District College Football Preview for Saturday, October 19th

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, October 17, 2013 | 1:34 PM

Fall is now in the air and conference battles heat up this week on the local college football scene. The Steel City Showdown takes place Saturday night in the NEC. In the PSAC, Slippery Rock moves into the top 25 and looks to stay close to the top spot.

In the PAC, three teams are tied for first, with two more a half game back, making for some exciting matchups in Week 7.

Here are previews of ALL the games, including one taking place on Thursday night and three that can be heard right here on the Network:

Gannon (4-2)  vs.  Mercyhurst (3-3)   Thursday   7pm at Erie’s Veterans Stadium
The Golden Knights sit on top of the PSAC West for the first time since joining the conference at 3-0, one game ahead of IUP, Slippery Rock and Cal. The Golden Knights bested Edinboro 55-14 for the first time ever. Jansen Jones ran for a school record four touchdowns in the win, Jones is averaging 155 yards rushing per game, good for eighth in D-II. QB Liam Nadler was 16 of 28 for 350 yards passing, Nadler is fifth in the PSAC at 277 yards per game, he has 11 td tosses.

Mercyhurst is 1-2 in the PSAC West after beating Gannon 50-19 last week. Backup QB Alec Swartz made his first start and threw for 168 yards and three scores. RB Brandon Brown-Dukes ran for 127 yards on just 13 carries, he is fourth in the PSAC at 101 yards per game. The sophomore has gone over 100 yards ten times in his career. RB Drew Robinson scored a td for the second straight week.

The Lakers lead the series 10-5-1.

Clarion (3-3) at Slippery Rock (5-1)  2pm on WLER 97.7-FM and msasports.net
It’s the battle for the Milk Jug. The Rock has won seven straight against the Golden Eagles and holds a 48-23-3 series advantage.

The Golden Eagles are 1-2 in the PSAC West and have dropped three straight games, including a 35-7 loss to Cal last week.

QB Ben Fiscus is out for the season, but sophomore Darrelle Carson has done a good job in a tough situation. Carson has ran for four touchdowns in the last two games, he had the only score vs. the Vulcans.

RB Bobby Thomas has 955 career yards rushing, the junior hopes to get those 45 yards this week. Thomas has 437 rushing yards in 2013, he has struggled to find the end zone, scoring only twice.

WR Mark Nicholas has 15 catches this season for Clarion, three for scores. 

DL Julian Howsare leads the Golden Eagles with 41 tackles, the All-American has ten tackles for loss this year.

The Rock is now 2-1 in the PSAC West and in a three way tie for second, after knocking off then number 7 IUP 42-16 at home. That win pushed the Rock into the D-IIfootball.com Top 25 at #24 this week.

QB Nigel Barksdale was named PSAC Western Division Offensive Athlete of the Week for the third time this season and back to back weeks. Barksdale threw for 425 yards and two scores, ran for a score and also caught a pass in the win. The senior is a nominee for the Harlan Hill trophy, given to the best D-II player. He has thrown for more than 400 yards in three games this season. Barksdale is fourth in D-II with 20 td passes.

WR John Schademan had six catches for 170 yards and two scores. Schademan has had more than 100 yards receiving in five of six games this season. The senior is third in D-II with 138 yards receiving per game.

The Rock rushing attack posted a good day against a top ranked IUP defense. Shamar Greene ran for 101 yards on 17 totes, Teddy Blakeman added 55 yards and two scores.

The entire Rock Defense was honored by the PSAC as the West Division Defensive Athletes of the Week for shutting down an IUP rushing attack that was averaging 203 yards per game, holding the Crimson Hawks to just 59 yards running. SRU’s defense is ninth in the D-II stats this week in rushing defense.

DB Austin Miele leads the Rock with 42 tackles, including 26 solo stops.

SRU also has the best punter in D-II, James McCombie is averaging 46 yards per kick.

Saint Vincent (0-5) at Geneva (3-2)   4pm on WBVP 1230-AM and msasports.net
The Bearcats have dropped 16 straight games, falling 30-3 to previously winless Thiel last week.

Saint Vincent has scored only 37 points this season, a conference low.

The Bearcats have played four quarterbacks this season, the quartet has accounted for just 766 yards and three touchdowns. Matt Deakins, Andy Borgen and Greg Hendershot will likely all see playing time this week.

