District College Football Recap for Saturday, October 2nd

By: Bruce Markey
Sunday, October 3, 2010 | 12:00 AM

As October kicks into full swing, the weather turns rough and the defense begins to dominate this week in college football with battles in the PSAC and PAC. There was some offense as well, see W & J, Cal U and CMU, putting up huge numbers this week. Here are recaps of all the action from around the area:

Slippery Rock 16 – Clarion 13

Sophomore Kurt Brackman made the biggest kick of his career, hitting a 32 yard field goal with 1:41 remaining in regulation to send the Rock to 4-1 overall and more importantly 1-1 in the PSAC West Division. Brackman was filling in for the injured C.J. Bahr and kicked three field goals in the win.

The Rock opened the scoring in the first quarter, taking advantage of a short field, Brackman hit his first, from 23 yards to put SRU up 3-0. That lead held up until the final two minutes of the second quarter, Robert Mamula kicked a 31 yarder to even the game at three at the half.

In the third quarter, the Rock defense took over, safety Brandon Watters intercepted an Eric Coxon pass and returned it to the Clarion 44. Redshirt freshman quaterback Michael Bongivengo took over the SRU offense, replacing freshman Ryan Sabo. Bongivengo, the former New Castle standout, capped the drive with his first touchdown, a three yard run to put the Rock up 10-3 with 9:40 remaining in the third.

Clarion also went to it's backup quarterback, Ben Fiscus took over for Coxon, the Golden Eagles went 67 yards to knot the game at ten thru three, scoring on a Fiscus one yard run.

Sabo returned for the Rock, leading the offense to a 22 yard field goal by Brackman with 8:48 remaining in regulation. Fiscus did the same for Clarion, a 47 yard drive led to a Mamula 33 yard field goal to again tie the score at 13. Slippery Rock answered, going nine plays and 54 yards, which set the stage for Brackman's game-winner.

Clarion was not done, taking possession at the Golden Eagles 38, and moved to the Rock 44 before Robert Doiley picked off Fiscus to end the threat and the game.

Slippery Rock was led by sophomore Akeem Satterfield, he went over 100 yards for the fourth time in his career, running for 102 yards on 24 carries. Sabo was 12 of 22 for 137, Devin Goda had eight catches for 67 yards.

Clarion falls to 0-5 overall, the Golden Eagles were led by Fiscus. The backup QB ran for 147 yards on 17 carries, Alphonso Hoggard broke out as well, he ran for 111 yards on 26 attempts. The Clarion quarterbacks combined to complete one pass for seven yards.

Geneva 27 – Saint Vincent 23

The GT's go to 3-0 on the road and 3-2 overall in a wild contest at Chuck Noll Field. Saint Vincent opened the scoring on a 16 yard touchdown run by Brandon Hamilton after a Geneva punt snap went afoul. Geneva gained a short field on the following possession and made it even shorter, David Girardi hooked up with Corey O'Patchen for 44 yards, settting up a Gerald Muschette one yard touchdown to even the game at seven with 9:01 remaining in the first.

Aaron Jones kicked a 22 yard field goal to put the Bearcats back up 10-7, but Geneva ran out the remaining first quarter clock on a good drive that ended with a nine yard Girardi to O'Patchen touchdown, putting the GT's up 13-10. Saint Vincent came right back, Jake Smith hit Hamilton for his second score of the game, a ten yard screen pass, giving the Bearcats a 17-13 lead. Geneva was not done in the quarter, Muschette scored with 2:20 to go on a seven yard run.

There would be two more scores in the second quarter, in those final two-plus minutes. Saint Vincent connected on an Aaron Smetanka pass to Chace Ginyard from 42 yards with 19 seconds left, the extra point was blocked, giving Saint Vincent a 23-20 lead. But Girardi was not done, he hit O'Patchen on a 55 yarder to end the half with a 27-23 lead.

Saint Vincent had two scoring opportunities in the third quarter, Jones hit the left upright with a 41 yard field goal attempt, Smetanka was intercepted by Jon Baldwin in the end zone to end the quarter. Geneva fumbled away the football to start the fourth, Jones had a field goal attempt blocked at the 14:03 mark. Neither team had a good scoring opportunity for the remainder of the contest, two Hail Mary attempts by the Bearcats were knocked down to end the game.

