In this case, air superiority couldn’t match stellar ground troops.
Davidson’s football team rushed for a season-high 449 yards and outdueled pass-happy San Diego 55-33 in Saturday afternoon Pioneer Football League action at Richardson Stadium.
Three Wildcats eclipsed the 100-yard rushing plateau.
Mari Adams, a sophomore from Shelby (Crest HS), led the land assault with 169 yards and four touchdowns. Quarterback Coulter Cleland added 130 yards on the ground, and Mason Sheron picked up 114 and scored twice. Will Cox had the other rushing touchdown.
Davidson just didn’t grind it out. The ‘Cats produced several explosive plays. In the third quarter, Sheron ripped off a 78-yard TD run, and Adams scored from 38 yards away. Adams scored on a 66-yard dash in the fourth period. That made the score 52-19 with 9:19 to play.
Cleland, who threw five touchdown passes earlier in the season against Marist, had a 57-yard keeper.
San Diego managed just 63 yards on the ground. Quarterback Grant Sergent threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns, but it wasn’t enough. Davidson, holding a 17-16 halftime edge, outscored the Toreros 21-3 in the third quarter to pull away. The Wildcats sacked San Diego quarterbacks six times.
John Tessman helped turn the tide squarely in favor of the Wildcats, forcing a fumble on San Diego’s first possession of the third quarter. Sabin McLaughlin recovered it, and Adams scored a few plays later.
Davidson punted just once, a 49-yarder from Tristan Allen. Adam Zouagui kicked field goals from 22 and 25 yards to complete the scoring. He also made all seven of his PAT attempts.
The win pushes Davidson, which started 0-2, to 3-2 on the season and 2-0 in the Pioneer Football League. The Wildcats have won three of the last four against San Diego, which suffered its first PFL defeat of this season on Saturday.
