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Presbyterian routs VMI, 38-6

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The Presbyterian College Blue Hose picked up 266 yards on the ground and led wire to wire, picking up a 38-6 win over the VMI Keydets Saturday afternoon at Bailey Memorial Stadium in Clinton, S.C.

Quarterback Ryan Singer threw for 182 yards and two scores, and also had 106 of the PC rushing yards as PC (3-7, 2-3 Big South) jumped out to an early 14-0 lead. VMI (1-9, 1-4 BSC) cut the lead to 14-6 with a second quarter touchdown run by T.J. Talley, but the Blue Hose scored the final 10 points of the half to take a 24-6 lead to the locker room. PC then outscored VMI 14-0 in the second half to account for the final margin.

The Blue Hose piled up 491 yards total offense to VMI’s 222 and held a 36:27 to 23:13 advantage in time of possession while racking up 25 first downs to 12 for the visitors.

Keydet quarterback Eric Kordenbrock completed just eight of 21 passes for 90 yards as VMI could muster just one play over 20 yards – a 46-yard pass to senior wide out Tracy Hairston in the second half. Senior running back T.J. Talley led VMI in rushing with 60 yards on seven carries.

VMI senior linebacker A.J. Gross topped all tackle charts with 15 stops including 13 solos and 1.5 for loss for three yards. He also picked off a pass in the end zone on the last play of the first half.

Singer set the tone on the day for Presbyterian on its first offensive drive when the Blue Hose moved 63 yards in 11 plays for the first points. The sophomore rushed four times for 46 yards and capped it with a 21-yard scramble dash to the right corner of the end zone for a touchdown with 10:23 left in the opening quarter. Aaron Mayes kicked the extra-point to give PC a lead it would not relinquish.

VMI appeared poised to pull even on its first drive when it snapped off an 18-yard pass from quarterback Eric Kordenbrock to Stefawn Ross to the VMI 42. Talley followed with three straight rushes of 12, 7, and 17 yards, but fumbled the ball fighting for extra yardage when he was stood up at the PC 7. Senior linebacker CeeJay Harris recovered at the PC 5 yard line and the Blue Hose tuned away and a pivotal early VMI scoring threat.

After an exchange of punts, Blue Hose junior running back Lance Byrd, who finished with 117 yards rushing for the game, sparked PC’s second scoring drive by rushing five times for 27 yards and capping it with a 4-yard run with 32 seconds remaining in the quarter. A 22-yard Singer scramble to the VMI 1 set up Byrd’s seventh rushing touchdown of the year as PC assumed a 14-0 following the Mayes extra point.

The Keydets battled back to get on the board following a 44-yard punt return by freshman James Fruehan to the PC 16. Two plays later, Talley slashed right off tackle and scored from seven yards out for his second rushing touchdown of the year. But a botched snap-hold combo on the extra-point attempt produced a failed extra-point try by Sexton and the score remained 14-6 with 3:17 left in the second quarter.

Presbyterian College extended its cushion to 21-6 on the following drive when Singer connected with sophomore wideout Arthur Williams for a 14-yard catch and run for a TD. The key play of the drive was a 29-yard inside screen pass to Michael Ruff that VMI apparently had contained at the line of scrimmage on a third and 5 at the PC 43, only to see Ruff bust out on a 23-yard run to the Keydet 34. Singer followed with a 20-yard float pass to Byrd that pushed it to the VMI 14 eventually setting up the touchdown pass play one snap later.

PC led 21-6 with 1:44 left in the half, but was able to tack on a field goal before halftime after VMI fumbled away the opening snap of the next possession at the VMI 34. Mayes knocked through a 35-yard field goal with :44 remaining in the half and the Blue Hose took a 24-6 lead at the break.

VMI opened the second half with the ball, but went 3-and-out and punted to the 50-yard line. PC took advantage of the short field to cover the distance to the end zone in five plays after a 19-yard option keeper by Singer around the left end and assumed a 31-6 lead with 11:36 left in the third quarter.

The Keydets continued to struggle offensively for the remainder of the quarter with a punt, a drive that ended on downs, and an interception that silenced their next three offensive possessions. A Fred Marshall pickoff of an Adam Morgan pass at the PC 37 set up what would be the last tally of the day for either team. Singer engineered a 7-play, 63-yard drive capped with his second TD pass of the game – a 10 yard toss to junior wide receiver Anderico Bailey with :44 left in the third quarter.

QUOTES – VMI Head Coach Sparky Woods

“I thought we would come out and play better than we did today. I take responsibility for that. We couldn’t get things going consistently on offense and couldn’t match their points on the scoreboard. Defensively, we couldn’t stop them and we continued to make mistakes in special teams. We have to find out what it is, fix it, and get these guys ready to play next week.”

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