District College Football Preview for Saturday, October 26th

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, October 23, 2013 | 10:02 PM

In the final week of October, such huge conference games highlight this week's schedule.

In the PSAC West, The Rock tries to maintain it's share of the top spot while Cal and Gannon square off to knock the loser out of the conference race.

W & J looks to stay on top of the PAC while Geneva sits a half game back.

Here are recaps of ALL the games, including three that can be heard on the Network:

Slippery Rock (6-1) at Edinboro (4-3)    Noon on WLER 97.7-FM and msasports.net
The Rock is headed back to the “Big House” to play. The Rock announced that they will play Mercyhurst on October 18, 2014 at Michigan Stadium. It’s the third time the Rock will play there.

SRU is tied for the lead in the West Division at 3-1 with Cal and Gannon and has won four straight games, coming off a 34-13 win over Clarion. The Rock also moved up two spots in the D-IIfootball.com poll to #22 this week.

The Rock running game came to play last week. Shamar Greene ran for 131 yards on 15 carries and a score. Teddy Blakeman added two rushing touchdowns. Slippery Rock leads the PSAC and is fourth in D-II at 572 yards of offense per game.

QB Nigel Barksdale threw for a season low 276 yards and two scores. He needs one touchdown and 105 yards passing to become the single season leader in both categories. Barksdale averages 365 yards passing and has thrown 20 touchdowns. Both numbers lead the PSAC and are fourth in D-II.

WR John Schademan was “held” to just four catches and 93 yards last week. It is the second game this season that Schademan did not have 100 yards receiving. Schademan has 11 td catches this year and needs 79 yards to become the fifth SRU receiver to go one thousand for the season. The senior leads the PSAC at 138 yards receiving per game.

NG Tony Papley made a career high 14 tackles last week. Quindell Dean and Gary Allen each made 12 stops from their linebacker positions. DB Austin Miele leads the Rock with 42 tackles.

Edinboro is 2-2 in the West and comes off a 36-30 win over then #22 IUP. That win over a ranked opponent was the first since 2011.

Redshirt freshman QB Jon Girvin started in place of Cody Harris and threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns in the win. It looks like it will be Girvin for the rest of the season, Harris has been ruled out for the remainder of the season.

WR Darren Massey had six catches for 117 yards with two scores. 

DB Devin Ghafoor of Perry Traditional Academy was named PSAC Defensive Athlete of the Week. Ghafoor blocked a punt which was returned for a touchdown and intercepted two passes in the win. Ghafoor has 47 tackles this season and four picks. Delano Faber leads with 55 tackles and 3 interceptions.

Slippery Rock leads the series 52-26-7 and has won the last three games.

W & J (5-2) at Saint Vincent (0-6)   1pm on WJPA 1450-AM and msasports.net
The Presidents are 4-1 in the PAC and tied with Thomas More for the conference lead. W & J defeated Westminster 38-6 last week.

QB Matt Bliss threw four touchdown passes last week. Bliss has 39 td tosses for his career. The senior averages 242 yards passing per game, fifth in the conference, he has 11 td’s and just 2 picks.

RB Dion Wiegand leads D-III with 17 touchdowns, he is second in the PAC averaging 129 yards per game. The senior needs 92 yards to reach one thousand for the season.

WR Alex Baroffio has 61 catches for 755 yards, third in the PAC, he has 8 td catches.

The Presidents are averaging 36 points per game and are plus 6 in turnover ratio.

The Bearcats have dropped 17 straight games, falling to Geneva 40-30 last week. Saint Vincent averages only 11 points per game.

Saint Vincent finally settled on a quarterback, Andy Borgen threw for 289 yards and three touchdowns, both career highs in the loss.

W & J leads the series 5-1.

Geneva (4-2) at Waynesburg (5-2)   1:30pm on WBVP 1230-AM and msasports.net
This game features the second and fourth best scoring offenses in the PAC, Geneva is averaging 36 points per game, Waynesburg 32.

The Golden Tornadoes are 3-1 in the PAC and one half game back of first place, coming off a 40-30 win over Saint Vincent last week.

QB Zack Hayward threw for 402 yards and two scores, he ran for another. Hayward is second in the conference passing stats at 295 yards per game. He has 10 touchdowns and only 3 interceptions.

