2019 Football Game Notes Valpo Football
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2019 Football Game Notes Contact: BRANDON VICKREY Office: 219.464.5396 Valpo Sports Media Relations [email protected] www.valpoathletics.com Athletics-Recreation Center 1009 Union Street Valparaiso IN 46383 2019 Schedule and Results Stetson (5-1, 2-1 PFL) Date Opponent Time/Result at Valparaiso (0-7, 0-3 PFL) Aug. 29 at Eastern Kentucky L 53-7 Game #8: Saturday, Oct. 26, 2019, Noon Sept. 14 Central Connecticut State L 42-13 Brown Field (5,000) – Valparaiso, Ind. Sept. 21 at Truman State L 38-7 This Week in Valpo Football: The Valparaiso University football team is through Sept. 28 University of Charleston L 19-13 a stretch of playing the top three teams in the Pioneer Football League preseason Oct. 5 at Drake* L 35-6 poll in each of the first three league games of the year, but it’s no time to breathe Oct. 12 Dayton* L 41-28 easy. This week brings with it another quality opponent as a Stetson squad that Oct. 19 at San Diego* L 42-17 is coming off a 38-21 upset of Dayton will be in town for a high noon kickoff on Oct. 26 Stetson* Noon Saturday at Brown Field. Nov. 2 at Davidson* Noon Nov. 9 Morehead State* 1 p.m. Previously: Valpo fell to perennial Pioneer Football League favorite San Diego 42-17 Nov. 16 at Butler* 11 a.m. on Saturday in California. The guests scored a pair of third-quarter touchdowns, both Nov. 23 Marist* 1 p.m. coming on scoring runs from quarterback Chris Duncan. That came after Dimitrios Latsonas nailed a 38-yard field goal that accounted for his team’s first-half points. Michael Bandy had three touchdown catches for the Toreros. * - Pioneer Football League game All home games at Brown Field Following Valpo Football: This week’s game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Todd Ickow (play-by-play) and Dave Huseman (color commentary) describing the action. As always, the game can also be heard on 95.1 FM Valparaiso with Garrett Willis (play-by-play) and Ben Ariano (color commentary) on the call this week. Pioneer Football League Links to live video, audio and stats will be available on ValpoAthletics.com. Standings Record Book Watch: Valpo kicker Dimitrios Latsonas is the program’s new all- PFL Overall time leader in made PATs after going 2-for-2 last week at San Diego to boost his Team W-L Pct. W-L Pct. career total to 85. Andrew McCawley (2003-2005) was the previous record holder Drake 3-0 1.000 3-3 .500 with 83 made extra points in his career. Latsonas has etched himself into the record San Diego 3-0 1.000 4-2 .667 book on multiple occasions as the senior kicker tied the school mark for made PATs in a game on Oct. 28, 2017 with seven, owns the top two single-season PAT Dayton 2-1 .667 4-2 .667 marks (36 in 2018 and 35 in 2017) and had 11 field goals in 2017, ranking fourth Davidson 2-1 .667 5-2 .714 in single-season program history. Morehead State 2-1 .667 4-3 .571 Stetson 2-1 .500 5-1 .833 Reese Running Routes: Sophomore wide receiver Ollie Reese continued his recent Marist 1-2 .333 1-4 .200 strides in the Oct. 19 game at San Diego, hauling in six catches for 78 yards to achieve Butler 0-3 .000 1-6 .143 career bests in both areas. Reese ranks second in the PFL in all-purpose yards per Jacksonville 0-3 .000 2-5 .286 game at 131.4 and first in total all-purpose yards with 920. He is 20th nationally in Valparaiso 0-3 .000 0-7 .000 all-purpose yards per game and fourth in kick-return yards with a PFL-best 622. Flag-Free Football: Valpo did not commit any penalties in the Oct. 19 game in San Diego, the first time since Nov. 1, 2014 at Dayton that the team played flag free. Valpo has committed just 27 penalties all season, the fewest in the PFL and the seventh-fewest in the FCS nation. The team ranks sixth nationally and first in the PFL in fewest penalties per game at 3.86. In addition, the 258 penalty yards against the Brown & Gold (14th, 2nd) and 36.86 penalty yards per game (10th, 1st) rank @ValpoUFootball among the PFL and national leaders in avoiding flags. Nifty Fifty: Punter Benjamin Niesner had two more punts that eclipsed 50 yards on Oct. 19 at San Diego. He booted a 52 yarder and a 55 yarder in the game against Valpo the Toreros. For the season, Niesner has five punts of 50+ yards. For comparison, Valpo had just two punts of 50+ yards all of last season. He needs one more to tie the most 50+ yard punts by a Valpo player in a single season since the start of the Football 2013 campaign. 