District College Football Preview – 10/20/2011

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, October 20, 2011 | 12:32 PM

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Week eight of the college football season is here, some good match ups will take place in the region this week and questions could be answered. Does the road for a PSAC West Division title run thru Slippery Rock, will Lock Haven make PSAC history, can either Waynesburg or Westminster or both stay with Thomas More for the PAC title, and can Seton Hill end a long losing streak.

Those questions and many more will be answered this Saturday on a football field near you. Here are previews of all the games, including two that can be heard right here on the Network. Check back Sunday morning for recaps of all the games.

Slippery Rock (6-1) at Lock Haven (0-6)  Noon on WISR 680-AM and the MSA Sports Network
With the 17-3 over then number 14 Cal last week at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium, the Rock moves into the AFCA Division II Top 25 for the first time since October 23, 2007. The Rock is ranked 22nd this week and is the only PSAC West Division team in the poll. Two teams in the East Division remain in the top 25, Bloomsburg moved from number 3 to 2 and Kutztown moved up to number 19.

The win also put the Rock in the driver’s seat in terms of the PSAC Western Division title and a berth in the PSAC State Championship Game. Slippery Rock is 4-0 in the West, the Rock has defeated Cal and IUP, both are 3-1 in the West and Edinboro at 2-2, the Rock would hold the tiebreaker with all of those teams. After this week, the Rock closes with Mercyhurst at home and at Gannon.

Slippery Rock is now 6-1 for the first time since 2007, the Rock finished 9-2 that year.

The Rock played without it’s leading rusher last week, Akeem Satterfield, but Jimmy Zubik filled in nicely. The former Avonworth star ran for 63 yards.

Be it Zubik or Satterfield, look for the Rock to establish the run, Lock Haven allows an average of 5.7 yards per carry.

WR Devin Goda leads the team with 45 catches, he caught 54 in 2010. Goda is the second leading pass catcher in SRU history. Goda is currently fourth in the PSAC with 45 catches.

QB Cody Endres threw four first half interceptions last week, he bounced back in the second half. Endres has thrown for 1,451 yards this season.  Endres is fifth in the PSAC in passing and third in completion percentage.

S Brandon Watters picked off his eleventh career pass last week, tying him for fifth place all time at the Rock. Watters is tied for the conference lead with five interceptions.

The Rock defense continues to lead D-II, allowing just 213 yards per game, they have also allowed the least touchdowns, with just nine being scored against the Rock defense.

Lock Haven has lost 38 straight games, the Bald Eagles have the longest current losing streak in any NCAA division. Another loss will tie Cheyney for the all-time PSAC losing streak at 39.

Ben Snyder returned an interception for a touchdown, he became the first Bald Eagle to record a Pick 6 since 2006 vs. Mansfield.

The Bald Eagles have given up forty or more points in four of their last five games.

Both teams have strong place kickers, Kurt Brackman for SRU is 9-11 on field goals this season, his longest is 43 yards. Noah Heimer is 7 of 11, with a long of 38 yards. The Rock has a huge advantage in the punting game, James McCombie continues to lead the PSAC with an average of 42.2 yards per punt.

Slippery Rock leads the series 42-12-1, the Rock has won the last 22 meetings, the last Lock Haven win was in 1980, the teams tied in 1988.

Geneva (2-5) at W & J (3-3)  2pm on WBVP 1230-AM, WJPA 1450-AM and the MSA Sports Network
Geneva defeated Grove City last week 23-7. The Golden Tornadoes are now 2-3 in PAC play.

QB/RB/WR Rocco Colavecchia was named PAC Offensive Player of the Week. The former Shenango quarterback ran for 178 yards and two scores and completed two passes last week. Colavecchia has ran for 360 yards and four touchdowns, threw for 494 yards and four scores. Colavecchia has also caught 24 passes for 179 yards.

DB Jon Bushmire picked off his first two passes of his career in last week’s win. The Geneva defense forced six turnovers on the evening. 

W & J is 2-2 in the PAC, coming off the bye week. The Presidents fell at Saint Vincent 35-27 two weeks ago.

