District College Football Preview for Saturday, October 11

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, October 9, 2013 | 11:13 PM

Even if it doesn't feel like it, the second week of October brings huge matchups this week on the local college football scene.

Slippery Rock looks to challenge for the PSAC West title but defending champion and #7 IUP is in the way, a battle at the Rock takes place Saturday afternoon.

One week after handing Geneva it's worst loss in years, Thomas More will look to stake a huge claim towards another PAC title in Washington County. W & J looks to bounce back after their first loss to Bethany in 30 years.

After two September byes, Duquesne will finally open Northeast Conference play at Rooney Field.

Here are previews of ALL the games, including two that can be heard here on the Network.

IUP (5-0) at Slippery Rock(4-1)   2pm on WLER 97.7-FM and msasports.net
Something has to give in this game, Slippery Rock is averaging 50 points per game, IUP has allowed only 30 points all season, the six points per game average leads Division II.

The Crimson Hawks are 2-0 in the PSAC West Division, coming off a 62-3 win over Millersville last week.
IUP has won 11 straight regular season games. The Crimson Hawks are ranked 7th for a second consecutive week in the AFCA D-II poll, one of three PSAC teams to be ranked. (#9 Bloomsburg and #17 West Chester)

RB Izzy Green ran for two scores and posted his first 100 yard game with 103 yards rushing.

RB De’Antwan Williams led the team with 127 yards and a score. Williams is fifth in the PSAC at a 96 yard per game average and has scored six touchdowns.

QB Mike Box was 10-12 for 136 yards, but three touchdowns. Box is averaging 164 yards passing per game and has nine touchdown tosses.

IUP leads the PSAC with 12 interceptions, that number also leads D-II.

LB Carl Fleming leads the Crimson Hawks with 40 tackles. Fleming was named MVP of the PSAC State Championship Game last season.

The Rock is 1-1 in the PSAC West. Slippery Rock comes off a 58-10 victory over Kutztown last week.

Slippery Rock has scored 252 points this season, the most ever after five games in school history. The Rock leads the PSAC in scoring offense. Last week was the third time that SRU has posted over 600 yards offense in a game in 2013.

QB Nigel Barksdale was named PSAC Western Division Offensive Athlete of the Week. Barksdale threw for four touchdowns and ran for another in just over two quarters of action. The senior hit on his first seven passes, going 13-19 for 307 yards. Barksdale has accounted for 19 touchdowns this season and leads the PSAC with 1,765 yards passing.

WR Jaimire Dutrieuille had five catches for 171 yards with two touchdowns.

WR John Schademan had three receptions for 89 yards and a score, he was held under 100 yards receiving for the first time this season. The senior is fourth in the conference with 31 catches, eight for touchdowns.

The Rock defense had picked off only three passes in the first four games, but the SRU secondary intercepted five passes last week. DB Austin Miele, formerly of Mars, leads the Rock with 38 tackles.

Slippery Rock may have an advantage in field position. P James McCombie leads D-II with a 46.7 yard average per punt.

IUP leads the series 49-36-2.

Thomas More(4-0) at W & J(3-2)   7pm on WJPA 1450-AM and msasports.net
The Saints have moved up to #20 in the AFCA D-III poll this week after a 61-0 home win over Geneva. Thomas More set school records for points in a quarter with 34 and a half at 55.

Thomas More is 3-0 in the PAC, one game ahead of four teams, including W & J. The Saints lead the PAC in both scoring offense at 40 points per game and scoring defense at 7 points per game.

RB Domonique Hayden ran 15 times for 195 yards and three touchdowns, all in the first half last week.
Hayden averages 185 yards rushing per game to lead the PAC, he has eight touchdowns.

QB Jensen Gebhardt is just 47 of 73 passing this season for 695 yards, but with 10 touchdowns and just one interception.

The Saints defense has posted three shutouts in four games, holding Geneva to just 88 yards offense last week. DB Kyle Fuller was named PAC Defensive Player of the Week with five tackles, two forced fumbles and a 42 yard Pick 6, his second in as many weeks.

DB Trey Wells returned a blocked field goal 75 yards for a touchdown last week.

The Presidents trailed 24-0 at the half and rallied before falling at Bethany 24-19. The loss broke a streak of 30 straight wins vs. the Bison.