Girardi threw for 261 yards on 20 of 32, O'Patchen had six catches for 144 yards. Muschette ran for 106 yarrds, 94 in the second half. Mike Kale led Saint Vincent with 102 yards on 20 carries. The Bearcats fall to 1-3.

Washington & Jefferson 49 – Westminster 7

W & J continued it's dominance of Westminster with a convincing win at Cameron Stadium on Saturday night. Brian Baldrige ran for 126 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Presidents. The Presidents have now won ten straight against the Titans and lead the all-time series 30-2.

W& J started the scoring in the opening minute, Ben Hoffer returned the opening kickoff 67 yards, setting up Tim McNerney's one yard run just 54 seconds in. Baldrige had a rare fumble on the next possession, Westminster took advantage, Shawn Lehocky hit Gino Pasquinelli with a touchdown pass of five yards to knot the score.

Gino Rometo gave W & J back the lead for good, the quarterback hit Bryant Cappelletti with his first catch of the season, the ten yard touchdown made it 14-7. Baldrige scored early in the second quarter on a 21 yard run, McNerney went in from five yards out on the next possession, and Rometo hit Hoffer for a six yard strike to put the Presidents up 35-7 at the half.

Baldrige added a 40 yard run and senior Nick Puckett scored on a five yard run to add to the W & J scoring total. The defense did the job as well, holding Westminster down to just 195 total yards.

The Presidents are now 2-2 overall and 2-1 in the PAC, Westminster falls to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the conference

Monmouth 44 – Duquesne 17
Chris Hogan and Kendall Haley each had two picks and Dave Ogden and Kenny Amsel notched Pick Six's as Monmouth blew out Duquesne on their home turf. Ogden's return of 31 yards came early in the second quarter, Amsel added a 50 yarder in the game's final minute. Bobby Giles ran for 95 yards for the Hawks, who ended a five game losing skid, now 1-3 on the year. Marty Mitchell came in at quarterback for Duquesne and threw for two touchdowns, one to Connor Dixon, but was picked off four times. Starting quarterback Sean Patterson was 6 of 9 for 28 yards and was picked off twice. Patterson left the game in the second quarter with an ankle injury.

Robert Morris 35 – Saint Francis 14
The Colonials racked up 21 fourth quarter points for the NEC win in Loretto on Saturday. Jeff Sinclair threw for 163 yards and three touchdowns, Myles Russ was held off the scoreboard but ran for 139 yards on 18 carries. Robert Morris is now 4-1 overall, the Colonials are now 3-0 in conference. John Kelly threw for 223 yards and two touchdowns for the Red Flash, who fall to 1-3 overall and 1-1 in the conference. Saint Francis held the ball for over 36 minutes of the contest but it did not show on the scoreboard.

Missouri State 35 – Youngstown State 25
Jamaine Cook staked the Penguins to a 17-7 halftime lead but Missouri State scored two defensive touchdowns in the second half on a fumble recovery in the end zone by Howard Scarbourough and a 40 yard interception return by Adam Beauchamp. Chris Kirby threw for 298 yards and two touchdowns for the Bears, now 2-2 overall and 1-1 in conference. Cook ran for 167 yards, including a 71 yard touchdown to open the scoring. Quarterback Kurt Hess was 13 of 33 for 165 yards and was picked twice. YSU falls to 3-2 overall, 1-1 in the MVC.

California 58 – Lock Haven 0
The fourth ranked Vulcans cruised to the win at Adamson Stadium, holding the Bald Eagles to minus 52 yards rushing. California has now won 22 straight PSAC West division games. Lamont Smith ran for 112 yards and four touchdowns for Cal, now 5-0 and 2-0 in the PSAC. Quarterback Josh Portis added two touchdown passes. The Cal defense had eight sacks and forced three turnovers. The Bald Eagles now possess the longest losing streak in the PSAC, now 26 gams as Cheyney ended a 33 game skid with a 20-17 victory over Millersville in PSAC East play.

