District College Football Recap for Saturday, November 8th

By: Bruce Markey
Sunday, November 9, 2014 | 12:04 AM

The second Saturday of November saw two local teams claim conference titles as the final week of regular season play comes up next week. Here are ALL the recaps from all the games, including two heard here on the Network:

W & J 49 – Thiel 18
The #13 ranked Presidents clinched the PAC title and a berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs with the win in Greenville. W & J also remains undefeated at 9-0 with only the backyard brawl at Waynesburg standing in the way of a perfect regular season.

The championship is the 24th in school history, W & J pounded out over 700 yards of total offense in the win and scored on their opening play as Pete Coughlin hit Jesse Zubik for a 73 yard touchdown. Thiel took advantage of a W & J turnover to get on the board, Ryan Radke hit Alex Horvatis for a 20 yard touchdown. The Presidents countered with another Coughlin to Zubik connection, this one for 18 yards and a 13-6 lead after fifteen minutes. Ryan Ruffing of Thomas Jefferson scored his 22nd touchdown of the season on a 63 yard run early in the second.

Leading by fifteen at the half, Radke hooked up with Horvatis for another 20 yard touchdown in the third, but Coughlin found Daniel Lis one minute later for a 63 yard score, the former USC quarterback extended his lead in td passes in the PAC by hitting Zubik with an 80 yard strike and a 35-12 lead after three.

Ruffing scored on a 32 yard run in the fourth, Kevin Mechas came on at quarterback and scored on a 19 yard run. Radke hit Mike McLaughlin for a four yard touchdown with 2:42 left to close out the scoring.

Ruffing carried 23 times for 196 yards, Coughlin was 17 of 27 for 334 yards and four more touchdown passes. Zubik had 5 catches for 190 yards. W & J is now 7-0 in the PAC.

Radke led Thiel with 230 yards passing, he was sacked five times. He also led the Tomcats in rushing with 88 yards on 14 carries. Freshman Marcus Johnson had 9 catches for 125 yards for Thiel, now 3-6 overall and 2-5 in the PAC.

Geneva 34 – Saint Vincent 30
Fraizer’s Josh Guiser returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown and ended a 30 point run for the Bearcats as the Golden Tornadoes found a way to win at Reeves Field. The Guiser kickoff return sets a school record for Geneva for kick return yardage and came 13 seconds after Darius Brown had given Saint Vincent the lead with a 64 yard punt return.

The GT defense started early as Brady Beech intercepted Andy Borgen on the opening play of the game, his return set up a Aaron Channing 19 yard touchdown pass to Devin Kelosky. The Golden Tornadoes used another turnover to score, Shavonta Craft’s fumble was recovered by Geneva, Brandon Hacker scored five plays later on a 1 yard run. The Golden Tornadoes would recover a third fumble late in the quarter, Channing hit Guiser for a 7 yard touchdown on the opening play of the second to put Geneva up 20-0.

Anthony Carthen scored on a 2 yard run on Geneva’s next possession, set up by a Nate Cannon 75 yard punt return. The Golden Tornadoes committed a turnover of their own, as a bad snap was recovered by Nick Revis of the Bearcats in the end zone for a Saint Vincent touchdown. Saint Vincent had a chance to score late in the half but Morgan Porter’s 20 yard field goal was blocked by Cannon, Geneva led 27-9 after thirty minutes.

Craft made up for his first half fumble by scoring on a 5 yard run, capping a 13 play drive to open the half. Porter added a field goal after another Geneva turnover, this one from 34 yards out. Porter booted a 29 yard field goal in the opening minute of the fourth to bring the Bearcats within five, they took the lead on Brown’s punt return, but Guiser turned the tables so quick for the Golden Tornadoes. Saint Vincent drove to the Geneva 35 in the final minute but Beech picked off his third pass of the day and sealed the win for Geneva, now 3-6.

Neither team was strong offensively, Saint Vincent had only 258 yards of offense, Geneva 209. Craft was the bulk of the offense for either team, running 20 times for 93 yards. Saint Vincent is now 3-6 overall and 3-4 in the PAC. Geneva is now 3-6 overall.

Slippery Rock 45 – Clarion 8
The road win at Memorial Field means the Rock will host the PSAC State Title Game next Saturday at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium vs. #5 Bloomsburg and likely a NCAA berth on the line. The Rock tied with Gannon for the West title but had to wait on the field for over 15 minutes until the final minutes of Cal’s loss to Mercyhurst played out. SRU racked up an even 600 yards in the win and survived another slow start to claim the Milk Jug for the fifth straight time.

Clarion opened the scoring as Connor Simmons hit Zach Dietrick for a 22 yard touchdown, capping a 79 yard drive. SRU answered with two scores in the final three minutes of the first, Jared Buck hit Jaimire Dutrieuille for a 18 yard touchdown, then connected with Drew Scales for an 8 yard score and a 14-8 lead after one.

