District College Football Preview for Saturday, October 10th

By: Bruce Markey
Wednesday, October 7, 2015 | 8:24 PM

The second weekend of October hopefully brings better weather and lots of conference games. 

In the PSAC, Clarion looks to go to 6-0, while in the PAC, W&J tries to get on the winning track. The Presidents remain in the D-III top 25. 

Here are previews of ALL the games:

Gannon(3-2) at Mercyhurst(3-2)   Noon
Both teams are in dire need of a win, having dropped their first 2 conference games.

For Gannon, senior Jesstin Hamm was named PSAC West Division Special Teams Athlete of the Week for his 71 yard punt return for a score in a loss to SRU. Junior QB Liam Nadler saw his D-II record of 312 pass attempts without an interception end in the first quarter last week. RB Brock Jones is second in the PSAC with 105 rushing yards per game.

WR FJ Williams averages 109 yards per game, he has 6 td catches. RB Brandon Brown-Dukes became the all-time leading rusher for the Lakers with 100 yards on 12 carries. THe senior has ran for 3,427 yards and has 17 career 100 yard games. QB Brendan Boylan has thrown for 1,348 yards with 14 touchdowns and 6 inyerceptions.  

Clarion(5-0) at Edinboro(0-5)    2pm
The Golden Eagles remain the onlt unbeaten team in the PSAC. Clarion is 2-0 in the West, tied with Cal and IUP. QB Connor Simmons has thrown for 17 td’s this year, his 431 passing yards last week are the third best in Clarion history for a single game. Simmons is second in the PSAC at 329 yards per game. WR Matt Lehman(Burrell) leads the team with 36 catches and 10 touchdowns.

Clarion is second in the PSAC at 42 points per game. The Golden Eagles also lead in time of possession at 33:24 per game.

The Fighting Scots are 0-2 in the West. QB Jake Sisson has thrown for 1,041 yards with 8 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Darren Massey leads with 40 catches and 4 scores. Edinboro is 9-16 in the red zone with only 6 touchdowns. The Fighting Scots are minus 6 in turnover ratio.  

California(4-1) at Slippery Rock(4-1)   2pm
The Vulcans are 2-0 in the West. Cal comes off a comeback 38-34 win over Seton Hill. Freshman RB Jimmy Wheeler(West Miflin) posted his first 100 yard game, rushing for 105 on 13 carries. RB John Franklin is fourth in the PSAC at 101 rushing yards per game.  QB James Harris is averaging 279 passing yards per game, good for fifth in the PSAC.

The Vulcans are the most penalized team in the conference with 56 yellow flags on the year, an average of 106 yards per game.

The Rock is 1-1 in the West. West Mifflin’s Marcus Martin was named PSAC Defensive Athlete of the Week. The sophomore DE made 11 rackles, recovered a fumble and notched 2.5 sacks in a 41-14 win over Gannon. RB Shamar Green(West Mifflin) ran for 100 yards in the win. Green has ran for 100 plus yards in all 3 games he has played, the senior is now 11th on the SRU all=time rushing list.

The Rock leads the PSAC at 45 points per game, they are second in defense at 15 points per game.

IUP(3-1) at Seton Hill(2-3)   3pm
IUP us 2-0 in the West. Sophomore running back Chris Temple set a new IUP mark with 6 touchdowns in last week’s win over Edinboro. That ties former Shippenburg rusher and long-time Green Bay Packer John Kuhn for the top spot. Temple was named PSAC West Divison Offensive Athlete of the Week, he has ran for 440 rushing yards this season.  Sophomore RB Luigi Lista-Brinza(Pittsburgh Central Catholic) is fifth in the PSAC at 93 rushing yards per game.

The Griffins are 1-1 in the West. QB Christian Strong tied a school record with 44 completions in last week’s loss at Cal. Strong is third in the conference with 322 passing yards per game.  WR Jarvis McClam also tied a single game record with 15 catches.

Geneva(2-2) at Thomas More(5-0)   1pm
The Golden Tornadoes are 1-1 in the PA, coming off the bye week. Geneva is 19th in the PAC in penalties at 82 yards per game. RB Dylan Jones(Laurel) is 9th in the PAC in rushing, the senior has scored a touchdown.

The Saints are 3-0 and tied with Case Western for lead in the PAC. Thomas More moved up to #11 in both the AFCA and DIII.com yop 25 polls after last week’s win over W & J.

The Thomas More offense averages 55 points pergame. Senior QB Jensen Gebhardt has thrown 1,149 yards and 13 touchdowns. Senior WR Goose Cohorn has 24 catches, 6 for scoresSophomore RB CT Tarrent has ran for 6 scores.Thomas More is 29-30 in the red zone, with 25 td’s.

Thomas More leads the series 5-3 and has won 2 straight.

