District College Football Recap for Saturday, October 31st

By: Bruce Markey
Sunday, November 1, 2015 | 12:59 AM

On Halloween, several of the district college football teams thought they lost their heads with some very lopsided scores.

With just a couple of weeks remaining, Duquesne shares the lead in the NEC, Slippery Rock is looking for back to back trips to the PSAC State Title game and programs who have struggled in recent years are close to the top of the PAC standings.

Here are recaps of ALL THE GAMES from Saturday.

Duquesne 35 – Wagner 17
The Dukes remain tied with CCSU at 3-1 atop the NEC standings. Rafiq Douglas ran for 3 touchdowns as Duquesne goes to 6-3 overall.

Lloyd Smith put the Seahawks on top in the first, taking a 6 yard td pass from Alex Thomson. Douglas tied the game in the second on a 2 yard run. After a Wagner field goal, Dillon Buechel(Montour) gave the Dukes the lead for good with a 28 yard pass to Chris King.

Douglas scored on a 65 yard run on the opening drive of the third, he added an 8 yard run early in the fourth. Otis Wright ran for a Wagner score but Buechel cemented the win with a 15 yard scoring toss to Wayne Capers(Char Valley) in the final minute.

Douglas carried 24 times for 191 yards. The Duquesne defense held Wagner to 66 passing yards. Wagner is 0-8 overall and 0-3 in the NEC.

Saint Francis 23 – Sacred Heart 14
On Homecoming day in Loretto, the Red Flash go to 2-1 in the NEC with the win. Zach Drayer hit Terell Smith with td passes of 64 and 98 yards as Saint Francis is now 5-3 overall.

Drayer was 13-20 for 291 yards. Smith had just the two catches on the day. Anthony Abeid has 7 receptions for 103 yards. The Red Flash also got 3 Lance Geesey field goals.

RJ Noel threw for 294 yards and 2 td’s for the Pioneers, now 4-4 overall and 1-2 in the NEC.

Central Connecticut 34 – Robert Morris 0
Matthew Barr was picked off 5 times as the Colonials were blanked on the road. The Blue Devils blocked a punt and had a Pick 6 in the victory. RMU managed just 10 first downs and 13 rushing yards.

Barr was 14-27 for 195 yards. The Colonials fall to 2-6 overall, 1-3 in the NEC. The Blue Devils rushed for 214 yards and are now 5-4.

IUP 28 – Clarion 14
The Golden Eagles had won their first seven games and led 14-13 at the half, but the Crimson Hawks dominated the second half and stayed in position to win the West Division.

IUP jumped out to a 13-0 first quarter lead on a Lenny Williams(Sto-Rox) touchdown pass to Jordan brown and a Shannon Jackson 1 yard run. Connor Simmons brought Clarion back with touchdown passes to Delrece Williams(Steel Valley) and Khalil Webster.

Lenny Williams gave IUP back the lead with an 8 yard run. Sean bowling tacked on a 37 yard field goal and Jackson scored his second td of the game  on a 17 yard run with 3:10 left in regulation.

Jackson rushed 33 times for 167 yards, Lenny Williams ran for 134 yards and threw for 148. IUp is 6-2 overall and 5-1 in the West Division.

Simmons struggled for Clarion, now 7-2 overall. The junior QB was 14-40 for 243 yards, he was picked off once and sacked 4 times. Clarion is now 4-2 in the West.

California 42 – Gannon 21
The Vulcans continue their winning ways, going to 4-2 in the West with the victory. Cal jumped out to a 35-0 lead before the half. James Harris threw 3 first quarter touchdowns and ran 15 yards for a score in the second.

Kowan Scott had 2 td catches on 7 grabs for 151 yards. Garry Brown added a td catch. Jimmy Wheeler(West Mifflin) had 12 carries for 103 yards and a score, John Franklin added 80 yards and a score, meaning the sophomore continued his streak of scoring in every game this year. Harris finished 18-27 for 263 yards. Cal is 6-3 overall.

Liam Nadler was 8-19 for 98 yards for Gannon, he was replaced in the second quarter by Zach Phillips, who threw 2 touchdown passes. Brock Jones ran for score and caught a td pass. Gannon falls to 6-3 overall and 3-3 in the West. 

Slippery Rock 52- Edinboro 10
The #12 Rock led 21-3 after one quarter and did not look back as SRU placed a hold one first place in the West Division with the win as Sox Harrison Stadium.

QB Dante Nania(Hempfield) threw for only 169 yards but posted 3 td passes in the win. The Rock had 2 100-yard rushers, Julian Durden(Montour) led the way with 113 yards on 11 carries and a score while Shamar Greene(West Mifflin) carried 18 times for 105 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Jaimire Dutrieuille scored twice for SRU, now 8-1 overall. The Rock is 5-1 in the west and tied with IUP for the top spot, but the Rock holds a tiebreaker in the division race.

