District College Football Recap for Saturday, October 19th

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, October 20, 2013 | 12:10 PM

Week 7 of the local college football scene saw an upset in the PSAC and the battle for the PAC title looms large with W & J and Geneva posting wins. Carnegie Mellon traveled to Georgia to meet a D-1 foe and the Steel City Showdown turned into a special teams battle in Moon Township.

Here are recaps of all the games from Saturday:

Slippery Rock 34 – Clarion 13
The Rock led 20-0 at the half and racked up 506 yards of offense in the Homecoming win at Thompson-Mihalik Stadium. Nigel Barksdale tossed two more touchdown passes and Teddy Blakeman scored twice as #24 Slippery Rock moves to 6-1 overall and into a first place tie for the West Division lead with Gannon falling to Mercyhurst on Thursday night.

Barksdale started early for Slippery Rock, hitting his favorite target, John Schademan for a 54 yard completion, the duo hit on a six yard touchdown pass to put the Rock up 6-0. Clarion drove the length of the field after the score but Phil Esposito missed a 24 yard field goal. Barksdale took advantage of the missed kick and hit Ken Amos for 48 yards, that pair connected for a seven yard score and a 13-0 first quarter lead. Brian Shaw missed a 40 yard field goal for the Rock late in the quarter.

Slippery Rock had a chance to add to the lead early in the second, but facing fourth and 17 at the Clarion 30, Coach George Mihalik elected to skip the 47 yard field goal attempt. Barksdale scrambled for 11 yards but was well short of the sticks. Clarion drove the field again, but Esposito missed a 42 yard try, giving the Rock the final three minutes of the half to try and score. Barksdale went 6 for 6 passing on the drive, Blakeman scored on a yard run with 21 seconds left in the half to put SRU up by 20 points.

The Rock added to the lead on the opening drive of the second half. Blakeman scored his second touchdown on another yard run. Clarion got their first points off a Rock turnover, Admire Carter fumbled a punt return at his own 20. Bobby Thomas scored from one yard out on fourth and goal, Thomas could not get in on the two point conversion.

Turnovers continues to plague the Rock thru the remainder of the quarter. Barkdale was intercepted by All-American defensive end Julian Howsare. Clarion drove to the 12 yard line, but turned the ball over on downs after coming up short on a fourth and one. But Barksdale found Howsare again, this time Clarion would start at the Rock 5 yard line. Thomas scored on a one yard run, making it 27-13. Drew Scales set the Rock up nicely off the ensuing kickoff with a 46 yard return. Shamar Greene scored on a 31 yard run to end the scoring.

Darelle Carson led the Golden Eagles down the field on the first drive of the fourth, but Carson was sacked on a fourth and goal at the two yard line by Bob Westerlund and Quindell Dean. Clarion drove again and came up empty, Matt Fukos fumbled at the Rock 25 with Matt Peacock recovering for SRU.

Barksdale was 17-32 for 276 yards.  Schademan led the Rock with four catches for 93 yards, only the second time this season, that he was held under 100 yards receiving. Greene ran for 131 yards on 15 carries. The Rock is now 3-1 in the West Division, tied with Cal and Gannon. The Golden Knights take on the Vulcans next week at Adamson Stadium and the Rock hosts Cal on November 2nd. 

Carson was 7-21 for just 82 yards. Bobby Thomas led the way with 70 yards on 28 carries with the two scores. Clarion is now 3-4 overall and has lost four straight, the Golden Eagles are now 1-3 in the West Division.

Geneva 40 – Saint Vincent 30
The Golden Tornadoes bounce back from a nightmare trip to Thomas More and stay in the PAC race at 3-1, Saint Vincent falls for the 17th straight time.

Rocco Colavecchia ran for three scores, Zach Hayward threw for two scores and ran for another for the Golden Tornadoes. Hayward ended with 402 yards passing, Geneva totaled 554 yards for the game.

