District College Football Preview for Saturday, September 27th

By: Bruce Markey
Thursday, September 25, 2014 | 1:59 PM

Week 4 of the local college football slate has divisional play heating up in the PSAC, conference games in the PAC and a week off for Duquesne and Robert Morris.

W & J also has the week off, the Presidents debuted at #24 in the AFCA Division III poll after a 48-30 victory over CMU. A battle for the PAC title comes up next week when the Presidents host Thomas More.

Here are previews of ALL the games, including one that can be heard here on the Network.

Geneva (1-2) at Carnegie Mellon (0-2)   1pm on WBVP 1230-AM/WMBA 1460-AM and the MSA Sports Network
The Golden Tornadoes are 0-1 in the PAC, Geneva has not won a road game in over two years, falling in seven straight away from Reeves Field.

QB Aaron Channing was 22 of 31 for 317 yards in a 44-38 double overtime loss to Waynesburg last week. The freshman is fourth in the PAC in passing, averaging 255 yards per game, with 9 touchdowns and no interceptions.

WR Lemuel Fuller picked up his 100th catch of his career, Fuller now has 103 catches, the junior is third in the PAC with 20 catches.

WR Josh Guiser has gone over 1,000 yards receiving, doing so in the first quarter last week, he has 15 catches on the season for 197 yards and 4 scores.

Freshman DB Nate Cannon picked off two more passes last week, he is tied for the lead in the PAC with 4 interceptions. Cannon is tied for fifth in all of D-III for interceptions.

Geneva leads the PAC in red zone defense, allowing just 3 touchdowns and a field goal all season.

The Tartans are 0-2 in their first season in the PAC, falling to W & J 48-30 last week.

QB Andrew Hearon threw for a career high 227 yards passing and tossed 3 td passes, the junior also ran for a score.

Tim Swanson picked up a blocked extra point by Brian Khoury and returned it 88 yards for a defensive conversion last week, the first of those for the Tartans since 2010. 

CMU is 10th out of 11 teams in scoring offense, at just 15 points per game, they are also 10th in scoring defense at 39 points per game.

The Tartans lead the all time series 13-8-1.

Virginia Lynchburg (0-4) at Saint Francis (1-3)   4pm
The Hornets have been outscored 208-19 this season and have lost 17 straight games. Virginia Lynchburg is 1-20 since restarting the football  program in 2011.

The Red Flash have dropped two straight games. Saint Francis hung early but were wore down by #15 YSU last week 52-23. RB Khairi Dickson continues to lead the FCS in rushing with 126 carries for 759 yards, he has 6 touchdowns. The Red Flash are last in the NEC in scoring defense, allowing almost 39 points per game.

Edinboro (0-3) at California (2-1)   1pm
The Fighting Scots are 0-2 in the West Division, falling to East Stroudsburg 47-34. Edinboro is 0-3 to start the season for the first time since 1955. Anfreenee Williams ran for 139 yards on 18 carries last week, the first Fighting Scots rusher to go over 100 yards in nine games.

The Vulcans are 1-1 in the West, coming off a 56-34 win over Shippensburg. QB James Harris was namd PSAC West Division Offensive Athlete of the Week. The junior threw for 439 yards as Cal scored 35 unanswered points and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Harris is the fifth Vulcan quarterback to throw for over 400 yards in a game. Nick Grissom and Terrell Roberson each ran for three touchdowns in the win.

Gannon (3-0) at Clarion (2-1)   2pm
The Golden Knights are 3-0 overall for the first time since 1994. Gannon is 2-0 in the West Division after a 37-28 win over Kutztown. Sophomore DB Mike Zanders was named PSAC West Division Defensive Athlete of the Week, he made 10 tackles in the victory. Gannon leads the PSAC in scoring and total defense, allowing just over 11 points per game. Junior RB Brock Jones ran for a career high 177 yards and two scores in the win.

The Golden Eagles are 2-0 in the West Division, having lost only to Division 1 FCS Saint Francis. Clarion defeated Cheyney 27-6 last week. QB Connor Simmons made his first career start, throwing for a score and ran for another. Freshman Delrece Williams has ran for five touchdowns this season.

