District College Football Recap for Saturday, November 15th

By: Bruce Markey
Sunday, November 16, 2014 | 10:52 AM

Regular season play wraps up in the PAC with a big upset and the PSAC State Title Game comes down to the wire. Here are recaps of ALL the games, including two heard here on the Network.

Waynesburg 31 – W & J 28 in overtime
The 11th ranked Presidents scored in the final minute to force overtime but it was the Yellow Jackets who knock off their hated rivals in the PAC Backyard Brawl and remove W & J from the ranks of the unbeaten. Scott Lewis kicked a 34 yard field goal for the win after Kyle Richey blocked Blake Davis’ attempt for W & J.

The Yellow Jackets scored five plays into the game, Carter Hill hit Andrew English for a 25 yard touchdown. It was the Waynesburg defense that rose to the task, stopping the W & J offense on four plays from the three yard line on the next possession. W & J was able to score on the next drive, Ryan Ruffing on a five yard pass from Pete Coughlin to tie the game. Waynesburg answered, Hill to Bernie Thompson for a four yard touchdown and a 14-7 lead.

Ruffing tied the game on a one yard run midway thru the second. W & J drove to the Waynesburg 21 but Max Creighan fumbled, Mitch Vasek recovered and the half ended with the score tied.

The Presidents took the lead on a Pick 6 in the third, Hill was intercepted by Ryan Torrance, who returned it 41 yards to the house. Hill was intercepted again by Dan Graziano, killing a 13 play drive. Waynesburg tied the game on the first play of the fourth quarter, Hill to English for a 29 yard touchdown. After the Yellow Jackets stopped the Presidents on a fourth and one, Hill went back to work, hitting Thompson for a 26 yard touchdown and a seven point lead.

W & J drove again into Waynesburg territory, a 15 play drive came up empty as the Presidents were stopped on downs for the fourth time. Waynesburg was able to take over three minutes off the clock, giving the ball back to W & J with 2:01 to play and 95 yards to go. Coughlin completed five consecutive throws on the drive, hitting Creighan for a 28 yard touchdown with 42 seconds left in regulation.

Hill threw for 366 yards on 32-51. English had 10 catches for 184 yards, Thompson made 10 grabs for 84. Waynesburg is now 8-2 and finishes at 6-2 in the PAC. It’s the first win in 11 tries for Waynesburg over W & J, the Yellow Jackets have won only four of the 42 meetings. Waynesburg is likely to receive a bid to one of two ECAC bowl games next week.

The Presidents got 151 yards rushing from Ruffing on 36 carries. Coughlin was 29-44 for 293 yards, Creighan had 10 catches, Daniel Lis 9, W & J falls to 9-1 but wins the PAC with a 7-1 record, the Presidents will be in the Division III playoffs.

Westminster 38 – Geneva 3
In the 117th meeting of “The Game”, the Titans controlled the Golden Tornadoes throughout at Reeves Field and cruised to their 65th win in the series.

Freshman quarterback Paul Columbo threw for three touchdowns in the win. He opened the scoring by hitting Khurazze Williams for a 23 yard touchdown, the Titans added a field goal later in the quarter. Geneva got their only points in the second on an Andrew Dowler 39 yard field goal. The Titans added to the lead on a Domonique McKinley 33 yard pass from Columbo and a 17-3 advantage at the break.

Neither team scored in the third, Westminster pulled away on a Williams 66 yard pass from Columbo in the opening minute of the fourth. Kimu Kim added touchdown runs of 4 and 3 yards to close out the scoring.

Columbo was 13 of 28 for 262 yards, Williams had three catches for 108 yards. The Titans finish at 4-7 overall but 4-4 in the PAC.

Geneva fumbled five times in the game, losing three, the Golden Tornadoes had four turnovers. Aaron Channing was 21 of 36 for 135 yards, he also led Geneva with 56 yards rushing. Geneva ends the season at 3-7 and 2-6 in the PAC.

PSAC STATE TITLE GAME
Slippery Rock 28 – Bloomsburg 26
The Rock claimed its tenth PSAC title and a possible berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs with the win at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. The victory knocked Bloomsburg from the ranks of the unbeaten, the Huskies were ranked number one in the region and #5 in the AFCA Top 25 coming into the game.

West Allegheny’s Jared Buck was named the game’s MVP, he threw for two scores and ran for another before being forced from the game after taking a hit in the third quarter. Slippery Rock scored all of their points in the first half and used good defense in the second to hold on for the win.

Buck got the Rock on the board first as the Rock was set up by a Derrick Fulmore interception. Buck hit Leroy McClain for a 13 yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead. Bloomsburg answered with a ten play drive, Joe Parsnik scored on a five yard run to knot the game at 7. The Rock used the big play to take back the lead, Buck to Melvin German for 74 yards and the score to put SRU back on top.

