in Butler’s game against Drake. His theft
in the fourth quarter led to Butler’s second touchdown.
•Senior placekicker David Lang connected on a pair of field
goals in Butler’s game against Dayton last year. Lang
shares the PFL’s active lead in career field goals (25).
•Senior offensive lineman Pete Mattingly has started 32
consecutive games for the Bulldogs.
•Butler and Dayton were separated by one yard in total
offense in last year’s game at the Butler Bowl. The
Flyers finished with 349 total yards, while Butler had 348.
