Butler Begins PFL Play At San Diego
WESTERN FLIGHT: Butler will open Pioneer
Football League play with its longest trip of the season when it
visits San Diego on Saturday, Sept. 25. The Bulldogs will
face the PFL’s California member in Torero Stadium at 6 p.m.
(PT, 9 p.m. in Indianapolis). The west coast meeting will be
the first 2010 PFL game for both squads. Butler (2-1) wrapped
up its pre-league schedule with 28-20 victory in its
home-opener against Taylor. It was Butler’s first home
game of 2010 and the first football game in the newly-renovated
Butler Bowl. The win was Butler’s eighth straight at
home, and it improved the Bulldogs’ record in home-openers
under head coach Jeff Voris to 4-1. San Diego dropped its
final pre-league game at home to UC Davis, 38-24. That
setback left the Toreros at 0-3 for the first time since
1980. Butler will be opening PFL play on the road for the
second consecutive season. The Bulldogs captured last
year’s league-opener at Morehead State, 28-21 in
overtime.
Butler is 13-3 since it’s last visit to San Diego in
2008.
HOME START: Butler had a successful 2010
home debut with its eight-point victory over NAIA foe Taylor.
The Bulldogs, who trailed 7-0 after one quarter, scored 21
unanswered points in the second quarter to gain control of the game
and then held off a comeback attempt by the visiting Trojans in the
second half. Butler rolled up 466 yards in total offense,
including a season-high 298 passing yards, and 22 first downs in
the win. The victory boosted the Bulldogs to 16-9 at home
under head coach Jeff Voris.
Butler has scored more points in the second quarter this year
than the other three periods combined.
ON TARGET: Junior quarterback Andrew Huck
missed on five of his first six pass attempts against Taylor.
But he shook off the slow start and torched the Trojans’
defense by connecting on 28 of his final 32 pass attempts! He
found wide receiver Eddie McHale with a 46-yard scoring strike in
the second quarter to give the Bulldogs the lead for good, and then
he added a three-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Zach
Watkins. Huck completed 29 of 38 passes on the afternoon with
no interceptions for 288 yards. The 29 completions were the
second-most in his Butler career, while the 288 yards were his
third-highest single game total.
SCORING COLUMN: Senior tailback Scott Gray
scored his first 2010 touchdown on a one-yard run against
Taylor. It was the 23rd rushing touchdown of his Butler
career and his 24th touchdown overall. Gray, who led the
Pioneer Football League in scoring as a freshman, needs 17 points
to catch Tim Witmer (1989-92) in 10th place on Butler’s
all-time scoring list.
PLAYMAKER: Sophomore Jordan Ridley, led
Butler’s defensive effort against Taylor with a game-high 11
tackles. It was the second straight week that the Butler
linebacker recorded 10 or more tackles. Ridley was credited
with four solo tackles and seven assists against the Trojans, and
he assisted on one of Butler’s five tackles for loss.
He also recorded his first pass breakup of the season in the
win.
Jordan Ridley is tied for second in the PFL in tackles per game
(11.0).
QB ASSAULT: Butler’s league-opener at
San Diego will feature two of the league’s active leaders in
quarterback sacks. Butler defensive end Grant Hunter is the
PFL’s active leader with 24.5 sacks, while San Diego’s
Mario Kurn stands fourth with 11 career QB sacks. Kurn
currently leads the league with seven sacks in three games, while
Hunter is tied for second with three. Hunter recorded a pair
of quarterback sacks in Butler’s home victory over
Taylor.
RECEIVING LINE: Butler quarterbacks Andrew
Huck and Matt Kobli targeted eight different receivers in the
Bulldogs’ home-opener. Juniors Jordan
Koopman and Zach Watkins led the way with nine receptions
apiece, while senior Eddie McHale grabbed five passes.
Koopman finished with 95 receiving yards, Watkins added 89 and
McHale had 66. Butler’s 30 pass completions in the game
were a 2010 PFL team high.
Jordan Koopman (7.7) ranks second and Zach Watkins (5.7) stands
third in the PFL in receptions per game.
FIELD POSITION: Sophomore Michael Wilson
averaged 40.8 yards on five punts against Taylor, and he was
particularly effective at keeping visitors pinned in their own
“red zone.” Wilson had one touchback and dropped
four punts inside the Taylor 20-yard line. A year ago, Wilson
led the PFL with 29 punts inside the 20, and he’s the current
league-leader with six I-20 punts.
BULLDOG BITS:
•Junior quarterback Andrew Huck made his 15th consecutive
start for the Bulldogs against Taylor. Huck has either passed for
or run for a touchdown in all but one of his starts.
•Freshman Trae Heeter returned three kickoffs for 67 yards
against Taylor. Heeter ranks fifth in the PFL in kickoff
return average (22.8).
•Junior wide receiver Jordan Koopman leads the PFL in
receiving yards with 258 (86.0) after three games.
•Junior wide receiver Zach Watkins has moved into fifth place
on Butler’s all-time receptions list with 123 career
catches. He trails Kyle Conner (1997-2000) in fourth place on
the all-time list by a single reception. Watkins is tied for
first in the Pioneer Football League in active career
receptions.
•Zach Watkins is 147 yards shy of Tom Wallace (1,556, 1979-82)
in the No. 10 spot on Butler’s all-time list for pass
receiving yards.
•Senior Eddie McHale topped the 1,000-yard mark in career
receiving yards with his 46-yard touchdown grab against
Taylor. McHale has 88 career receptions for 1,021 career
yards.
•Quarterback Andrew Huck has moved into 10th place on
Butler’s all-time passing list with 3,112 career passing
yards. He trails Dick Reed, 1966-69, in ninth place by 58
yards.
•Tailback Scott Gray, who rushed for 12 yards on four carries
against Youngstown State, needs 180 rushing yards to catch Kevin
McDevitt (1,889, 1973-76) in the No. 10 position on Butler’s
all-time rushing list.
•Senior offensive lineman and team captain Donnie Gilmore was
helped off the field after sustaining an injury in the Taylor game,
and he won’t be available for the game in San Diego.
Gilmore had made 37 consecutive starts for the Bulldogs.
•Junior linebacker Andrew Cottrell, who missed Butler’s
first three games with injury, is back in uniform this week.
Cottrell finished fifth on the squad in tackles last season.
•Butler leads the PFL in rushing offense (186.3) after three
games. The Bulldogs stand second in total offense
(304.7).