Chace Ginyard is the leading receiving with 17 catches. Matt Duffey has 15 receptions, two for scores.

Ryan Crawford leads the Bearcats with 176 yards rushing, he averages over four yards per carry.

Safety Remy LaRue-Holloman tied the Saint Vincent single game record with 17 tackles. 

Geneva had a bye last week to recover from a 61-0 loss at Thomas More.

The GT’s are 2-1 in the PAC, a half game out of first place. Geneva has dropped two straight, falling to CMU three weeks ago.

Rocco Colavecchia has scored 10 rushing touchdowns this season, that’s good for seventh best overall in D-III, the senior has 11 scores on the year. He is tenth in receiving with 25 catches.

QB Zach Hayward has thrown for an average of 273 yards per game this season. His main target has been Lemuel Fuller with 42 catches for 449 yards and four scores.

The Geneva offense has a Lawrence County feel to it as Colavecchia, from Shenango, is at a variety of positions, Laurel’s Dylan Jones is the starting running back and Bobby Hites on the offensive line.

Jones is fourth in the conference with 338 yards rushing, the sophomore has ran for three scores.

Geneva is second in the conference at 36 points per game but the defense has allowed 33 points per game this season.

DB Tim Martin leads the conference with four interceptions, he is fourth in D-III.

Geneva leads the series 12-8-1 and has won the last 8 matchups.

W & J (4-2) at Westminster (2-3)   7pm on WJPA 1450-AM and msasports.net
The Presidents are tied for first place in the PAC with Waynesburg and Thomas More, all are 3-1 in conference play.

RB Dion Wiegand had 239 yards and three touchdowns in the win. His 92 yard kickoff return in the third quarter answered a Thomas More score and earned the senior the PAC Special Teams Player of the Week award. It was the first kickoff return for a score for the Presidents since 2005. Wiegand averages 125 yards rushing per game, good for second in the conference, he leads with 16 touchdowns.

WR Alex Baroffio had eight catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns in the win. He is third in the conference at 103 yards receiving per game, he has scored seven touchdowns.

Despite missing time this season, QB Matt Bliss has thrown for 1,190 yards, good for fifth in the PAC. Bliss has seven touchdown passes and just two picks.

The Titans are 1-2 in the PAC.

The Titans defeated Carnegie Mellon 27-24 last week. Tyler Banks scored with 2:57 remaining on a 1 yard run to give Westminster the lead for good.

QB Dak Britt threw for two touchdowns in last week’s win. Britt has thrown for 1,263 yards, good for fourth in the PAC, he has 6 touchdown passes but 5 interceptions.

WR Colin Wallace had six catches last week. The senior only has 36 catches but has made them count, averaging 111 yards per game, good for the second spot in the conference.

Banks ran for 87 yards last week. He is fifth in the conference with 324 yards.

Lineman Sean Christofferson was named PAC Defensive Player of the Week with 9 tackles last week and 2.5 sacks in the win over CMU. The senior has 5.5 sacks for the season, good for second in the PAC.

W & J leads the series 32-2 and has won the last 12 straight.
 

Duquesne (3-2) at Robert Morris (2-3)   6pm
It’s the Steel City Showdown at Joe Walton Stadium and the home team has a huge advantage, winning 11 of the 14 games played.

The Dukes are 1-0 in the NEC, coming off a 34-7 win over Wagner last week.

Redshirt freshman Dillon Buechel leads the NEC with 1,348 passing yards. Buechel was 25 of 37 for 189 yards and a score last week. The former Montour star averages 269 yards per game, good for 15th among FCS quarterbacks. Gianni Carter leads the NEC averaging 92 receiving yards per game. Carter has 28 catches, Chris King 24 and Dave Thomas 20, all three are in the NEC top ten.

The Dukes have struggled to run the ball this season. Ryan Ho is the leading rusher with just 230 yards, he averages just 2.9 yards per carry.

Devin Rahming was named NEC Special Teams Player of the Week for his role in last week’s win. Rahming returned a punt 62 yards for a score, becoming the first Duquesne player to accomplish that since 1997.

RMU is the last NEC team to play a conference game. The Colonials had the bye last week. RMU has won 14 times coming off a bye week.

QB Paul Jones is second in the NEC with 197 yards passing per game. Jones has nine touchdowns and six interceptions. Duane Mitchell has 21 catches, Dontae Jeter 18 to lead the Colonials.

