District College Football Recap for September 21

By: Bruce Markey
Sunday, September 22, 2013 | 11:55 AM

Conference play opened up in the PSAC and PAC, as W & J and Geneva opened with big wins. Clarion and California went to 3-0 overall and Duquesne crossed the border into Ohio with not so good results.

Here are recaps of ALL the games from Saturday.

Gannon 38 – Slippery Rock 20
The Rock’s woes continued in the city of Erie, where SRU has not won a game since 2002. 4 turnovers and a powerful Gannon running game that controlled the clock took the Golden Knights to the win in the PSAC Western Division opener for both teams.

Jansen Jones carried 38 times for 181 yards for Gannon, the Golden Knights held the football for over 38 minutes. Gannon took the lead for good in the third quarter on former Ringgold star Quad Law’s 93 yard kickoff return.

The Rock jumped out to a 7-0 lead on the second play of the game as Brett Crenshaw ran 55 yards for a touchdown. While not a turnover, SRU handed Gannon great field position at the 2 yard line when punter James McCombie tried to field a low snap and had his knee on the ground. Jones scored on the next play to tie the game at 7. Slippery Rock answered with a 65 yard drive, capped on a Nigel Barksdale 14 yard touchdown pass to Julian Harrell. Gannon tied the game on their next possession, going 12 plays and 71 yards, QB Liam Nadler went in from 2 yards out to tie the game again.

The Rock had a great chance to start the second quarter as Bob Westerlund recovered a Jesstin Hamm fumble at the Gannon 29. Slippery Rock drove to the Gannon 6 but on 4th and 3, the Rock elected not to go for the field goal and went for the first down, Crenshaw was stopped a yard short and the ball went over on downs. Slippery Rock got the ball back after John Schademan returned a punt to the Gannon 14. But the Rock could not convert once again, going for the field goal on a 4th and 3 from the 7, Mike Wainauskis missed a 24 yard field goal wide to the right, giving Gannon back the ball to the 20.

Slippery Rock got the ball back again, as Nadler was intercepted by Tony Papley. SRU drove to the 14 before Barksdale was picked off by Nick Bengal from the 3 yard line. Nadler was intercepted again, this time by Quindell Dean to give the Rock the ball at the 34 with 1:25 left in the half. But again the Rock did not score, Barksdale was sacked on fourth down and the half ended.

Gannon took the second half kickoff and marched right down the field using the running of Jones, who scored on a 19 yard run for his second score of the game. The Rock failed to score on the next possession as Teddy Blakeman fumbled to give the ball back to the Golden Knights. The defense forced a three and out, Barksdale connected with Harrell for a 32 yard touchdown to tie the game. That lead lasted 18 seconds as Law returned the kick for a touchdown. Slippery Rock got a huge break as Cody Crosby could not handle the snap and turned the ball over to the Rock at the 16. But again the Rock came up empty as Barksdale was picked off again to Mike Zanders at the goal line. Slippery Rock had a chance again to tie the game after Blakeman scored on a 2 yard run but Wainauskis had his extra point blocked, Gannon retained the lead.

Justin Caliste took the kickoff 63 yards, after the teams changed ends for the fourth quarter, Nadler found Hamm for an 18 yard touchdown and an 8 point lead. After the teams exchanged punts, Slippery Rock took over at the Rock 40 and drove to the Gannon 23. The Rock then committed a false start, offensive pass interference and a holding penalty on three straight snaps to set up a 1st and 40, Barksdale was sacked and fumbled on the next play. Donnie Mann hit a 44 yard field goal to cap the scoring.

Barksdale was held in check by the Gannon defense, after putting up back to back 400 yard games, he threw for just 250 yards on 15 of 38. Schademan had 6 catches for 123 yards. Both teams are now 2-1 overall.

W & J 40 – Grove City 19
The Presidents ran for 320 yards and 5 Dion Wiegand touchdowns in the PAC opener for both teams. W & J used two quarterbacks in the win, as starter Matt Bliss was in and out of the game after getting banged up last week against nationally ranked St. John Fisher, Pete Coughlin, the former USC star, did a good job filling in to get the Presidents to 2-1. Grove City was held to just 63 yards rushing and falls to 2-1.
 

W & J scored on the opening drive, Wiegand ran in from one yard, set up by two Coughlin runs. Grove City drove to the 11 yard line, but Brian Pell was picked off by Sam Comly at the goal line. Coughlin led the Presidents down the field but turned the ball over on downs at the 16. Bliss returned to the lineup and completed six passes to set up a Wiegand 2 yard run two minutes into the second quarter.
Grove City got on the board with some trickery, Zach Raider hit Khalil Ervin for a 56 yard touchdown, but the extra point was no good. W & J got a break when Shane Smith recovered a fumbled punt deep in Grove City territory but Eric Eberle missed a 27 yard field goal. Wiegand helped W & J to pull away on the next possession for a 76 yard touchdown.
 

