District College Football Preview for October 3rd

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, September 30, 2015 | 10:35 PM

It looks like Saturday is going to be a soggy one as far as the weather. Some high scores were posted in both the PSAC and the PAC, Will that be the case this week.

Here is a previews of all the games.

Slippery Rock(3-1) at Gannon(3-1)   12:30pm
Both teams fell from the ranks of the unbeaten last week. With the Rock’s loss to Seton Hill, no PSAC team is currently in the top 25 polls. QB Dante Nania(Hempfield) threw for 414 yards in the loss. SRU is ranked 5th in D-II in rushing at 293 yards per game. The Rock has leaned on Julian Durden(Montour) and Isiah Neely(OLSH) with the loss of Shamar Green(West Mifflin), who has missed the last two games. Durden has scored 8 touchdowns. Slippery Rock has the top scoring offense and defense in the PSAC. Derrick Fulmore is tied for the league lead with 3 interceptions.

Gannon fell to Clarion last week. QB Liam Nadler has thrown 308 passes without an interception, he has also passed for more than 300 yards 14 times in his career. Nadler is tied for the lead in passing touchdowns with 14. RB Brock Jones is 2nd in the PSAC in rushing at 111 yards per game, while WR Jesstin Hamm has caught a td pass in 10 straight games, he has scored 9 times. Gannon is last in the league , holding the ball for 25:26 per game.

Seton Hill(2-2) at California(3-1)   1pm
Both teams are 1-0 in the PSAC West.

The Griffins upset #14 Slippery Rock last week. QB Christian Strong comes off a 472 yard passing performance with 4 touchdowns. WR Ardell Brown has had back to back 100 yards receiving games. Seton Hill is 14th in scoring defense, allowing 40 points per game.

RB John Franklin led the Vulcans and the PSAC last week with 196 yards, he scored 3 touchdowns. Franklin is 3rd in the league at 110 yards per game, he has 7 touchdowns. QB James Harris is averaging 272 yards passing per game. Cal leads the conference in yellow flags with 46 for 117 yards per game.

Mercyhurst(3-1) at Clarion(4-0)   2pm
QB Brendan Boylan and WR FJ Williams are becoming a great duo for the Lakers. Boylan is averaging 300 yards per game, while Williams is 4th in D-II at 128 yards per game. Boylan is 4th in the PSAC at 300 yards per game, he has 14 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Williams has 4 td catches.

The Golden Eagles are the only undefeated team overall in the PSAC. QB Connor Simmons leads the PSAC at 304 passing yards per game and has thrown 14 touchdowns.  Clarion is 2nd in the league in scoring offense. WR Matt Lehman(Burrell) is one reason. The junior caught 9 passes for 151 yards and 4 touchdowns in the Gannon win. Lehman is tied for the league lead with 9 TD catches. K Phil Esposito was named PSAC West Special Teams Player of the Week, he leads the league in scoring by a kicker. Tyrone Archie and Matt Koerper are tied for the PSAC lead in sacks at 5.5 each.

Clarton leads the PSAC in time of possession at 35 minutes per game.

Edinboro(0-4) at IUP(2-1)   2pm
WR Darren Massey is one of 6 PSAC receivers to average more than 100 yards per game.

RB Luigi Lista-Brinza(Pittsburgh Central Catholic) ran for a career high 164 yards last week. IUP scored on 3 Pick 6’s, S Steve Franco was named PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Week for a pair of interceptions. The Crimson Hawks lead all college football with 5 defensive touchdowns.  

W & J(3-0) at Thomas More(4-0)    1pm
Two of the top teams in Division III square off at BB&T Stadium in Crestview, Kentucky. Both teams among the leaders in red zone offense as Thomas More is 24 of 25 with 21 touchdowns while W & J is 16 for 17 with 15 touchdowns.

W & J is 1-0 in the PAC. The Presidents are ranked #13 in both the AFCA and D3.com polls. RB Ryan Ruffing(Thomas Jefferson) is second in the PAC with 140 yards rushing per game. The senior has scored 7 touchdowns to lead the conference. QB Pete Coughlin(Upper Saint Clair) averaging 249 yards passing, the junior has 6 td passes and tossed 3 picks. Eric Scott and Daniel Lis are the main targets at 21 and 17 catches on the year. 

Thomas More is 2-0 in conference, tied with Case Western for the top spot. The Saints are ranked 12th in the D3.com poll and 14th in the AFCA poll. QB Jensen Gebhardt has thrown 10 touchdown passes this year.  The Saint average 59 points per game.

The series is split at 5 games apiece, W & J has won the last 2.