2019 Football Game Notes Contact: BRANDON VICKREY Office: 219.464.5396 Valpo Sports Media Relations [email protected] www.valpoathletics.com Athletics-Recreation Center 1009 Union Street Valparaiso IN 46383 Home Sweet Home: Quarterback Chris Duncan made his return to his home state Around the PFL on Oct. 19 at San Diego. The Woodland Hills, Calif. native scampered across the Saturday, Oct. 12 goal line from 12 and 6 yards out with both coming in the third quarter of the game Drake 42, Butler 7 against the Toreros. He became the first Valpo player to rush for a pair of touch- downs this season. It also marked the first time in Duncan’s career he ran for two San Diego 37, Davidson 17 scores in a single game. Morehead State 30, Jacksonville 22 Dayton 41, Valpo 28 Trending Up: Despite playing two of the toughest teams on the schedule in Dayton and San Diego, the Valpo offense has posted two of its highest scoring outputs of Saturday, Oct. 19 the season each of the last two weeks, scoring a season-high 28 points vs. Dayton Dartmouth 49, Marist 7 before putting 17 on the Toreros, 14 of which came in the third quarter. Since the Davidson 49, Jacksonville 19 PFL combined from two divisions into one in 2005, this marks the first time Valpo Stetston 38, Dayton 21 has opened the league slate by playing the teams picked to finish first through third Morehead State 31, Butler 20 in the PFL in their first three league contests. The first nine Valpo opponents of the San Diego 42, Valpo 17 season finished the 2018 season with a winning record. Series Notes: Valpo will face off with Stetson for the fifth straight season and the fifth Saturday, Oct. 26 time total. The two teams have split the first four meetings. Valpo incurred a 45-31 San Diego at Dayton, 11 a.m. defeat in DeLand in last year’s season finale, a game Valpo led 24-21 at halftime. Jacksonville at Butler, noon Dimitrios Latsonas had a career-long 50-yard field goal in that game, the longest Marist at Davidson, noon made field goal by a Valpo kicker in 15 years. The last Brown Field meeting was a Stetson at Valpo, noon Homecoming victory for Valpo on Sept. 30, 2017, a 27-24 triumph sealed thanks Morehead State at Drake, 1 p.m. to a late interception by then-senior J.J. Nunes. Valpo’s other win over Stetson also featured a three-point margin on Oct. 15, 2016 on the road. The Hatters won the Saturday, Nov. 2 first-ever meeting 37-14 on Oct. 24, 2015 at Brown Field. Butler at Marist, 11 a.m. Valpo at Davidson, noon : Stetson was projected to finish sixth in the Pioneer Football Scouting Stetson Stetson at Jacksonville, noon League standings, but the Hatters are fresh off the aforementioned 38-21 win over Dayton, a team picked second. Jalen Leary ran for 220 yards and set a modern Stetson Dayton at Morehead State, noon football record for rushing yards in a game. The freshman is second in the PFL at Drake at San Diego, 4 p.m. 95.3 rushing yards per contest this season. Stetson leads the league in both scoring offense (43.8 points per game) and total offense (529 yards per game). Quarterback Saturday, Nov. 9 Gaven DeFilippo is third in the PFL with 245.5 passing yards per game. Stetson also Davidson at Butler, 11 a.m. thrives in the kicking game, where punter Matias Gasc has a league-best average Jacksonville at Drake, 11 a.m. of 42.9, while kicker Jonny Messina has a league-most nine made field goals. The Marist at Dayton, noon Hatters have had a home-heavy slate as this marks just their second road trip of San Diego at Stetson, Noon the year. The first was a 26-23 loss at Marist. Regardless of what unfolds the rest Morehead State at Valpo, 1 p.m. of the season, Stetson has secured its highest win total since 2014. The Hatters are led by eighth-year head coach Roger Hughes. (all times Central) Latsonas, Turner Among Nation’s Active Leaders: Fifth-year senior Nick Turner is up to 220 career tackles, making him the program’s active leader. In addition, Media Relations Information Turner ranks 37th nationally among active tackle leaders in Division-I FCS. Valpo Requests to cover home football games should be made through kicker Dimitrios Latsonas is 23rd nationally among active FCS players in career Brandon Vickrey, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations, extra points with 85 and 20th in made field goals with 25.