District College Football Recap for Saturday, October 18th

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, October 19, 2014 | 11:16 AM

Week 7 of the district college football season saw two PSAC West foes travel to Ann Arbor for a meeting in the Big House, a battle for first place in the Coal Bowl, and two more first place match ups in the PAC and NEC. 

Here are recaps of ALL the games, including two heard here on the Network: 

Mercyhurst 45 – Slippery Rock 23
In the Big House Battle at Michigan Stadium, the Lakers scored 28 points in the second half and held the Rock off the board to claim the win before over 15 thousand fans.

Slippery Rock took the lead 86 seconds into the game on a Jared Buck 52 yard pass to Leroy McClain. After a Rock field goal, Mercyhurst got on the board on the first play of the second quarter on a Brendan Boylan 21 yard pass to Brandon Brown-Dukes. Jaimire Dutrieuille scored on a 4 yard run to put the Rock up 16-7 with just under four minutes left in the half.

The final 90 seconds of the half were crazy with 17 points being scored. Boylan hit Steven Yarbrough for a 41 yard td pass with 1:13 left. But Buck came back after a short kickoff, hitting Nick Davis for a 41 yard touchdown with 28 seconds to go back up 23-14. The Rock kicked deep but a pair of Lawrence County players got the Lakers into field goal range. Union’s Drew Robinson returned the kick 41 yards to the SRU 48, after a roughing the passer call, Boylan hit former New Castle quarterback, now tight end John Matarazzo for a 20 yard gain. On the final play, Dylan Kondis drilled a 30 yard field goal and cut the Rock lead to 23-17.

It was all Lakers in the second half, Zach Emerick came on at quarterback and hit Donny Holl for a 5 yard touchdown on the opening drive of the half. Boylan returned and connected with RJ Miller for a 6 yard touchdown, Mercyhurst led 31-23 after three.

Jaquan Williams took over the fourth quarter, catching a 39 yard pass from Boylan and running for a 22 yard touchdown with 5:14 remaining. The Rock offense never entered the red zone in the second half, driving twice to the Lakers 45 and 44 respectively.

Boylan was 24 of 37 for 385 yards, completing passes to 9 different receivers. Brown-Dukes ran 25 times for 100 yards, the 14th time he has hit the century mark at Mercyhurst. The Lakers are now 3-4 overall and 3-3 in the PSAC West, after an 0-4 start.

SRU has gotten away from the running game as the PSAC’s leading rusher Shamar Greene carried only 13 times for 56 yards. Buck was 18 of 29 for 239 yards. The Rock has dropped two straight games and saw their division title hopes take a major hit, now 5-2 overall and 4-2 in the PSAC West.

W & J 34 – Bethany 3
The #18 Presidents gave up an opening quarter field goal but did not allow another point in the battle for first place in the PAC. W & J takes over sole possession of the top spot at 4-0 in conference play with the road win. Upper St. Clair’s Pete Coughlin threw two touchdown passes and Thomas Jefferson’s Ryan Ruffing ran for 157 yards and a score in the win as W & J looks to continue to move up in the polls.

After spotting the Bison the early lead, Coughlin connected with Michael Giampole for a 17 yard touchdown and a 7-3 advantage after one. The Presidents scored early in the second on a Coughlin 7 yard td toss to Daniel Lis. Blake Davis added a 24 yard field goal with 3:21 left in the half. Bethany drove for the third time deep into W & J territory but Brian Vales was intercepted by Billy Kelley at the one yard line in the final thirty seconds of the half.

Ruffing scored his only touchdown on a 5 yard run, the junior now has 18 touchdowns on the season. W & J put the exclamation point on the win on the fourth play of the final quarter when Alec Schram intercepted Vales and returned it for a 4 yard touchdown. The Bison entered into Presidents territory only once in the second half to the W & J 49. Bethany was held to just 232 yards of offense.

Coughlin was 19 of 26 for 200 yards, Ruffing carried 37 times. Lis had 9 catches, Giampole 6, W & J is now 6-0 overall.

Vales was 21 of 39 for 142 yards and 2 interceptions, Eric Blinn was held to 7 catches for 37 yards. Bethany is now 5-2 overall and falls to 4-1 in the PAC.

Case Western Reserve 33 – Geneva 19
The road woes continue for the Golden Tornadoes, dropping their 10th straight away from College Hill. Geneva has now lost 4 consecutive games.

The GT’s jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a Brandon Hacker 1 yard run, but a field goal and a bad snap over the head of Geneva QB Aaron Channing led to a safety and a 7-5 score. Freeport’s Brendan Lynch tossed a td pass to Ethan Alberts of 23 yards and a score to put the Spartans up 12-7. Billy Beecher then threw a touchdown pass to Adam Hochman of 9 yards, the two point conversion was good to put Case Western up 20-7 after one.

