Blue Hose claim another victim in 42-7 whipping over Stetson
CLINTON, S.C. – The #19/21 Presbyterian College football team surpassed 40 points for the fourth consecutive home game on a picture-perfect Homecoming Saturday, improving to 7-0 with a 42-7 victory against the invading Stetson Hatters.
In front of an electric crowd that eclipsed seven thousand spectators, the Blue Hose again pounced early and rode a three-score advantage into halftime. That lead grew to its largest point at 35, pushing PC’s winning streak to 11.
When the clock strikes midnight and turns to Sunday, Presbyterian will have gone 365 days since their last loss. They’ve won six straight home games for the first time since 2008 and have now matched the 1959 squad for the greatest start to a season in program history.
The Pioneer Football League grind continues for head coach Steve Englehart‘s club, targeting Dayton for their next visit on October 25. Kickoff in Ohio is scheduled for noon.
MONTGOMERY ASCENDS
– Breaking a new personal record with seemingly every outing, sophomore bruiser Justin Montgomery found the end zone three times against the Hatters.
– He scored from distances of 21, four, and two yards, becoming the first PC player since Ben Cheek in 2017 to register three rushing touchdowns in a single game (Cheek did it versus Gardner-Webb).
– Since the start of league action (three appearances), Montgomery has totaled 257 yards on the ground. He has scored at least one TD in four of the last five matchups, good for six scores on the season.
SACRED GROUND
– Presbyterian’s defense was sensational once more against a visitor looking to play spoiler, making Stetson punt or turning them over on downs in eight straight drives.
– The Hatters were shut out completely until 10:35 remaining in the fourth, the first touchdown allowed by PC in the final quarter all season long.
– Prior to Saturday, the Scotsmen had given up just six points (two field goals) within the final 15 minutes of every game combined. Stetson was a brutal 5-for-18 on third-down snaps, held to only 125 passing yards.
– Stetson’s late-game TD was the first points of any kind allowed by the Blue Hose in a home game since the second quarter against Erskine. They had pitched a shutout in 13 straight quarters at Bailey Stadium prior to that moment.
ELEVEN CONSECUTIVE
– Coach Englehart’s camp ensured that the 12-month-long winning streak wouldn’t end against the same team who it started against, going for 440 total yards of offense and spreading out at least one touchdown in each quarter.
– PC entered Week 8 with the second-longest active winning streak in all of Division I football, tying reigning national champions Ohio State (FBS) and North Dakota State (FCS), as well as the Memphis Tigers.
– The Blue Hose are averaging 39 points per game during this 11-game winning streak, giving up just 15 per game on the defensive end.
– In 2025, Presby ranks 10th in the country for total yards per contest. Even better on the defensive end, they’re giving up the fifth-fewest yards of the 129 FCS teams.
NOTABLES
– Quarterback Collin Hurst dished out another excellent stat-line with 236 passing yards and one touchdown. He shook off his first interception in five games to complete 19-of-27 attempts, while second-stringer Ty Englehart was perfect in the fourth frame on four throws and added a rushing touchdown.
– Senior linebacker Boyce Bankhead continued his climb to the top of the PFL tackling list, going for 11 tackles against the Hatters after a career-high 14 at Butler last week.
– Stetson’s final drive ended with a fourth-down interception by Malachi Gordon, the 10th pick of the season by Presbyterian which is now the second-most at the FCS level.
– PC’s leading receiver on the year – Cincere Gill – produced his third career 100-yard game on six receptions. Hauling in a 29-yard touchdown with 11 seconds until halftime, the Massachusetts native has now had at least one score in five of the seven games across his senior stint.
HOW IT HAPPENED – FIRST HALF
– The Hatters were held without a first down until their third drive of the day, and by that point they already faced a 7-0 deficit thanks to Montgomery’s 21-yard spurt at the 6:42 stamp of the opening period.
– Presbyterian punished Stetson’s offense early, allowing a mere 23 total yards over the entire first quarter. The visitors didn’t progress beyond the 50-yard line until their fifth series.
– PC went 55 yards on eight plays to go up by 14 points with nine-and-a-half minutes until the break, as Montgomery again did the honors from short range.
– Stetson’s next series lasted 14 plays and chewed up over five minutes, but ended in zero points due to a failed fourth-down gamble. They decided to go for it inside the red zone needing six yards to keep the drive going, but Malek Horlback rushed the QB to force an incomplete pass.
– Although Stetson snared a rare Hurst interception with just 1:12 left in the 2nd, they were only able to make it two yards before punting again. It was Hurst’s first INT since the overtime victory at Furman, throwing 98 consecutive passes without a turnover.
– True freshman Darriel Harper put PC in a fantastic spot to score one more time before intermission, charting a 27-yard punt return plus a Stetson personal foul which added 15 more yards. This situated the Blue Hose at the 31 with 37 seconds to work with.
– Gill was left uncovered in the final moments of the first half, putting Presbyterian ahead 21-0 at the midway point.
HOW IT HAPPENED – SECOND HALF
– PC reached an insurmountable lead in their opening set of the third stanza, marching 74 yards on nine plays and finishing that sequence with the Montgomery hat trick.
– The Hatters again trudged down inside the 20 in their next effort, but turned it over on downs for the second time on a 4th-and-7 with another incomplete toss.
– Antonio Wright put the finishing touches on the W with a one-yard dash in the final seconds of the 3rd, making it a 35-0 lead. Englehart then scampered to paydirt with 5:40 to go in the 4th, confirming a 40-point day for PC yet again.
