District College Football Recap for Saturday, October 26th

By: Bruce Markey
Sunday, October 27, 2013 | 10:54 AM

The final weekend of October brings wind, rain and tough conditions, just how football players like it.

Slippery Rock and Cal both came up with huge wins in the PSAC, setting up a battle next week at the Rock for the West Division title.

W & J wins as well, the Presidents control the PAC race. And a quarterback making his first NCAA start leads Robert Morris to a comeback in the NEC.

Here are recaps of ALL the games:

Slippery Rock 44 – Edinboro 20
The 22nd ranked Rock used the ground game to win their fifth straight game. Teddy Blakeman ran for three touchdowns as SRU will host Cal next week with a spot in the PSAC State Title Game on the line.

On a 44 degree day with a 25 mph win blowing at Sox Harrison Stadium, Slippery Rock used the ground game to set up the opening score as Mike Wainauskis kicked a 25 yard field goal on their possession. Blakeman scored his first touchdown, a 12 yard run to go up 10-0 after one quarter.

Shamar Greene scored on a 10 yard run two plays into the second quarter. Edinboro had to use a special teams play to get on the board as Ben Eisel returned a punt 69 yards to put the Fighting Scots on the board. Blakeman scored with 3:37 left in the half on a 2 yard run, capping a 12 play drive. Mike Simons missed a 20 yard field goal on the final play of the half and the Rock held on to a 24-7 lead.

Slippery Rock scored on the first drive of the third quarter, Nigel Barksdale scored on a 3 yard run. Both teams would drive deep on their next possessions, Edinboro turned the ball over downs at the Rock 22, SRU then marched to the Fighting Scots 29 before stalling out on a fourth and fourteen. Edinboro used the big play for their first offensive touchdown as Jon Girvin hit Darren Massey for a 71 yard strike to cut the lead to 31-13.

Edinboro got the ball back quickly as Barksdale was intercepted by Delano Fabor, but Keith Regis fumbled. Matt Peacock recovered at the Rock 19. Slippery Rock drove to the Edinboro 23 but Brett Crenshaw came up a yard short on a fourth and two and the quarter ended with the Rock in command on the scoreboard.

Slippery Rock forced a three and out, but Greene fumbled after the punt at his own 5. Girvin scored on the next play and all the sudden the score was 31-20. The Rock used a mix of the run and pass to drive down the field quickly, going 85 yards in 1:41, Blakeman scored his third touchdown on a 2 yard plunge. Derrick Fulmore picked off Girvin on the next drive, Barksdale tossed a 1 yard td pass to Michael Bongivengo for the final score of the game.

Blakeman carried 23 times for a career high 145 yards. Barksdale navigated the wind for a 342 yard passing day on 27 of 39. Ken Amos led the Rock with 11 catches for 104 yards. The Rock is now 7-1 overall and tied with Cal at 4-1 for the PSAC West lead.

Girvin was 21-51 for 214 yards, Massey led with 8 catches for 108 yards. The Fighting Scots are now 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the West Division.

California 35 –   Gannon 7
Jeff Knox ran for over 100 yards for the first time this season and the Cal defense held the high octane Gannon offense to 200 yards below their average as the Vulcans set up for a PSAC West title showdown at Slippery Rock next week.

Both teams entered with a 3-1 division record with the loser having almost no chance to play in the PSAC State Championship Game. With the win, Cal has won 3 straight, Knox ended with 102 yards on the day.

The teams played a scoreless first quarter, James Harris hit Ryan McCauley for a 5 yard touchdown on the first play of the second. Liam Nadler scored on a 1 yard run to tie the score. Cal scored late in the half as Harris hit Nadir Brown on a 31 yard touchdown to go up 14-7 at the half.

It was all Cal in the third quarter, Nick Grissom scored on a 26 yard run. Knox scored on a 1 yard run to go up 28-7. Knox added a 2 yard run midway thru the fourth for the final score.

Grissom added 81 yards on 11 carries for the Vulcans. Harris threw for 200 yards  and 2 scores. The Vulcan defense held the PSAC’s leading rusher Jansen Jones to just 69 yards and picked off two passes. Cal is now 6-2 overall. Gannon falls to 4-4 overall and 3-2 in the West.

W & J 42 – Saint Vincent 7
The Presidents go into the bye week with a firm grasp on the conference title. W & J won their third consecutive game and remained tied at 5-1 for the top spot in the PAC with Thomas More, who the Presidents hold a 45-21 victory over. Dion Wiegand scored four touchdowns as W & J led 28-0 at the half. Wiegand lengthened his lead in Division III, he now has 21 td’s on the season.