The Presidents have not won at home this season. W & J finishes with 3 of it’s last four games at home.

Saturday’s game will be the 100th game at W & J for  head coach Mike Sirianni, who has a 82-17 record so far. W & J is 41-8 at home under the current coach.

QB Matt Bliss leads the PAC in passing yards, at 279 per game, and total offense at 309.

WR Alex Baroffio leads the conference with seven receptions per game and receiving yards at almost 118 a game.

W & J leads the all-time series 37-19-2, including the last seven meetings. Geneva’s last win came in 1983.

Wagner (1-5) at Duquesne (5-2)  Noon
Wagner is 1-2 in the NEC, the Seahawks had the bye last week. RB Domonique Williams is ninth in the FCS in rushing, averaging 111 yards per game. Williams has scored eight touchdowns.

QB Matt Misley made his first start two weeks ago in a 24-10 loss to  Georgetown, he threw for 230 yards. No word if Misley or Nick Doescher will start on Saturday.

Duquesne is 3-1 in conference, the Dukes defeated Central Connecticut last week 28-21. LB Chris Oliver was named NEC Defensive Player of the Week, making twelve tackles in the win and recovered a fumble inside the Dukes’ 10 yard line with just over five minutes to play.  Former Perry Traditional Academy player Jared Williams made a career high ten tackles and forced the fumble that Oliver recovered.

QB Sean Patterson ran for 111 yards and a pair of touchdowns in last week’s win. Patterson is second in the NEC in passing on the season. WR Connor Dixon had two catches for 23 yards. The former South Park star has caught at least one pass in 22 straight games.

RB Larry McCoy is fifth in the FCS in rushing at 123 yards per game. McCoy has ran for six touchdowns this season.

Bryant (4-3) at Robert Morris (2-4)  Noon
Bryant is 2-2 in the NEC, the Bulldogs fell to Monmouth 40-35 last week. Jordan Brown was named NEC Special Teams Player of the Week. Brown leads the conference in all-purpose yards, he racked up 104 yards on three kickoff returns last week. Brown leads the NEC in rushing with 1,129 yards and touchdowns with 13, including 160 rushing yards and three touchdowns last week.

Jordan Harris caught five passes for 114 yards and a touchdown last week. Harris has caught a td pass in four straight games. QB Mike Croce has thrown a touchdown pass in every game since returning in Week 2. Croce has 35 td tosses for his career, second all-time for a Bulldog QB.

Robert Morris is 2-1 in conference. The Colonials fell 28-17 at Albany last week, putting a damper on repeating as NEC champions.

QB Jeff Sinclair was 12 of 33 on the windy day for 158 yards, the former Highlands signal caller threw for one score and ran for another. Sinclair has been involved in 12 of the 15 RMU touchdowns this season, eight  passing and four running.

TE Shadrae King had three catches last week, King had caught a pass in 25 straight games. King, from McKeesport, holds the Colonials record for catches with 122 for his career.

Saint Francis (1-6) at Youngstown State (3-3)  4pm
The Red Flash fell 60-45 at home to Sacred Heart last week in NEC action. Kyle Harbridge ran for 189 yards and two touchdowns.

QB John Kelly threw for 288 yards and a touchdown, he ran for two more. DB Jake DeMedal, formerly of Wilmington, picked off his first pass of the season in last week’s loss.

This game will feature two of the top backs in the FCS, Harbridge is third in rushing at 132 yards per game, YSU’s Jamaine Cook is fourth at 131 yards per game.

The Penguins rallied for a 35-23 win over Southern Illinois last week. Cook ran for 179 yards and a score, it’s the 11th time he went over the century mark in a game. WR Jelani Berrasa has caught a td pass in three straight games.

QB Kurt Hess threw for 264 yards and two scores last week. Hess threw for four scores in a win over Illinois State.

YSU has won all four meetings with the Red Flash, however the last game between the two was in 1953, when the Penguins played their home games at Rayen Stadium. YSU is 27-0 at the Ice Castle against Pennsylvania schools, most of those wins came against schools from the D-II PSAC.