That score held true until the opening drive of the third quarter as Beecher scored on a 1 yard run, Laurel ‘s Dylan Jones got Geneva back on the board with a 2 yard run late in the third. Channing hit Devin Kelosky for a 3 yard touchdown with just over 3 minutes remaining to cut the lead to 26-19. The GT’s tried an onside kick but could not come up with it, two plays later Anthony Canganelli broke a 41 yard run for a touchdown and ended the comeback hopes.

Channing threw for 273 yards on 27 of 42. Jones ran 14 times for 72 yards, he also caught 6 passes for 55 yards. Josh Guiser had 6 catches for 112 yards. Geneva is now 1-5 overall and 0-4 in the PAC.

Beecher was 21 of 39 for 157 yards, Lynch had 9 catches along with tossing the touchdown pass. The Spartans are now 3-3 overall and in the PAC.

Sacred Heart 23 – Duquesne 20
The Dukes lost their quarterback in the first quarter and fell to the defending NEC champions at Rooney Field. Dillon Buechel of Montour was injured and did not return. Ryan Egolf came on and threw three touchdown passes but RJ Noel hit Tyler Dube for the second time in the game on a 12 yard touchdown pass with 23 seconds left for the win.

Noel and Dube gave the Pioneers a 7-0 first quarter lead on a 22 yard touchdown. The Dukes tied the game in the final seconds of the half on a Egolf 15 yard td pass to Chris King. Duquesne caught a short field in the third when a botched punt gave the Dukes the ball at the Sacred Heart 30. Egolf hit Devin Rahming for a 12 yard score and a 14-7 lead. Egolf and King hit on a long pass play for 58 yards and a score and the Dukes were cruising at 20-7.

That did not last long as Noel scored three plays later on a 67 yard run. Both teams had opportunities in the fourth, the Dukes turned the ball over at the Pioneer 30 on downs, Sacred Heart was stopped on downs at the 7 on a fourth and goal with 2:58 left in regulation.

Duquesne could not get a first down and get out of the shadow of the goal posts as Sacred Heart used their final two timeouts. On fourth down, the Dukes took a safety to make the score 20-16 with 2:10 left. The free kick went to the 18 yard line, Dube returned it 37 yards past midfield and set up the game winner.

Egolf was 17-29 for 199 yards. Rahming and Dave Thomas each had 5 catches, King made 4 for 113 yards. Duquesne is now 4-3 overall and 1-1 in the NEC.

Noel threw for 204 yards and ran for 101, Dube had 5 catches. Sacred Heart is 6-1 overall and 2-0 in the NEC.

Bryant 42 – Saint Francis 27
Dalton Easton was 16 of 22 for 283 yards and tossed five touchdown passes as the Bulldogs won their NEC opener in Loretto. John Lavin caught two scores of 19 and 21 yards, Chad Ward had 5 catches for 121 yards and a score.

The Red Flash got a spark in the second quarter when Lorenzo Jerome returned a punt 52 yards for a touchdown to cut the Bryant lead to 14-10. The Bulldogs pulled away with two Easton scoring strikes for a 28-10 halftime lead.

Khairi Dickson excited the home crowd with a 71 yard touchdown run on the final play of the third quarter, Dickson ended with 25 carries and 187 yards rushing. Zach Drayer hit Terell Smith for a 23 yard touchdown with 18 seconds remaining but it was too little, too late for the Red Flash.

Bryant is 5-1 overall, Saint Francis falls to 2-5 overall and 0-2 in the NEC.

Robert Morris 27 – Central Connecticut State 24
The Colonials scored 18 points in the final fifteen minutes to complete the comeback and give RMU their first win of the season. Derik Abbott hit Duane Mitchell for the 11 yard touchdown with 3:49 to play to give RMU their second lead of the game.

Ryan Thermill carried 32 times for 113 yards and Abbott threw for 215 yards with no interceptions to lead the Colonials to the victory.

RMU led 6-3 in the second quarter, when Rob Hollomon took over, the Blue Devils running back ran for scores of 3 and 22 yards on the way to a 164 yard day on 28 carries to put CCSU up 17-6 at the half.

The Blue Devils extended the lead in the third on a Brenden Lytton 20 yard run. The Colonials got their third field goal of the day from Hunter Khaleghi, his 32 yarder made it 24-9 entering the fourth.

Abbott tossed his first touchdown pass to Nick Lamica for 25 yards, Khaleghi hit a 22 yard field goal to cut the deficit to five. Forrest Mason recovered a CCSU fumble off a sack of Nick Sangiacomo to set up the Abbott to Mitchell score.

The final minutes weren’t without drama, Quinn Fleming had to come on at quarterback for the Blue Devils, he was picked off by David Taylor at the RMU 32. But Javon Elmore blocked a Tony LaMancusa punt, giving CCSU the ball at the Colonials 21 with 1:52 left. Four false start penalties pushed the Blue Devils out of field goal range, Fleming completed a pass to Hollomon on the final play but could not get the clock stopped to get off another.

Lamica had 8 catches for 112 yards for RMU, now 1-6 overall but 1-1 in the NEC. CCSU falls to 2-5 overall and 0-2 in the conference.