RB Dion Wiegand ran for a career high 182 yards and two scores in last week’s loss. Wiegand is second in the PAC at 128 yards per game, he leads the conference with 13 touchdowns.

QB Matt Bliss returned to the lineup and threw for 273 yards. The senior has thrown for over one thousand yards this season with five touchdowns and just two interceptions.

WR Alex Baroffio had nine catches for 114 yards last week, the senior has 45 catches on the season, good for second in the PAC, he has four touchdowns.

W & J averages 34 points per game, they allow 25.

LB Jared Pratt made 15 tackles vs. the Bison, he leads the PAC with 53 tackles.

Neither team dominates in turnovers, W & J is plus three this season, Thomas More plus two.

Thomas More has won five straight games against W & J, after the Presidents won the first three meetings between the schools.

Edinboro(3-2) at Gannon(3-2)    Noon
Edinboro is 1-1 in the PSAC West, the Fighting Scots defeated Lock Haven last week 31-6.

The Fighting Scots again played without QB Cody Harris for the third consecutive week. Freshman Jon Girvin and true freshman Cameron Sheppard shared time behind center, with Sheppard scoring on a two yard run. RB Jeremy Donaldson ran for a career high 144 yards. WR Marcus Johnson leads the Fighting Scots with 28 catches for 380 yards.

DB Devin Ghafoor of Perry Traditional Academy was named PSAC Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week for his play in the victory. The junior blocked a field goal attempt, intercepted a pass and registered six tackles, plus a sack as the defense held Lock Haven to just 253 yards offense.

Gannon is tied with IUP for the top spot in the West Division at 2-0. The Golden Knights saw a two game winning streak end with a 38-14 home loss to then # 9 Bloomsburg. Gannon will play the toughest schedule of any PSAC team this season and has the ninth toughest in D-II. Luke Rankie led the team last week with a career high 15 stops, Mike Zanders and Kailan Chavis also made 10 tackles each.

QB Liam Nadler has thrown for 11 touchdowns this season. RB Jansen Jones is third in the PSAC with 726 yards. The Golden Knights have never beaten the Fighting Scots, going 0-7.

Mercyhurst(2-3) at Seton Hill(0-5)   3pm
Both teams are 0-2 in the PSAC West Division, it is the first ever meeting between the schools.

The Lakers put up 63 points in a win over Cheyney last week. QB Anthony Vendemia threw for 221 yards and four touchdowns in the win, two to WR Jaquan Williams. Freshman RB Drew Robinson ran for his first NCAA touchdown in the fourth quarter. RB Brandon Brown-Dukes is fifth in the PSAC with an average of 96 yards, he was held in check last week. DB Colin Kimball leads the PSAC with 4 interceptions.

Seton Hill is winless in 18 straight games, falling 73-28 to Shippensburg last week. It is the second time the Griffins have given up 70 or more points. Seton Hill actually led 7-0 after a Nick Hafhill touchdown to Erik Kerns. The Griffins were outgained 686 to 198.

Clarion(3-2) at California(3-2)   3:30pm
Both teams are 1-1 in the PSAC West Division.

The Golden Eagles fell to East Stroudsburg 48-28 last week for their second straight loss. QB Ben Fiscus is now ruled out for the season, so sophomore Darelle Carson will be the starter. Carson ran for three scores and threw for 188 yards. Since taking over, Carson has ran for four scores and threw for three more. RB Bobby Thomas has ran for 362 yards and two scores.

Cal fell 38-31 to nationally ranked West Chester last week. The Vulcans have dropped two straight, both against teams in the top 25. Sophomore QB James Harris made his first NCAA start, throwing for 273 yards and two touchdowns, he also ran for a score. WR Kowan Scott made four catches for 118 yards. Terrill Roberson tied a school record with a 100 yard kickoff return. WR Mike Williams has 23 catches for 321 yards and three scores. Cal has blocked four kicks this season.

Cal leads the series 41-38-3.

Carnegie Mellon (3-2) at Westminster(1-3)    1pm
CMU won at Saint Vincent last week.Senior Jack Butler was named CAA Defensive Athlete of the Week for his play last week. Butler picked off his second pass of the season and returned it 68 yards for a touchdown in the 34-7 win.

