District College Football Recap for Saturday, October 11th

By: Bruce Markey
Sunday, October 12, 2014 | 9:45 AM

Week 6 of the local college football season kick off Northeast Conference play, the PSAC West race for the top spot is a mess with three teams tied atop the leaderboard and W & J continues to roll towards a meeting with Bethany for first place in the PAC next week. 

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

W & J 55 – Grove City 14
The #20 ranked Presidents led 35-0 at the half and cruised to a 5-0 record with the road win at Robert E. Thorn Field.

Ryan Ruffing staked W & J to that big lead, scoring four straight touchdowns in the first half, the Thomas Jefferson star has 17 touchdowns for the season. Ruffing scored on runs of 15 and 3 yards in the first quarter and a 5 yard run early in the second. Pete Coughlin, the former Upper St. Clair quarterback took over, he tossed back to back touchdown passes to Ruffing for 17 yards and Jesse Zubik for 62 yards and the big lead at the half.

Coughlin connected with Zubik for a 10 yard score to begin the third quarter and a 41-0 lead. Joe Swanson scored on a 2 yard run for the Wolverines, with Zack Puckett hit the scoreboard with a 6 yard run for the Presidents and a 48-7 lead after three.

David Kincaid scored on a 17 yard run for the Presidents, Josh Peach took a 20 yard pass from freshman Gabe Greco of New Brighton with 9:30 to play to close out the scoring.

Ruffing ran for 145 yards on 17 carries. Coughlin was 27-35 for 309 yards and the 3 scores. Max Creighan had 13 catches for 107 yards, Zubik had 5 grabs for 115 yards. The Presidents are now 3-0 in the PAC.

Grove City was held to 201 yards of offense. Greco became the third quarterback to play this season for the Wolverines, who fall to 0-5 overall and 0-3 in the PAC.

Thomas More 42 – Geneva 3
On Homecoming Day on top of College Hill, the Golden Tornadoes jumped out to a 3-0 first quarter lead but that would be the only excitement at Reeves Field as the Saints go to 3-1 in the PAC with the victory.

Mike Gardner kicked a 40 yard field goal with 9:07 left in the opening frame but Thomas More answered with two touchdown runs by CT Tarrant of 14 and 2 yards to take a 14-3 lead after one. The Saints used their favorite duo, Jensen Gebhardt to Goose Cohorn for a 39 yard touchdown early in the second. Brenan Kuntz came on to play quarterback and tossed a touchdown pass of 40 yards to Tyler Vogelpohl. Tarrant scored his third touchdown on a 2 yard run with just under three minutes to play in the half, the Saints claimed a 35-3 at the break.

Myron Fears went in from 14 out to finish the scoring in the first minute of the fourth quarter. The PAC’s leading rusher, Domonique Hayden left the game early, he finished with just 4 yards on 5 carries. Tarrant ran 19 times for 103 yards, Gebhardt was 17 of 31 for 202 yards passing, Cohorn had 7 catches. The Saints are now 4-2 overall.

Geneva managed just 170 yards of offense, Laurel’s Dylan Jones had 65 yards rushing on 12 carries. The Golden Tornadoes are now 1-4 overall and 0-3 in the PAC.

Sacred Heart 52 – Robert Morris 13
The defending NEC champions led 28-0 after one quarter and did not look back in the conference opener for both teams. RJ Noel threw for 295 yards and 3 touchdowns, Tyler Dube had 7 catches for 108 yards and a touchdown, he also ran for another score. Sacred Heart is now 5-1 overall.

Derik Abbott threw two touchdown passes, one to Justin Kempka and the other to Nic Lamica. Abbott had 230 yards passing, he was sacked 6 times and threw 2 interceptions. RMU is now 0-6.

Duquesne 28 – Central Connecticut State 20
Dillon Buechel and Chris King connected for threw touchdown passes as the Dukes win the NEC opener on the road. The duo opened the scoring in the first quarter for a 21 yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead. Brendon Lytton scored on a 39 yard run for the Blue Devils, but King caught a 7 yard pass from Buechel and Duquesne led 14-7 after one.

Taking a 14-10 lead into the third quarter, it was Devin Rahming’s time to get on the board, he took a 6 yard pass from Buechel and the Dukes led by two scores. King picked up td number 3 in the fourth on a 20 yard toss. Rob Hollomon scored on a 13 yard run with 6:51 remaining to cut the lead to eight, the Blue Devils drove to the Dukes 7 yard line with three minutes to play but turned the ball over on downs, Duquesne ran out the clock for the victory.

Buechel, the former Montour star, threw for 333 yards on 25 of 36. King had 9 catches for 147 yards which will keep him as the leading receiver in the FCS. Duquesne is now 4-3 overall. Hollomon ran for 131 yards on 28 carries for CCSU, who falls to 2-4.