Colavecchia put Geneva on the board with a 2 yard run in the first quarter. Hayward added a 5 yard run for a score on the next drive and a 14-0 lead. Zach Taylor fumbled at the Geneva 25 and Saint Vincent turned it into points as Andy Borgen hit Dan Wirkowski for a td on the next play. The Bearcats tied the game in the final minute of the quarter on a Borgen pass of 10 yards to Rob O’Hearn.

Geneva took back the lead two plays into the second on a Hayward 22 yard scoring pass to Lemuel Fuller. Saint Vincent answered with a Borgen 2 yard td run. The Golden Tornadoes came back with Colavecchia’s second touchdown of the game on a 1 yard run. Saint Vincent had two chanced to score in the final five minutes of the half. The Bearcats got to the GT 11 but Borgen was sacked on a fourth and 5. T. Hayes-Leak picked off a Hayward pass to set up the Bearcats again but Steven Scherer hit the right upright on a 28 yard field goal attempt on the final play of the half.

Geneva drove 15 plays to start the second half, Mike Gardner missed a 21 yard field goal. The Golden Tornadoes did not score again until the early stages of the fourth quarter as Hayward hit Zachary Taylor for a 17 yard touchdown, Gardner’s extra point attempt was blocked and returned by Dwayne Brown for a defensive conversion to make the score 34-23. Colavecchia scored on a 2 yard run to put Geneva up 17 points. Borgen drove the Bearcats down the field, hitting Dustin Lowman for a 5 yard score. Saint Vincent could not recover the onsides kick attempt and Geneva took over and ran out the clock for the win.

Hayward was 30 of 47 throwing, Fuller had 12 catches for 193 yards. Colavecchia carried 11 times for 37 yards, he had 5 catches for 54 yards. Geneva is now 4-2 overall.

After playing four quarterbacks over the first five games, Borgen may have claimed the job for Saint Vincent, throwing for 289 yards on 21 of 35. He also led the team with 50 yards rushing on 21 carries. Saint Vincent is now 0-6.

W & J 38 – Westminster 6
The Presidents remain in the drivers seat for the PAC title at 4-1, tied with Thomas More for the top spot after the road win in New Wilmington. W & J is tied with Thomas More at 4-1, the Presidents beat the Saints last week. Bethany and Geneva sit a ½ game back at 3-1.

Matt Bliss threw for four touchdowns  and Dion Wiegand racked up 157 yards on the ground in the win. The Presidents are now 5-2.

W & J scored on the first drive of the game, Bliss hit Wiegand for a 5 yard touchdown out of the backfield. Craig Popp hit a 21 yard field goal five plays into the second for a 10-0 W & J lead. With a chance to add to the lead, W & J was stopped on fourth and 2 from the Westminster 7, turning the ball over on downs, but got it back on a short punt and Ryan Ruffing scored on a one yard run to put the Presidents up 17. But Bliss wasn’t done, he hit Dan Lucas for a 69 yard score and a 24-0 halftime lead.

Westminster got on the board in the third quarter on a Collin Wallace 37 yard pass from Dak Britt. After Bryce Merrill picked off Britt, Bliss hit Alex Baroffio for a 15 yard score, they also hooked up on a 38 yard touchdown to close the scoring. Baroffio had 8 catches for 137 yards for the Presidents.

Britt was 22 of 38 for 247 yards, he was picked off twice. Wallace had 11 catches for 175 yards. Westminster is 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the PAC.

Duquesne 21 – Robert Morris 20
The Dukes got two safeties on the road and held on for the win in the Steel City Showdown at Joe Walton Stadium. Duquesne is 2-0 in the NEC, while the Colonials dropped their conference opener.

Duquesne had the only scoring attempt of the first quarter, Austin Crimmins missed a 29 yard field goal attempt. Paul Jones put RMU on the board in the second on a 4 yard run. Duquesne was driving late in the half but turned the ball over at the RMU 31 on downs.

Special teams put the Dukes on the board in the third as Charles Lipp blocked a Tony Lamancusa punt at the goal line, the ball was recovered by RMU for a safety. The Dukes converted after the free kick, Crimmins hit a 40 yard field goal for a 7-5 score. It did not take Duquesne long to take the lead, Jones fumbled  after being sacked by Dorian Bell. Dillon Buechel hit Gianni Carter for a 10 yard touchdown and just like that, the Dukes had a 12-7 lead.

