Davidson holds off Stetson's late rally to win 26-20

Mar 13, 2021, 11:16 pm

DELAND, Fla. -- — Tyler Phelps accounted for three touchdowns as Davidson built a seemingly comfortable lead by the middle of the fourth quarter and then held on to beat Stetson 26-20 on Saturday.

Davidson (1-1, 1-0 Pioneer League) put up 20 unanswered points in the second half and piled up a 26-7 lead by the 8:51 mark of the fourth quarter.

But Stetson caught a spark, driving from their own 13 for an Alex Piccirilli touchdown on a 3-yard keeper. The Hatters recovered an onside kick and struck again when Piccirilli found Mason Proch for an 11-yard score. Stetson tried another onside kick, but Davidson recovered it and ran out the final 2:07.

Phelps was 7-of-10 passing for 92 yards with a pair of touchdowns. He also had 120 yards rushing on 21 carries and a 6-yard touchdown run. Jalen Staples and Eli Turner had TD catches for Davidson.

Piccirilli threw for 192 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a score for the Hatters in their season opener.

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