District College Football Recap for Saturday, November 9th

By: Bruce Markey
Sunday, November 10, 2013 | 1:32 AM

For the second time in three years, SRU will play for the PSAC title next week and a NCAA D-II playoff berth.

Also looking for playoff berths are W & J and Robert Morris. The Presidents can win the PAC with a win over rival Waynesburg next week while Robert Morris can claim the NEC title with victories at home next week to Sacred Heart and a road win in two weeks at Saint Francis.

In other action, the first night game under the lights in Greenville saw Thiel and Westminster play four quarters then four more overtimes to an exciting finish.

Here are recaps of ALL the games, including two heard right here on the Network:

Slippery Rock 55 – Seton Hill 21
The Rock will play in the PSAC State Title Game next weekend  after claiming the Western Division title with the win Saturday in Greensburg.

It’s the first outright title for SRU since 1999, the Rock shared the crown in 2000 and 2011. Slippery Rock, winners of seven straight games, will travel to Bloomsburg next week, the Huskies defeated previously unbeaten West Chester 31-28 to create a three way tie for the Eastern crown, between those two teams and Shippensburg, the Huskies won the tiebreaker.

The Rock played in the 2011 title game but fell to Kutztown 21-14. A bid in the NCAA D-II playoffs will be on the line. West Chester was ranked first, Bloomsburg third and the Rock fourth entering into this week’s play in the regional NCAA rankings.

Slippery Rock led 21-0 at the half. Nigel Barksdale led the Rock down the field on the opening possession, hitting John Schademan for a 11 yard touchdown. Backup QB Zack Newsock hit Robert Joyce for a 10 yard touchdown, that drive was set up by a Derrick Morgan interception and a pass interference call against Seton Hill.

SRU made it 21-0 on the first play of the second quarter, Derrick Fulmore blocked a punt, picked the ball up at the 1 yard line and took it in for the touchdown. The Rock was driving late in the quarter before Newsock was intercepted by Tim Johnson. SRU got the ball back but Brian Shaw missed a 41 yard field goal on the final play of the half.

It was all Slippery Rock in the third, Barksdale hit Schademan for a 32 yard score. Seton Hill got on the board on a Nick Hafhill pass to Erik Kerns for 41 yards. The momentum didn’t last long for Seton Hill as Drew Scales returned the kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown to put the Rock up 35-7.

The Rock scored four plays into the fourth as Barksdale connected with Ken Amos for a 67 yard touchdown. Newsock came back on at QB and hit Scales for a 13 yard score. Hafhill hit Norman Darden for a 47 yard score for Seton Hill. Dominic Dingle answered for the Rock with a 22 yard run and Jarvis McClam scored on a 14 yard scamper in the game’s final minute.

SRU racked up 562 yards of offense. Barksdale was 15-30 for 262 yards. Newsock was 12-22 for 206 yards. Schademan had 9 catches for 125 yards. Amos finished with 8 receptions for 133 yards. Slippery Rock is now 9-1 overall.

McClam ran for 103 yards on 23 carries for Seton Hill. Darden had 6 catches for 104 yards. Seton Hill is 0-10 and has lost 23 straight games.

W & J 49 – Geneva 34
The Presidents stay on pace for a PAC title with the win at Cameron Stadium. W & J needs a victory against Waynesburg last week to claim the conference title and a berth in the NCAA D-III playoffs.

Dion Wiegand ran for 125 yards and scored three times. Matt Bliss threw for four touchdowns in a penalty filled contest with 27 accepted fouls for 250 yards.

Geneva opened the scoring on a Mike Gardner 41 yard field goal. The Presidents got on the board with a 44 yard pass from Bliss to Max Creighan. Wiegand scored on a 9 yard run for W & J and the Presidents led 14-3 after one.

The Presidents got the ball back early in the second, it didn’t take long as Wiegand broke a 71 yard run. Zach Hayward was intercepted two plays later by BJ Monacelli and Bliss hit Dan Lucas for a 13 yard score. Craig Popp missed a 20 yard field goal and Geneva was able to get the offense going as Rocco Colavecchia scored on a 3 yard run to make it 28-10. That lasted 13 seconds as Wiegand returned the kickoff 85 yards to the house. The Golden Tornadoes came back with some trickery as after driving, Lemuel Fuller threw the halfback pass to Colavecchia for a 11 yard touchdown and it was 35-17 W & J at the half.

