Austin Peay will step away from Ohio Valley Conference play in search of its first win when it plays host to Culver-Stockton, 1 p.m., Saturday, at Governors Stadium.
The Wildcats, an NAIA team located in Canton, Mo., enter the contest with a 1-8 overall record, but are winless (0-8) in the Heart of American Athletic Conference. They are coming off a 29-9 loss to Baker, the 14th-ranked team in NAIA>
Offensively, quarterback Curtis Widener has completed just 42 percent (79 of 188) of his passes for 824 yards and five TDs. Wide receiver Nick Hill is the favorite long target, catching five TD passes in his 20 receptions, averaging 19.1 yards per game. Tight end Chris Cunningham leads all Wildcat receivers with 27 catches while receiver Reco Ragsdale has 19 catches for 305 yards and three TDs.
Redshirt freshman running back Desmond Phillips leads the ground attack, rushing for 419 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, linebacker Bobby Nelessen has a team-best 73 stops while cornerback Drew Bolhuis leads the team in interceptions with three.
The Governors are coming off a 48-27 home loss to Southeast Missouri, seeing their overall mark slip to 0-8 and the OVC mark to 0-6. The 27 points represented the most by the Governors this season.
Quarterback Jake Ryan continued to shine in the latter half of his senior season, completing 23 of 38 passes for 304 yards-his second career 300-yard performance. He has completed 90 passes over the last four games.
Wide receiver Devin Stark caught nine of Ryan's passes for a career-best 145 yards and two TDs.
In addition, redshirt freshman running back Reco Williams rammed his way for 133 yards-an Austin Peay single-game high this season.
Meanwhile, safety Johnathan Shuler recorded 19 tackles, including seven straight at point. It was the most tackles by a Gov since Daniel Becker had 19 in the 2007 season against Tennessee State.
