PC begins Kelley era with two games at Bailey
Blue Hose QB Tyler Huff (6) raises the ball as he scores a fourth-quarter TD against Davidson this past spring.
The Presbyterian College football team will usher in the Kevin Kelley era with an 11-game slate this coming fall, it was announced this week. The schedule includes six home games and eight league contests with the Blue Hose opening Pioneer Football League this season.
It won’t take PC fans long to get acquainted with Kelley’s Blue Hose and his unique brand of football, which includes rare punts and few deep kickoffs.
Kelley was hired from Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, Arkansas, following the dismissal of former PC head coach Tommy Spangler. The Blue Hose went 4-3 – their first winning record since 2014 – during an abbreviated spring season. The spring tilt was also PC’s first foray into the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League.
The Blue Hose will begin the season with a pair of home games against St. Andrews (Sept. 4) and Fort Lauderdale (Sept. 11) at Bailey Memorial Stadium.
PC will be competing against five teams for the first time – Fort Lauderdale, Dayton, Valparaiso, Marist and St. Thomas. All but Fort Lauderdale are PFL opponents.
On Sept. 18, PC travels to Buies Creek, N.C., to take on former Big South foe, Campbell. The Camels and Blue Hose have faced off five times, with PC holding a slight 3-2 edge.
A road trip to Dayton is on tap Sept. 25, capping a two-game road trip and marking the first official Pioneer Football League contest for the Blue Hose.
Both Morehead State and San Diego are set to return to Bailey Memorial Stadium for the second time in 2021. Both teams visited PC this past spring. Morehead State returns on Oct. 8. In the first and only meeting with the Eagles, PC earned a 31-16 win on March 13.
San Diego makes the cross-country trek back to PC on Oct. 23 for a Homecoming tilt. The Toreros have won the PFL title 10 times, including a stretch of seven in a row from 2011-2018. The teams have met just once with San Diego earning a close 24-21 win last season.
In between those two home contests, PC returns to the road Oct. 16, and heads to Davidson, N.C., to taking on the defending PFL champion Wildcats, a team the Blue Hose met twice and split with during the spring. Davidson holds a 15-14-2 margin in the overall series. PC dropped game one on the road, 41-24, but took the 29-24 decision just under a month later at home.
The second home contest in as many weeks on Oct. 30 pits PC against Stetson, a team the Blue Hose hold a 9-0-2 mark against. In the first meeting since 1956, the Blue Hose earned a 26-3 win on April 3 in Deland, Fla.
PC will close out its schedule with three teams it has never faced before.
The Blue Hose travel to Valparaiso on Nov. 6 before returning for their home finale on Nov. 13 against Marist. PC returns to the Midwest for a Nov. 20 PFL contest against St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.
PC will be eligible for the PFL Championship and the league’s automatic bid into the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision FCS playoff bid.
Presbyterian College 2021 Football Schedule
Sept. 4: St. Andrews (Family Weekend), 4 p.m.
Sept. 11: Fort Lauderdale (Scotsman Club Day), 4 p.m.
Sept. 18: at Campbell, 6 p.m.
Sept. 25: at Dayton*, 1 p.m.
Oct. 9: Morehead State*, 1 p.m.
Oct. 16: at Davidson*, 7 p.m.
Oct. 23: San Diego* (Homecoming), 1 p.m.
Oct. 30: Stetson*, 1 p.m.
Nov. 6: at Valparaiso*, 2 p.m.
Nov. 13: Marist*, 1 p.m.
Nov. 20: at St. Thomas*, 2 p.m.
