District College Football Recap for Saturday, September 28th

By: Bruce Markey
Sunday, September 29, 2013 | 9:37 AM

It was an exciting day of college football around Western Pennsylvania with a pair of double overtime games, a huge offensive performance by the Rock and IUP takes the Coal Bowl for the first time from Cal.

Here are recaps of ALL the games:

Slippery Rock 58 – Mercyhurst 34
The Rock racked up 609 yards of offense in the win. Transfer Teddy Blakeman ran for three scores and caught a td pass, he also threw for a touchdown. WR John Schademan had a school record 229 yards receiving on 11 catches, he has gone over 100 yards in all four games this season.

It was the Lakers who marched out to the opening score, using just five plays as Anthony Vendemia scored on a 8 yard run. The Rock answered with a Brett Crenshaw 6 yard td scamper and a 32 yard field goal from Mike Wanauskis to take the 10-7 lead. Slippery Rock scored on their third possession too with Blakeman notching his first touchdown of the day on a three yard run. On the final play of the quarter, Rock head coach Dr. George Mihalik rolled the dice on a fourth and one at the Lakers 25, Shamar Greene picked up the first down, keeping the drive alive.

After the quarter break and with a 17-7 lead, Mihalik rolled again, calling a halfback pass from Blakeman to Schademan, it worked for a 25 yard touchdown. SRU made it 5 for 5 on possessions and scores as Nigel Barksdale hit Schademan for a 67 yard touchdown and a 31-7 lead. Mercyhurst got a Steven Wakefield 33 yard field goal to cut into the Rock advantage, but SRU wasn’t done, scoring again on a Blakeman yard run.

Mercyhurst got a defensive score in the third quarter as Barksdale was intercepted by Colin Kimball, who went for a 56 yard Pick 6. Barksdale fumbled on the next play, recovered by Joe Dever, that led to a Wakefield field goal of 30 yards and all the sudden the score is 38-20.

The Rock answered the turnovers with a 7 play 75 yard drive, capped by Blakeman’s 8 yard run. Barksdale hit Blakeman for a 37 yard td pass in the final minute of the third to put the Rock up 51-20 at quarter’s end.

Zach Newsock came on at quarterback for the Rock, he hit Schademan for a 14 yard touchdown on the first drive of the fourth. Chris Lyle added a 43 yard touchdown and Zach Emerick tossed a 11 yard touchdown to Kyle Briggs in the final 30 seconds to close out the game.

Barksdale threw for 439 yards on 27-36, the Rock is now 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the PSAC West. Brandon Brown-Dukes ran 23 times for 119 yards for the Lakers, Mercyhurst is now 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the West Division.

W & J 32 – Thiel 19
The Presidents remain unbeaten in PAC play with the win at Cameron Stadium. Freshman quarterback Pete Coughlin got the start in place of Matt Bliss, the Presidents did not commit a turnover in the win while forcing three miscues from the Tomcats.

W & J led 10-0 after one quarter on an Eric Eberle 32 yard field goal and a Dion Weigand 1 yard run after Andrew Smith was intercepted by Sam Comly.

Thiel scored in the second on a halfback pass from Josh Potter to Bill Frizzi for a 30 yard touchdown. Eberle kicked a 21 yard field goal on the final play of the half to put the Presidents up 13-6.

Coughlin hit Alex Baroffio for a 28 yard touchdown on the opening drive of the third, he scored on a 7 yard run to extend the lead to 25-6. Thiel answered the two scores with a Smith to Josh Wannamaker 10 yard touchdown, the Tomcats missed the extra point.

On the second play of the fourth quarter, Wannamaker fumbled at midfield, Shane Smith returned the fumble to the 3 yard line. Wiegand scored from 3 yards out to put the Presidents up by 20. Potter scored on a 10 yard run with just over 5 minutes left to close out the scoring.

Wiegand carried 21 times for 99 yards. Coughlin was 16 of 23 for 169 yards, he also ran for 54 yards. Baroffio had 7 catches for 104 yards. The Presidents are 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the PAC.

Potter carried 18 times for 93 yards, the Tomcats are now 0-4 and 0-2 in the PAC.

Carnegie Mellon 41 – Geneva 34 in double overtime
In a matchup of future PAC foes at Gesling Stadium, the Tartans got a td run from Max Reinertsen in the second overtime for the win. Rob Kalkstein threw for just 156 yards but for 4 touchdowns.

Geneva took a 7-0 lead in the first on a Zach Hayward td pass of 4 yards to Josh Guiser. Kalkstein connected on a fourth and goal pass to Tim Kitka, the 2 yard touchdown tied the game at 7.

Kalkstein gave CMU the lead in the second on a 5 yard run. Geneva got a Mike Gardner 30 yard field goal, to cap a 14 play drive. Kalkstein hit Reinersen for a 15 yard touchdown and a 21-10 lead. Gardner kicked a 34 yard field goal with six seconds left in the half, Geneva trailed by 8 at the break.

