District College Football Preview for Saturday, September 13th

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, September 11, 2014 | 12:57 PM

Week 2 of the district college football scene has some good games and some strange happenings this weekend and it’s not even close to Halloween. 

The PSAC begins it’s first week of crossover play with East meeting West but after a May vote of the PSAC board, these games all count in the conference standings, so it is possible that a game in September could determine the representatives in the State Title Game in November. 

In the PAC, there are four meetings between PAC members this weekend, but due to the conference now having 14 teams and playing an unbalanced schedule, these games do not count towards the conference title. 

Confused……….so am I, but anyways here are the previes of ALL the games, including two that can be heard right here on the Network: 

W & J (1-0) at Westminster (0-1)   7pm on WJPA 1450-AM and the MSA Sports Network
W & J defeated Wooster 51-17, the Presidents racked up 522 yards of offense to claim the 698th win in the program’s history.

The Presidents trailed by 10 twice at 10-0 and 17-7 but held Wooster scoreless the remainder of the game.

RB Ryan Ruffing was named the PAC Offensive Player of the Week. The junior from Thomas Jefferson ran 37 times for 150 yards and scored 5 touchdowns.

QB Pete Coughlin was 18-25 for 180 yards and a score, he also ran 14 times for 106 yards.

John Turner had 11 tackles and Jared Pratt 10 to lead the defense.

Westminster led 24-3 at the half but lost at home to Hiram 30-27.

Freshman Jametrius Bentley ran 22 times for 114 yards and a touchdown.

QB Paul Columbo went 15-27 for 206 yards and a td pass.

W & J has dominated the series, leading 33-2 and has won the last 13 straight. This is not a PAC conference game.

Grove City (0-1) at Geneva (0-1)   7pm on WBVP 1230-AM/WMBA 1460-AM and the MSA Sports Network
Grove City fell to Juniata 21-13 last week. The Wolverines forced 4 turnovers in the loss.

QB Josh Peach made his first start last week, running for 88 yards and a score.

Zach Rader threw his 3rd career touchdown pass on the halfback option. Rader is 3-3 throwing the football.

Geneva fell at Frostburg State 24-19 last week.

Freshman Nate Cannon was named PAC Special Teams Player of the Week. Cannon returned a punt 95 yards for a touchdowns in the third quarter. On defense, Cannon picked off his first pass and made 3 tackles.

QB Aaron Channing staked his claim to the position, leading the GT’s on a couple of drives in the fourth. Channing hit RB Dylan Jones for a touchdown. Jones also added a td run.

Geneva leads the series 44-36-7.

Dayton (1-0) at Duquesne (0-2)   Noon
The Flyers defeated Georgetown 23-14 last week. Connor Kacsor ran for a school record 301 yards on 34 carries and a score in the win. QB Will Bardo was 19-33 for 176 yards passing.

The Dukes fell at YSU 34-23 last week. WR Chris King leads the FCS with 360 receiving yards, 49 more than he had all of last season. King had 10 catches for 161 yards and a score in the loss to the #21 Penguins. QB Dillon Buechel leads the NEC in passing at 334 yards per game. The sophomore from Montour has tossed 5 touchdowns with only 1 interception.

Saint Francis (1-1) at James Madison (1-1)  4pm
The Red Flash look to continue the winning ways after a 27-13 victory over PSAC member Clarion last week. RB Khairi Dickson lead the FCS with 392 yards rushing.

James Madison drove 98 yards to take the lead in the fourth quarter and then blocked a chip-shot field goal attempt to seal the win. Freshman John Miller ran for 106 yards, 60 of which came on the drive. Jauan Latney scored the go-ahead td. Jimmy Moreland blocked the 27 yard kick to win the game for the Dukes.

Robert Morris (0-2) at Lafayette (0-1)  6pm
RMU fell to North Dakota 16-13 last week but found a starting running back in Rameses Owens. The freshman carried 39 times for 199 yards and a score in the loss. Owens was named NEC Offensive Player and Rookie of the Week. Robert Morris was able to hold the ball for 35 of the 60 minutes but could not get points on the board, the Colonials are last in the NEC at 11.5 points per game.

The Leopards, the 2013 Patriot League champs, fell 27-13 to Sacred Heart last week. QB Drew Reed was just 19-39 for 131 yards and threw 3 interceptions.

Edinboro (0-1) at Shippensburg (1-0)   Noon
The Fighting Scots fell on the road last Thursday to #16 Carson-Newman 38-24. QB Cody Harris returned and threw for 177 yards and 3 touchdowns, two to TE Nick Helmick.

Shippensburg defeated Seton Hill 55-30 last Thursday. The Red Raiders ran 103 plays and racked up 713 yards of offense. QB Chris Lawshe was 23-34 for 310 yards and 2 scores, he also ran for a pair of touchdowns. WR Sheldon Mayer had 9 catches for 194 yards.

The series is tied at 24-24-1, but the teams have not met since 2009.

Mercyhurst (0-1) at West Chester (1-0)   Noon
The Lakers fell 27-21 at Bentley last week. RB Brandon Brown-Dukes was held to 58 yards and a score. That was good enough for the junior to move into second place on the all-time rushing list. The Lakers were held to just 150 yards of offense.

West Chester is ranked 9th this week in the AFCA Top 25. West Chester defeated New Haven 35-30 last week. DB Al-Hajj Shabazz was named PSAC Eastern Division Co-Defensive Athlete of the Week. The senior intercepted a pass, blocked a punt and recovered a second blocked punt for a score in the win. QB Sean McCartney threw for 4 touchdowns in last week’s win.

West Chester won the only meeting between the team back in 2009.