Thiel(1-3) at Saint Vincent(2-2)   1pm
Thiel is 0-2 in conference while Saint Vincent is 1-1. Tomcats QB Ryan Radke is dangerous both running and throwing, he averages 222 yards total offense per game. Radke has ran for 224 yards and thrown for 664. Freshman Paul Jones leads the Tomcats with 3 touchdowns.

The Bearcats defeated Grove City 48-28 last week and sophomore WR Damon Black was a big reason why. Black blocked a punt and returned for a scoe, he also caught a td pass. The Bearcats have committed the most penalties in the PAC, averaging 96 yards per game.
Thiel leads the series 11-6 and has won 3 straight meetings.

Carnegie Mellon(1-2) at Westminster(2-2)   1pm
Both teams are 1-1 in PAC play entering into the Homecoming game in New Wilmington.

Sam Benger was named PAC Offensive Player of the Week. The sophomore running back leads all of college football at 233 rushing yards per game. The Tartans defeated Geneva 35-7 last week, Benger ran for 194 yards and two scores in the win. CMU averages just 33 penalty yards per game, tops in the PAC.

Westminster leads the series 17-16-1. The Titans are led by RB Dominique McKinley with 429 rushing yards, he has only scored 1 touchdown. Freshman Kimu Kim leads Westminster with 4 scores. Titans QB;s have been intercepted 0 times this year.

Grove City(0-3) at Waynesburg(1-3)    1:30pm
Both teams are looking for a PAC win, the Wolverines are 0-1, the Yellow Jackets 0-2.

The Wolverines allowed three returns for touchdowns in the loss to Saint Vincent. WR Brett Pinson caught 2 td passes last week, he leads the league with 4 receiving scores. Grove City is minus 9 in turnover ratio this year, worst in the PAC.

Waynesburg leads the series 30-17-5 and has won 5 straight. Freshman quarterback Jake Daugherty and junior tight end Daniel Davis are becoming a good pair together, connecting for 2 scores last week.

Case Western Reserve(2-1) at Bethany(2-2)   2pm
The Spartans are 2-0, the Bison !-1.

Case Western has scored 40 or more points in back to back games for the first time since 2010. QB Rob Cuda is fourth in D-III averaging 9.4 yards per carry. The sophomore has tossed 10 touchdown passes without an interception. The Spartans also lead the conference with a plus 4 turnover ratio.  

Bethany comes off a 27-14 win over Waynesburg. LB Donovan Hayden was named PAC Defensive Player of the Week. The senior made 16 tackles, he leads the PAC at 11.8 tackles per game. Senior WR Eric Blinn(Western Beaver) leads the PAC at 8.5 catches per game, he is also the conferevce career leader in catches and receiving yards. Junior RB Jalen Holmes(New Castle) is fourth in the PAC at 98 yards rushing per game, with 4 touchdowns.

Bethany leads the series 13-2.

Robert Morris(1-3) at Wagner(0-3)   Noon
The Colonials and Seahawks square off in the NEC lid lifter.

RMU has played a difficult schedule with an overtime loss at #10 Youngstown State and at #5 South Dakota State. Junior LB Kimani Smith was named NEC Defensive Player of the Week. Smith made 8 tackles and broke up 3 passes in the loss. K Connor Shennan also received NEC honors, hitting a career long 46 yard field goal. The junior has had more than half his his kickoffs result in touchbacks. Rameses Owens leads the NEC at 92 yards rushing per game. QB Matthew Barr has ran for 3 scores.

The Colonials are plus 4 in turnover margin. Wagner is minus 6. JR Richards leads RMU and the league with 3 picks.

Wagner has the worst defense in the NEC, allowing more than 40 points per game.

Central Connecticut State(1-3) at Duquesne(2-2)   Noon
It’s also the NEC opener between the Blue Devils and Dukes.

The Blue Devils were led by sophomore RB Cameron Nash in a loss to #20 New Hampshire. Nash ran for 161 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, he was named NEC Rookie of the Week. The Blue Devils are averaging only 14 points per game.

Duquesne is 11-12 in the red zone this season with 8 touchdowns. Freshman PJ Fulmore(Cardinal Wurhl North Catholic) is 5th in rushing at 69 yards per game. QB Dillion Buechel(Montour) has thrown for 741 yards, with 6 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Chris King leads the NEC with 25 catches, Wayne Capers(Char Valley) has 16.

Saint Francis(1-2) at East Tennessee State(0-4)   1pm
The Red Flash are allowing 34 points per game. However Saint Francis leads the NEC in red zone offense at 9-9 with 6 touchdowns. Sophomore Marcus Bagley is 3rd in the NEC in rushing at 72 yards per game.

Austin Herink and Nick Sexton have split time at QB for the Bucs, who have been outscored 158-68 this season. JaJuan Stinson leads ETSU with 209 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns. Emory and Henry defeated East Tennessee State 27-24 last week.