Tim Kelly scored one minute into the second quarter on a yard run as the Huskies fought back. The Rock went big play again, Buck to Drew Scales for a 54 yard gain, setting up Teddy Blakeman for a one yard touchdown and a 21-14 lead. Bloomsburg took the football to the SRU 34 but turned it over on downs, the Rock went to the ground attack, Buck scored from 19 yards out to extend the Rock lead. Bloomsburg got a late field goal from Braden Drexler of 25 yards, the Rock led by 11 at the half.

In the third quarter, the Rock drove to the 10 yard line but Shamar Greene fumbled, the turnover prevented SRU from extending the lead. Slippery Rock drove again into Bloomsburg territory early in the fourth, but Buck was picked off by Thomas Cabrera, who had recovered Greene’s fumble earlier. Cabrera returned the interception 73 yards, Tim Kelly hit Aaron Allison for a 15 yard touchdown with 11:28 left in regulation. The Huskies failed on the two point conversion, leaving the Rock with a 28-28 lead.

Slippery Rock turned the ball over again, McClain fumbled at the SRU 49, but the defense held Bloomsburg to a Drexler 44 yard field goal to cut the deficit to two. Drexler had a chance to give Bloomsburg the lead, he missed to the left on a 40 yard attempt. The Huskies had one more chance, Kelly’s pass to Allison on fourth and 10 at the Rock 36 fell incomplete, SRU was able to run out the clock for the win.

Buck was 17-27 for 256 yards. German had 94 yards on five catches. Greene ran 21 times for 116 yards, the most rushing yards allowed by the Bloomsburg defense this season. SRU is now 9-2 on the season.

Kelly was 21 of 42 for 293 yards for Bloomsburg, the Huskies are now 10-1.

Wagner 23 – Duquesne 13
Dillon Buechel returned at quarterback for the Dukes but it was not enough as the Seahawks get the home win in NEC play.

Mathias McKinnon opened the scoring for Wagner with a two yard run in the first, Char Valley’s Wayne Capers scored in the second on a four yard run to tie the game at the half. Buechel was forced out of the game after taking a blow to the head, he was replaced by Michael LoPresti and did not return.

Leading 10-7 in the fourth, the Seahawks got an Otis Wright one yard run and the back breaker for Duquesne, LoPresti was picked off by Jarrett Dieudonne for a 28 yard Pick 6 and a 23-7 lead. Ryan Ho scored on a one yard run for the Dukes, the onside kick was recovered by Wagner and ran out the clock.

Buechel was 9 of 13 for 92 yards before leaving, Lopresti was 3 of 8 for 3 yards. The Dukes had just 185 yards of offense. Duquesne falls to 5-6 overall and 1-4 in the NEC. Wagner is 6-4 overall and 4-1 in the conference.

Saint Francis 40 – Robert Morris 7
Khairi Dickson ran for 189 yards and a touchdown on 34 carries as the Red Flash beat the Colonials for only the fifth time. Marcus Bagley added 87 yards and a score as Saint Francis ground out 262 yards of rushing in the game. Zach Drayer threw for 179 yards and two scores. The Red Flash are now 5-5 overall and 3-2 in the NEC.

Luke Brumbaugh threw a three yard touchdown pass to Justin Kempka to open the scoring but the Colonials did not find the end zone again. RMU had just 176 yards of offense, 100 coming from Ryan Thermil on 17 carries. The Colonials are 1-9 overall and 1-4 in the NEC.

Seton Hill 56 – Cheyney 18
The Wolves took a 6-0 lead but the Griffins scored 42 straight points to hand Cheyney their 32nd consecutive loss.

Khalil Howard ran for two scores, Christian Strong threw for a touchdown and ran for another. The Griffins also got punt return scores from Patrick Smith and Jarvis McClam. Seton Hill finishes at 3-8.

Cheyney managed just 201 yards of offense and turned the ball over four times, ending a second straight season at 0-11.

Gannon 66 – East Stroudsburg 41
The Golden Knights finish at 9-2 and hope for a phone call from the NCAA, placing them into the D-II playoffs. Gannon scored 42 first half points on the way to a 9-2 record.

Brock Jones ran for a school record 321 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries. Liam Nadler ran for 92 yards and three touchdowns, he threw for 189 yards and two scores, both to Jesstin Hamm.

Robert Healy ran for 112 yards and two scores for the Warriors, Derrick Dyer also ran for two scores. East Stroudsburg ends the season at 6-5.

Edinboro 21 – Millersville 9
Corey Beck returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown, Cody Harris connected with Darren Massey for a score and Ryan Harkness scored on a short run to give the Fighting Scots all they would need for the home win to finish at 3-8.

Harris threw for 221 yards, Massey and Kolbe Hughes each had four catches. Phil Vass had a great day for Millersville, carrying 23 times for 150 yards but Millersville struggled thru the air as three quarterbacks combined for just 159 yards and three interceptions. Millersville finishes 1-10.

Kutztown 41 – Clarion 35   in overtime
Chad Barton’s 12 yard run in overtime assured Kutztown a winning season as the Golden Bears finish at 6-5. Barton threw for 402 yards and three touchdowns, including a 32 yard pass to Kodi Reed on the final play of regulation to force overtime.

