College Football District Preview

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, September 1, 2011 | 5:55 AM

September is here and that also means college football. Every Thursday, the MSA Sports Network will preview matchups involving the district’s teams, spotlighting on games that can be heard on the network. And stop back late Saturday night as recaps from all the games will be posted. Follow the area’s best all season on the Network.

Here are this week’s previews, all games are Saturday unless otherwise noted:

Slippery Rock at Seton Hill 3pm on WISR-AM 680 and the MSA Sports Network.
The Rock started at 5-1 in 2010, but faltered down the stretch to finish 6-5. SRU returns 18 starters, including nine on offense.
If you think of Slippery Rock, you think of running backs, and the Rock has a ton of them this season. Akeem Satterfield finished second in the conference in rushing, he returns along with LaQuinn Stephens-Howling. If that wasn’t enough, James Zubik transferred from Mt. Union to the Rock for 2011. Ryan Sabo returns at quarterback, he will be challenged by U.Conn tranfer Cody Endres. Devin Goda led the team in catches, he returns along with Kevin Sanders and Michael Bongivengo, who moved from quarterback to wideout last season. Three starters return on the offensive line in A.J. Hopp, Austin Fedell and Dan Perz.
The Rock defense will be led by the secondary. Corner Andre Freeman and safeties Jayson Nickson and Brandon Watters return. Zach Sheridan finished fifth in the conference, he returns at linebacker.
Slippery Rock will also need help from the special teams, punter James McCombie led the conference last season. Kurt Brackman filled in as the kicker last season, he will be challenged by Michael Wainauskis, who kicked in the Big 33 game. Slippery Rock was placed in a tie for third in the conference pre-season voting. For the Griffins, QB D.J. Lenehan returns for a third season, he has thrown for 4,146 yards in his first two seasons. WR Jorge Valdovinas and Tyler McIntosh along with TE Zach Delo all return. Austin Recker and Nate Carmen are the returning starters on the offensive line.
Seton Hill returns nine of eleven starters on defense.

W & J at Juniata 1pm on WJPA-AM 1450 and the MSA Sports Network.
The Presidents went 9-2 in 2010, their 27th consecutive winning season. W & J went on to the ECAC bowl and defeated Franklin & Marshall 54-41.
Andrew Cappucci is the frontrunner to take over at quarterback. Adam Domenick caught 32 passes last season, he is expected to be a main target along with tight end Ben Hoffer.
Gary Flavion anchors the offensive line, he is a two-time all PAC player. He’ll help to open the holes for Tim McNerney, who ran for 1.009 yards and 18 touchdowns in 2010. Deandre Simmons also returns from injury and Dion Wiegand transferred in from Robert Morris, both are also expected to contribute.
On the defense, Neil Sorice returns at linebacker, he made 70 stops last season. Frank Gigler made 15 stops for loss in 2010, he returns up front. Ian Hennessy also figures in on the defense, he played end, linebacker and safety in his freshman season and finished with 53 tackles.
W & J is picked second by the coaches in the pre-season poll behind two time champion Thomas More.

Frostburg State at Geneva 7pm on WBVP-AM 1230 and the MSA Sports Network.
The Golden Tornado finished 5-5 last season and are now eligible for the PAC championship. Zach Hayward takes over at quarterback for Geneva, he has several weapons to throw to, including A.J. Delmonico with 48 catches last season and Corey O’Patchen who caught ten touchdowns.
The secondary will be a strong point for Geneva as Marcus Costanza and Jon Baldwin both return. Solomon Hejirika, Scott Erb and Ryan Fronius will anchor the linebackers, Dan Dillman and Tyler French will be counted on up front.
Geneva was picked sixth in the pre-season coaches poll in the PAC.

