District College Football Preview for Weekend of September 14th-15th

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, September 13, 2012 | 12:20 PM

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Week 3 of the district college football slate opens on Friday night with one game. Conference play gets underway in the PSAC West, PAC and WVIAC, while the NEC teams take a week off from conference foes.

Here are previews of ALL the games, including three which can be heard right here on the network. Don't forget to check back on Sunday morning for recaps of all the games.

Friday, September 14th: 
Catholic University (1-1) at Carnegie Mellon(2-0)  7pm
It's White Out Night at Gesling Stadium as the Tartans look to go to 3-0 for the first time since 2006.

The Cardinals lost 47-27 to longtime foe Gallaudet University last week after handing McDaniel College a 45-28 setback in week one.

CMU coach Rich Lackner has 177 career wins, that places him 6th among active coaches in D-III.

The Tartans started the season with a 23-20 win over Grove City and followed that with a 37-7 victory over Allegheny on Saturday in Meadville.

In the win over the Gators, QB Rob Kalkstein and WR Tim Kitka connected for an 87 yard td strike, the longest in school history. Kitka also posted 158 yards receiving, also a school record. Kitka was named ECAC Southwest Offensive Athlete of the Week for his 4 catches and 2 touchdowns.

RB Patrick Blanks ran for three scores vs. Allegheny, his fifth career multi touchdown game.

Saturday, September 15th:
Geneva(0-2) at Thiel(0-2)  Noon on WBVP 1230-AM and the MSA Sports Network
The Golden Tornadoes have defeated the Tomcats five consecutive times, the last Thiel win was in 2006. Geneva leads the all-time series 25-9-3.

Some day the GT's will play at home, this will be the third straight road game for Geneva.

Geneva fell last week to 18th ranked Hobart in New York. The Golden Tornadoes must shore up the special teams after having two punts blocked deep in their own territory that led to two touchdowns.

Rocco Colavecchia scored the only touchdown for the GT's with a 22 yard run in the fourth quarter. He played the entire second half at QB when Zack Hayward went out with an injury. Hayward leads the conference in passing at 556 yards and 7 td, he has completed 71 percent of his passes. Colavecchia is tied for the lead in td's scored in the PAC with 4.

Ryan Fronius and Dillion Goodell each made 10 tackles in the loss. Fronius recovered a fumble that set up the Colavecchia td run.

Geneva leads the conference in total offense at 445 yards per game.

The Tomcats fell behind early, trailing 14-0 in the first quarter and could not come back against Rochester last week. Thiel has dropped 24 consecutive games.

RB Taylor Fink led the team with 60 yards on 15 carries and a touchdown.

Thiel DE Tim Taylor has moved into second place on the all time list with 46 tackles for loss.

Gannon(1-1) at Slippery Rock(1-1)  6pm on WISR 680-AM and the MSA Sports Network
The Rock has dropped 2 straight to the Golden Knights, including last year's loss that denied SRU the outright PSAC West title and a D-II playoff berth. 

The Golden Knights dropped a 21-17 decision to West Chester last week.

WR Abraham Ocasio grabbed 7 passes for 123 yards, his second consecutive 100 yard game.

WR Justin Caliste, a demon on special teams last year, caught 5 passes for 116 yards.

The Rock fell 55-35 on the road at Shippensburg last week. QB Jared Buck tried to keep up with the high scoring Red Raider offense with a pair of first half td passes, but Buck was injured in the second quarter and
did not return.

Transfer Nigel Barksdale came on and threw for only 95 yards but ran for 76 in the loss.

RB Akeem Satterfield ran for 138 yards on 21 carries and a score. Satterfield is 6th in the conference with 250 yards.

WR John Schademan had six catches for 125 yards and two touchdowns. He is averaging over 21 yards per catch.

The Rock defense was at the top of the PSAC for almost all of last season and in the tops in the nation. Not the case in 2012, the defense is ranked 5th against the run and 11th against the pass, 8th overall in yardage. Slippery Rock is 10th in the conference in scoring defense.