California 21 – IUP 13
In the sixth annual Coal Bowl, the Vulcans are alone atop the PSAC West standings with the win. Chaz Veal picked off a pass in the end zone with 90 seconds to play to seal the win for Cal, now 6-1 overall.

IUP had 28 first downs and possessed the football for almost 35 minutes but turned the ball over five times in the loss, the Crimson Hawks fall to 5-2 overall and 4-2 in the West.

Brett Ullman got IUP on the board first with a 20 yard field goal. James Harris hit Luke Smorey for a 23 yard touchdown and a 7-3 lead after one. Terrill Roberson scored on a 1 yard run midway thru the second to put the Vulcans up 14-3 at the break.

Corey Ford opened the scoring in the third by picking up a blocked field goal attempt by Ullman and taking it 48 yards for a touchdown and a 21-3 lead. Ullman kicked a field goal in the opening minute of the fourth and Chase Haslett hit Drew Carswell for a 5 yard touchdown midway thru the final quarter to end the scoring.

Harris threw for 238 yards on 19 of 30. Garry Brown had 8 catches for 105 yards for Cal. Freshman Luigi Lista-Brinza of Pittsburgh Central Catholic led the Crimson Hawks with 16 carries for 97 yards. Haslett throw for 359 yards on 34 of 44, but he was picked three times. Carswell had 15 catches for 150 yards.

Seton Hill 30 – Clarion 16
Dan Pietrangelo came on at quarterback for the Griffins and connected three times to FJ Williams for scores as Seton Hill pulled away for the win at Offutt Field.

Leading 9-2 in the third quarter, the pair connected on a 10 yard strike, they also hit in the fourth quarter on td passes of 30 and 2 yards to put Seton Hill up 30-2. Connor Simmons hit Mike Deitrick for a 2 yard touchdown and Zach Deitrick for a 6 yard score with 11 seconds remaining. The Golden Eagles had a defensive conversion in the first quarter when Jerome Matthews picked up a blocked extra point attempt and went 98 yards to the end zone.

For Seton Hill, Drew Jackson was 6 of 18 for 98 yards before being replaced, he did throw a 33 yard touchdown to Eric Brown in the first. Pietrangelo was 13 of 20 for 124 yards. Williams had 6 catches. Brandon Stout carried 29 times for 139 yards.

Clarion continued to struggle running the football, with just 35 yards rushing. Simmons threw for 195 yards, he was sacked four times. Cory McNamara did pick off two passes for the Golden Eagles, who have lost four straight.

Both teams are 2-5 overall and 2-4 in the PSAC West.

Thomas More 49 – Saint Vincent 7
The Saints were without the PAC’s leading rusher in Domonique Hayden but it didn’t matter. CT Tarrent carried 25 times for 153 yards and two scores, Jensen Gebhardt threw for 201 yards and 3 touchdowns as Thomas More cruised to the win at Bank of Kentucky Field.

Thomas More piled up 561 yards of offense, the defense held the Bearcats to just 165 yards. Saint Vincent scored on a Darius Brown 82 yard punt return in the second quarter to knot the game at 7 but the Saints scored 42 unanswered.

The Saints are now 5-2 overall and 4-1 in the PAC. The Bearcats fall to 2-4 overall and 2-2 in the conference, seeing their title hopes take a big hit with the loss.

Waynesburg 26 – Westminster 21
Senior quarterback Carter Hill scored on a 1 yard run with 45 seconds left to keep the PAC title hopes of the Yellow Jackets alive. Westminster had taken the lead on a Paul Columbo 5 yard td pass to Xaiver Eubanks with just over 4 minutes to play.

Hill threw for 191 yards and 3 scores, Jake Forsythe had another big day for the Yellow Jackets with 222 yards on 33 carries. Hill got Waynesburg on the board first with a 14 yard touchdown pass to Willie Leavell, Westminster answered to take the lead on a Columbo pass to John Jones for 11 yards.

Zac Capan gave Waynesburg back the lead on a Hill 15 yard touchdown pass midway thru the second, Columbo was up to the challenge, connecting with Benny Walter for a 5 yard score. But Hill hit Andrew English in the final minute of the half and Waynesburg went to the break leading 20-14.

Neither team scored in the third quarter, setting up the dramatic finish in the game’s final minutes. Waynesburg is now 6-1 overall and 4-1 in the PAC, the Yellow Jackets are tied with Thomas More for second place, trailing W & J by 1 ½ games.

Columbo threw for 295 yards and 3 scores, the Titans fall to 1-6 overall and 1-4 in the PAC.

Carnegie Mellon 21 – Grove City 10
Sam Benger ran for 139 yards as the Tartans pull to 3-3 in the PAC with the home win and keep the Wolverines winless on the season.

Andrew Hearon put CMU on the board first with a 5 yard touchdown run on the opening drive. Zach Cree added a 2 yard run in the second and Troy Witt a 9 yard run in the third to put the Tartans up 21-3. New Brighton’s Gabe Greco threw a 5 yard touchdown pass to David Folkmire with 7:44 remaining. The Wolverines are now 0-6.