RB Dylan Jones is fourth in the PAC in rushing at 67 yards per game.

WR Lemuel Fuller has 54 catches for 642 yards, fourth in the PAC.

Senior Montias Jackson was named PAC Defensive Player of the Week with three sacks last week. Jackson is second in the PAC with seven sacks.

The Yellow Jackets are now 3-2 in the conference, falling 27-20 to Bethany last week.

RB Jerry Lawman ran for 109 yards on 25 carries, the first Waynesburg rusher to go over 100 yards this season. The sophomore has 304 yards and two touchdowns for the season, good for tenth place in the rushing stats for the PAC.

QB Carter Hill has thrown for 2,041 yards this season, he is third in the PAC at 291 yards per game with 19 touchdowns and just 1 interception.

K Alex Henry hit two more field goals in the loss, he has seven for the season.

DE Josh Tolliver racked up nine tackles last week, a sack, a forced fumble and an interception.

The Yellow Jackets are plus nine in turnover ratio.

Waynesburg leads the series 42-30-4, including wins in the last three meetings.

IUP (5-2) at Mercyhurst (4-3)   Noon
Both teams are 2-2 in the PSAC West.

The Crimson Hawks have dropped two straight games and fell out of the top 25 in both the AFCA and D-IIfootball.com polls. RB De’Antwan Williams ran for 129 yards and two scores in a 36-30 loss to Edinboro. Williams had his ninth career 100 yard performance for the Crimson Hawks in the last two seasons. WR Terrill Barnes has 41 catches for 674 yards, he is fourth in the PSAC in receiving. LB Carl Fleming leads IUP with 63 tackles, the Crimson Hawks leads the PSAC in scoring defense at 15 points per game and with 13 interceptions.

The Lakers have won four straight games, including a victory over Gannon 51-21 last week. RB Brandon Brown-Dukes ran for a career high 221 yards on 20 carries and two scores. Brown-Dukes was named PSAC Offensive Athlete of the Week for his performance, he also became the fourth player in school history to go over two thousand yards rushing. The sophomore is also 20th in D-II at 118 yards per game rushing.

The offensive performance last week for Mercyhurst was record setting, with 628 yards of total offense, including 407 rushing yards. WR JaQuan Williams has 22 catches for 347 yards and 3 scores.

IUP leads the series 3-2.

Gannon (4-3) at California (5-2)   Noon
Both teams are 3-1 in the West and tied for the lead with SRU, the loser will likely fall out of the division race. Should Gannon win, they would hold victories over both Cal and Slippery Rock and control their own fate for the State Title Game.

Gannon fell 51-21 last Thursday against Mercyhurst.  WR Jesstin Hamm had four catches for 171 yards. RB Jansen Jones is 8th in D-II with 147 yards rushing per game, he has 10 touchdowns. QB Liam Nadler has thrown 14 touch$down passes.

The Golden Knight defense allowed touchdowns on the first four Lakers possessions. Gannon is last in the PSAC in total defense.

Sophomore James Harris made his third career start in a 33-7 win over Seton Hill, he threw for 221 yards and two touchdownsWR Mike Williams has 34 catches for 478 yards and 4 touchdowns. . The Cal defense shut down the Griffins, allowing just 40 yards passing. DB Dewey McDonald leads the team with 55 tackles.

Cal might be in the best position to claim the West Division title, with games against Gannon and SRU the next two weeks.

Cal has won all five meetings with Gannon and has scored at least 33 points in those games.

Seton Hill (0-7) at Clarion (3-4)   1pm
The Griffins are winless since joining the PSAC this year, in fact Seton Hill has lost 20 straight games.

Seton Hill led 7-6 over California last week, before giving up 27 unanswered points. Denzell Jackson scored the only touchdown for the Griffins, he ran 17 times for 55 yards. Jarvis McClam ran for 69 yards on 15 totes.

Clarion started the season at 3-0 but the Golden Eagles have dropped four straight games. Clarion also continues with Darrelle Carson as the starting quarterback with Ben Fiscus out for the season.