If the PSAC had a special teams player of the week award it would have went to the Rock. Jaimire Dutrieuille set up the Rock with a 45 yard kickoff return, the freshman notched 235 all-purpose yards on the day.

Slippery Rock has won 6 straight games at Thompson-Mihalik Stadium. But Gannon holds a 5-2 lead in the series and the Golden Knights are 3-1 since joining the PSAC.

Grove City(1-1) at W & J(1-1)  7pm on WJPA 1450-AM and the MSA Sports Network
It's the first time these teams have met in the conference opener since 1995. The Wolverines rallied from 21-0 down to defeat the Presidents 24-21 last season. W & J leads the series 34-13 and had won 12 straight before last year's loss.

Could be a shootout, Grove City leads the conference with 67 points scored. W & J averaged 401 yards per game, the Wolverines are right behind at 378.

The Wolverines come off a 47-10 win over Anderson last week, after falling to CMU in Week 1, racking up 32 first downs in the win.

RB Shane Kaclik was named PAC Offensive Player of the Week in last week's win. The former Mars standout ran for a career high 153 yards on 32 carries and three touchdowns. Kaclik is 2nd in the PAC in rushing at 218 yards.

QB Brian Pell ran for 77 yards on a dozen carries, he tossed a pair of td passes. Pell is 3rd in passing at 332 yards and 8th in rushing.

Dustin Anewalt caught six passes, a career high, for 76 yards. Tony Britt and Ethan Albinger were on the receiving end of the Pell touchdown tosses.

Grove City leads the PAC in scoring offense at 33.5 points per game, they also lead on third down conversions, making 51.4 percent.

LB Brandon Miller was named PAC Special Teams Player of the Week. Miller made 5 special teams tackles and also picked off a pass in the fourth quarter, returning it 25 yards for a touchdown.

Expect the Presidents to lean heavily on RB Tim McNerney, he has averages 112 yards per game and scored 3 touchdowns in his two previous games against the Wolverines. McNerney ran for 167 yards in last week's 28-24 loss to St. John's Fisher. He leads the conference with 258 yards rushing.

QB Matt Bliss threw for 228 yards and a pair of scores in the loss, he also ran for 55 yards. Bliss is 2nd in the conference with 455 yards.

WR Alex Baroffio tied a career high with 13 catches. Hunter Creel had 8 catches for 109 yards and 2 td's. Barrofio and Creel are 1-2 in the conference with 24 and 13 catches respectively.

LB John Hunter led the defense with 9 stops. The Presidents held the Cardinals to just 228 yards and 12 first downs.

 

Saint Francis(1-1) at Morehead State(1-1)  1pm
The Red Flash won the NEC opener 39-28 in Loretto against Bryant last week. With the win, the Red Flash took three of the four NEC weekly awards. Freshman Khairi Dickson filled in for all NEC running back Kyle Harbridge but didn't miss a beat. Dickson ran for 148 yards and a touchdown, the Red Flash posted over 300 yards on the ground. He was named the Rookie of the Week. Dickson is second in the NEC with 204 yards. QB John Kelly is sixth in the conference in rushing with 159 yards, he is ninth with 149 yards passing. 

Bishop Neal knows about making plays in big games, Neal, the former Clairton star, was named Defensive Player of the Week. The sophomore linebacker made 13 tackles and picked off a pass.

Finally, punter Grant Price was named Special Teams Player of the Week. Price averaged over 41 yards per punt and pinned Bryant four times inside their own 20 yard line.

Morehead State defeated Southern Virginia 55-0 in the opener, then fell last week to Eastern Kentucky 24-17.

Zach Lewis hit Kevin Thomas with a pair of second half touchdowns. Lewis threw for 294 yards on 28 of 42. Donte Sawyer made 9 catches for 110 yards. Morehead State rushed just 11 times for 9 yards.

 

Robert Morris(0-2) at Dayton(0-2)  1pm
The Colonials offense has managed one touchdown in the first two games, they are last in both scoring offense and defense. QB Matt Layman has filled in, he has thrown for 187 yards and the only touchdown, good for 7th in the NEC, but he has tossed 3 picks.
Dayton fell 17-7 at Duquesne last week. Will Barto threw for 232 yards, he ran for 50 yards and the only Flyers score.