Clarion scored twice in the final four minutes to take the lead, Connor Simmons hit Jaron Moorer for scores of 25 and 41 yards. Simmons threw for 307 yards and four touchdowns. Bobby Thomas ran 26 times for 109 yards and a score, Moorer had four catches for 109 yards. Clarion finishes at 2-9.

West Chester 28 – IUP 17
Brandon Monk scored three touchdowns as West Chester goes to 10-1 and waits for a call from the NCAA to see if they are in the Division II playoff field. Monk scored on a seven yard run, a 13 yard pass from Sean McCartney and returned a punt 80 yards for a touchdown. McCartney threw for 299 yards and two scores.

Brock DeCicco caught two touchdown passes, one from Eddie Stockett, the other from Chase Haslett. DeCicco had six catches for 86 yards, IUP ends the season at 6-5.

Mercyhurst 42 – Shippensburg 21
With over a foot of snow piled up around Tullio Field and snow showers falling during the game, the Lakers scored 35 straight points to pull away for their seventh straight win. Brendan Boylan threw five touchdown passes, two each to RJ Miller and Donny Holl and Colin Kimball returned an interception 100 yards for a touchdown, followed by a snow angel in one of the drifts.

Boylan was 26 of 38 for 409 yards, Stephen Yarbrough had six catches for 165 yards. Miller had nine catches for 90 yards. Mercyhurst finishes 7-4.

Chris Lawshe threw for 240 yards and a score for Shippensburg, he was intercepted three times and was replaced by Ryan Zapoticky. The Red Raiders finished 6-5.

California 45 – Lock Haven 31
In a game full of big plays, the Vulcans jumped out to a 17-0 first quarter lead and never looked back to close out the season at Adamson Stadium. Garry Brown returned a punt 73 yards for a touchdown to open the scoring. James Harris threw for three touchdowns, including a 95 yarder to Kowan Scott, the quarterback threw for 311 yards on 20 of 30. Terrill Roberson ran for two scores, Nick Grisson carried 15 times for 135 yards, the Vulcans go to 8-3.

Caleb Walton threw for three touchdowns for the Bald Eagles, who finish 2-9. George Christas returned an interception 85 yards for a score and Farrell Boyd had a 69 yard td reception to close out the scoring.

Saint Vincent 41 – Bethany 35
The Bearcats hold off a late rally by the Bison and get their first ever win in the “Green Game”. Matt Deakins threw for four touchdowns in the win.

Saint Vincent led 20-14 going to the fourth quarter after Shavonta Craft’s second touchdown of the game gave the Bearcats the lead. Deakins hit Lazaro Garcia for a 18 yard touchdown to put Saint Vincent up by two scores.

Bethany fought back, Brandon Hill scored his second touchdown of the game on a yard run. Saint Vincent answered, Deakins to Damon Black for a 20 yard score and again a two possession game. Quarterback Brian Vales got Bethany on the board again with a 49 yard run, Deakins was up to the task as well, he hit Dustin Lowman for a 25 yard touchdown with 3:42 to play to put Saint Vincent up 41-28.

Bethany scored with 1:46 left on a Jalen Holmes 2 yard run, the fomer New Castle back had a 55 yard touchdown earlier in the game. The Bison got the ball back but could not get out of their territory and the game ended.

Deakins threw for 304 yards on 28 of 41. Craft carried 36 times for 123 yards. Saint Vincent finishes 4-6 overall and 4-4 in the PAC.

Bethany ground out 336 yards rushing. Holmes led with 131 yards, Hill had 122 and Vales had 83. The PAC’s leading receiver, Eric Blinn was held to five catches for 13 yards. The Bison finish 6-4 overall and 5-3 in the PAC.

Thiel 42 – Grove City 21
The Mercer County Cup goes to the Tomcats for the first time since 2006 as quarterback Ryan Radke ran for two scores and threw for another.

Thiel pulled away in the second quarter, scoring 21 points, including a Cody McClelland 15 yard interception return. Radke threw for 166 yards on 14 of 23, he ran for 123 yards on 19 carries. Taylor Fink added 73 yards and a touchdown for the Tomcats, now 4-6 overall and 3-5 in the PAC.

Grove City finishes 0-10, the Wolverines had the football for just 21 minutes and managed only 11 first downs. Aaron Lundmark and Tyler Kepple each threw touchdown passes for the Wolverines, Steve Maskery scored on a 1 yard run.

Carnegie Mellon 17 – Washington University 16
Zach Cree scored his second touchdown of the game on a one yard run with 11 seconds remaining in regulation, the extra point gave the Tartans the win in a UAA matchup at Gesling Stadium.

Cree scored on a yard run in the first to give CMU a 7-3 lead, Washington got two field goals from Alex Hallwachs and a 4 yard td pass from JJ Tomlin to Max Elliot for a 16-7 advantage. Gabe Renna kicked a 20 yard field goal in the third, his extra point proved to be the difference as the Tartans get the win.

Sam Benger ran 24 times for 175 yards for CMU, Andrew Hearon ran for 98 and threw for 177 in the win. Both teams finish at 4-6 overall and 1-2 in the UAA.