Geneva drove 56 yards on the opening drive of the third but missed out on an opportunity, settling for a Gardner 32 yard field goal. W & J went on a 14 play drive of their own, Bliss to Creighan for a 26 yard score. Bliss hit Lucas for a second score in the fourth to make it 49-20. The Golden Tornadoes got a Hayward 59 yard pass to Fuller and a 7 yard connection for the duo with 7 seconds remaining in the game.

Bliss was 22 of 35 for 358 yards. Alex Baroffio had 9 catches, Lucas 8. W & J is now 7-2 overall and 6-1 in the PAC. Fuller had 8 catches for 100 yards and 2 scores, plus the td pass. Geneva is now 5-4 overall and 4-3 in the PAC.

Edinboro 9 – Clarion 7
Freshman kicker Phil Esposito missed a 34 yard field goal with 1:25 remaining as the Fighting Scots win the battle of the backup quarterbacks in the PSAC West finale.

Edinboro scored first on a safety late in the first quarter as Darrelle Carson and Bobby Thomas missed the exchange deep in their own territory, the ball was recovered by Clarion for a safety. The Fighting Scots took the free kick and drove to the 1 yard line, but Clarion held on downs. Carson put Clarion on the board in the second with a 27 yard run. Jon Girvin hit Marcus Johnson for a 30 yard score and the lead at the half.

Esposito missed a 48 yard field goal on the final play of the third quarter, the best scoring chance for either team. The kicker would get another chance but was not able to convert as the Fighting Scots held on for the win.

Johnson had 5 catches for 65 yards for Edinboro, now 5-5 overall and finishing 3-4 in the West. Carson ran for 130 yards on 24 carries. Clarion falls to 4-6 overall and 2-5 in the PSAC West.

IUP 55 – Gannon 20
The Crimson Hawks racked up 655 yards of offense in the win. Mike Box threw for 378 yards on 21 of 25 with four touchdowns.

IUP led 13-7 after the first quarter. Box hit Brewer for a 37 yard td. Liam Nadler answered with a 13 yard run for Gannon, but De’Antwan Williams gave IUP the lead for good on a 1 yard run.

The Crimson Hawks added to the lead in the second, Box connected with Terrill Barnes for a 16 yard score. Jansen Jones scored on a 2 yard run for the Golden Knights but Williams added a 23 yard run late in the half to put IUP up 28-14.

The third belonged to IUP. Box hooked up with Kevin Edwards for a 31 yard score. Williams scored his 3rd touchdown on a 1 yard run and Erik Finklea broke the game wide open with a 81 yard run. Nadler hit Justin Caliste for a 3 yard td with 3:33 left in the game. Box stayed in the game and passed to Kevin Edwards for a 11 yard touchdown to end the scoring.

Barnes had 8 catches for 151 yards, Finklea carried 12 times for 174 yards, Williams added 73 yards on 19 carries. IUP is now 8-2 overall and finishes 5-2 in the West Division. Caliste had 7 catches for Gannon, now 5-5 overall and ends 4-3 in the West.

Mercyhurst 23 – California  20
Steven Wakefield kicked his third field goal of the game with 40 seconds remaining to give the Lakers to road win at Adamson Stadium

Mercyhurst scored on their opening possessions as QB Anthony Vendemia scored on a 1 yard run. Cody Nuzzo kicked field goals of 26 and 24 yards to put Cal on the board. Wakefield connected on kicks of 41 and 24 yards to put the Lakers up 13-6 at the half.

Cal used special teams to score the first Vulcan touchdown. Garry Brown blocked a punt, Trey Johnson picked the football up and went 13 yards for the score and a 13-all game. The Vulcans drove early in the fourth quarter but Cody Schroeder was picked off by Garret Wild at the 8 yard line.

