District College Football Preview for Saturday, November 22nd

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, November 20, 2014 | 1:04 PM

The NEC winds up regular season action with the annual Steel Bowl, but the focus shifts to playoff action in both Division II and III with two tournament games and a pair of ECAC bowl games. 

Here are previews of ALL the games, including one on the Network: 

NCAA DIVISION III PLAYOFFS/FIRST ROUND
W & J(9-1) at Wittenberg(9-1)        Noon on WJPA 1450-AM and the MSA Sports Network
It’s the 24th trip and third straight to the NCAA playoffs for the Presidents.

The Presidents fell to Waynesburg 31-28 last week in overtime, ending dreams of an unbeaten season. W & J led the PAC in scoring at 45 points per game.

RB Ryan Ruffing of Thomas Jefferson has scored 28 touchdowns on the season to lead the conference, Ruffing ran for 151 yards and two scores last week in the loss to Waynesburg. Ruffing finished second in the PAC with 1,505 yards.

QB Pete Coughlin of Upper St Clair led the PAC in passing this season, he threw for 293 yards and two scores last week. Coughlin passed for 2,923 yards with 29 touchdowns and just four interceptions. Daniel Lis is the leading target with 65 catches, Max Creighan made 60 and Jesse Zubik 49.

Wittenberg is the NCAC champion for the third straight year. The Tigers defeated Allegheny 52-21 last week. WR Zach Culvahouse caught 7 passes for 116 yards last week and two touchdowns. Culvahouse has grabbed 71 passes this season, 11 for touchdowns. QB Zack Jenkins finished second in the NCAC in passing at 249 yards per game, he threw for 23 touchdowns to lead the conference.

NCAA DIVISION II SUPER REGION ONE FIRST ROUND:
Slippery Rock(9-2) at West Chester(10-1)   Noon
The Rock is the PSAC Champion and #5 seed in the tournament. SRU defeated previously unbeaten Bloomsburg 28-26 to win the State Title Game. QB Jared Buck of West Allegheny was named the game’s MVP, throwing for 256 yards and two scores, and running for another touchdown in the win. Buck was forced to leave the game in the third quarter with an injury. Rock defensive lineman Marcus Martin was named PSAC West Freshman of the Year. Martin leads the PSAC with 16 sacks. SRU placed four others on the PSAC West first team, RB Shamar Greene and OT Cory Tucker, along with LB Austin Miele and DB Admire Carter.

West Chester is the #4 seed, their only loss is to Bloomsburg. The Golden Rams defeated IUP 28-19 last week. RB Brandon Monk scored three touchdowns in the win, including a 80 yard punt return. Monk was named PSAC Eastern Division Offensive Athlete of the Week. QB Sean McCartney threw for two touchdowns in the win, he has 34 for the season, tying his career high. McCartney needs just two yards to hit three thousand for the season. McCartney was named PSAC East Offensive Player of the Year. West Chester had nine players named to the PSAC East First Team, including McCartney, Monk and tight end Tim Brown. Head coach Bill Zwaan picked up his 100th career win last week. 

ECAC DIVISION III SOUTHWEST BOWL
Buffalo State(7-3) at Waynesburg(8-2)   1pm
It’s the fourth straight ECAC bowl for the Yellow Jackets, Buffalo State is making their first trip to the post-season since 2000.

Buffalo State defeated Brockport in the I-90 Bowl 55-21. RB Rich Pete ran for three touchdowns in the win. Pete has ran for 1,010 yards this season, he has scored 42 career touchdowns. QB Kyle Hoppey threw for 324 yards and two touchdowns. The Bengals have forced 29 turnovers this season, good for 12th in D-III.

Waynesburg defeated W & J 31-28 in overtime last week. QB Carter Hill threw for four touchdowns, two each to Bernie Thompson and Andrew English.

DE Mike Lopuchovsky was named PAC Defensive Player of the Week, he made 16 tackles in the victory, he has 5 interceptions on the season. K Scott Lewis of Ellwood City made a 34 yard field goal in overtime to win it for the Yellow Jackets. LB Kyle Richey blocked a field goal by W & J in overtime.

ECAC DIVISION III SOUTHEAST BOWL
Bethany(6-4) at Stevenson(7-3)   2pm
It’s only the second post-season game in Bison history, the first since 1980 when Bethany fell in the first round of the D-III playoffs. The Bison fell 41-35 to Saint Vincent last week. Bethany racked up 335 yards of rushing, the most they have posted since 2010. Brandon Hill and New Castle’s Jalen Holmes both ran for over 100 yards in the loss. Western Beaver’s Eric Blinn led the PAC in receiving this year, Blinn was held to just 5 catches and 13 yards in last week’s loss.

Stevenson comes off a 35-14 win over Misericordia. Sophomore Troy Lee ran for 157 yards and Seth Jordan had 106 receiving yards. Lee is the team’s leading rusher.

Regular Season:
Central Connecticut State(2-9) at Saint Francis(5-5)   Noon
The Blue Devils are 0-5 in the NEC. Rob Holloman is second in the NEC in rushing at 1,061 yards, he has scored eight touchdowns. QB Nick Sangiacomo has thrown for 1,943 yards, second in the NEC, but has only 10 touchdowns with 11 interceptions.

The Red Flash are 3-2 in the NEC. Marcus Bagley was named NEC Rookie of the Week, he carried 11 times for 87 yards in last week’s win over Robert Morris. Saint Francis leads the NEC in scoring offense at 33 points per game. Khairi Dickson continues to lead the NEC in rushing at 1,650 yards, he has scored 11 touchdowns.

Robert Morris(1-9) at Duquesne(5-6)   Noon
The Steel Bowl has lost some of it’s luster this season, both teams are 1-4 in the NEC coming in.

Robert Morris has scored only 109 points all season. Duane Mitchell is the leading receiver, he has 47 catches with four touchdowns. RMU has played four different quarterbacks this season.

QB Dillon Buechel of Montour returned last week for the Dukes, but left the game with another injury. WR Chris King has 68 catches with 1,127 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns. Devin Rahming has 69 catches, Dave Thomas has 36.