The Golden Eagles fell 34-13 to SRU last week. RB Bobby Thomas went over the one thousand yard mark for his career, becoming the 27th player in Golden Eagles history to accomplish that. All-American DE Julian Howsare had a great game last week with two interceptions. Howsare leads the team with 45 tackles and five sacks.

It’s the first meeting between the teams.

Westminster (2-4) at Bethany (3-3)    1pm
The Titans are 1-3 in the PAC, falling 38-6 to W & J last week. Senior wideout Colin Wallace had a career day with 11 catches for 175 yards and a score, he averages 121 receiving yards per game, good for second in the PAC. QB Dak Britt is fourth in the PAC in passing at 255 yards per contest.

The Bison are 3-1 in conference, a half game back of first place. Bethany has won 3 straight games for the first time since 2010. The Bison defeated Waynesburg 27-20 last week. Dion Williams blocked a field goal and the Bison went on a 98 yard drive to win the game. Williams was named PAC Special Teams Player of the Week. Eric Blinn caught the game winner from Matt Grimard with 20 seconds left.

Grimard has posted over 400 yards total offense three times this season. Blinn had 10 or more catches for the fourth game in 2013, the former Western Beaver star leads D-III with 838 yards on 62 receptions.

Westminster leads the series 36-11-2.
 

Grove City (3-3) at Thomas More (5-1)   1:30pm
The Wolverines are 1-3 in the PAC. Grove City comes off the bye week and starts off with three of the next four on the road with back to back at the Saints and a trip to Beaver Falls next week to face Geneva.

Grove City has converted on a 47 percent clip on third down, best in the league, the Wolverines have committed a league low 28 penalties.

The Saints are 4-1 in the PAC and tied with W & J for first place after a 42-21 victory in Greenville against the Tomcats. Domonique Hayden ran for 252 yards on 27 carries with four touchdowns, he was named PAC Offensive Player of the Week. The junior leads D-III with 1,199 yards this season.  Hayden has 45 career touchdowns, he is tied for the all time lead in Thomas More history.

Thomas More leads the series 7-1, with victories in the last seven meetings.

Sacred Heart (7-1) at Saint Francis (2-4)   Noon
The Pioneers are 2-1 in the NEC. Keshaudas Spence ran for 180 yards and a score in a 56-28 win over Bryant last week. The junior was named NEC Offensive Player of the Week. Spence is second in the NEC at 997 yards.  QB R J Noel was named NEC Rookie of the Week, he threw for 4 scores and ran for another in the win, the redshirt freshman has thrown for 1,494 yards with 18 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Tyler Dube has 37 catches for 603 yards and 8 scores.

Troy Moore had 6 tackles for loss in the win, he took the NEC Defensive Player of the Week honors. The Pioneer defense held Bryant to just 4 rushing yards.

The Red Flash are 0-1 in conference play. Kyle Harbridge leads the NEC with 1,026 yards rushing, he has 11 touchdowns. QB Max Ward has only 37 completions, but has thrown for 548 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Robert Morris (2-4) at Wagner (2-5)  Noon
The Colonials are 0-1 in the NEC, falling to Duquesne 21-20. Deontae Howard leads RMU at 63 yards rushing per game, good for 6th in the conference. QB Paul Jones has thrown for 1,087 yards, fourth in the conference. Jones has 9 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. Duane Mitchell leads the team with 27 catches for 368 yards with 2 cores.

The Seahawks are 1-2 in conference play, coming off the bye last week.

Duquesne (4-2) at Bryant (3-4)   1pm
The Dukes are 2-0 in the NEC after the one point win in Moon Township last week.

QB Dillon Buechel leads the NEC with 1,550 passing yards, he has 9 touchdowns and 7 picks. Gianni Carter has 32 catches for 487 yards with 5 touchdowns.

P Aaron Fleck was named NEC Special Teams Player of the Week, he dropped 3 of his 6 punts inside the RMU 20.

Bryant is 1-1 in NEC play, falling to Sacred Heart last week. Jose Depadua was named NEC Special Teams Player of the Week, he set a Bryant record with a 100 yard kickoff return for a score.

Mike Westerhaus has 1,295 yards passing this season, with 9 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Jordan Harris has 41 catches for 699 yards, both lead the NEC.