Wagner 46 – Saint Francis 39 in double overtime
The Red Flash trailed 21-0 but rallied to force overtime, but could not score in the second and fell on the road in New Jersey.

Saint Francis got on the board in the second on Zach Drayer’s 2 yard touchdown run, the quarterback hit Anthony Abeid for a 19 yard touchdown in the final minute of the second, the pair connected again for a score in the third for a 22-21 Red Flash lead.

Wagner took the lead with 3:10 to play on a Bryant Watts touchdown catch, his second score of the day, but Saint Francis came back on a Drayer to tight end Matt Camiletti td pass of 2 yards with 30 seconds to play to force overtime.

Drayer threw his fourth touchdown pass of the game to Franklyn Williamson for 12 yards in the first overtime, Otis Wright answered with his second td run of the day on a 2 yard scamper to send the game to a second extra session. Chris Andrews connected with Watts for a 2 yard score to put Wagner up, Saint Francis moved to the Wagner 12 but Drayer was sacked on fourth down to end the game.

Drayer threw for 268 yards, Abeid had 8 catches for 189 yards. Khairi Dickson ran 30 times for 125 yards to help his FCS leading rushing total. Saint Francis falls to 2-4 overall.

For Wagner, Andrews came on to throw 2 touchdown passes. Watts had only 3 catches but all for scores. The Seahawks are now 3-3 overall.

California 48 – Slippery Rock 26
The Rock saw their hopes of repeating as PSAC West Division champions take a huge hit at Adamson Stadium and will likely fall out of the AFCA Top 25 with the loss.

The Vulcans scored 31 points in the second quarter to take a 38-17 lead and shut down the Rock rushing attack, holding the PSAC’s leading rusher Shamar Greene to just 55 yards on 13 carries.

Cal took a 7-0 lead on a James Harris 32 yard touchdown pass to Paul Butler. Nick Grissom scored on a 25 yard run on the first play of the second quarter to put Cal up 14-3. Harris would follow with scoring strikes of 14 and 5 yards to Garry Brown for a 28-3 lead. SRU got their first touchdown as Zach Newsock hit Julian Durden for a 17 yard touchdown, but Terrill Roberson answered with a 4 yard run. The first half had a wild finish as ten points went up on the board in the final minute. Durden scored on a 2 yard run for SRU, but Cody Nuzzo kicked a 24 yard field goal on the final play.

The Rock cut it to a two score game with a Newsock touchdown pass to Taishan Tucker but Harris drove the Vulcans down the field again, hitting Kowan Scott for a 31 yard score.

Harris finished 19-35 for 326 yards, Brown had 9 catches for 111 yards. Grissom added 121 yards rushing on 21 carries. The Vulcans are now 5-1 overall and 4-1 in the West.

Newsock finished 32-54 for 368 yards but was intercepted 3 times. Slippery Rock is also 5-1 overall and 4-1 in the West, the Rock gets ready for a trip to Michigan Stadium next Saturday against Mercyhurst in the Battle of the Big House.

Edinboro 56 – Clarion 28
The Fighting Scots pick up their first win of the season in a big way at Memorial Stadium Saturday night. Edinboro scored 28 points in the final quarter to pull away for the win.

Delrece Williams opened the scoring for Clarion with a 1 yard run, Cody Harris hit Darren Massey for two touchdown passes of 2 and 3 yards and a 14-7 lead after one. Clarion tied the game on a Connor Simmons td pass to Zach Dietrick. Freshman Anfreenee Williams scored his first career touchdown on a 4 yard run to put the Fighting Scots back on top at the half.

Harris hit Massey for another 2 yard score and the only points of the third, the senior quarterback connected with Kolbe Hughes for a 40 yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth. Williams scored his second touchdown on a 1 yard run and Veuntrae Robinson scored on a 75 yard Pick 6 to put the game away.

Harris was 23 of 29 for 200 yards. Massey had 9 catches and Hughes 8 to lead the Fighting Scots, now 1-5 overall and 1-4 in the PSAC West. Clarion was held to just 36 yards rushing, the Golden Eagles are now 2-4 overall and 2-3 in the West.

IUP 51 – Seton Hill 28
Beaver’s Darian Bradley ran for four touchdowns and Walt Pegues set a school record with a 96 yard punt return as the Crimson Hawks find themselves in a tie for the PSAC West lead.

Bradley scored on runs of 1, 10, 18 and 14 yards, the final two coming in the fourth quarter to allow IUP to pull away for the win. Luigi Lista-Brinza also scored on a 1 yard run in the first quarter for the Crimson Hawks, who ran for 224 yards.