Jake Sisson tossed a touchdown pass to Alex Caratelli with 6 seconds left in the first half for the only Edinboro td. The Fighting Scots fall to 0-9 overall and are 0-6 in the West.

Mercyhurst 41 – Seton Hill 13
The Lakers go to 5-4 with the win.  Brandon Brown-Dukes scored twice and backup QB Zach Emerick 4 touchdown passes in the win.

Emerick, who started for the second straight week in place of Brendan Boylan, threw for 311 yards on 20-30. Brown-Dukes ran for 64 yards. Drew Robinson(Union) rushed for 60 yards on 13 carries. FJ Williams had 3 catches for 104 yards and a score as the Lakers led 34-13 at the half. Richie Sanders added the only score of the second half on a 50 yard punt return. The Lakers are 2-4 in the West Division.

Patrick Jackson scored on a 12 yard run and Christian Strong threw a td pass for the Griffins, now 2-7 overall and 1-5 in the West. 

Carnegie Mellon 73 – Thiel 19
The Tartans used a 35 point fourth quarter to blow the Tomcats out in Greenville. Division III’s leading rusher Sam Benger ran for 166 yards and 3 scores on 24 carries, CMU rushed for 428 yards as a team. 6 players scored touchdowns for the Tartans. Graham Schilling had 2 td catches thrown by Andrew Hearon.

CMU is 5-3 overall, 5-2 in the PAC. Thiel remains winless in the conference at 0-6. Ryan Radke threw for 2 scores and ran for 1 for the Tomcats, now 1-7 overall.

W & J 34 – Geneva 13
The Presidents ran their overall record to 6-2 with the win at Reeves Field. Pete Coughlin(Upper St. Clair) threw for 351 yards and 3 scores in the win.

Ryan Ruffing(Thomas Jefferson) staked W & J to a 7-0 lead with a 3 yard run on the final play of the first quarter. Javid Ellis answered with a 5 yard score. Two field goals by Ted Ford(Carlynton) gave W & J a 13-10 lead at the break.

Coughlin connected with Asa Costelnock(Southmoreland) on the first play of the second half. He added a 4 yard scoring strike to Eric Scott(Imani Christian) to put the Presidents up 27-10 after three. Following a Geneva field goal, Coughlin clinched the win by hitting Jesse Zubik(Avonworth) on a 61 yard play and score.

Scott had 8 catches for 135 yards in the win. W & J is 4-2 in the PAC. Geneva falls to 2-6 overall and 1-5 in the PAC.

Bethany 58 – Grove City 26
The 0-8 Wolverines made things interesting in the first half but the Bison pulled away in the second for the big win.

Jalen Holmes had a huge day for Bethany. The former New Castle Red Hurricanes runner ran for a career high 341 yards on 26 carries and scored another career high 4 touchdowns. Holes scored on runs of 15, 55, 51 and 49 yards, the Bison ran for 443 yards as a team.

The PAC’s career leading receiver Eric Blinn(Western Beaver) caught 9 passes for 137 yards and a score. Bethany is 4-5 overall and 3-4 in the PAC.

Caleb Jakiel(Moon) has a career day, throwing for 429 yards on 29-55 and 4 scores. Brett Pinson had 7 catches for 180 yards and a td. The Wolverines are 0-6 in the PAC.

Westminster 39 – Saint Vincent 14
After a scoreless first quarter, the Titans exploded for 39 unanswered points as Westminster continues it’s best season in many years at 6-2 overall. QB Paul Columbo threw for 130 yards and 2 scores, he ran 16 times for 148 yards and another td. Dominique McKinley(Greensburg Salem) rushed 24 times for 105 yards plus a score.

Linebacker Max Ungerman(North Hills) added a fumble recovery for a td, the Titans are 5-1 in the PAC.

The Bearcats were held to 164 yards of offense. Evan Shimensky threw 2 td passes. Saint Vincent falls to 3-5 overall and 2-4 in the PAC. 

Thomas More 42 –Waynesburg 19
#11 Thomas More led 35-0 in the third quarter on the way to a 9-0 record. Brenan Kuntz threw for 312 yards and 4 touchdowns. Goose Cohorn had 5 catches for 166 yards, 2 for scores. Hjavier Pitts carried 12 times for 123 yards. The Saints are 7-0 in the PAC and ready for their showdown with Case Western next week for the conference title.

Jerry Lawman ran 33 times for 137 yards for the Yellow Jackets, now 3-6 overall. Waynesburg was held to 210 yards of offense and falls to 2-5 in the PAC.