Butler’s winning field goal sends Davidson to another frustrating loss
Progress followed by frustrating setbacks has been the pattern for Davidson’s football team this season.
That played out again Saturday afternoon at Richardson Field in a 20-17 loss to Butler in a Pioneer Football League game.
The Bulldogs’ Drew Bevelhimer kicked a 28-yard field goal on the game’s last play to send the Wildcats (2-5, 0-4 PFL) to their fourth straight loss.
All but one of them — last week’s 52-3 loss at San Diego — have been by four points or fewer.
“It’s frustrating, but when you’re losing small, the next step is to win small,” Davidson coach Paul Nichols said. “The tipping point for us will be when we can play a clean game where we control the things we can control.”
A couple of key defensive mistakes and a turnover hurt Davidson’s chances to win a game in which they led 14-0 early in the second quarter. Those scores came on touchdown passes by freshman quarterback Stockton McGuire — 74 yards to Cam Cheuvront on the Wildcats’ first snap of the game and 8 yards to tight end Nick Nolting.
But Butler (3-4, 1-3) struck back with a 25-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Will Marty to Danny Cotter to trim the lead to 14-7 at the half. And the Bulldogs tied the game five minutes into the third quarter on a 90-yard run by Malcolm Weaver — a play Nichols said was aided by two missed assignments by the Wildcats.
Trevor Smith gave Davidson its final lead at 17-14 on a 28-yard field goal on the final play of the third quarter. But Butler took the kickoff and drove to the Davidson 2 before Bevelhimer kicked an 18-yard field goal with 8 minutes, 19 seconds left to tie the game.
McGuire drove the Wildcats down the field, but on third-and-goal from the 9 he lobbed a pass into the end zone that was intercepted by the Bulldogs’ Zach LaRoche, setting up Butler’s game-winning drive.
Three who mattered
Drew Bevelheimer, kicker, Butler: The Bulldogs couldn’t close the deal on two red-zone drives in the fourth quarter, but the freshman — who’s kicked eight field goals in 10 tries — delivered the tying and winning points.
Stockton McGuire, quarterback, Davidson: This was possibly the freshman’s best outing this season. His two first-half touchdown passes gave his team early momentum, and his 56 yards rushing included several key first-down runs in the fourth quarter. But the one interception was a game-changer for Butler.
Cam Cheuvront. wide receiver, Davidson: See McGuire above. The senior’s first-quarter touchdown reception, the longest of his career, helped him to a five-catch, 115-yard afternoon.
Quote
“We put ourselves in a position to win, but we made some errors you can’t make against a good team. We have to pay more attention to detail. We did a poor job of taking care of the football in the red zone.” — Nichols.
What’s next
The Wildcats travel to Poughkeepsie, N.Y. on Saturday for a noon kickoff against Marist. Butler hosts Dayton at 1 p.m. Saturday. Both are Pioneer Football League games.
This story was originally published October 15, 2016 at 5:28 PM with the headline "Butler’s winning field goal sends Davidson to another frustrating loss."