Blue Hose Cruise to Seventh Straight Home Win Against Valpo
CLINTON, S.C. – The #22/25 Presbyterian College football team has achieved an 8-1 record for the third time in school history, rolling past Valparaiso on Saturday afternoon at Bailey Memorial Stadium 43-14.
Redshirt-sophomore Collin Hurst completed 81 percent of his passes and threw for 278 yards. Both of his touchdown tosses came to Dominic Kibby, while other highlights included a 22-yard scoop and score by linebacker Michael Torres.
The Blue Hose defense was spectacular as head coach Steve Englehart‘s group rebounded from their first loss of 2025 last week, holding the Beacons to 39 yards of total offense throughout the opening half.
Presbyterian has earned the victory in seven consecutive home games, a stretch that goes a full 12 months back. PC has eclipsed 40 points in all five meetings at Bailey Memorial Stadium this year.
Still in the hunt for the Pioneer Football League championship with three games left on the schedule, the Scotsmen will turn their attention to Davidson in the Battle for the 1919 Cup next weekend.
PARTY LIKE IT’S ’99
– It has been 26 years since the Blue Hose last witnessed a seven-game home winning streak, stacking up 450 total yards and pitching a first-half shutout.
– This is the first time in the 21st century that PC has taken seven consecutive home wins. Should they defeat Marist in the regular season finale later this month, it will be their first time since 1998 with a perfect home record (minimum of six games).
– Coach Englehart’s club has won by an average of 33 points during this Clinton streak. PC improves to 12-1 in their last 13 games, the best record of anyone in the PFL during that period.
LIVING IN THE BACKFIELD
– The Blue Hose were relentless in their pursuit of Valpo quarterback Rowan Keefe, sacking him five times and piling up 12 tackles for a loss.
– Senior edge rusher Malek Horlback logged 2.5 TFL’s and a sack that pushed the Beacons back 23 yards. Dalton Epps added another big sack in the 4th, enough to force a fumble that Torres recovered into the end zone.
– Already a defense that has the fourth-most interceptions in America (11), Presbyterian punched the ball out three separate times on Saturday and did not allow a first down until the second quarter.
FIFTEEN ACROSS THE GOAL LINE
– Thanks to Torres’ defensive touchdown and a 1st-quarter rush by freshman Darriel Harper for six points, the Blue Hose can now say that 15 different players on their roster have scored at least one TD this year.
– Ty Englehart had a multi-faceted afternoon on the stat-sheet, throwing a touchdown pass to Hurst on a trick play in the 2nd quarter and also powering up the middle for a 20-yard rushing score in the 4th.
– Becoming PC’s D-I record-holder for career touchdowns as a junior last year, Kibby tightened his grip on that record with two more TD’s against Valpo. Both were in the red zone, giving him 19 scores over a remarkable college tenure.
HOW IT HAPPENED – FIRST HALF
– Presbyterian dominated the first 15 minutes, going on two touchdown drives of over 60 yards and outgaining the Beacons by 151 in that window.
– Harper and Kibby were responsible for those scores as PC scattered nine plays of at least six yards in the opening chapter.
– The Blue Hose had already accomplished nine first downs before Valparaiso managed to move the chains for the first time. In the first 30 minutes of play, Presby had pushed the Beacons backward in the rushing department (negative 16 yards).
– It took Valpo seven rushing attempts before they gained greater than two yards. In seven drives, the visitors never advanced past midfield.
– Jett Jackson’s sixth field goal of the fall put PC ahead by 16 points, and that lead snowballed to 23 on the trick play where Hurst played makeshift receiver.
– Horlback set up his offensive comrades at the 12-yard line with a strip-sack of Keefe, settling the halftime advantage at 23-0.
HOW IT HAPPENED – SECOND HALF
– Valparaiso managed to get some life with a 49-yard pickup on the first snap of the 3rd, but the drive stalled later thanks to a missed field goal from 27 yards away.
– Still chasing potentially their second shutout of the season, the Blue Hose went ahead 30-0 on a dime from Hurst to Kibby in the back corner of the end zone. That capped off their longest drive of the day, a 14-play sequence that covered 80 yards and nearly seven minutes.
– Englehart’s second rushing touchdown of the year made it 37-7 Presbyterian, rubbing salt in the wound with the scoop and score at the 12:35 stamp of the 4th.
– The Beacons managed one final TD with 40 ticks left on the clock, but it was far too little too late for a team that has now lost eight consecutive contests.
UP NEXT
– Presbyterian will make their shortest road trip in conference play on November 8, facing another struggling opponent with a rivalry trophy at stake.
– PC visits Davidson with the Wildcats on a five-game losing streak, as they just took a tough defeat to Morehead State on Saturday. MSU came back from an 11-point fourth-quarter deficit, winning the game with 1:06 remaining on a short touchdown pass.
– Dubbed the “Carolina Border Clash”, the Blue Hose first met Davidson in 1919 and have quickly become one of their fiercest rivals. Presby was due to host the Wildcats last year until Hurricane Helene hit, moving the location of that game to North Carolina where Davidson won a high-octane affair 48-37.
– Kickoff next week will take place at 1:00 PM.