Duquesne got their second safety after a punt pushed RMU back to their own 3. Ryan Thermil fumbled, again it was recovered as the Colonials fell on the ball in the end zone to make it 14-7. And the Dukes took advantage after the free kick as Buechel hit Devin Rahming for a 26 yard touchdown  and a 21-7 lead after three quarters.

Deontae Howard got RMU back on the board with 11:45 left on a 1 yard run. D.J. Myers picked off Buechel to set up a Jones 1 yard touchdown but Hunter Khaleghi missed the extra point. RMU had two more drives but could not get into Duquesne territory.

Buechel was 23 of 41 for 202 yards. Carter had 6 catches. Duquesne is now 4-2 overall. Jones was 11 of 22 for 100 yards, Duane Mitchell had 6 catches, RMU is 2-4 overall.

Mercer 54 – Carnegie Mellon 21
The Division 1 Bears scored on their first six possessions and cruised to the easy win over the D-III Tartans. Mercer is playing football for the first time since 1941 and are a member of the FCS Pioneer League for this season.

Payton Usher broke for a 52 yard touchdown and QB John Russ ran for a 5 yard run to put the Bears up 14-0. Russ hit JT Palmer for scores of 18 and 9 yards. Steve Scroba scored on a 2 yard run for CMU before the half.

Mercer scored three more times, before Andrew Herron hit Tim Swanson for a 76 yard td in the fourth. Graham Schilling also caught a 33 yard td pass from Evan Englert for the Tartans. Herron started for Rob Kalkstein, who missed the game with an injury. Herron was 5-11 for 152 yards. Carnegie Mellon is now 3-4 overall.

Russ threw for 126 yards on 7-13, he did not play the second half. Usher ran for 115 yards on just  7 carries, he also did not see the field after the break, Mercer is now 6-1.

California 33 – Seton Hill 7
The Vulcans used a 24 point second quarter to move back into position to claim another PSAC West Division title. Jeff Knox ran for two touchdowns and James Harris threw for two scores for Cal. Seton Hill is still looking for their first win in PSAC play, the Griffins have lost 20 straight.

Cal got a great kickoff return of 85 yards from T Robertson, Knox scored on a 15 yard run two plays into the game to put the Vulcans up 7-0. That score held up until Denzell Jackson capped a 14 play drive early in the second with a yard run for the Griffins. Cal answered with a Harris to Desimon Green 19 yard touchdown, Harris hit Nasir Brown for a 55 yard scoring toss, Cody Nuzzo kicked a 35 yard field goal with 2:14 left. Seton Hill would attempt to punt, a bad snap was picked up by Knox, he ran 11 yards for a touchdown and the rout was on.

Nuzzo kicked a 35 yard field goal early in the fourth for the only scoring of the second half. Knox ran 13 times for 80 yards to lead Cal. Harris was 16-24 for 221 yards, Trey Johnson had five catches to lead the Vulcans, now 5-2 overall and 3-1 in the West.

Jarvis McClam carried 15 times for 69 yards to lead the Griffins, McClam was 6-20 passing for 23 yards, Seton Hill threw for just 40 yards. The Griffins are 0-7.

Edinboro 36 – IUP 30
The #22 Crimson Hawks were stunned at home by the Fighting Scots and will likely fall out of the top 25 with the loss. The defeat also takes the Crimson Hawks out of the title race for the PSAC West, falling to 2-2 in the division. Darren Massey scored three times for Edinboro, the Fighting Scots were handled by Gannon 55-14 last week.

IUP led 6-0 after one quarter on two Brett Ullman field goals. Jon Girvin again started at quarterback for the injured Cody Harris and threw a td pass to Jordan Williams for 26 yards on the first play of the second. Massey picked up a blocked punt and ran it in from 19 out to tie the game at 13. De’Antwan Williams scored on a 17 yard run for IUP to take back the lead, but Girvin connected with Massey for a 75 yard td, the extra point was no good. Williams scored on a two yard run, the conversion gave IUP the lead at 20-19 but T.J. Hardy kicked a 39 yard field goal to put Edinboro up 22-20 at the break.

