2013 Southwestern Football
Southwestern Pirates (0-9)
vs. Southern Virginia Knights (7-2)
Saturday | November 16 | 12 p.m. (CST) | Williams Field (Directions) | Buena Vista, Va. (Weather)

VIDEO/AUDIO: KMAC Sports (link)
Merle Bertrand (play-by-play), Johnny "JB" Baeza (color)

LIVE STATS: none

COMPLETE NOTES IN PDF FORMAT – Click Here

THE GAME

The Pirates continue to search for their first win of the year as they battle the Knights of Southern Virginia. While the rosters may not be similar, the Pirates and Knights are both finding their way through their first season as NCAA-III members.

The road for both teams has been as different as the lack of upperclassmen on the Pirates roster as SVU looks to improve on its 7-2 record. The Knights have won five straight games after a .500 start to the season.

THE SERIES

This will be the first ever meeting between the two teams.

THE COACHES

Joe Austin (Concordia-St. Paul '01)

Austin is in his fifth year as a head coach after spending the previous four seasons at Hanover College where he led the Panthers to back-to-back second place finishes in the HCAC. He was also the offensive coordinator at the University of Dubuque after spending time at Augsburg College and his alma mater, Concordia-St. Paul.

DeLane Fitzgerald (James Madison '99)

Fitzgerald is in his fifth season as the Knights head coach and quickly became the program's all-time winningest coach. He joined the Southern Virginia staff in 2006 as the special teams coordinator before being promoted to offensive coordinator in 2007. Fitzgerald also continued with coaching stops most recently at Bethel College after trips at Bridgton Academy prep school and his alma mater James Madison. He played his college football at Potomac State Junior College before finishing his career at JMU.

BROUSSARD IN BEAST MODE

The Pirate defense continues to be led by defensive end Justin Broussard. Although Broussard did not record a sack against the Tigers, he still ranks second in the SCAC with six sacks on the season. The first-year end also ranks second in tackles for a loss with 10.5, and has recorded at least 1.0 tackle for a loss in eight of the Pirates nine games this season.

REDZONE TOUGH

The Southwestern defense has been very impressive in the red zone all season. The Pirates rank in the top 100 of red zone defense and second in the SCAC and has held opponents to under 31 points in the red zone all season.

JUST IN TIME

With two starts under his belt, quarterback Bryan Hicks has completed over 55% of his passes and thrown for over 200 yards in each game. Hicks has also been solid protecting the football as the first-year quarterback has only thrown three interceptions in 99 passing attempts.

PASSING THROUGH THE RANKINGS

The Pirates quarterbacks have found success spreading the ball to multiple receivers this season. Six different receivers have caught at least 13 passes with five players over 150 yards. As Colten Shea caught his seventh touchdown pass against Trinity, Matt Gillen has crossed the 100 yard mark in each of the last two games. Gillen is also just 99 yards shy of giving the Pirates two receivers with more than 500 yards receiving on the season.

A WIN FOR THE PIRATES…

A win for the Pirates would give Southwestern its first win of 2013 and first ever against Southern Virginia … Southwestern would also win its first road game of the season and first since 1950 … it would make the Pirates 155-212-35 all-time

A LOSS FOR THE PIRATES…

A loss would be the Pirates tenth of the season and move their record to 0-10 … it would give the Knights a 1-0 lead in the all-time series … It would also make the Pirates 154-213-35 all-time