Gannon (3-4) at IUP (5-2)  1pm
The Golden Eagles defeated Lock Haven last week in Erie. Gannon is now 2-2 in the PSAC West. The Golden Eagles blocked two punts and forced two more fumbles. Gannon also returned an interception for a touchdown.

Freshman RB Alex Papson ran for 108 yards, the first 100 yard game for the former North Allegheny star. Another freshman Ty Watson made his second career start at quarterback, Daniel Tapscott took some snaps under center, he started the first five games. And last week was freshman week for Gannon, Mike Phillips picked off his first two passes of his NCAA career.

It is either feast or famine for the Gannon offense, the Golden Knights have scored over 30 points in each of their three wins, they have been held to ten or fewer points three times.

IUP is 3-1 in divisional play, having won three straight games. IUP has now won 498 games, just two away from 500. In last week’s win over Clarion, the defense forced three turnovers, including a Johnny Smith 42 yard Pick 6. IUP blocked a field goal that Andre Henderson returned 83 yards for a touchdown.

Pat Smith took over again at quarterback and played well in rough conditions, going seven of eight for 155 yards and a touchdown with no turnovers.

Both teams have struggled throwing the football, Gannon is tenth, IUP 11th in the conference. The difference could be the running game, IUP is fifth in rushing offense, Gannon is 13th. Harvie Tuck leads IUP in rushing at 114 yards per game, he is second in the PSAC.

Gannon leads the series 2-1 and has won back to back games with IUP.

Mercyhurst (3-4) at California (5-2)  3:30pm
The Lakers are 2-2 in the PSAC West, falling to Edinboro last week and effectively ending their chance to play in the PSAC State Title Game and advance to the D-II playoffs.

WR Trevor Kennedy caught eight passes for 147 yards and a pair of touchdowns last week. With the scores, Kennedy broke his own single season record for touchdown catches, now with thirteen on the year. Those thirteen td catches lead Division II, Kennedy also leads D-II in total receiving yards with 944.

Kennedy has still prospered even with QB Travis Rearick out for the season, Anthony Vendemia has done well in his place.

LB Ian Wild made a career high 16 tackles last week, he leads the PSAC with 86 tackles. The Lakers started a pair of brothers on defense last week, Ian and Garrett Wild at linebacker and Bryant and Colin Kimball in the secondary.

With the loss to SRU last week, the Vulcans fall out of the AFCA Top 25 poll in D-II. Cal is still ranked 23rd in the D2football.com poll. Cal was held without a touchdown for the second time this season, the Vulcans entered the season going 85 games scoring at least one touchdown. The Vulcans were penalized twelve times last week, falling to 3-1 in divisional play.

QB Peter Lalich became the first Vulcan passer to throw more than fifty times since Sam Mannery in 1990. Lalich has thrown for 1,938 yards, good for second in the PSAC and 13 touchdowns. WR Thomas Mayo is second in the conference with 48 catches and 824 yards.

The Cal defense forced five turnovers last week, including four interceptions.

The question will be what will give, Mercyhurst’s passing game or Cal’s pass defense, both units are ranked second in the conference.

California leads the series 2-1 since Mercyhurst came into the PSAC, but the Lakers won last year’s meeting, which ended up with the Lakers winning the West Division.

Clarion (1-6) at Edinboro (5-2)  6pm
The Golden Eagles lost at home to IUP last week. QB Ben Fiscus ran for 112 yards, he went over one-thousand yards for his career. LB Nate Sipes made fifteen tackles, he leads the team with 67 stops. DE Barrington Morrison has five sacks and eleven tackles for loss in 2011, he had twenty TFL’s in 2010.

The Fighting Scots knocked off Mercyhurst 30-20 last week to end a two game PSAC West losing streak. Edinboro is now 2-2 in divisional play. QB Cody Harris returned to the lineup, he threw for only 99 yards, but ran for 64.

Edinboro also swept the PSAC West Player of the Week awards. RB Brian Davis is the Offensive Player of the Week, running for 96 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s win. DB Devin Ghafoor of Perry Traditional Academy was named Defensive Player of the Week. The freshman had an interception and forced a fumble and took it back for a touchdown in the win.