Mercyhurst took the pick and went 16 plays, Richie Sanders scored on a 1 yard run with 4:09 remaining in regulation. Cal drove the field, Schroeder hit Mike Williams for the tying score, a 20 yard touchdown 3 seconds later. The Lakers put the game in the hands of Allen Jones II, the senior ran five times on the drive, including a 38 yard run, setting up the go-ahead field goal. Cal got to the Mercyhurst 39 but Schroeder came up empty on the final play.

Jones II carried 27 times for 154 yards for the Lakers. Williams had 4 catches for 84 yards for Cal. Both teams are now 6-4 overall and finish 4-3 in the PSAC West.

Grove City 36 – Saint Vincent 26
Steve Maskrey scored three times as the Wolverines handed the Bearcats their 20th straight loss.

Grove City led 21-0 in the second on a Maskrey 1 yard run, Chris Gibbs with a 27 yard fumble return and Brian Pell’s 15 yard td pass to Anthony Ritchie. Saint Vincent scored on an Andy Borgen 1 yard run to make it 21-7 at the half.

Grove City took the second half kickoff and took 5:25 off the clock, Maskrey scored on a 8 yard run. Saint Vincent scored twice in the quarter. Borgen  hit Rob O’Hearn for a 12 yard td and Chris Monroe went in from 34 out to cut the lead to 28-20. Maskrey put the game out of reach with a 4 yard run. Borgen hooked up with Andy Charles for a 1 yard td with 2:31 left but missed the two point conversion. Saint Vincent did get the ball back after a Pell fumble but Borgen was picked off by Ned Hull at the goal line to end any hopes of a comeback.

Maskrey carried 31 times for 117 yards. Pell added 95 yards on 17 totes. The Wolverines are now 4-5 overall and 2-5 in the PAC. Borgen threw for 274 yards and ran for 63 more. The Bearcats are now 0-9.

University of Chicago 14 – Carnegie Mellon 12
Rob Kalkstein hit Tim Kitka for a 13 yard touchdown with 1:39 remaining in regulation. The Tartans missed the two point attempt but Samer Abdelmonty recovered the onside kick.

After three penalties against CMU, the Tartans were faced with fourth and 36 to go. Kalkstein connected with Graham Schilling for a 37 yard gain, CMU took the ball to the Chicago 32 but turned the ball over on downs to end the comeback.

Chicago led 14-0 in the first quarter. A pair of Vincent’s hooked up on the score, Cortina to Beltrano on a 28 yard screen pass for the td. After recovering a fumble on the kickoff, Beltrano hit Colin Marci for a 5 yard touchdown. CMU scored in the second on a Ryan Quinn 8 yard run.

Kalkstein ended with 182 yards passing. Zachery Erra-Hernandez ran 19 times for 68 yards. The CMU defense held Chicago to just 177 offensive yards. The Tartans are now 3-6 and 0-2 in the UAA. The Maroons are 6-3 and 1-1 in UAA play.

Thomas More 49 – Bethany 14
The Bison led 14-7 early in the second quarter but the Saints scored 42 unanswered points to close out PAC play with a 7-1 record and hopes of a Waynesburg win next week over W & J to give the Saints the conference title and NCAA bid.

Bethany took the lead on two Matt Grimard touchdown passes, 3 yards to Jayden Jennings and 2 yards to Eric Blinn. Bobby Leonard put Thomas More on the board with a 34 yard run.

It was all Saints from that point. Leonard took a 26 yard pass from Jensen Gebhardt. Domonique Hayden took over, scoring on runs of 16, 6 and 7 yards to put Thomas More up 35-14. Gebhardt hit Goose Cohorn for a 12 yard score and Hayden added a 2 yard run in the fourth to cap the scoring.

Hayden carried 19 times for 152 yards and the four scores. Gebhardt was 16 of 26 for 297 yards. Thomas More is now 8-1 overall. Grimard was held to a season low 136 yards. Blinn had 9 catches, Bethany falls to 3-6 overall and 3-4 in the PAC.

Thiel 45 – Westminster 37 (4 overtimes)
The Tomcats scored with 1:18 remaining to force overtime and matched the Titans score for score thru three overtimes before pulling out the win in the first ever home night game in Thiel history.

Westminster took a 21-14 lead in the fourth quarter on a Dak Britt 10 yard toss to Collin Wallace. Thiel tied the game on a Andrew Smith 77 yard pass to Tim Walker.