Waynesburg(2-3) at Case Western Reserve(3-1)   1:30pm
The Yellow Jackets are 1-2 in the PAC. RB Jerry Lawman is 5th in the PAC, averaging 102 yards rushing per game. The senior has scored 7 touchdowns.

The Spartans are 3-0. Case Western won 59-20 at Bethany last week. S Scott Suren was named PAC Defensive Player of the Week. The senior made 7 tackles, intercepted a pass and had a sack in  the win. 

QB Rob Cuda leads the PAC in passing touchdowns with 13 and total offense. Cody Calhoun leads the PAC in kickoff returns at 28.2 yards. The Spartans are plus 6 in turnover ratio this season.

Saturday will be only the second meeting between the teams, Waynesburg won last year’s contest.

Grove City(0-4) at W & J(3-1)   2pm
The Wolverines are 0-2 in conference play. Matt Pennypacker made his first career start at QB in a loss to Waynesburg and threw for 171 yards. Grove City is minus 11 in the turnover battle, last in the PAC.

After last week’s loss to Thomas More, the Presidents fell to #19 in the D-III,com poll and #20 in the AFCA top 25. QB Pete Coughlin(Upper Saint Clair) tied the Presidents single game record with 55 passing attempts, he was picked off 4 times. WR Daniel Lis(Char Houston) tied a career high with 11 catches, Jesse Zubik(Avonworth) had 7 catches for 115 yards. O’Shea Anderson(Rochester) set a career high with 11 tackles. W&J is 19-21 in the red zone with 16 td’s.

W&J leads the series and has won 3 stratght. The Wolverines have not won at Cameron Stadium since 1999.

Westminster(2-3) at Thiel(1-4)   3pm
The Titans are 2-1 in the PAC. Sophomore RB Kimu Kim leads the Titans with 6 touchdowns. Junior LB Mac Quinn leads the PAC at 11.2 tackles per game and is tied with 3 fumbles forced. .

The Tomcats are 0-3 in conference. Senior DE Reily Shane leads the PAC in tackles for loss and sacks. Freshman Paul Jones is second in the conference in kick return average. The Tomcats are last in scoring offense and defense at 17 and 47 points. Despite the 1-4 record, the Tomcats lead the PAC in time of possession at over 35 minutes per game.  But Thiel is 9-17 in the red zone with only 6 touchdowns.

Westminster leads the series 41-26-7 and won last year’s game.

Bethany(2-3) at Carnegie Mellon(1-3)   6pm
Both teams are 1-2 in the PAC.

Senior WR Eric Blinn(Western Beaver) continues to lead the conference in receiving. He is also the PAC all-time leader in catches and receiving yards. RB Jalen Holmes(New Castle) is 7th in the PAC at 93 yards per game. Naddim Raddar led the Bison with 14 tackles last week in the loss to Case Western.

CMU is the least penalized team in the PAC at 34 yards per game. RB Sam Benger leads the PAC with 784 rushing yards, that’s 196 per game. Benger has ran for 6 scores.

Carnegie Mellon leads the series 33-7, but Bethany took last year’s game.

Sacred Heart(2-2) at Robert Morris(2-3)   Noon
The Pioneers are playing their first NEC game of the year. The preseason pick for the NEC title has lost 3 straight. Sacred Heart leads the NEC in scoring at 33 points per game, but the Pioneers are minus 3 in turnovers. Sacred Heart is 13-17 in the red zone with 12 td’s. QB RJ Noel leads the Pioneers offense. 

The Colonials are 1-0 in NEC play after a 9-6 win over Wagner. Mike Stojkovic was named NEC Defensive Player of the Week. The linebacker led RMU with 11 tsckles including one for loss in the win. The defense held Wagner to 170 total yards last week, as neither team scored a touchdown. Kicker Connor Shennan was named Special Teams Player of the Week, his third field goal came with 24 seconds left and gave RMU the win.

RMU is plus 4 in turnovers this year. Both teams are among the leaders in penalties committed at 82 yards per game.

Alderson Broaddus at Duquesne(3-2)   1pm
The Dukes won 27-10 over Central Connecticut State last week. Klartel Claridy was named NEC Offensive Player of the Week. The senior carried 25 times for 123 yards and a pair of scores in the win.

Duquesne is leading the NEC in scoring defense at 13 points per game. The Dukes are plus 6 in the turnover battle this year. Duquesne is also effective in the red zone at 16-18 with 11 touchdowns.

QB Dillon Buechel(Montour) is second in the conference at 212 passing yards per game. The sophomore has thrown for 1,064 yards with 6 td’s and 3 interceptions.

Alderson Broaddus is 5-0, the D-II school comes off a 27-20 win over Fort Valley State, they scored 20 points in the fourth quarter. RB Brandon Jones leads the Battlers with 540 rushing yards, he has 3 touchdowns. QB Wilson Vaughn has thrown 4 touchdowns but has been picked off 6 times. Cooper Schroeder leads with 17 catches. Michael Jones has intercepted 4 passes.