Gannon (1-0) at Cheyney (0-1)    1:05pm
The Golden Knights jumped out to a 23-0 lead and never looked back in a win over Southern Connecticut State. Brock Jones carried 24 times for 150 yards in his first NCAA start.

Cheyney lost to Lincoln 30-12 last week. The Wolves have lost 22 straight games. RB Justin Watkins ran for 89 yards on 11 carries.

Gannon has won both meetings against the Wolves.

IUP (1-0) at Kutztown (0-1)   1:05pm
The Crimson Hawks remain at #20 this week in the AFCA D-II Top 25. IUP defeated St. Augustine’s 41-19 last week. Kevin Clarke was named PSAC Western Division Co-Defensive Athlete of the Week, making 13 tackles in his first NCAA start. The sophomore from West Mifflin also forced two fumbles and recovered one in the win. Luigi Lista Brinza ran for 111 yards in the win.

Kutztown led 20-0 over SRU last week but fell 37-26. QB Chad Barton threw for 358 yards on 64 attempts in his first career start.

The Golden Bears have never beaten the Crimson Hawks, IUP is 9-0-1 all time.

California (1-0) at Bloomsburg (0-1)   2pm
California defeated Virginia State at Adamson Stadium 33-24 last week. Senior kicker Cody Nuzzo tied the career record for field goals and became the first kicker to boot four in one game. Senior Cory Ford blocked two punts in the victory.

The Huskies are ranked #21 this week in the AFCA D-II Top 25. Bloomsburg fell behind early but rallied for a 24-7 victory over Stonehill last week. Senior linebacker Justin Shirk was named PSAC Eastern Division Co-Defensive Athlete of the Week. Shirk had nine tackles, a sack and two forced fumbles in the victory. The Huskies defense forced five turnovers in the win. With the victory, Bloomsburg is just six wins away from a 16th consecutive season with seven wins or more. Only four teams on all four levels of NCAA football have a longer streak. (Florida State, Virginia Tech, Northwest Missouri and Mount Union)

Bloomsburg leads the series 13-8-2 and has won the last two meetings, including a NCAA playoff game in 2010.

Seton Hill (0-1) at Lock Haven (0-1)   3pm
It’s the first meeting between the teams. The Griffins fell to Shippensburg last Thursday night. QB Drew Jackson threw for 321 yards and 4 touchdowns in the loss. FJ Williams caught 2 touchdown passes.

The Bald Eagles tried to rally after a two-plus hour weather delay but fell 19-14 to West Virginia State last week. Lock Haven has lost 4 straight games. QB Caleb Walton was 22-42 for 254 yards and a score.

Clarion (0-1) at Millersville (0-1)   4pm
Clarion fell to NEC member St. Francis 27-13 on the week. Sophomore QB Connor Simmons came on in the second half and was 8 of 9 for 50 yards and a td pass. All-American DE Julian Howsare had 7 tackles and a sack in the loss.

Millersville lost in shocking fashion as Livingstone scored two touchdowns in the final minute for the win. Millersville racked up 503 yards of offense, the most since 2006. Freshman Malont’a Patterson had 4 catches for 113 yards and 2 touchdowns, he also ran for a score. QB Matt Misley threw for 4 scores.

The Golden Eagles lead the series 7-6.

Slippery Rock (1-0) at East Stroudsburg (1-0)   6:05pm
The Rock rallied from a 20-0 deficit to defeat Kutztown at home 37-26 last Saturday. Shamar Greene was named PSAC Western Division Offensive Athlete of the Week. The sophomore from West Mifflin carried 19 times for 195 yards and two touchdowns in the win.

The Rock scored 37 unanswered points in the victory. Slippery Rock took a share of the West Division Defensive Athlete of the Week award as LB Austin Miele of Mars made 12 tackles, had a sack and an interception as the Rock defense did not allow a score for over 40 minutes until the final play of the game.

Last week’s win was the 100th for Dr. George Mihalik at Thompson-Mihalik Stadium.

The Warriors won at LIU-Post 43-34 last week. QB Matt Soltes was named PSAC Eastern Division Offensive Athlete of the Week, the junior threw for 384 yards and four scores. He also ran for 83 yards and a touchdown. WR Dusty Reed had 4 catches for 126 yards.

SRU holds an 11-3 advantage in the series, but ESU has won the last two.

Saint Vincent (0-1) at Waynesburg (1-0)   1:30pm
Saint Vincent lost to #10 John Carroll 44-0 in Cleveland last week as the Blue Streaks returned 2 interceptions for touchdowns. The Bearcats were held to just 105 yards of offense.

Waynesburg defeated Muskingum 33-0 at home last week for the first home shutout since 2004. DB Josh Mundell was named PAC Defensive Player of the Week, the Carmichaels native picked off two passes, one a Pick 6 and forced a fumble in his first career start. QB Carter Hill threw for 248 yards and a touchdown, the senior also ran for a score.

The Yellow Jackets lead the series 17-11-4 and have won 2 straight.

Bethany (0-1) at Thiel (1-0)   7pm
Bethany fell to #3 Mount Union 58-7 last week. QB Brian Vales was 14-20 for 119 yards and a score in his first start. Junior WR Eric Blinn had 6 catches, he is now just 27 away from the Bethany all time record.

Thiel defeated Allegheny 28-14 last week. The Tomcats got 89 yards rushing and 3 touchdowns from QB Ryan Radke. The junior was 16-28 for 159 yards tossing the football. Josh Potter ran for 81 yards and Taylor Fink 60 and a score.

Thiel leads the series 37-31-1, this is a non PAC game as the conference has gone to an unbalanced schedule for 2014 and beyond, but some PAC schools have decided to play each other.