9/4/2021

CLINTON, S.C. – Redshirt sophomore quarterback Ren Hefley threw for 538 yards and an FCS single-game record 10 touchdowns as the Presbyterian College football team opened the Kevin Kelley era with an 84-43 victory over St. Andrews on Saturday afternoon at Bailey Memorial Stadium. 
 
Final Score: Presbyterian 84, St. Andrews 43 
Location: Bailey Memorial Stadium (Clinton, S.C.) 
Records: Presbyterian (1-0) | St. Andrews (0-1) 
 
OPENING KICK
 – Hefley opened his Blue Hose career with a PC DI record 10 touchdowns totaling 538 yards. He added a Blue Hose DI record 38 completions on the afternoon.
– Hefley finished second in the Presbyterian DI record book with 538 passing yards as he was second only to Tim Webb who totaled 648 during a 2007 game against North Greenville.
– Hefley also set an FCS record with his 10 passing scores. 
– Freshman Jalyn Witcher paced the Presbyterian receiving core with 156 yards and three touchdowns in his debut. Matthew Rivera added 137 yards on a team-high eight catches with two touchdowns.
– The Blue Hose offense accounted for 12 passing touchdowns, 814 yards of offense, and 84 points all being Blue Hose DI program records on Saturday.
– Witcher (156 yards) & Rivera (137) became the first Blue Hose duo to account for 100+ receiving yards since the spring season finale when Pearson and Bachelder hit the 100+ mark against Drake.
– Witcher’s three touchdowns tied a Presbyterian DI record for most receiving scores in a game. 
– The 621 total passing yards by the Blue Hose is second-most as a team in the DI era as 648 is the benchmark against North Greenville. 
– The Blue Hose 56 points in the opening half is the most that Presbyterian has recorded in a DI contest and the 84 total is also a DI program record.
– Tyler Huff added a seven-for-nine passing line with a pair of passing scores and also added a receiving score.
– Jayden Martin led the defense with eight stops, while Keegan Halloran added seven tackles. 
– Jarrett Nagy and Campbell Watson each totaled 1.5 sacks in Saturday’s contest. 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
 – PC got out to a fast start with a one-yard reception from Hefley to Bachelder to take the early 6-0 lead.
– Presbyterian kept the momentum with another quick pass pattern to Jalen Jones for a 62-yard connection to take a 14-0 lead. 
– St. Andrews got on the board with an 18-yard rush to cut the lead to 14-7 midway through the first quarter.
– The Blue Hose continued the momentum with a 79-yard pass pattern to Witcher to extend the lead to 20-7.
– Hefley and Witcher connected again to push the lead out to 28-7 on a 36-yard reception late in the first quarter.
– The Knights added a late score in the first from 46 yards out to make it 28-14 after one quarter.
– Hefley connected with Huff for a nine-yard reception to make it 35-14 just a minute into the second quarter. 
– The Knights took advantage of a PC turnover to cut the deficit to 13, 35-22 with 9:16 to play in the first half. 
– Huff and Rivera connected for an eight-yard pass play to make it 41-22.
– St. Andrews recorded a 21-yard rush to cut the lead down to 41-29.
– Hefley closed the first half with a pair of scores connecting with Jones and Witcher to give PC a 56-29 halftime lead. 
– Hefley connected on his eighth score of the ballgame to open the second half connecting with Brayden Cash.
– St. Andrews pushed in a four-yard score to make it 63-36. PC responded once again as Hefley connected with Rivera for a 49-yard score.
– The teams traded scores to close out the third and open the fourth giving Hefley his 10th score of the day. 
– Huff finished off the Blue Hose scoring with a 14-yard pass play to Jacob Najmabadi to give PC the 84-43 victory. 
 

COURTESY PRESBYTERIAN SPORTS INFORMATION