District College Football Recap for Saturday, November 14

By: Bruce Markey
Saturday, November 14, 2015 | 11:00 PM

The PSAC crowned a champion on Saturday, while a championship showdown was set for next week in the NEC.

Here are recaps of ALL THE GAMES;

Check back tomorrow night after the NCAA Selection Show to see who from the district moves on to post-season play.

PSAC STATE TITLE GAME
Slippery Rock 61 – West Chester 12
The Rock goes back to back as PSAC Champions with a huge victory on the road Saturday afternoon. It is the 11th PSAC crown for the Rock and will likely guarantee SRU at least one home game in the NCAA Division II playoffs.

The win takes #9 SRU to 10-1 overall, the first 10 win season for Slippery Rock since 1999. QB Dante Nania(Hempfield) threw for 304 yards and 5 touchdowns and was named the game’s MVP.

SRU jumped out to a 21-6 first quarter lead. Shamar Greene(West Mifflin) opened the scoring with a 24 yard run. West Chester answered with a Pat Moriarty td pass of 23 yards to AJ DiPietro. Nania tossed his first touchdown, a 42 yard strike to Marcus Carter(New Castle). Nania followed that throw up with a 41 yard yd to Taishan Tuckerin the final minute of the quarter.

The Rock took advantage of a Deonte Fleming interception early in the second. Julian Durden continued to find the end zone, the senior from Montour scored on a 3 yard run to put SRU up 28-6. After the teams exchanged possessions, Greene capped a 9 play drive on a 11 yard td pass from Nania and it was all Slippery Rock at the break.

Slippery Rock continued the offense in the third as Durden added his 19th touchdown of the season with a 15 yard run. Nania went up top to Cornelius Raye for a 39 yard td and a 48-6 lead. West Chester scored 38 seconds into the fourth as Moriarty went to eddie Elliot for a 17 yard touchdown. But the Rock was not done as Nania completed his award winning day with a 19 yard td pass to Jaimire Dutrieuille(Woodland Hills). Johnnie Davis returned a fumble 57 yards to close out the scoring.

Nania was 18-27 on the day. Greene ran 21 times for 178 yards. The Rock defense forced 3 turnovers on the day. Slippery Rock will await the NCAA Selection Show Sunday at 5 pm to learn their seed. SRU was ranked 4th in Super Region 1 entering this week.

West Chester ends the season at 7-4.

Saint Francis 21 – Robert Morris 0
The Red Flash move into a tie atop the NEC at 4-1 with Duquense, who was idle this week.

QB Zach Drayer figured in all 3 scores, hitting Terell Smith with a 6 yard strike and scoring on a 2 yard run in the first period. Drayer added a 6 yard td pass to Matt Valenzuela in the fourth.

Saint Francis is now 7-3 overall. The Red Flash had 2 100 yard rushers as Khairi Dickson posted 177 yards and Marcus Bagley added 113.

RMU falls to 3-7 overall. Cole Blake ran 26 times for 120 yards. Matthew Barr and Luke Brumbaugh(Seton LaSalle) combined to go 3 of 18 passing for 46 yards, Barr was picked off twice. The Colonials are 1-4 in the NEC. 

Saint Francis and Duquesne meet at high noon next week at Rooney Field to decide the NEC title and FCS automatic bid. Both teams are on 3 game winning streaks.

Kutztown 45 – Clarion 17
The Golden Eagles end the season with 4 straight losses.

Connor Simmons threw for 3 touchdowns, Clarion ends the season at 7-4.

Terry Williams and Darrell Scott each ran for 2 scores for the Golden Bears. Chad Barton also threw 2 td passes. The Golden Bears are also 7-4.

California 56 – Lock Haven 24
James Harris threw for 299 yards and 5 td’s as Cal goes to 8-3 and keep their faint playoff hopes alive.

Garry Brown had 8 catches for 111 yards and 3 scores, Kowan Scott added 5 grabs for 124 yards and a td. John Franklin added 2 rushing touchdowns for the Vulcans, he scored at least 1 ttd in every game this year.

Caleb Walton threw for 317 yards and a pair of scores for the Bald Eagles, who fall to 2-9.

Shippensburg 69 – Mercyhurst 20
The Red Raiders led 41-14 at the half. Ryan Zapoticky ran for 138 yards and 3 scores, he also threw 3 td passes. Shippensburg goes to 8-3.

Backup QB Logan Weaver threw for a score and ran for another, he was intercepted 5 times. Mercyhurst ends the season at 5-6.

IUP 62 – Cheyney 0
The Crimson Hawks handed the Wolves their 43rd consecutive defeat. Luigi Lista-Brinza(Pittsburgh Central Catholic) returned with 3 td runs for IUP. Lenny Williams(Sto-Rox) ran for 2 scores. Allen Wright had 2 4th quarter pick 6’s for the Crimson Hawks, now 8-2.

IUP will await the NCAA Selection Show on Sunday, the Crimson Hawks were 6th in the last Super Region 1 rankings, the top 6 advance to the D-II playoffs.

Cheyney managed just 44 yards of offense, the Wolves have not tasted victory since the 2012 opener.

Millersville 31 – Edinboro 21
JJ Paige threw for 301 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Miners win their second straight game. Cimirrow Moat had 2 catches, both for scores, and 118 yards as Millersville finishes 2-9.