Wiegand scored on a 1 yard run on the Presidents first drive of the third. Marlon Brown picked off Pell three plays later and Wiegand scored on a 1 yard run to put the Presidents up 33-6. Steve Maskrey scored for the Wolverines on a 4 yard run, Ryan Ruffing answered for the Presidents on a 11 yard run. Maskrey added a 3 yard run to close out the scoring.
 

Wiegand ran 24 times for 172 yards and the 5 scores. Ruffing added 11 totes for 84 yards. Bliss was 11-15 for 90 yards, Coughlin was 5-6 for 48 yards. Alex Baroffio had 7 catches  and Dan Lucas 5 receptions.
 

Pell was 21-35 for 214 yards for the Wolverines. Anthony Ritchie had 9 catches for 98 yards. Ervin made 6 catches for 109.
 

Geneva 49 – Thiel 28
Well, the Golden Tornadoes did not score 50 or more points  in their third straight home game at Reeves Field.

They only managed 49 in the win as Geneva broke a 28-all third quarter tie. QB Zach Hayward combined for 348 yards of offense in the win, throwing for 248 yards and 2 scores, he also ran for 100 yards and a td. Rocco Colavecchia added 3 more touchdowns for Geneva, giving him 9 for the season.
 

Geneva started early, Matt Leach picked off Andrew Smith on the opening play, Colavecchia scored on a 5 yard run to put Geneva on the board. Thiel used a big play to get on the board, Josh Potter broke a 58 yard run but Ed Schuster blocked the extra point. Geneva came back with a 17 play drive, capped by a Hayward 15 yard td pass to Lemuel Fuller.
 

Geneva scored 4 plays into the second, Hayward ran for a 57 yard touchdown. Colavecchia ran for 39 yards and a score, Geneva was up 28-6. The Tomcats used a turnover to cut into the lead, Josh Guiser fumbled a punt and Jack Sindlinger recovered for a touchdown, the two point try was no good.  Thiel recovered an onside kick and Jon Fennick kicked a 28 yard field goal. Geneva turned the ball over again, Dylan Jones fumbled at his own 22, Smith hit Walker for a 25 yard touchdown to cut the lead to 28-22 at the half.
 

Another turnover set up the tying score, Guiser fumbled for the second time, Smith hit Berend Grube for a 12 yard touchdown, but Fennick missed the extra point. Hayward put Geneva back in the lead for good as he hit Fuller for 81 yards. Colavecchia scored on a 4 yard run to go up 42-28. Zach Taylor returned a punt in the 4th for a 69 yard touchdown. Thiel ended the game on the 1 yard line, but was not able to score.
 

Hayward was 26-45 on the night, Fuller had 10 catches for 137 yards. Taylor had 5 catches. Geneva is now 3-0.
 

Potter carried 14 times for 121 yards, Smith was 7-27 for 64 yards. Thiel is now 0-3.
 

Youngstown State 59 – Duquesne 17
The Penguins jumped out to a 24-0 lead at the Ice Castle and pulled away in the fourth quarter for the win. Leading 3-0 after one, Torrian Rice scored on a 1 yard run, Martin Ruiz added a 9 yard run and qb Kurt Hess hit Nate Adams for a 52 yard strike .
 

Duquesne cut the lead to 24-14 on a 1 yard td run for Ethan Dorsey and a Dillon Buechel 63 yard td pass to favorite target Gianni Carter. But YSU pulled away on two more Ruiz td runs of 4 and 5 yards.
 

Hess hit Marcel Caver for a 55 yard score 59 seconds into the fourth, Jody Webb scored on a 10 yard run and David Rivers returned an interception return of 43 yards.
 

Hess finished 15-25 for 292 yards, Adams had 4 catches for 108 yards. YSU is now 3-1, with their only loss coming at Michigan State last week.
 

Buechel was 21-38 for 362 yards. Chris King had 6 catches for 101 yards, Carter made 4 catches for 134 yards. Duquesne is now 1-2.
 

Saint Francis 38 – Lincoln 7
Kyle Harbridge tied his own school record with 4 touchdowns in the home opener win over the D-II opponent.
 

Lincoln led 7-0 63 seconds into the game after recovering a fumble. Doug Cook hit Akeem Jordan for a 12 yard touchdown. Harbridge tied the game a little over a minute later on a 7 yard run. Harbridge scored on the first play of the second quarter on a 8 yard run. Khairi Dickson added a 2 yard run as Saint Francis led 21-7 at the break.
 

Harbridge scored on runs of 4 and 21 yards in the third, he ran for 230 yards on 22 carries. Both teams are now 1-2.

IUP 26 – Seton Hill 0
The 8th ranked Crimson Hawks struggled early but were able to pull out the win at Offut Field and hand the Griffins a loss in Seton Hill’s first PSAC Western Division matchup.
 

The teams played a scoreless first quarter, IUP QB Mike Box was intercepted twice. IUP scored early in the second on a blocked punt for a safety. That score held up until the third quarter when Eric Finklea scored on a 9 yard run. Dorian Lane added a 39 yard interception return 10 seconds later, Finklea tacked on a 21 yard run late in the third.
 