Wiegand scored on a yard run with 5:50 left in the opening quarter. Matt Bliss led the Presidents on a 16 play 85 yard drive in the second, capped by a 19 yard touchdown pass to Dan Lucas. B.J. Monacelli forced a fumble on the next play, setting up Wiegand on another 1 yard run. After forcing a punt, Bliss hit Wiegand with a pass, the senior running back took it 75 yards for a score and a 28 point halftime lead.

W & J scored on the opening drive of the third, Wiegand scored on a 15 yard run. Pete Coughln entered at quarterback and Ryan Ruffing at running back late in the third quarter, Coughlin engineered a 13 play drive with Ruffing scoring from 7 out. Manuel Brown found the end zone for the Bearcats on a 6 yard run to end the afternoon.

The Presidents had 30 first downs on the day, Wiegand carried 17 times for 93 yards, Ruffing 11 totes for 62 yards. Bliss was 19 of 27 for 280 yards. Lucas had 8 catches for 93 yards. W & J is now 6-2 overall.

Saint Vincent was held to just 183 yards, the Bearcats have lost 18 straight games.

Waynesburg 31 – Geneva 14
The Yellow Jackets shut down the Golden  Tornadoes running game and sacked Zach Hayward three times to stay alive in the PAC race at 4-2 in the conference. Carter Hill threw for an even 300 yards and four scores.

Waynesburg scored on the opening drive. Hill hit Jake DiGuillo for a 3 yard touchdown. Geneva took advantage of a Jerry Lawman fumble to score  as Rocco Colavecchia scored on a 2 yard run to tie the game at 7. The Yellow Jackets answered with Hill throwing to Andrew English for a 15 yard touchdown. The GT’s forced another fumble as Dillion Goodell fumbled, Mike Gardner missed a 34 yard field goal on the final play of the quarter.

Geneva saw their best chance to score in the second quarter end as Hayward was picked off at the 4 yard line by Logan McAnany, the return of 43 yards got the Yellow Jackets out of the shadow of the goal posts. Waynesburg was forced to punt, but Geneva was called for roughing the kicker and gave the Yellow Jackets a first down. Alex Henry turned the miscue into a 38 yard field goal and a 17-7 lead at the half.

Hill hit English for a 17 yard td and Alex Henry missed a 36 yard field goal as Geneva was unable to enter into Waynesburg territory until the final minute of the quarter. Dylan Jones scored on a 4 yard run on the second play of the fourth to cut the lead to 10. But Hill was up to the challenge with a 13 play drive, Hill to Mike Ferrarro for a 9 yard touchdown and the win.

Hill was 33 of 52 on the day. Bernie Thompson had 11 catches for 135 yards. English and Ferrarro each had 8 receptions. Waynesburg is now 6-2 overall.

Hayward was 24 of 46 for 217 yards, he was picked off three times. Colavecchia had 10 catches, Josh Guiser had 9. Geneva falls to 4-3 overall and 3-2 in the PAC.

IUP 28 – Mercyhurst 6
After dropping two straight games, the Crimson Hawks held the Lakers to two field goals on a raw day in Erie to get back on the winning track and keep hopes of repeating as PSAC West champs alive.

IUP scored on the first two possessions. Mike Box and Erik Finklea both scored on 1 yard runs. Steven Wakefield kicked a 25 yard field goal as IUP led 14-3 after one.

De’Antwan Williams scored on a 25 yard run early in the second. Wakefield added a 27 yard field goal and it was 21-6 IUP at the half.

Neither team could score until Box added his second touchdown on a 1 yard run with 46 seconds left in regulation to seal the win. Williams ran 30 times for 186 yards, averaging 6 yards per carry. IUP is now 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the PSAC West. The IUP defense held Mercyhurst to 59 yards passing, Allen Jones II ran 13 times for 65 yards, the Lakers are 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the West.

Clarion 41 –   Seton Hill 2
Special teams played a huge role in the Golden Eagles getting back on the winning track with the win at Memorial Stadium. Clarion blocked three punts on the day, two for scores and handed the Griffins their 21st straight loss.

Matt Lehman put the Golden Eagles on the board midway thru the first quarter with the blocked punt, the freshman from Burrell recovered the block for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. All-American DE Julian Howsare got into the act early in the second, he had his first block of the day and recovered it for a score and a 13-0 lead. Seton Hill got their only points on the conversion attempt as a high snap was picked up by Phillip Moreland and taken 90 yards for a defensive conversion. Travis Day added a 5 yard run to put Clarion up 20-2 at the break.

Bobby Thomas ran for a 32 yard touchdown in the third, Howsare tipped a punt, giving him his second block of the day. Thomas scored on a 1 yard run late in the third, then following an interception. Eric Frye caught a 12 yard pass from Darelle Carson for the final score.

