Nov. 3, 2007
Final Stats
(San Diego, CA) - The USD Toreros (8-1, 5-1 PFL) held on for a 52-49 victory over visiting Davidson (5-4; 3-3 PFL) today to remain in a tie for first place with Dayton and Morehead State with just one week to go. On senior day at Torero Stadium before 3,021 fans, senior QB Josh Johnson turned in a stellar performance in his final regular-season home game. Johnson completed 32-of-36 passes for 428 yards and 6 touchdowns as USD won its 24th straight home game. Junior wide receiver John Matthews was on the receiving end of 4 of those scores as he hauled in 11 receptions for 190 yards. His 11 receptions tie the school record for a game, and his 13 touchdown receptions for the season also tie the school mark. Senior wide out Wes Doyle caught 10 passes for 147 yards and 1 score and now finds himself with 12 TD receptions on the year.
USD got on the scoreboard first when Johnson connected with Matthews from 7-yards out for a 7-0 lead with 9:48 left in the quarter. Davidson tied the score at the 6:07 mark as WR Ryan Hubbard hauled in a 30-yard pass from QB Ryan Alexander. USD would take a 14-7 lead by the end of the 1st quarter when Johnson and Matthews hooked up for an 8-yard TD completion. In the 2nd quarter, Davidson knotted the score at 14-all on a Justin Williams 2-yard burst. From there USD would convert back-to-back scores with a 36-yard Matthews TD reception and JT Rogan 12-yard reception. With a 28-14 lead with 4:57 to go in the half, USD would not relinquish their lead the rest of the way. Davidson, however, would make it interesting as they battled back after every Torero score. The Wildcats pulled to within 28-21 at halftime as Williams caught a 6-yard pass from Alexander with 1:24 to go.
In the 3rd quarter USD extended its lead to 42-21 as JT Rogan added a 1-yard TD burst, and Doyle caught a 20-yarder at the back of the endzone. Davidson's Beaux Jones caught a 14-yarder from Alexander with fourteen seconds left in the third period to make it 42-28. Davidson opened up the 4th period with another score as Hubbard scored on a 21-yard pass from Alexander at the 11:53 mark to make it 42-35. USD senior kicker Hutch Parker converted on a 29-yard field goal with 7:21 to go to make it 45-35.
The game was still up for grabs in the final five minutes as Davidson pulled to within 45-42 with 3:53 left as Jones caught his 2nd TD, a 14-yarder. After USD recovered the onside kickoff, they marched down and scored as Matthews hauled in his 4th TD, a 16-yarder that gave USD a 52-42 advantage with 2:52 to go. Davidson rallied again as Williams scored his 3rd TD of the game, this time on a 3-yard pass reception to make the score 52-49. Davidson's onside kickoff went out-of-bounds at the Davidson 37-yard line, and USD ran out the final minute of the game for their 8th victory.
The homecoming crowd saw a total of 1,024 yards of offense. USD totaled 570 yards to Davidson's 456. Johnson finished 32-of-36 for 428 yards and 6 TDs, and he tied his own single season mark of 36 touchdown passes. He added 79 yards rushing on 11 attempts and set another school record in total offense with 507 yards. Junior running back JT Rogan turned in a solid effort as he rushed for 71 yards on 22 carries and a score, and caught 4 balls for 41 yards and a score. He also returned 5 kickoffs for 106 yards. Defensively the Toreros were paced by sophomore DB Gabe Derricks (9 tackles), and linebackers Tyler Evans and Jordan Sinclair, each with 7 stops.
Davidson's Ryan Alexander was 35-of-54 for 404 yards and 4 scores. Hubbard (11 receptions for 158 yards and 2 TDs) and Jones (8 receptions for 115 yards and 2 scores) were his main targets. Williams finished with 50 yards rushing on 15 attempts.
To win the PFL title outright the Toreros need to defeat Morehead State (7-2; 5-1 PFL) next Saturday on the road, and get some help from Drake in their home contest against the Dayton Flyers (9-1; 5-1 PFL). The PFL champion gets the right to host this year's Gridiron Classic on December 1st against the champion from the Northeast Conference.