Deonate Howard leads RMU with 346 yards rushing, averaging 69 yards per game, that is good for sixth in the NEC.

Carnegie Mellon (3-3) at Mercer (5-1)   1pm
The Tartans travel to Georgia to take on the Bears this week. CMU lost last week to Westminster 27-24 in New Wilmington.

Troy Witt leads the Tartans in rushing at 325 yards, he averages five yards per carry. QB Rob Kalkstein has struggled this season, throwing for 1,013 yards with eight touchdowns, but has tossed six interceptions. Tim Kitka is the leading receiver with 18 catches, Tim Swanson has 15.

The Bears are fielding a football team for the first time since 1941. Mercer is playing in the non-scholarship Pioneer League this year before moving into the Southern Conference in 2014.

Mercer is averaging 37 points per game, the Bears come off a 35-21 win over Valparaiso last week. QB John Russ threw for 192 yards and two scores, he also ran for 100 yards and two more touchdowns.

Russ has thrown for 1,042 yards and 11 touchdowns this season, he also has ran for five touchdowns. Payton Usher has ran for over 600 yards this season.

Edinboro (3-3) at IUP (5-1)      1pm
The Fighting Scots are 1-2 in the PSAC-West after falling to Gannon for the first time ever last week. QB Cody Harris missed another game due to injury, freshman Jon Girvin started and struggled. Edinboro has started three different quarterbacks this season.

IUP is now 2-1 in the division after falling at SRU last week. The Crimson Hawks had won 11 straight regular season games. QB Mike Box threw for 278 yards and a td in the loss. WR Terrill Barnes had nine catches for 160 yards, Drew Carswell had seven catches for 103 yards.

The Crimson Hawks fell from 7th to 22nd in the AFCA D-II poll and 25th in the D-IIfootball.com poll.

California (4-2) at Seton Hill (0-6)   3pm
The Vulcans have struggled at time this season but are in a three way tie for second place in the West Division. Cal racked up 474 yards of offense in a 35-7 win over Clarion and scored 21 points in the final frame. WR Mike Williams went over 100 yards for the seventh time in his career with 118 yards on seven catches and a score in the win. Williams leads the Vulcans with 30 catches for 439 yards and four scores. DB Dewey McDonald has 49 tackles to lead the Cal defense, he has picked off two passes.

The Griffins are still looking for their first PSAC win, Seton Hill has lost 19 straight games. Seton Hill went to their third QB this season in Rafal Garcarz, he was 19 of 30 for 177 yards and two scores. WR Eric Kerns caught 16 passes for 177 yards.

The teams have met just once, Cal defeated Seton Hill 48-7 in the first round of the 2008 D-II playoffs.

Bethany (2-3) at Waynesburg (5-1)  1:30pm
The Bison are 2-1 in the PAC and sit a half game out of first place. Bethany had the bye last week, they have won two straight games.

Bethany ended a 30 game losing streak by defeating W & J two weeks ago. QB Matt Grmard ranks seventh in D-III with 1,682 yards. WR Eric Blinn is second in D-III with 51 catches and fourth at 685 yards.

Waynesburg is 3-1 in the PAC, in a three way tie for first place. QB Carter Hill threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-0 victory over Grove City. Hill was named the PAC Offensive Player of the Week, he has posted over 300 yards passing in three straight games and is second in D-III in passing yards with 1,816 and fourth with 18 td tosses. DE Josh Tolliver returned a fumble 75 yards for a td in the win.

The shutout last week for the Yellow Jackets was the first posted since 2004.

Waynesburg leads the series 29-16-7, the Yellow Jackets have won the last two meetings. Bethany has not won at Waynesburg since 1996.

Thomas More (4-1) at Thiel (1-5)   1:30pm
The Saints are 3-1 in the PAC after falling to W & J 45-21 last week. Domonique Hayden ran for 205 yards and two scores, he also caught a td pass from Jensen Gebhardt. Hayden leads the conference at 189 yards per game, he has ran for nine scores. 

The Tomcats are 1-3 in conference play and picked up their first win last week over Saint Vincent. RB Josh Potter ran for a career high 138 yards in the win. Potter is third in the PAC with 488 yards.  QB Ryan Radke made his first start last week, throwing for 50 yards and a score, he also ran for a score. K Jon Fennick has made four field goals this season.

Thomas More leads the series 7-3 and has won six straight.