PC Stays Undefeated with Two Late Touchdowns at Butler
NDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Sophomore Justin Montgomery netted a career-high 134 rushing yards, tight end Nathan Levicki raced to arguably the biggest touchdown of the season from 75 yards away, and the #23/24 Presbyterian College football team moved to a 6-0 record by outlasting Butler on Saturday, 31-25.
Overcoming 40 total minutes of Butler possession in a raucous road setting, the Blue Hose bent but didn’t break against one of just two Pioneer Football League programs who entered the weekend 2-0 in conference play.
PC is now one victory away from matching the school’s all-time record for best start to a season (established in 1959), winning their third one-score game of 2025 in the process.
Presbyterian now holds a 10-game winning streak that spans nearly a full calendar year, the second-longest active streak of any NCAA Division I football team.
Additionally, head coach Steve Englehart‘s crew has tied Harvard for the most consecutive road wins of any FCS school, claiming their fifth straight W as the visiting party.
The Scotsmen will return to Bailey Memorial Stadium with two PFL victories in tow, next facing Stetson on October 18. Kickoff in Clinton is tabbed for 1:00 on Homecoming Weekend.
RUNNING WITH A FURY
– Montgomery has now posted a career-high rushing tally in consecutive games, having also surpassed the century mark in a 41-0 shutout over Morehead State two weeks back.
– Nearly 60 percent of PC’s offensive production came on the ground attack, as Montgomery and senior Zach Switzer added up for 209 rushing yards and a couple of touchdowns.
– PC averaged 13 yards whenever Montgomery touched the rock, going blow-for-blow against an opponent who piled up three scoring drives of at least seven minutes apiece.
LEVICKI = CLUTCH
– The recipient of the game-winning touchdown and ensuing two-point conversion to defeat Furman last month in OT, Levicki was again extra-large in crunch time thanks to the aforementioned 75-yard touchdown.
– Breaking free with exactly 11 minutes to go, it was the first play of a new drive after PC saw the Bulldogs take a one-point lead late in the 3rd.
– It’s the longest pass play of the season for the Blue Hose, their biggest TD through the air since a 79-yard score by Cincere Gill at Marist in November 2024.
– Presby forced a Butler punt in the next series after re-taking the lead, able to hold the ball for the next five minutes and reach seven more points to confirm the close win.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
– PC was boosted to the victory by the resiliency of their defensive unit, holding the home side to single-digits in each quarter and never letting the momentum grow to a worrying level.
– Butler was forced to settle for a field goal twice on drives that featured a combined 31 plays, only coming away with three points after a 10-minute series to begin the 3rd quarter.
– Following Levicki’s longball from Collin Hurst, the Presby D didn’t let Butler get past midfield which handed the ball back to the offense to chew away clock and (more importantly) add to the lead.
– PC’s starting linebackers – Boyce Bankhead, Michael Torres, and Malik Lewis – assembled 27 tackles altogether, the highlight of which was Bankhead for a personal-best 11.
– Freshman cornerback Camron Barber had his best showing to date on Saturday, logging a career-high seven stops and two pass breakups.
– 2024 All-PFL honoree Carter Szydlowski wrangled in two tackles-for-a-loss, while defensive tackle Robert Porter blocked a PAT with 65 seconds until halftime.
HOW IT HAPPENED – FIRST HALF
– Presbyterian went for the jugular on the first possession, going 75 yards in only 1:38 to get into the end zone. Cincere Gill registered his fifth TD of the fall on a 14-yard slant, prompting PC to attempt a two-point conversion for Montgomery that was successful.
– Butler countered with a near-eight-minute sequence of 15 plays, totaling 89 yards and their first touchdown of the day. It was the first offensive score given up by PC’s defense in the last 11 quarters of action.
– The offensive aggressiveness was pivotal for the Scotsmen, who secured their second TD on the final snap of the first quarter: an eight-yard burst by Switzer that finished a seven-play series.
– Now ahead 15-7, PC would witness another time-chomping drive by the Bulldogs that ended with a 33-yard field goal.
– Butler again kept possession for over seven minutes, but went backward after having 1st & 10 at the 13 due to two straight TFL’s by Szydlowski, Jalyn Turner, and Zeb Stroup.
– PC’s next drive was their longest of the first half, a 10-play stretch that gulped four-and-a-half minutes. Jett Jackson capped off that charge with a 38-yard boot, moving Presbyterian’s lead to 18-10.
– The Blue Hose made Butler punt with 1:05 on the second quarter clock, although the return was muffed and recovered by the home side to set up the Bulldogs inside the red zone.
– Butler scored a touchdown two plays later from 14 yards out, although Porter’s blocked point-after made the halftime difference 18-16.
HOW IT HAPPENED – SECOND HALF
– The 3rd quarter belonged to Butler thanks mostly to the 18-play, 10-minute drive that ended with a successful field goal.
– Once again, Butler’s bid for a touchdown was denied. This time, a 3rd-and-Goal at the 8 was snuffed with an incomplete pass and pressure from Porter.
– Regardless, the Bulldogs still came away with points to put PC down on the scoreboard for the first time since the Furman game.
– Butler made their third FG of the afternoon in the early moments of the 4th to go up 22-18, yet another crucial stop by Presbyterian’s defense after having to take snaps in the red zone again.
– Hurst found Levicki on the next play to wrestle the lead right back in their hands, the biggest completion of the game from the quarterback who went 12-of-16.
– Szydlowski planted Butler QB Reagan Andrew on 2nd-down for a mammoth sack at the Bulldog 36, presenting them with a 3rd-and-long that they could not convert.
– PC put the game out of reach with a workmanlike drive that started with five-and-a-half minutes left. They marched 75 yards in 11 plays, moving the chains four times to further diminish Butler’s hopes.
– Switzer dove into the end zone for his 11th touchdown of the season, leaving the Bulldogs only 55 seconds to work with and down by nine.
– Butler managed to progress far enough for a 41-yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining, but their onside kick attempt sailed out of bounds. All that PC had to do from there was take a knee and relish in their new 10-game winning streak.
UP NEXT
– One more Blue Hose win would make them 7-0 for the first time in 66 years, one of eight FCS teams at this stage of the season to still be without a loss.
– Their obstacle to that goal will be the Stetson Hatters, fresh off a seven-point win against Morehead State on Saturday.
– ESPN+ will have coverage of next weekend’s bout, as Presby looks to make it two in a row over Stetson after thumping them in Florida 12 months ago.
– That 42-14 blowout was the start of their 10-game winning streak, eclipsing 600 yards of total offense on that day and finding a D-I-era record 329 yards on the ground.