Lista-Brinza continued his string of 100 yard games, running for 108 yards on 24 carries, Bradley had 92 yards. Chase Haslett threw for 225 yards and a touchdown. Drew Carswell had 7 catches for 131 yards. IUP is now 5-1 overall and 4-1 in the division.

Drew Jackson threw 77 times, completing 44 for 440 yards and 2 touchdowns. FJ Williams and Jarvis McClam each had 12 catches for the Griffins, now 1-5 overall and 1-4 in the PSAC West.

Mercyhurst 45 – Gannon 38
The Lakers pick up their second straight win and the Golden Knights suffer their second consecutive loss in the battle of Erie.

After a scoreless first quarter, the teams lit up the board for 34 points in the second. Brandon Brown-Dukes scored on a 47 yard run, but Liam Nadler answered for Gannon with a 79 yard touchdown pass to Jesstin Hamm. Brendan Boylan threw for a 11 yard td to TJ Latimer for the Lakers and a 14-7 lead. The teams exchanged field goals, Boylan hit Jaquan Williams for a 11 yard touchdown with 2 seconds left in the half and a 24-10 lead for Mercyhurst.

Gannon came back in the third quarter, Nadler and Hamm for a 38 yard score, Nadler added a 3 yard run but the extra point was blocked with Mercyhurst clinging to a one point lead. Brown-Dukes scored from 1 out but North Allegheny’s Alex Papson went in for a 2 yard score, Nadler ran for the conversion and the game was tied at 31 entering the fourth.

Boylan connected with Latimer again for a 32 yard strike, he also hit Stephen Yarbrough for a 28 yard touchdown to put the Lakers up two scores. Nadler scored on a 3 yard run with 4:58 left to cut the Mercyhurst lead to seven, the Lakers held the ball for the remaining time and the win.

Boylan threw for 446 yards on 28 of 44. Williams had 7 catches for 108 yards, Yarbrough and Latimer each had 5 catches. Brown-Dukes went over 100 yards for the 11th time in his career on 133 yards rushing. Mercyhurst is now 2-4 overall and 2-3 in the PSAC West.

Nadler was 18 of 36 for 280 yards, Hamm had 5 catches for 149 yards, Brock Jones ran 19 times for 121 yards, Gannon is now 4-2 overall and 3-2 in the West.

Waynesburg 35 – Case Western Reserve 15
Carter Hill threw four touchdown passes as the Yellow Jackets came back from an early deficit to defeat the Spartans at Wiley Field.

After the Spartans kicked a field goal on the final play of the first quarter, Willie Leavell opened the second with a bang and a 86 yard kickoff return. Billy Beecher hit Bryan Erb for a 20 yard touchdown to give Case Western a 9-7 lead but that’s when Hill took over.

The senior quarterback hit Bennie Thompson with touchdown passes for 24 and 7 yards and a 21-9 halftime lead. Hill connected with Andrew English in the third for a 22 yard score and Zac Capan in the fourth for 15 yards.

Hill finished 17-29 for 173 yards, Thompson had 6 catches, English 5, the defense sacked Beecher three times and forced two turnovers. Waynesburg is now 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the PAC, Case Western falls to 2-3 overall and in conference.

Bethany 19 – Carnegie Mellon 7
The Bison remain unbeaten in PAC play at 4-0 with the home win on Saturday. New Castle’s Jalen Holmes carried 26 times for 160 yards to lead the Bethany offense.

CMU led 7-6 at the half on quarterback Andrew Hearon’s 6 yard run. Bethany took the lead for good in the third as Nick Greer, normally a defensive back, came in at quarterback and tossed a 2 yard touchdown shovel pass to Eric Blinn. The former Western Beaver standout would catch a 6 yard pass from Brian Vales in the final minute of the third to add to his totals as the all-time leading receiver in Bison history.

Blinn had 15 catches for 137 yards, Vales was 18 of 29 for 183 yards. Bethany is now 5-1 overall. Carnegie Mellon was held to 48 yards rushing, Hearon was 12 of 24 for 142 yards, he was sacked 7 times. The Tartans fall to 2-3 overall and in the PAC.

Westminster 49 – Thiel 28
The Titans broke into the win column with the home victory on Saturday. Paul Columbo survived 4 sacks to throw for 317 yards on 20 of 30 as Westminster led 34-7 entering the fourth quarter and held on after a late Tomcat rally of 21 points in the final frame.

Ryan Radke put the Tomcats on his back in the fourth, tossing touchdowns for Alex Horvatits of 14 yards and Marcus Johnson for 77 yards. Radke ran in from 2 yards in the final minute to close the scoring. Radke threw for 323 yards on 24-53, he ran for 62 yards on 19 carries. Thiel fall to 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the PAC.

Westminster is now 1-5 overall, the Titans are also 1-3 in conference.