The Golden Tornadoes scored on the opening drive of the second half, Hayward hit Rocco Colavecchia for a 15 yard touchdown, Geneva went for two and could not convert. Kalkstein led the Tartans down the field later in the third, finding Bryce Pardoe for a 1 yard td pass with 67 seconds left, taking over five minutes off the clock.

Geneva missed a chance to cut into the lead as Gardner was wide to the left on a 42 yard field goal. The GT’s got the ball back with 5:50 remaining and Hayward was up to the task, hitting on 7 of 8 passes on the drive, he fould Lemuel Fuller for a 4 yard touchdown with 2:59 left to cut the CMU lead to two, Colavecchia ran for the two-point conversion to tie the game.

Geneva has a chance to win the game in regulation as Tim Martin picked off Kalkstein , setting up a Gardner field goal try from 35 out, but he missed wide left again, forcing overtime.

Geneva took just 3 plays to score in the first overtime, Colavecchia went in from 3 yards out. Kalkstein hit Reinertsen  for a 3 yard touchdown to send it to a second overtime. Reinertsen scored on a 6 yard run to put CMU up, Hayward missed on four straight passes, the Tartans picked up the win.

Reinertsen ran 13 times for 85 yards, he also caught 5 passes. Tim Swanson had 4 catches for 113 yards. CMU is now 2-2 overall.

Hayward threw for 404 yards on 45 of 71. Fuller had 13 catches, Colavecchia 8, Zach Taylor 9 and Dylan Jones 8. Geneva is now 3-1.

IUP 20 – California 7
The 7th ranked Crimson Hawks forced five interceptions and did not allow an offensive touchdown to take the Coal Bowl at George P. Miller Stadium. The win snapped a six game losing streak for IUP vs. Cal.

De’Antwan Williams ran for 167 yards and two scores for the Crimson Hawks, Terrell Holloway picked off three passes in the way. Williams opened the scoring with a 3 yard run in the first quarter. Mike Box hit Terrill Barnes with a 35 yard touchdown in the second and a 14-0 lead.

Cal got their only points on a Dewey McDonald 80 yard Pick 6, Williams ran for 8 yards and his second score to allow IUP to pull away.

Box threw for 151 yards on 9-13. Barnes led with 6 catches. IUP is now 4-0 overall and 2-0 in divisional play. The Crimson Hawks have won 9 straight against PSAC foes, the last loss was to Cal on 9-22-12.

Cody Schroeder was 8 of 16 for 79 yards with 3 picks, he was pulled for James Harris, who went 5-13 for 51 yards and 2 interceptions. Cal falls to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the PSAC West.

Robert Morris 37 – VMI 31 in double overtime
Clairton’s Deontae Howard scored from 17 yards out to give the Colonials the road win. Robert Morris racked up 448 yards of offense, the most in a road game since 2004. RMU came back from a 10 point deficit with 20 minutes to play to take a lead but VMI scored to force overtime.

Paul Jones staked the Colonials out to a 7-0 lead with a 4 yard td pass to Dontae Jeter, but VMI came right back with Matthew Nicholson taking a 10 yard touchdown pass from Eric Kordenbrock. Antwan Eddie returned a punt 88 yards to the house to give RMU a 14-7 lead. The Keydets got a field goal and a Jabari Turner 12 yard run in the final minute to take a three point advantage at the half.

Kordenbrock hit Dane Forelines for a 36 yard touchdown early in the third quarter. Corey Garry scored on a yard run for RMU, Jones hit Tyler Digby for a 16 yard touchdown two minutes into the fourth. The Colonials added a Hunter Khaleghi 40 yard field goal with 3:53 remaining to take a 31-24 lead. But Kordenbrock led VMI down the field and connected with Nicholson for a 39 yard touchdown with one second left to force overtime.

Both teams came up empty in the first overtime, Jones was intercepted by Caleb Furlow on the third play of overtime. Furlow took the interception back to the RMU 38 before being stopped. Needing just a field goal, the Keyotes tried a 34 yarder but Dillion Christopher missed wide right and the game continued.

VMI went right back on offense in the second overtime, stalling out at the 10 yard line, Christopher came on to try from 27, he overcorrected and missed wide to the left, giving Robert Morris an opportunity. Howard scored on the second play to give Robert Morris the win.

Howard ended up with an even 100 yards. Jones was 22-43 for 321 yards but was intercepted twice. Jeter had 8 catches for 112 yards, Duane Mitchell grabbed 6 passes, Robert Morris is now 2-2.

Kordenbrock was 34-51 for 359 yards, Turner ran 19 times for 91 yards and caught 7 passes. VMI is now 1-4.

Fordham 38 – Saint Francis 20
The Red Flash led the #16 Rams to start the fourth quarter but gave up 21 unanswered fourth quarter points, falling at home. Kyle Harbridge racked up 291 yards and 3 touchdowns for the Red Flash, who played their third ranked opponent in four weeks.