IUP 18 – Edinboro 0
Harvie Tuck ran for 168 yards as the IUP defense posted back to back shutouts for the first time since 1991 as they defeated the 12th ranked Fighting Scots at Sox Harrison Stadium. It's the first time IUP has shutout Edinboro since 1969. Tuck and Teddy Blakeman scored on six yard runs, Craig Burgess kicked two field goals for all the scoring. The IUP defense held Edinboro to 179 total yards. IUP is now 4-1 overall, and 2-0 in the PSAC-West, Edinboro falls to 4-0 and 1-1 in the conference and will likely fall out of the top 25 in the AFCA Division II poll.

Gannon 14 – Mercyhurst 10
Jason Ladouceur scored on a 73 yard touchdown pass with 2:01 remaining to give the Golden Knights the Niagara Cup for 2010, defeating the cross-town rival Lakers. Kevin Minor and Connor Kimball each had picks in the final two minutes to seal the win for Gannon. Zach Boedicker threw for two touchdowns for Gannon, now 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the PSAC West. Garrett Kensy hit Trevor Kennedy for a 33 yard touchdown, the Lakers fall to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in the conference. It's the first win for the Golden Knights over the Lakers since 2005.

West Virginia Wesleyan 37 – Seton Hill 16
The Bobcats are now 5-0 for the second time since 1912. Adam Neugebauer threw for 315 yards and four touchdowns in the win as the Bobcats trailed 9-3 at the half. Jon Meadows caught eight passes for 110 yards, West Virginia Wesleyan is now 3-0 in the WVIAC. For Seton Hill, D.J. Lenehan was 15 of 27, but was picked off four times. Jorge Valdovinos caught seven passes for eighty yards. David Miller scored on a five yard run for the Griffins, now 1-5 overall and winless in three conference games.

Thomas More 42 – Thiel 3
The 11th ranked Saints jumped out to a 21-0 halftime lead and never looked back in the victory at Bank of Kentucky Stadium. Antonio Booker returned an interception 70 yards to open the scoring. Robert Kues threw for 140 yards and a touchdown, and ran for another. Dominque Hayden ran for 101 yards and a score. Thomas More is now 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the PAC. Berend Grube kicked a 30 yard field goal for the Tomcats, now 0-5.

Bethany 24 – Waynesburg 17
Freshman quarterback Matt Grimard scored on a two yard run on fourth down with 7:45 to play and the Bison held on for the Homecoming victory over the conference leading Yellow Jackets. Eric Walker ran for 96 yards and two touchdowns for Bethany, he is now the all-time leading rusher for the Bison. Grimard ran for 83 yards and threw for 173 on 17 of 22. The Bison are now 2-3 overall and 1-1 in the PAC. For Waynesburg, quarterback Brad Dawson returned and threw for 174 yards and a touchdown, Bertrand Ngampa ran for 60 yards and a score. The Yellow Jackets are now 2-2 overall and 2-1 in the PAC.

Case Western Reserve 24 – Allegheny 23 in Overtime
Sid Facaros returned a fumble 75 yards for a touchdown to force overtime, but the Spartans prevailed in the extra session to run their regular season winning streak to 35. Joey Baum threw three touchdown passes, two to Shawn Nicely for the Spartans, including the score in overtime. Ryan Zipf kicked three field goals for the Gators, their only offensive touchdown came in overtime on a T.J. Salopek five yard toss to Terry Hartford. Zipf had his PAT attempt blocked by Jacob Adams to seal the win. Case Western Reserve is now 4-0 overall, Allegheny falls to 2-2.

Carnegie Mellon 62 – Hiram 31
The Tartans racked up a school record 585 yards on the ground on the way to the win. Justin Pratt scored four touchdowns, running for 146 yards. Jared Delello added two scores for CMU, he added 101 yards on the ground. Jake Nardone picked up 128 yards and a touchdown for the Tartans, now 3-2 on the season. Glenn Campbell caught 13 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns for Hiram, he also threw a touchdown pass. Hiram falls to 1-4.

Tags: Slippery Rock, Thiel, Washington