Dayton was destroyed by Illinois State 56-14 in the season opener. Barto threw for 96 yards and a touchdown. Gary Hunter returned a punt 77 yards for the other Flyer score.

Duquesne(1-1) at Valparaiso(0-2)  2pm
The Dukes defeated Dayton 17-7 last week. Larry McCoy ran for 124 yards in the win, his 20th 100 yard game of his career. McCoy is fourth in the conference with 173 yards. 

QB Sean Patterson is 5th in the NEC with 281 yards. He has tossed 2 td passes but been picked 3 times. His new target is Gianni Carter with 9 catches for 103 yards and a td.

All-American safety Serge Kona made nine tackles and grabbed an interception in the win.

Jason Douglas leads the NEC with a 27.8 yard kick return average.

Valparaiso lost at 5th ranked Youngstown State 55-0 last week as they were held to just 59 yards on the ground.

The Crusaders dropped their opener to D-II St. Joseph's 36-34. QB Eric Hoffman threw for 201 yards in the opening week loss.

 

Clarion(1-1) at Mercyhurst(1-1)  Noon
The Golden Eagles fell 46-26 last week to LIU-Post, committing 8 turnovers in the road loss.

QB Ben Fiscus set a school record with an 88 yard td run in the third quarter. That was his only positive run, he finished with 81 yards rushing.

RB Bobby Thomas made his second offensive start and ran for 158 yards on 25 totes and a score. Thomas played in the secondary last season.

WR Jim Reid racked up 212 yards receiving last week, the third best single game in school history.

Mercyhurst defeated Millersville 45-7 last week. Brandon Brown-Dukes ran for 213 yards and three touchdowns in the win.

Allen Jones II ran for 132 yards, his first career 100 yard game.

DB Linnell Robinson picked off a pass last week.

Mercyhurst has won 3 of the 4 meetings with Clarion, since joining the PSAC.

Lock Haven(0-2) at IUP(2-0)  4pm

The Bald Eagles lost to East Stroudsburg 31-0 last week, Lock Haven has dropped 44 consecutive games, the longest current losing streak in NCAA football.

TB Brandon Brader carried 23 times for 84 yards.

IUP defeated Cheyney 56-0 last week, with the win IUP moves into the AFCA D-II poll at number 17, the first time IUP has been ranked since 2008.

Harvie Tuck, Montay Green and Alex Holland each ran for two scores. Holland led with 100 yards on 19 carries. Tuck is second in the PSAC with 263 yards.

QB Pat Smith was just 6-10 for 107 yards and two touchdowns, including a toss to Anthony Meriwether for his first career score.

The IUP defense held Cheyney to just 106 yards of offense, including 9 yards rushing.

IUP leads the series 55-13-3 and have won the last 30 meetings.

California(2-0) at Edinboro(0-1)  6pm
Cal has won the last 7 meetings with Edinboro.

The Vulcans have defeated back to back ranked teams, knocking off Hillsdale in week one and coming back for a 48-45 win over then 11th ranked Kutztown last week. With those wins, the Vulcans are now 6th in the AFCA D-II poll.

QB Peter Lalich was named PSAC West Offensive Player of the Week. Lalich was 30-59 for 398 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including the game winner with 1:02 remaining to Kowan Scott. He also ran for a touchdown.

Cal led 27-0 last week but gave up the lead in the third and had to rally twice for the win.

RB Lamont Smith recorded his 13th 100 yard game of his career, running for 109 yards and a score. WR Mike Williams had 9 catches for 138 yards, both career highs.

The Vulcans swept the conference honors for this week, lineman Darnell Harding was named West Defensive Player of the Week. The former McKeesport star made 6 tackles, including 2.5 sacks in the win, the Vulcan defense held Kutztown to just 17 rushing yards.

A huge crowd is expected for Whiteout Night at Sox Harrison Stadium. The Fighting Scots will wear the white uniforms at home instead of the traditional red.