The Titans had the ball first, Britt scored on a 1 yard run. Thiel countered with a Smith to Berund Grube 13 yard touchdown. In the second overtime, Thiel could not make a first down, Jon Fennick kicked a 39 yard field goal. Westminster drove to the 7 yard line but stalled out, Justin Dahl hit from 24 yards to send the game to a third extra session.

Westminster had the ball just two plays, Britt scored on a 9 yard run. Under NCAA rules, teams must go for the two-pointer starting  in the third overtime. Britt could not connect on the pass for the deuce. On fourth and five at the 20 for Thiel, game on the line, Smith hit Matt Fedzen for a touchdown, the conversion pass failed and it was a fourth extra frame.

Thiel had the ball first, Smith to Josh Potter for a 7 yard td, the QB hit Fedzen for the two points and the pressure was on Westminster. Britt was nailed for a 7 yard loss and threw two incompletions to end the game.

Smith threw for 189 yards but 4 touchdowns, Thiel is now 3-6 overall and 3-4 in the PAC. Britt had a huge game for Westminster, the QB ran 38 times for 245 yards and 4 scores, he threw for 169 and a score. Westminster is now 3-6 overall and 2-5 in the PAC.

Robert Morris 54 – Central Connecticut State 21
The Colonials used a 30 point second quarter to move into the lead in the NEC and control their destiny to claim the conference title and FCS playoff berth.

After spotting the Blue Devils a 7-0 lead. Robert Morris scored the next 47 points. Connor Shennan kicked a 22 yard field goal and Duane Mitchell caught a 11 yard pass  from Paul Jones to put RMU up 10-7 after one.

Shennan hit from 25 yards, the Colonials defense got into the act with a pair of Pick 6’s. Eric Lowery  for 38 yards and Kimani Smith for 31. Jones hit Tyler Digby for 8 yards and a score and Deontae Howard for 11 yards in the final minute of the half.

Ryan Thurmil scored on a 14 yard run to complete the run. Darius Lee scored on a 1 yard run for CCSU. Kenny Davis added a 32 yard score for Robert Morris. Rob Holloman scored on 14 yard run for the Blue Devils.

Jones was 10 of 19 for 188 yards. The defense picked off four passes. RMU is now 5-4 overall and 3-1 in the NEC. CCSU falls to 4-6 overall and 2-2 in the conference.

Sacred Heart 10 – Duquesne 0
The Dukes were blanked on the road and may see their hopes of an NEC title and automatic bid to the FCS playoff go up in smoke.

QB Dillon Buechel struggled, going 15 of 45 with three interceptions, one coming in the second quarter in the end zone. Chris Rogers broke the scoreless tie with 6:37 remaining in regulation with a 31 yard field goal. Keshaudes Spence ran for 181 yards, his 22 yard score put the Pioneers up by two scores.

The loss puts Duquesne at 5-4 overall and 3-2 in the NEC. Sacred Heart is now 9-2 overall but also 3-2 in the conference.

The Pioneers travel to Moon Township next weekend to likely decide the NEC title. RMU has one more conference game to play after next week, at Saint Francis on the 23rd.

Saint Francis 23 – Bryant 20
The Red Flash scored three times in the first half and picked off three passes in the second to claim the road win.

Kyle Harbridge opened the scoring on a 1 yard run in the first, he added a 66 yard run in the second to put Saint Francis up 14-0. Ryan Black scored on a 1 yard run for the Bulldogs but Anthony Bowman went in from 10 out to give the Red Flash a 20-7 halftime lead.

There was no scoring in the third, Lance Geesey kicked a 29 yard field goal to put the Red Flash up 16. Chris Schultz hit John Lavin for a 11 yard touchdown and Mike Westerhaus connected with Chad Ward for a 25 yard score with 6:55 left.

Former Clairton standout Brandon Small picked off two passes for the Red Flash, Michael Dennis sealed the win with a pick in the final two minutes for the win.

Harbridge ended the day with 29 carries for 154 yards. Saint Francis is now 4-5 overall and 2-2 in the NEC. Bryant falls to 4-6 and 2-3.