Seton Hill (1-2) at Slippery Rock (3-0)   2pm
The Griffins are 1-1 in the West Division. Seton Hill fell at home to West Chester last week 45-10. Brandon Stout ran for 97 yards on 20 carries with a touchdown.

Slippery Rock is 2-0 in the West, tied with Gannon and Clarion. The Rock moved up to #22 in the AFCA Division II poll after a 46-17 victory over Millersville. Shamar Greene leads the PSAC in rushing with 619 yards. Teddy Blakeman also scored his 19th touchdown in 14 games played for SRU. The Rock has trailed in every game this year.

Mercyhurst (0-3) at IUP (2-1)   4pm
The Lakers are 0-2 in the West Division, falling to #15 Bloomsburg 38-22. It’s the first time that Mercyhurst has been 0-3 to start the season since 2006. The Lakers committed six turnovers in the loss. RB Brandon Brown-Dukes did run for 102 yards, his 12th 100 yard game of his career.

The Crimson Hawks are 1-1 in the West after a 21-16 win over Lock Haven. RB Luigi Lista-Brinza of Pittsburgh Central Catholic ran for 114 yards and two touchdowns in the win, the freshman has four scores on the season. Senior WR Drew Carswell had six catches for 103 yards and a score.

Grove City (0-2) at Saint Vincent (1-2)   1pm
The Wolverines travel to Latrobe for the conference opener, it’s the second straight road game for Grove City.

The Bearcats are 1-0 in the PAC, ending a 23 game losing streak with a 23-20 victory over Case Western Reserve last week. K Morgan Porter booted three field goals including the go-ahead kick with 9:19 remaining for the Bearcats, that earned the senior PAC Special Teams Player of the Week. Andy Borgen staked a claim to the quarterback job, throwing for 215 yards in the win.

Grove City leads the series 6-3, the Wolverines have won the last 3 games.

Thiel (1-2) at Case Western Reserve (1-1)   1:30pm
The Tomcats are 0-1 in the PAC. Thiel led #25 Thomas More 27-21 at the half last week but did not score again in a 66-27 loss to the Saints. QB Ryan Radke has been the offense for the Tomcats. Radke ran for 3 scores in an opening week win over Allegheny, threw 3 touchdown passes in Week 2 and threw for 2 and ran for 1 last week. Thiel leads the series 9-5, the teams haven’t played since 1983.

The Spartans are 1-1 in PAC play in their first year in the conference, having falling to Saint Vincent last week. Case Western needs one more win to get to #200 in the program’s history. Senior QB Billy Beecher threw for 2 scores last week, he has 4 touchdown passes on the year.

Westminster (0-3) at Thomas More (2-1)   1:30pm
The Titans are 0-1 in the PAC, falling in overtime at Bethany 21-14. A pair of freshman shined bright for the Titans, QB Paul Columbo scored both touchdowns on the ground while LB CJ Armstrong had a career high 10 tackles.

The Saints are 1-0 in the PAC. Thomas More is ranked #25 in the first AFCA Division III poll released this week, coming off a 66-27 win at Thiel. The Saints racked up 570 yards of offense in the win, 395 of which came in the second half. Domonique Hayden was named PAC Offensive Player of the Week, the senior ran 20 times for 154 yards and a school record tying 5 touchdowns. QB Jensen Gebhardt threw for 247 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Thomas More leads the series 11-1 and has won the last 9 straight. Westminster’s lone win came in 2004.

Waynesburg (3-0) at Bethany (2-1)   7pm
Both teams are 1-0 in the PAC.

The Yellow Jackets defeated Geneva 44-38 in double overtime. RB Jake Forsythe ran for 101 yards and 2 touchdowns, becoming the first Waynesburg runner to go over 100 yards in back to back games since 2012. The overtime win was the first since 1997. QB Carter Hill threw for 301 yards and 4 touchdowns in the victory. Waynesburg leads the series 29-17-7. 

The Bison have two straight since an opening day loss to Mount Union. Linebacker Donavan Hayden was named PAC Defensive Player of the Week, with 14 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble in the overtime win over Westminster. Western Beaver grad Eric Blinn had 11 catches last week, he needs 9 more to become the all time leading receiver in Bethany history. Sophomore Jalen Holmes ran for the touchdown in overtime, it was the New Castle native second score in as many weeks.