It was all Fighting Scots in the third quarter, taking the second half kickoff and going 77 yards on 10 plays, Jeremy Donaldson going in from a yard out. Girvin connected with Massey for a 33 yard scoring strike and a 36-20 lead. Ullman kicked a 43 yard field goal to cut the deficit after three.

Mike Box hit Terrill Barnes for a 18 yard touchdown with five minutes remaining for the Crimson Hawks. IUP got the ball back with no timeouts and 2:17 left but Box was intercepted by Delano Faber on the first play.

The game ended with a bizarre play. After the interception, Edinboro took over at the IUP 35, the Fighting Scots downed the ball three times for losses of five, seven and nine yards to put the ball back to the Edinboro 44. The Fighting Scots elected to run the ball backwards into the end zone to take an intentional safety and end the game, but were called for a holding penalty. That meant that IUP had to take the penalty to force Edinboro to snap the ball again, otherwise the game would have ended.

Girvin ended 14-27 for 262 yards and three scores. Massey had six catches for 117 yards. Edinboro is now 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the PSAC West. Williams ran 29 times for 129 yards for IUP, however Box was just 10-22 for 95 yards and intercepted twice. IUP is now 5-2 overall and also 2-2 in the West.

Thomas More 42 – Thiel 21
The Saints pulled away in the second quarter to get back on the winning track and stay in contention for the PAC title.

Jensen Gebhardt opened the scoring with a 54 yard td pass to Bobby Leonard. Thiel answered with a Josh Potter 54 yard run. Domonique Hayden ran for touchdowns of 27, 58 and 9 yards in the second quarter to put the Saints up 28-7 at the half.

Thiel made it a seven point game after a Ryan Radke 75 yard pass to Tim Walker in the third and a Rich Kolesar two yard run with 9:41 remaining in regulation. But on the first play after the score, Gebhardt hit Goose Cohorn for a 63 yard touchdown, then Hayden ran for 55 yards to put the game out of reach.

Hayden ran 27 times for 252 yards and four scores. Gebhardt was 17-28 for 266 yards and Bobby Leonard had 6 catches for 113 yards. The Saints are now 5-1 overall and 4-1 in the PAC.

Radke was 8 of 23 for 137 yards passing, he ran 15 times for 83 yards. Thiel is now 1-6 overall and 1-4 in the PAC.

Bethany 27 – Waynesburg 20
The Bison may be 3-3 overall but are one of the teams in the driver’s seat for the PAC title, going to 3-1 with the road win. Bethany did it in comeback fashion too, scoring with just 20 seconds to go to take the lead.

Waynesburg led 6-0 after one quarter on two Alex Henry field goals. Matt Grimard hit Brandon Hill for a 14 yard touchdown to tie the score, but Carter Hill led a drive for the Yellow Jackets late in the half, hitting Zac Capan for a 9 yard touchdown with 38 seconds left.

The Bison knotted the game again on a Grimard to Tyler Ambush 11 yard pass, capping a 96 yard drive. Jerry Lawman put Waynesburg back on top with a 1 yard run with 4:38 left in the third. Bethany engineered another long drive, taking over eight minutes off the clock with Grimard connecting with Eric Blinn for a 3 yard touchdown to tie the game at 20.

Both teams went three and out, Waynesburg took over midway thru the final quarter and drove to the 8 yard line, but Henry’s 25 yard field goal attempt was blocked by Dion Williams. Bethany took over at their own 2 with 2:22 left in regulation. Facing a third and 10 at their own 32, Grimard dialed up Blinn for a 68 yard td and the lead. Waynesburg to the Bethany 39 but on the final play, Hill was sacked to end the game.

Grimard was 33 of 46 for 369 yards. Blinn, one of D-III’s leading receivers, had 11 catches for 154 yards. For Waynesburg, Lawman ran 25 times for 109 yards, Hill was 18 of 30 for 225 yards. The Yellow Jackets fall to 5-2 overall and 3-2 in the PAC and likely out of the title race.