Edinboro fell at 19th ranked Bloomsburg 30-14 last week. The Fighting Scots have gone to a spread offense but it stalled out on several occasions vs. the Huskies.

RB Willie Lowe, who transferred from Iowa, scored the first touchdown on a 4 yard run. Cody Harris hit Devin Ghafoor for an 8 yard touchdown. Ghafoor is also the Edinboro nickel back on defense. He made 6 catches on the night.

Another Iowa transfer, Bruce Davis, is the middle linebacker, he made 9 tackles. Free safety Kenny Pettis had a career high 19 tackles.

Shepherd(1-1) at Seton Hill(0-2)  Noon
The Rams defeated American International 34-7 last week. Bobby Cooper threw for 159 yards and a score. Kenny Williams ran for two scores.

The Griffins fell to Urbana 34-31 last week. QB Ryan Morris threw for 312 yards and two touchdowns. D.J Carter grabbed 10 passes for 130 yards and a td.

Derrick Dyer and Trae Cook each ran for touchdowns in the win.

Dorian Evans made 12 tackles last week, Tyler Zimmer made 11, he is tied for third in all of D-II with 14 tackles per game.

 

Waynesburg(2-0) at Saint Vincent(0-2)  1pm
The Yellow Jackets are the only PAC team entering conference play at 2-0. Waynesburg held a high octane Frostburg State offense to just one score in last week's win, defeating the Bobcats 21-7. Frostburg State put up 56 points in a week one win over Geneva.

Safety Bryan Gary was one of the stars of the defense. Gary made 14 tackles, including 11 solo stops. He was named PAC Defensive Player of the Week. Matt Krause had 2 sacks in the win.

QB Tyler Fatigante was 11 of 14 for 122 yards and 2 scores, he also ran for 64 yards and a touchdown.
Saint Vincent fell at home in overtime to Wooster 27-21 last week.

RB Huey Ehredt ran for 118 yards and threw a touchdown pass.

QB Manny Speal threw for 192 yards and two scores on 17 of 36. WR Matt Duffy had 6 catches and TE Cody Strelick had 4, including a pair of touchdowns.

WR Ricky Douglas has now caught a pass in 21 consecutive games.

Bethany(0-1) at Randolph-Macon(1-1)  1pm
It's the Bison first trip to Virginia since 2002, a 34-7 win over Newport News.

Bethany had last week off, after falling to Centre 42-21 in the opener. WR Ed Holmes had 4 catches in the loss, he becomes the 8th Bison receiver to catch 100 or more passes in his career.

QB Matt Grimard needs to throw for 104 yards to become the 4th Bethany quarterback to toss for over 4 thousand yards. Grimard has also rushed for 1,345 yards in his career.

The Yellow Jackets finished 8-2 last season in the ODAC and in second place. Randolph-Macon dropped a 36-13 decision to Johns Hopkins in the opener, they rallied to defeat Averett 21-6 last week.

QB Zac Naccarato threw a touchdown pass in the win, he ran for two more, including a 70 yard run.

Westminster(1-0) at Thomas More(0-1)  1:30pm
The multi-time conference champion Saints have dominated this season, winning 9 of the 10 meetings.

Westminster had the bye last week, the Titans knocked off Hiram 28-0 in the opener.

RB Tyler Banks had 2 touchdowns, rushing for 50 yards.

QB Dak Britt was 14-25 for 154 yards in his first game as a Titan. He threw a td pass to Gino Pasquinelli for 43 yards, he also connected with Connor Kobis for a score. Britt led Westminster with 52 yards rushing.

Thomas More fell to St. John's Fisher 13-7 in overtime in the opening week of the season, the Saints had the bye last week.

QB Luke Magness threw for the only score for the Saints, a 6 yard pass to RB Devin Kendrick in the second quarter. Magness was 12 of 23 in his first start with just 85 yards.

RB Domonique Hayden was shut down, he ran for just 17 yards and had 2 catches for 29 yards.

Freshman LB Nick Pennekamp posted 10 tackles for the Saints in the loss.
 

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