Gannon at Lake Erie Thursday at 7pm
The Golden Knights finished 6-5 in 2010 but must replace most of their offense coming into the season. Daniel Tapscott was named as the quarterback, he has never thrown a pass in college play. Tony Sims is the top returning rusher, he had only 26 carries in 2010. Khalid Walker and Jerry Smith return to the receiving core, Gannon does return four starters on the offensive line.
The defense will be counted on heavily this season. Randy Colling is a two-time all PSAC player, he returns up front. Chris Cook is a four year starter in the secondary. Gannon was picked fifth in the West Division in the pre-season coaches poll.
St. Cloud State at California Thursday at 7pm
The Vulcans won or shared the West title for the sixth straight season and made the NCAA playoffs for the fourth consecutive year and are the favorites once again in the division.
Lamont Smith finished fourth in the conference in rushing last season, he returns along with wideout Chedrick Cherry and tight end Blake Williamson. Peter Lalich transferred in from Oregon State, he will be the starting quarterback.
Again, defense will be key for Cal, as eight starters return, including linebacker Brent Diamond and safety Erik Harris. Shawn Anderson, Rontez Miles and Patrick Swearinger also return in the secondary, along with three starters up front.
Clarion at Fairmont State Thursday at 7pm
The Golden Eagles started 0-5 in 2010, just one year after finishing second in the division. Ben Fiscus took over at quarterback in Week 6 and led Clarion to a 4-2 finish. Ten starters return on defense for the Golden Eagles, including DE Barrington Morrison, LB Reggie Robinson and S Andrew Paronish.
Clarion will also get back two starters who missed all of 2010, DT John Hackel and S Shawn Stropic. The Golden Eagles were picked seventh in the division by the coaches.
Fairmont State is ranked third in the WVIAC pre-season poll, returning 17 starters from last year’s team. The Falcons finished 5-6 last season, but beat Clarion 27-16 at Memorial Stadium. QB Logan Moore returns, he threw for 18 hundred yards and 18 touchdowns last season.
Youngstown State at Michigan State Friday at 7:30pm
The Penguins open the season again, taking on a Big Ten school at Lansing in front of a nationally televised audience. QB Kurt Hess returns for YSU, he threw for over two thousand yards as a freshman in 2010. TB Jaimaine Cook also returns off a one-thousand yard season. YSU has 49 players on the roster that were not with the program one year ago, from a team that finished 3-8.
Michigan State finished 11-2 last year and earned a share of the Big Ten title. The Spartans are still smarting from a 49-7 loss to Alabama in the Capital One Bowl on New Year’s Day. QB Kurt Cousins threw for 2,825 yards last season and 20 touchdowns, he is a three year starter. The Spartans are ranked 17th in both the AP and USA Today pre-season polls.
Dayton at Robert Morris Noon
Robert Morris went 8-3 overall and 7-1 to win the NEC title. That got the Colonials to their first ever FCS playoff game, now the question is can they do it again.
Quarterback Jeff Sinclair returns for his second full season as the starter, with 31 career touchdown passes. TE Shadrae King will be a main target, along with Anthony Coleman, who caught five touchdowns last season. RMU has three starters back on the offensive line, C Logan Miles, G Brad Rogers and T A.J. Dalton.
The Colonials have only three starters returning on defense, ends Nolan Neerhoof and Stephen Mitchell and linebacker Brad Banas.
Saint Francis at Wagner 1pm
Both teams open play with an NEC game. The Red Flash finished 1-10 in 2010. Quarterback John Kelly returns for his third season. He has several targets to throw to, including A.J. Alexander and Anthony Howze. Alexander transferred in from Florida State. Running back Kyle Harbridge missed four games due to injury but still rushed for 600 yards.
Jake DeMedal moved into the secondary as a freshman, he will start the season in 2011.
For Wagner, QB Nick Doscher returns, he has thrown for 24 touchdowns and ran for another 19 over the past two seasons.
Duquesne at Bucknell 6pm
The Dukes finished 7-4 in 2010 and look for good things this season. Quarterback Sean Patterson and running back Larry McCoy both return. Patterson threw for over two thousand yards and twenty touchdowns last season. McCoy has rushed for more than two thousand yards and fourteen touchdowns in his first two seasons at Duquesne.
Four starters return up front for the Dukes including guard Eric Warning. Patterson will have a nice target to throw to in Akeem Moore, who had 22 catches and two touchdowns last season.
The secondary should be strong for the Dukes, safeties Serge Kona and Khiry Carter both return, along with corner Aaron Fitzpatrick. Jared Williams transferred from Temple, he is expected to start at the other corner. LB Chidozie Opranozie also returns.
Notre Dame College at Mercyhurst Noon
The Lakers were the surprise of Division II last season. After being picked seventh in the pre-season coaches poll in the PSAC-West, the Lakers ended up tying Cal for the conference title and qualifying for the NCAA playoffs, where they advanced to the regional title game.