Fordham led 14-0 as Jorge Solano took the opening kickoff 96 yards for a score. Michael Nebrich hit Dan Light for a 10 yard score. Saint Francis tied the game in the third on Kyle Harbridge’s 2 yard run, the senior scored on a 67 yard run in the second. After a Fordham field goal, Harbridge scored on a 71 yard run

Nebrich took back the lead for the Rams on the first play of the fourth on a 23 yard td pass to Tebucky Jones. Carlton Koonce added an 8 yard run and Nebrich hit Brian Wetzel for a 3 yard td with 4:49 remaining to seal the deal.  The QB ended with 253 yards on 31-41. Koonce had 23 carries for 126 yards. Fordham is now 5-0. Saint Francis falls to 1-3.

Gannon 45 – Clarion 25
The Golden Knights are tied for the top spot in the PSAC West at 2-0 with the road win at Memorial Stadium. Gannon led 35-7 in the second quarter and never looked back. Clarion suffered their first loss of the season, falling to 3-1.

The Golden Eagles led 7-0 on a Bobby Thomas 38 yard td run. It was all Gannon after that, Liam Nadler tossed two touchdown passes to Abraham Occasio, Jansen Jones added 2 td runs and Justin Caliste returned a punt 90 yards to the house.

Clarion got 10 points in the final 68 seconds of the half. Darrelle Carson started for the injured Ben Fiscus for the second straight week, he hit Matt Lehman for a 45 yard score and the Golden Eagles got a field goal on the final play.

Nadler hit Jones for a 12 yard touchdown, to cap a 97 yard drive in the third, Carson connected with Mark Nichols for a 27 yard touchdown late in the third. The Golden Knights added a field goal in the fourth for the win.

Jones ran 36 times for 167 yards. Nadler was 22 of 26 for 291 yards and the 3 scores. Caliste had 9 catches for 112 yards.

Carson was 15 of 28 for 215 yards, he was picked off twice.  

Edinboro 43 – Seton Hill 7
Jon Girvin came off the bench to led the Fighting Scots to the home win and hand the Griffins their 17th consecutive loss.

Girvin threw for 2 touchdowns and ran for 2 more. He started last week in place of Cody Harris, but was the backup this week. Matt Bodamer started but was pulled after the third offensive series. Girvin was 18-28 for 150 yards.

Edinboro is now 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the PSAC West. Seton Hill falls to 0-4, the Griffins committed 4 turnovers.

Bethany 34 – Grove City 31
The Bison held on for their first win of the season and handed Grove City their second straight loss. Bethany led 21-3 at the half on two Matt Grimard touchdown passes to Chris Collins and a Grimard 1 yard td run.

Grove City scored the only points of the third on a Brian Pell 1 yard run. Pell hit Brian Wells for a 6 yard touchdown early in the fourth to cut the lead to 21-16. Grimard answered with a 2 yard run for the Bison, Pell hit Sam Ivan for a 44 yard score with 5:22 left. James Norkus recovered a Grimard fumble for a score to put the Bison up 10 with under 3 minutes to play.

Grove City had a chance to win it, Pell hit Khalil Ervin for a 14 yard touchdown with 1:22 remaining, the Wolverines recovered the onside kick but Pell was intercepted by Chanan Scott to end the game.

Grimard was 26 of 32 for 323 yards, Eric Blinn had 10 catches for 163 yards, Collins had 8 catches. Bethany is now 1-3 overall and 1-1 in the PAC.

Pell finished 23 of 29 for 289 yards, but Grove City is now 2-2 overall and 0-2 in the PAC.

Westminster 28 – Saint Vincent 21
The Titans led 28-7 in the fourth but had to hold on for the victory at Chuck Noll Field.

Dak Britt threw for a touchdown and ran for a score. Tyler Banks scored on a 22 yard run with 7:22 left to put the Titans up 21. Greg Hendershot hit Chance Gilyard for a 10 yard touchdown. Westminster was trying to run out the clock but Banks fumbled, Dan Wirkowski went 95 yards with the fumble to cut the lead to 7 with 43 seconds left, but the Titans recovered the onside kick to hang on.

Banks carried 30 times for 95 yards. Britt was 19 of 31 for 328 yards. Colin Wallace had 9 catches for 165 yards. Westminster is now 1-2 overall and 1-1 in the PAC. Saint Vincent is now 0-3 overall, the Bearcats have lost 14 straight games.

Thomas More 49 – Waynesburg 28
Jensen Gebhardt threw for 236 yards and 3 touchdowns and Domonique Hayden ran for 212 yards on 24 carries as the Saints go to 3-0 with the win and are tied for the PAC lead with W & J at 2-0.

Carter Hill threw for 334 yards for the Yellow Jackets and 3 touchdowns. Waynesburg falls to 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the PAC.