The Fighting Scots scored on 3 big plays. Cory Bell ran for 59 yard score in the second. Jack Wallman threw a 61 yard strike to Darren Massey and Mitch Thomas had a 91 yard kickoff return. Edinboro ends at 0-11.

East Stroudsburg 49 – Gannon 37
Matt Soltes closed out his career for the Warriors with a 34 of 53 passing day for 435 yards and 5 td’s in the win. Jon Schnaars had 16 catches for 222 yards and 4 scores.

Liam Nadler threw for 357 yards and 4 scores for the Golden Knights. Brandon Mansell had 3 td catches, Jesstin Hamm added another.

Both teams finish at 6-5.

Bloomsburg 17 – Seton Hill 14
Dan Pietrangelo’s td pass to Larry Joseph with 2:26 remaining tied the game but Tyler Smith kicked a 26 yard field goal on the final play of the game to take the Huskies to 7-4.

Joe Parsnik ran 20 times for 101 yards. QB Tim Kelly threw for one score and ran for another.

The Griffins end the season at 3-8.

Bethany 35 – Saint Vincent 27
The Bearcats led 13-0 in the 2nd quarter on a Josh Shevetts Pick 6, but the Bison scored the last 21 points for the win.

Eric Blinn(Western Beaver), the PAC’s all-time leading receiver, caught his third touchdown pass with 6:40 remaining to give Bethany a 28-27 lead. Jalen Holmes(New Castle) scored on 4 yard run to seal the win.

Holmes was held to 84 yards on 28 carries, two weeks after setting the PAC single game rushing record. Blinn had 10 catches for 128 yards. Bethany finishes at 5-5 overall and 4-4 in the PAC.

Tyler Donahue ran 23 times for 109 yards for Saint Vincent, at 4-6 overall. Shavonta Craft(Jeannette) ran for his 6th td of the year. The Bearcats finish 3-5 in the PAC.

Carnegie Mellon 52 – Case Western Reserve 42
The Academic Bowl goes to the Tartans for the first time in 9 years. Andrew Hearon hooked up with Graham Schilling for 4 touchdown passes, both teams combined for 1,099 yards of offense.

Hearon was 17-31 for 298 and 5 td’s, he also ran for a score. Schiiling had 9 catches for 207 yards. Sam Benger, D-III’s leading rusher, had another big day with 237 yards on 39 carries. CMU finishes 6-2 in the PAC and 7-3 overall. 

Rob Cuda ran for 2 scores for Case, who dropped their 2nd straight game to go to 6-2 in the PAC. Cuda also threw for 332 yards and a pair of scores. The Spartans are 7-3 overall.

Westminster 32 – Geneva 0
In the 118th edition of “The Game”, Dominique McKinley(Greensburg Salem) ran for 115 yards on 25 carries and scored twice to give Westminster their best record since 2000.

The Titans are 8-2 overall and finish alone in 2nd place in the PAC at 6-1. Westminster will wait for the D-III pairings to be released tomorrow to see if they make the 32 team field. If not, the Titans would likely qualify for an ECAC Bowl game next weekend.

The Westminster defense sacked Aaron Channing 6 times and picked off 2 passes. Geneva finishes 2-8 overall and 1-7 in the PAC.

Thiel 28 – Grove City 23
The Mercer County Cup goes to the Tomcats and sends Kurt Reiser out as a winner in his final game as Thiel’s coach.  Ryan Radke ran for a score and threw for 2 more in the win.

It was Grove City who took a 7-0 first quarter lead on Steve Maskrey’s 2 yard run. Radke tied the game with 68 seconds remaining on a 19 yard run. The Tomcats took the lead in the 2nd on a 19 play drive taking over 11 minutes off the clock. Radke hit Kevin Daly for an 8 yard td and a 14-7 lead. But Grove City drove downfield. Caleb Jakiel(Moon) connected with Josh Peach for 25 yards and the tying score on the final play of the half to knot things up.

Thiel scored to open the 3rd, Radke to Alex Horvatits for a 19 yard touchdown, finishing a 10 play drive. The Tomcats got a defensive score as Reily Shane forced a fumble, Jake Elk returned it 62 yards to the house as Thiel held a 28-14 lead. The Wolverines got a defensive score of their own in the 4th when Deion Minor scooped up a fumble and returned it 60 yards. Grove City drove to the Thiel 16 in the final 3 minutes but Jakiel was intercepted by Shane, the Tomcats took a safety on the final play to end the game.

Radke ran for 94 yards and was 17-25 for 172. Horvatits had 7 catches. For the defense, Shane had a fumble recovery, an interception and 2 sacks. Elk had 2 interceptions to go with his td. Thiel finishes 2-8 overall, ending an 8 game losing streak. The Tomcats were 1-7 in the PAC.

Jakiel was 16-35 for 233 yards, Grove City ends the 30-plus year career of head coach Chris Smith with an 0-10 mark.

W&J 45 – Waynesburg 23
The Presidents are now 39-4 in the Backyard Brawl with the home win. Pete Coughlin(USC) was 21-26 for 370 yards and 4 touchdowns, he also ran for a score.

Jesse Zubik(Avonworth) also had a huge day with 8 catches for 184 yards and a td. Ryan Ruffing(Thomas Jefferson) ran 26 times for 147 yards, the Presidents are 8-2 overall and finish 6-2 in the PAC.

Jake Daugherty threw for 252 yards and 3 scores for Waynesburg, now 3-7. Kevin Barnes had 7 catches for 128 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Yellow Jackets finish 2-6 in the PAC.