Big things are once again expected from Mercyhurst, ranked number two in the West in the pre-season poll in 2011. Quarterback Travis Rearick returns, along with wide receiver and return man Trevor Kennedy. The Lakers suffered a loss before the season even starts with WR Terrance Coon being ruled ineligible for the season. On defense, four starters return, including DB Ian Wild.
West Liberty at Edinboro 1:30pm
West Liberty returns only five starters from last year’s team. The teams played a memorable playoff game in 2009 which the Hilltoppers won 84-63.
Edinboro finished 7-4 last season, but only 3-4 in divisional play. The Fighting Scots were picked sixth in the pre-season coaches poll in the West. Quarterback Cody Harris returns for his second season. He has some great targets to throw too in David Bostic, Marcus Johnson and Nick Marino. Both Johnson and Marino missed the 2010 campaign. Edinboro also gets Michael Battles back, who was limited to five games in the backfield last season. Drew Herrell also returns, in fact the top five rushers for the Fighting Scots are back this season.
Edinboro also welcomes back Branden Williams to the lineup, he played only one game last season, he has ten career interceptions and five touchdown returns.
Grove City at Carnegie Mellon 1pm
The Wolverines had the top ranked defense in 2010, nine starters return from that team, which finished 5-5 overall. NT Jared Frawley is a four year starter, he will likely be joined by DE George Matthews, who missed the 2010 season.
Grove City also returns a pair of quarterbacks in Clayton Hall and Brian Pell. Pell took over in the third week when Hall went down with a season ending injury. Blaine Miller, Ed Reith and Shane Kaclik also return in the backfield. TE Anthony Reda also returns. Grove City was picked fourth in the conference by the coaches in the pre-season poll.
For the Tartans, quarterback Rob Kalkstein returns for another season, he threw for five touchdowns last season. Jake Nardone ran for 599 yards and eight scores last year, Chris Garcia added 296 yards rushing and two scores, he also had three touchdown catches out of the backfield. CMU finished 4-6 last season.
Saint Vincent at Bridgewater 1pm
The Bearcats welcome back quarterback Aaron Smetanka, who was first team all-PAC in 2010. Chance Ginyard, Christian Sutton and Ricky Douglas will be the main targets for Smetanka. Jarius Marlowe moves back into the offensive backfield from the secondary, he ran for six touchdowns over his first two seasons as a Bearcat.
On the defensive side, LB Anthony Johnson returns, he finished second in the PAC with 102 tackles last season. Also returning at linebacker is Armando Fortunato, who made 95 stops in 2010. Saint Vincent finished 3-7 last season, including 3-4 in the PAC, the Bearcats are picked 7th in the conference this season.
Waynesburg at Christopher Newport 1pm
The Yellow Jackets finished 6-4 last season and had the season in front of them, with a 4-1 record in conference play, but lost to both Thomas More and W & J to miss out on a chance to win the conference title.
Josh Graham looks to be the starter at quarterback in 2011. Justin Falcon, Bertrand Ngampa and Dominic Moore all return to the backfield for Waynesburg. Adam Moses, Jeff Young and Christian Jackson will be the main receiving targets. The offensive line loses four of five starters.
Darryl Moore and Sean Hunt will lead the defense. Moore was first team all PAC at tackle and Hunt led the conference with eight interceptions. Bryan Gary also returns at safety, he made 69 tackles last season and had three interceptions, two which turned into Pick 6’s. Waynesburg was picked third in the pre-season poll.
Thiel at Marietta 1:30pm
The Tomcats went winless in 2010, both starting quarterbacks return in Jared Soell and Andrew Smith. WR Nate Houpt and Ronnie Howard will be the primary targets. Thiel was picked dead last in the conference by the coaches in the pre-season poll.
Bethany at Allegheny 7pm
The Bison finished 5-5 in 2010, their best season since 2001. QB Matt Grimard returns, he threw for ten scores and ran for eleven more. RB Eric Walker also returns, he needs 456 yards to become the all-time leading rusher in Bison history. Walker also holds two other career scoring marks at Bethany.
Four starters return on the offensive line with three returning starters on defense. Bethany was picked fourth in the coaches pre-season poll.
Brian Tamburlin returns at running back for the Gators, he ran for 609 yards last season. Matt Griffin and Sean Griffin will be the main targets for new quarterback Jordan Fowler.
Hiram at Westminster 7pm
The Titans were a disappointing 2-8 in 2010. Shawn Lehocky returns at quarterback, he threw for 1.726 yards and 14 touchdowns last season. Gino Pasquinelli, Connor Kobis and Collin Wallace are all back in the receiving core. Leading rushers John Proano and Tyler Banks also return.
Linebacker Aaron Nauer will lead the defense. Jordan Rooney led the Titans with three interceptions in 2010, Rooney has also been the primary punt returner the last two seasons. Along with Rooney at corner will be Kyle Allen, the safeties are also set with J.J. Nalesnik and Derrick Orloski. Westminster is picked eighth in the PAC pre-season poll.