Stevenson (1-1, 1-0 Middle Atlantic Conference) at
FDU-Florham (1-1, 0-1 MAC)
Saturday, September 16, 2017 - 12:00 pm
Robert T. Shields Field (4,000) - Madison, N.J.
STORY LINES
- Stevenson dropped out of the D3football.com rankings following its season-opening loss. It had been ranked since week 2 of last season, a stretch of 12 polls dating back to last season. The Mustangs continue to receive votes.
- Stevenson has forced at least one turnover in 46 straight games, however, it had a streak of 26 straight games with an interception snapped in the season opener at Frostburg State. The last game without an interception was October 25, 2014 against FDU-Florham.
- Stevenson has made three straight postseason appearances. The Mustangs made their inaugural NCAA appearance in 2016, while the program enjoyed bowl wins in 2014 and 2015, winning an ECAC bowl in 2014 and the Centennial-MAC Bowl in 2015.
- Over the last four-plus seasons, Stevenson is 16-1 in the month of September, as prior to this season, the Mustangs had started 3-0 in each of the last four years. Stevenson has won 13 in a row in the month, with its last loss before the calendar hitting October coming on September 28, 2013 against Delaware Valley.
- The Mustangs were fourth nationally in interceptions in 2016 with 26, while the defensive unit ranked 10th in turnover margin (+1.45) and 14th in turnovers gained (30). Stevenson was also one of 10 teams nationally that did not allow a blocked kick in 2016.
- FDU-Florham is one of two MAC schools that Stevenson has never lost to, with Misericordia being the other.
- Stevenson is 27-8 (.771) since the start of the 2014 season.
- Junior quarterback Dan Williams has not thrown an interception in the season's first two games, and has attempted 67 straight passes without a pick. Last season he had a streak of 101 pass attempts without throwing an interception.
- The Mustangs return their top three tacklers from a season ago in Ashton Leschke (88), Izaiha Pitts (83) and Mike Datu (59). Cory Pietrzyk, who returns after suffering an injury in last season's third game, was the second-leading tackler in 2015 with 82.
SERIES HISTORY
• Stevenson has won all six meetings with FDU-Florham by an average margin of victory of 31.7 points per game. Last season, the Mustangs led 28-15 at halftime but scored all 26 points in the second half to take a 54-15 victory. The last time the two teams met in Madison, Stevenson was victorious by a 48-25 count.
ROAD WARRIORS
• Stevenson has won seven straight Middle Atlantic Conference games on the road, with its last league loss away from home coming on October 10, 2015 at Delaware Valley. Last season the Mustangs went 5-0 on the road in MAC play.
KEEP AWAY
• Stevenson did not have a turnover in its 38-9 win against King's last week. Last season the Mustangs were 3-0 when it didn't commit a turnover and they were 3-0 when not committing a turnover in 2015 as well.
OPENING WITH BIG PLAYS
• The Stevenson offense has opened both games this season with big plays.
8/31 at Frostburg State: Dan Williams 76-yard completion to Preston Addo
9/9 vs. King's (Pa.): Dan Williams 13-yard TD completion to Preston Addo after Gradi Tshilombo forced a fumble on opening kickoff
STEVENSON QUICK HITS
• The Mustangs were picked second in the Middle Atlantic Conference preseason poll released in August, tied with Albright. Delaware Valley is the preseason favorite, although all three teams received first place votes from the league's 10 head coaches.
• Stevenson posted its third shutout in program history with a 48-0 win over Misericordia on October 1, then followed up with a 19-0 blanking of then-No. 25 Delaware Valley on October 22. The other two shutouts came in 2014. The 48-point margin of victory is the second-largest in program history.
• It has been 53 games since the Mustangs have played an overtime game, and it has only played two in its history. The last time the Mustangs went to overtime was September 8, 2012, a 29-22 overtime loss to Albright.
• Defensive back Austin Tennessee, a consensus First Team All-American as a senior at safety, earned a rookie free agent tryout with the Minnesota Vikings last spring.
• Junior linebacker Ashton Leschke was a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection last season. He is a biology major.
• Quarterback Dan Williams threw a no-hitter for the Stevenson baseball team on April 2 against Albright this spring. He struck out five and walked two en route to the second no-hitter in Mustang baseball history.
WHAT'S NEXT
• Stevenson travels to MAC preseason favorite Delaware Valley next Saturday, then returns home to face Misericordia on September 30 at Mustang Stadium.