Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics

Game Notes

Kentucky Wesleyan will host UNC-Pembroke on Saturday at Steele Stadium at 1 p.m. The Panthers enter Saturday coming off of the largest margin of victory in program history after defeating Alfred State last Saturday 69-8.

Coach Brent Holsclaw breaking down last week's win, "The game was full of explosiveness. I was really glad to see our guys go out and execute. They had a bad day, and we were on top of our game. We are hopefully going to build off of this with a huge game coming up this weekend."

Holsclaw on younger guys getting playing time, "Collectively as a football team, our guys came and out and did their role. The 1's did what they were supposed to do, and the 2's did what they were supposed to do. I was really pleased to see some of our younger guys get in there, especially some of our redshirt freshmen. It was huge for our program in terms of gaining experience and getting game day playing time."

North Carolina Pembroke is 5-3 on the year, and is coming off a 45-21 win over West Virginia State. The Braves are averaging 23.4 points per game, and are holding opponents to 25.3 points per game. Patrick O'Brien leads the Braves passing attack with 1,791 passing yards and 14 touchdown throws. Pembroke is also averaging 113 rushing yards per game. 

Holsclaw on the toughest challenge for this week: "It's not so much the opponent that we are concerned about, but it's more towards our own locker room. The guys do know the challenge that is in front of us, and know that we have got to have extreme focus this week in practice and meetings. This is a huge opportunity for our football program."

Kentucky Wesleyan is averaging 32 points per game, and the defense is holding opponents to 27.6 points per game. Dalton Oliver has thrown for 1,917 yards and 19 touchdowns. Keelan Cole has a team-high 11 touchdown receptions. The Panthers are averaging 82.4 rushing yards per game.

Holsclaw on limiting offensive and defensive penalties, "We're working on it daily. I thought that we did much better last Saturday. Some of the penalties that we are getting, we are getting at the wrong time. Penalties are just a huge challenge. In these big games, it will come down to who has the fewest penalties and who executes on special teams."