The Rock managed the only score of the second with a Mike Wainauskis 30 yard field goal. Buck and Duetrieuille hooked up again for a 65 yard touchdown in the third to go up 24-8. SRU used some trickery as Melvin German threw the wide receiver pass to Leroy McClain for a 33 yard touchdown. Isiah Neely scored his first NCAA touchdown on a 1 yard run, Zack Newsock added a 1 yard run to close out the scoring.

Shamar Greene ran 26 times for 114 yards, Buck was 22 of 35 for a career high 345 yards. Dutrieuille had 7 catches for 126 yards. The Rock is 8-2 overall and finishes 7-2 in the PSAC West.

Clarion was held to 40 yards rushing, the Golden Eagles fall to 2-8 overall and finish 2-7 in the West

Bryant 20 – Duquesne 17
The #21 ranked Bulldogs came to Rooney Field and got out with a win and maintain their lead in the NEC at 4-0. Dalton Easton threw three touchdown passes, all in the first half. Neither team could score in the second as the Dukes drop to 1-3 in the conference.

Easton put the Bulldogs on top with a 36 yard scoring strike to Keenan Thompson. Wayne Capers of Char Valley tied the game with a 15 yard run. Easton hit John Lavin for a 3 yard touchdown and a 14-7 Bryant lead after one.

Michael LoPresti came on at quarterback in the second for the Dukes and hit the FCS’ leading receiver Chris King for a 6 yard touchdown pass, it’s the first NCAA td pass of LoPresti’s career. Easton hooked up with Ricardo McCray for 23 yards and a score to put Bryant back up. Austin Crimmins kicked a 28 yard field goal to close out the scoring.

Both teams had drives end in the opponent’s territory in the third quarter, Duquesne drove to the Bryant 12 but Capers fumbled at the 2, the Bulldogs recovered and took it out of harm’s way.

Bryant had a chance to extend the lead in the fourth, Tom Alberti missed a 31 yard field goal attempt wide left with 3:14 remaining. Duquesne got into field goal range in the final minute, but Crimmins missed a 28 yarder wide left that would have tied the game.

McCray led Bryant with 117 yards rushing on 27 carries, he also caught 5 passes for 75 yards. Bryant is now 8-1. LoPresti was 11 of 27 for 182 yards, Dave Thomas had 6 catches and King 5 for the Dukes, now 5-5.

Wagner 20 – Robert Morris 0
Duane Mitchell picked up a program record but the Colonials struggled on offense, having to use four quarterbacks due to injuries and were blanked at Joe Walton Stadium.

Starting QB Derik Abbott was knocked out on the first drive of the game. Luke Brumbaugh came on for RMU. The Colonials allowed a safety when a punt snap went over the head of Tony LaMancusa and into the end zone, the Seahawks added a field goal on the final play of the first to lead 5-0. Chris Andrews scored from 1 yard with 18 second left in the half and Wagner led 11-0.

In the third quarter, Antwan Eddie set up the Colonials offense, intercepting Andrews and returning the football to the Wagner 2. Joe Carroll had to come on at quarterback as Brumbaugh was forced out of the game, his pass was intercepted by Jarrett Dieudonne and returned 98 yards for a Pick 6 and a 20-0 Wagner lead.

The RMU defense held Wagner to just 215 yards, true freshman Drew Allen from New Castle led the Colonials with six tackles. The Seahawks shut down the Colonials run game, at minus 17 yards. Wagner is 5-4 overall and 3-1 in the NEC. Robert Morris falls to 1-8 overall and 1-3 in the conference.

Mercyhurst 59 – California 49
The Lakers knocked the Vulcans out of the race for the PSAC West title with the victory at Tullio Field and pick up their sixth straight win after an 0-4 start. QB Brandon Boylan set school records with 544 yards passing and six touchdowns in the victory.

Cal led 14-3 after the first quarter on a James Harris touchdown pass to Kowan Scott and a Terrill Roberson 4 yard run. Mercyhurst took the lead in the second, Boylan hit Steven Yarbrough for the first of three touchdowns, he also scored on a 1 yard run. Roberson scored on a 2 yard run to put Cal back up 21-17 at the half.

It was all Mercyhurst in the third, Boylan hooked up with RJ Miller for td passes of 12 and 4 yards and Yarbrough for 44 yards, the Lakers built a 17 point advantage after three. The fourth quarter saw 49 points scored, Garry Brown took a 76 yard pass from Harris in the opening minute to cut the deficit to 38-28. Boylan wasn’t done, he connected with TJ Latimer for a 4 yard td, but Cal scored 20 seconds later on a Harris to Brown 75 yard bomb, the extra point failed, making the Mercyhurst lead 11. Roberson scored on a 1 yard run, Brown’s two point conversion made it 45-42 with still 9:31 remaining.