QB Rob Kalkstein continues to move up on the CMU all time passing list. The former Gateway star needs 195 yards to move into third place, he sits in fourth place in td passes with 30. It has been a strange year for the senior, he has thrown five touchdown passes, but also has five interceptions. Tim Swanson and Tim Kitka are still the main targets, with 15 and 12 catches respectively.

Westminster trailed 24-7 but rallied in the final quarter and had a chance to send the game to overtime until a blocked field goal ended the Titans day. QB Dak Britt threw for 276 yards on 22 of 39. WR Colin Wallace had 132 yards receiving on seven catches. It is the third straight week that Wallace went over the 100 yard receiving mark.

The Titans lead the series 16-14-1, the teams haven’t played in seven seasons but will meet much more with CMU joining the PAC in 2014.

Waynesburg(4-1) at Grove City(3-2)   1:30
The Yellow Jackets are in a 4-way tie for second place in the PAC at 2-1 after a 35-21 win over Thiel. QB Carter Hill threw for three touchdowns in the first ten minutes of the game.  Hill has 14 touchdowns passes with just one interception in 2013. He added a td run later in last week’s win. WR Bernie Thompson had two td catches last week.

Grove City is 1-2 in the PAC, the Wolverines had three takeaways in the victory over Westminster last week. WB Zach Rader threw a touchdown pass last week to Khalil Ervin on an option pass. Rader is 3-3 throwing in his career with two touchdowns. Eight different Grove City players caught passes. The Wolverines lead the PAC in red zone offense, going 19-22 this season. 

P Anthony Marejon was named PAC Special Teams Player of the Week. The freshman averaged 43 yards per punt in last week’s victory.

Waynesburg leads the series 28-17-5, the Yellow Jackets have won the last three meetings.

Saint Vincent (0-4) at Thiel (0-5)   3pm
Both teams are winless in the conference. The Bobcats have lost 15 straight games, the Tomcats 6 straight. 

Saint Vincent fell 34-7 to Carnegie Mellon last week. DB Dan Wirkowski made five tackles and picked off a pass. S Remy LaRue-Holloman had 14 tackles.

Thiel dropped a 35-21 decision to Waynesburg last week. QB Ryan Radke came on in relief and ran for 123 yards, he also threw for 91 and a touchdown pass to WR Matt Fedzen. The Tomcats lead the series 9-6. 

Monmouth (3-3) at Saint Francis (1-4)   Noon
The Hawks defeated Robert Morris 35-9 last week. KB Asante had td runs of 14 and 55 yards in the fourth to put the game out of reach. Julian Hayes carried 26 times for 104 yards for Monmouth, Asante added 103 yards on 15 carries.

Saint Francis fell 38-29 to Central Connecticut State. Kyle Harbridge ran for 179 yards and three touchdowns as the Red Flash came back from 25 down and took the lead before falling to the Blue Devils. Harbridge became the all-time leading rusher in Saint Francis history, he leads the NEC with 932 yards and ten touchdowns this season.

Freshman Lorenzo Jerome was named NEC Rookie of the Week. Jerome picked off a pass and returned it 65 yards to set up a touchdown. Jerome and his teammate, Daquan Minter are tied for the NEC lead in interceptions with three each.

Wagner (2-4) at Duquesne (2-2)   1:10pm
The Seahawks defeated Sacred Heart 23-20 to go to 1-1 in the NEC and end a four game losing streak. K Brian Maley was named NEC Special Teams Player of the Week, he connected on the first three field goal attempts of his career, including the game winning 45 yarder with four seconds remaining.

RB Dominique Williams ran for 108 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries, Williams is third in the NEC with 638 yards, he has scored four touchdowns.

Lineman Fidel Okoye was named NEC Defensive Player of the Week. The sophomore made seven tackles and recovered a fumble in last week’s win.

The Dukes defeated West Liberty from D-II 27-14. Duquesne and Robert Morris are the only two teams to not have played an NEC game yet. The defense scored three touchdowns in the win, two on interceptions and one on a fumble return.

QB Dillon Buechel was 17-26 for 193 yards and three picks. Chris King had 10 catches for 127 yards. Buechel leads the conference with 1,159 yards, he has six touchdowns and four interceptions. Duquesne has three of the top ten receivers in the NEC, King with 21 catches, Gianni Carter with 20 and Dave Thomas with 14.