Clarion is now 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the West Division. Seton Hill falls to 0-8.

Thomas More 44 – Grove City 7
Domonique Hayden scored three of his four touchdowns in the second half as the Saints hang with W & J at 5-1 in the PAC. Hayden, the PAC leading rusher, ran 33 times for 327 yards in the win.

Grove City led 7-3 in the first quarter on a Brian Pell 53 yard td pass to Anthony Ritchie. Hayden answered with a 6 yard run. Tommy Budke kicked three first half field goals, the final coming from 20 yards on the final play of the half to lead 13-7.

Hayden scored on runs of 16 yards and a 1 yard run in the third, he added a 89 yard scamper thirty seconds into the fourth to go up 37-7. Scootie Middleton scored on a 30 yard run to close out the win.

Thomas More is now 6-1 overall. Grove City falls to 3-4 overall and 1-4 in the PAC.

Westminster 7 – Bethany 6
The Bison was just 44 seconds away from a victory and staying in the race for the PAC title, but Dylan Heitmeier blocked a punt and recovered it for a touchdown to give the Titans the win at Bison Stadium.

Pedro Lalor kicked two first half field goals to give the Bison the lead. Westminster turned the ball over on downs three times in Bethany territory in the first three quarters. The Titans drove again in the fourth, with a first and goal at the 10, but the drive stalled again and Dak Britt could not convert on fourth down and Bethany took over for the fourth time on downs with 3:24 left.

Bethany was able to pick up a first down and forced Westminster to call their final two timeouts. The Bison survived a holding penalty to pick up another first down on a Phil Acrie 12 yard run, but a personal foul against Bethany negated the play and set up the punting situation.

Britt ran for 108 yards on 16 carries, he threw for only 82 yards. Westminster is now 3-4 overall and 2-3 in the PAC.

Grimard was held to 192 yards on 23 of 41. Eric Blinn did not have a catch in the game, he led D-III with 863 yards receiving on 62 catches entering the game. Bethany falls to 3-4 overall and 3-2 in the PAC.

Robert Morris 17 – Wagner 13
The Colonials scored 14 points in the fourth quarter to down the defending NEC champs on Staten Island. Marcus Prather made his first NCAA start and threw the go-ahead score on fourth down to Tyler Digby.

The score was 3-3 at the half. Wagner took the lead on a Domonique Williams 73 yard run early in the third quarter. RMU got their first score as Prather hit Duane Mitchell for a 10 yard touchdown with 7:09 left.  David Lopez kicked his second field goal with three minutes to play to put the Seahawks back up. But Prather drove the Colonials down the field with the 11 yard toss coming with 1:17 left. Eric Lowery sealed the win with an interception on the final play of the game.

Mitchell had 8 catches for 141 yards, his best day at RMU. Prather was 17 of 33 for 204 yards. RMU is now 3-4 overall, Wagner falls to 2-6.

Bryant 42 – Duquesne 14
The Bulldogs racked up 35 second half points, scoring after three Dukes turnovers to claim the home win.

The game was tied at 7 at the half, Mike Westerhaus hit Tyler McIntyre for a 6 yard touchdown. Chavas Rawlings scored on a yard run for Duquesne, both of those scores came in the first quarter.

The game changed in the third as Sam Sammons picked up a fumble and took it 29 yards for a score. Westerhaus hit Chad Ward for a 7 yard score and Jose Depadua ran for a 45 yard touchdown to put the Bulldogs up 28-7.

Ryan Black added a 3 yard run and J Woodson returned an interception 46 yards. Ethan Dorsey scored for the Dukes on a 2 yard plunge with three minutes remaining.

Dillion Buechel was 24 of 36 for 200 yards, but was picked off three times. Dave Thomas had 8 catches, Gianni Carter 6 for Duquesne, who saw their 3 game winning streak come to an end. The Dukes are now 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the NEC. Bryant is now 4-4 overall and 2-1 in the conference.

Saint Francis 24 – Sacred Heart 10
The Red Flash got 190 yards from Kyle Harbridge to go to 1-1 in the NEC.

Sacred Heart led 7-3 into the third quarter on a R.J. Noel 8 yard td pass to Tim Goodwin. Following a Chris Rogers field goal for the Pioneers put Sacred Heart up 10-3. Harbridge tied the game on a 21 yard td pass from Capri Thompson. The Red Flash took the lead for good on Zach Drayer’s 5 yard pass to Anthony Bowman and Harbridge added a 90 yard run to close out the win.

Harbridge ran 25 times for 190 yards.  The Red Flash defense held Noel to just 94 yards passing, Saint Francis is now 3-4. Sacred Heart falls to 7-2.