Boylan brought the Lakers back again, hitting Yarbrough for a 54 yard touchdown, but Cal scored quick again, Harris to Brown for 47 yards and a three point margin but the Lakers sealed the win when Alex Misterman scored on a 3 yard run with one minute to play to end the game.

Boylan was 37 of 49, also school records, Yarbrough also set a school record with 238 yards on 12 catches. Miller and Latimer each had six grabs for the Lakers, now 6-4 overall and 6-3 in the West.

Harris was 21-42 for 473 yards and four scores. Brown had 8 catches for 282 yards, the Vulcans are now 7-3 overall and finish 6-3 in the West.

Gannon 31 – IUP 21
The Golden Knights grab a share of the PSAC West crown but lose out on the bid to the State Title Game on a tiebreaker after the win in some tough Erie weather on Saturday with hail falling in the second half. Brock Jones ran for 106 yards and two touchdowns in the win, it’s the seventh 100 yard game of the season for the PSAC’s leading rusher.

The Golden Knights scored off the opening kickoff, Jones capping a 75 yard drive with a 1 yard run. IUP tied the game with a Chase Haslett 55 yard td pass to CJ Jackson. Haslett connected with Drew Carswell for a 14 yard score in the second and a 14-7 lead, but Justin Caliste caught a 38 yard touchdown toss from Liam Nadler to knot the game at 14 at the break.

Gannon took the lead in the third on a Karch Holland field goal, Nadler hit Jesstin Hamm for an 18 yard touchdown early in the fourth for a ten point advantage. Haslett threw his third scoring pass of the afternoon, 5 yards to Walt Pegues, but Jones went in on a 2 yard run to close out the scoring. IUP drove deep into Gannon territory in the final four minutes but Eddie Stockett was sacked on the game’s final play at the Golden Knight 32.

Nadler was 20 of 36 for 304 yards, Hamm had 9 catches for 175 yards. Gannon is 8-2 overall and finishes 7-2 in the West. Haslett threw for 282 yards for IUP, Pegues had 13 catches for 193 yards. IUP is now 6-4 overall and 5-4 in the West. 

Edinboro 31 – Seton Hill 27
Kyle Matula recovered two onside kick attempts for the Fighting Scots, the second sealing a victory at Sox Harrison Stadium and ended a three game skid. Quarterback Cody Harris returned to the lineup and threw for two scores and ran for a third for Edinboro.

Seton Hill led 7-3 after one quarter, Christian Strong, subbing for Drew Jackson, tossed a 40 yard touchdown pass to FJ Williams. Harris hit Connor Hollenbeck for a 7 yard touchdown in the second to put Edinboro up 10-7 but that barely lasted two minutes as Khalil Howard scored on a 2 yard run. The Fighting Scots took back the lead and then pulled away, scoring twice more in the quarter. Anfreenee Williams went in from 7 out and Harris hit Darren Massey for a 5 yard touchdown and a 24-14 halftime lead.

Harris put Edinboro back on the board in the fourth on a 3 yard run. Jarvis McClam scored for Seton Hill with 4:57 to play on a 2 yard pass from Strong, Strong hit Larry Joshua with an 8 yad pass to cut the Edinboro lead to 4 but that’s where Matula came in for the win.

Harris was 27 of 34 for 310 yards, Massey had 8 catches. Strong was 43 of 69 for 445 yards, Eric Brown and McClam each had 13 catches. Both teams are now 2-8 overall and finish 2-7 in the PSAC West.

Westminster 41 – Grove City 7
The woes continue for the Wolverines, now 0-9 on the season. Paul Columbo threw for 340 yards and four touchdowns, he ran for 95 yards and a score. Westminster racked up 533 yards of offense, while holding Grove City to 62 yards rushing.

The Titans are now 3-6 overall and 3-4 in the PAC. Grove City used three quarterbacks in the loss, combining for 142 yards, the Wolverines are 0-7 in the PAC.

University of Chicago 28 – Carnegie Mellon 7
CMU falls to 3-6 overall and 0-2 in the UAA with the loss in the Windy City. Chandler Carroll ran 20 times for 110 yards and the opening score of the game for the Maroons. Ryan Patrick tossed two touchdown passes, one to Sam Coleman in the second and Collin Macri for 11 yards in the third. Brandon Bolock returned an interception 46 yards for a score in the fourth, Andrew Hearon found Chris Herrera for a 18 yard touchdown for the Tartans only score.

Coleman had 6 catches for the Maroons, now 7-1 overall and 2-0 in UAA play. Hearon was 21 of 39 for 223 yards for the Tartans.