Finklea ran for 76 yards on 13 carries. Box was 11-22 for 146 yards with 3 picks, the Crimson Hawks committed 5 turnovers. The IUP defense held Seton Hill to just 29 yards rushing and 115 total yards fort the game. Seton Hill was 3 of 19 on third down.
 

IUP is now 3-0, Seton Hill falls to 0-3.

Clarion 20 – Mercyhurst 13
The Golden Eagles are 3-0 for the first time since 1996, the year when Clarion advanced to the D-II semifinals and claimed the victory in the PSAC Western Division opener.
Clarion played without quarterback Ben Fiscus, Darrelle Carson made his first NCAA start and did well. The former Perry star threw for 209 yards and a score and ran for 85 yards in the home win.
 

The Golden Eagles jumped out to a 6-0 lead on a pair of Phil Esposito field goals. Travis Day scored on a 1 yard run, set up by a Rocco Yauger interception. Adam Lynch would pick off Anthony Vendemia later in the second and Carson hit Eric Frye for a 46 yard touchdown and a 20-0 lead. Mercyhurst got on the board with 26 seconds left in the half on a 5 yard run by Allan Jones II.
 

Brandon Brown-Dukes got the Lakers within one score with a 77 yard td run early in the third. Clarion had two chances to add to the lead, Esposito missed a 38 yard field goal and Carson was intercepted by Tevin Stewart at the Mercyhurst 10.The defense was also big for Clarion, not allowing the Lakers to get any further than the Clarion 35 after the Brown-Dukes score.

Brown-Dukes ran 11 times for 140 yards, Jones II added 13 carries for 78 yards. Vendemia was 12 of 26 for 96 yards, he was intercepted 4 times. Mercyhurst falls to 1-2 overall.

California 20 – Edinboro 7
The Vulcans held the high powered Fighting Scots offense to just 202 yards and 3 points. Edinboro committed Edinboro turnovers in the loss at Adamson Stadium. The Fighting Scots played without four offensive starters, including quarterback Cody Harris.
 

Edinboro took a 2-0 lead 4 plays into the game, when a bad punt snap was recovered for a safety. Cal settled for a field goal on their 2nd possession on a Cody Nuzzo 25 yard field goal. The Vulcans scored in the second quarter on defense as Dewey McDonald picked off a Matt Bodamer pass and took it 50 yards to the house. Nuzzo missed a 38 yard field goal late in the half.
 

T.J. Hardy started the second half with a field goal on the Fighting Scots opening drive. Nuzzo kicked a 33 yard field goal, set up by a Aaron Terry interception. Derrick Fiore capped a 17 play drive for the Vulcans to go up 20-5 with 11:42 left in regulation. Another bad punt snap led to a second safety with five and a half minutes left. Edinboro could get no further than the Cal 48 for the remainder of the game.
 

Jeff Knox ran 21 times for 92 yards, Fiore added 68 yards for a Cal rushing attack that had put up very little yardage over the first two games. Cody Schroeder was 14-34 for 188 yards, Trey Johnson and Kowan Scott each had 5 catches. Cal is now 3-0.
 

Jeremy Donaldson ran 22 times for 89 yards for Edinboro. Jon Girvin made his first start at QB and was 13-34 for 120 yards and 3 picks. Marcus Johnson had 7 catches for 96 yards. Edinboro falls to 1-2.

Waynesburg 23 – Saint Vincent 0
Saint Vincent struck first on a Andy Borgen 63 yard pass to Matt Duffey in the first quarter, but the Yellow Jackets turned it on over the final three quarters to get the home win in the conference opener.
 

Carter Hill hit Andrew English for a 14 yard touchdown the second and Mike Ferraro for 9 yards in the third. Alex Henry kicked a 33 yard field goal and Jerry Lawman scored on a 20 yard run.

Hill threw for 131 yards but was 20-29. Bernie Thompson had 5 catches for the Yellow Jackets, who go to 3-0. Saint Vincent falls to 0-2.

Thomas More 31 – Westminster 0
Jensen Gebhardt threw for 216 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Saints blanked the Titans at home in the PAC opener for both teams.
 

Thomas More led 14-0 after one, Gebhardt hit Bobby Leonard for a 42 yard score and Ryan Winkler for 40 yards and a touchdown. Domonnique Hayden ran for a 71 yard td in the third and Gebhardt connected with Winkler for 27 yards in the fourth.

Gebhardt was 12-17 on the night, Winkler had 6 catches for 112 yards. Hayden had 178 yards on 17 carries. Thomas More is now 2-0.

Hiram 20 – Allegheny 0
The Gators were blanked at home and fall to 0-3 and 0-2 in the NCAC. Caleb Jones ran for a career high 196 yards as the Terriers did not allow a point for the first time in 195 games.
 

Jones put Hiram up in the first with a 63 yard run, he added a 1 yard touchdown in the fourth. Allegheny managed just 161 yards of offense. Hiram is now 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the conference.