DE Keir Jeter made nine stops last week, including a pair of sacks. Both teams will look to run the ball, Clarion is third in the PSAC in rush offense, Edinboro is sixth. The key will be rush defense, Edinboro trails only the Rock, Clarion is 15th.

All-time, Edinboro has a 42-38-2 advantage, the Fighting Scots have won eight of the last ten meetings.

Fairmont State (5-2) at Seton Hill (0-7)  6pm
The Falcons are 2-5 in the WVIAC, falling last week to West Virginia Wesleyan 21-14. RB Daniel Monroe ran for 152 yards and both FSU scores. Monroe leads the conference with 837 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Seton Hill lost at Concord 18-9 last week. Ryan Morris threw for 248 yards, including a td pass to Tyler McIntosh. The Griffins were just four of 18 on third down. Morris is seventh in the conference in passing with 1,041 yards, he has thrown for six touchdowns.

Seton Hill has lost eleven straight games, dating back to last season. The Griffins are last in the conference in both scoring offense and defense. Daniel Butler is seventh in the conference in rushing with 436 yards.

Bethany (3-3) at Thomas More (6-0)  1:30pm
The Bearcats are 2-3 in the PAC. Stephen Amic was named PAC Special Teams Player of the Week. The freshman punter from West Allegheny averaged over 45 yards per punt with a long of 65 in last week’s win over Thiel. DE Kasib Taalib-Din made nine tackles and recovered a fumble for the Bison defense.

All of the Bethany points last week came in the second quarter. QB Matt Grimard threw two touchdown passes.

The Saints are ranked sixth for the third consecutive week in the AFCA D-III Top 25 poll. Thomas More leads the PAC in both scoring offense and defense and lead the conference with a 5-0 record. DB Alex Taylor led the Saints last week with twelve tackles and a pair of interceptions. Thomas More also leads the PAC with a plus ten turnover ratio.

Adam Rauch ran for a touchdown and caught a td pass from Robert Kues last week. RB Domonique Hayden also ran for a touchdown for the Saints, he leads the PAC with 13 touchdowns.

Thomas More leads the series 4-2, including the last three meetings. Should the Saints win this week, Thomas More faces the only teams with one loss in the conference in the next two weeks, at Westminster on 10-29 and home to Waynesburg on 11-5.

Saint Vincent (3-3) at Grove City (0-6)  1:30pm
The Bearcats are 2-2 after taking three time champion Thomas More to the limit last week, falling 20-17 to the Saints. QB Aaron Smetanka threw for 267 yards in the loss. If Saint Vincent picks up one more win, it would be the first time since 1960, the Bearcats have won four games. Saint Vincent leads the conference in red zone offense, scoring on 20 of 22 chances with 18 touchdowns. RB Huey Ehredt leads the PAC in rushing with 492 yards.

Grove City lost at Geneva last week, the Wolverines are 0-4 in the PAC. RB Blaine Miller had a good day last week, running for 123 yards and a touchdown, he also had four catches for 66 yards. The Wolverines ae the least penalized team in the PAC. 

The series is tied at three, Saint Vincent won last year’s meeting in Latrobe, 42-17.

Westminster (4-2) at Thiel (0-6)  1:30pm
The Titans are 3-1 in the PAC, a game and a half out of first place, despite having allowed more points 135, than they have scored 113. QB Shawn Lehocky led the Titans in the win over Waynesburg, throwing for 123 yards and a score, he also ran for 59 yards and a touchdown. CB Jordan Rooney had a pick in the last minute to seal the victory.

The Titans rallied from a 14-0 deficit last week. It’s the first time the Titans are 3-1 in the PAC since 2003. The key to the Westminster start this season has been turnovers, the Titans are plus nine in turnover ratio. Westminster has also converted on 85 percent of red zone opportunities at 18 of 21 with 11 touchdowns.

DE Tim Taylor was named PAC Defensive Player of the Week. Taylor had seven tackles for loss in a 20-0 loss to Bethany last week. Taylor made ten total stops and forced a fumble. The Tomcats are 0-4 in the PAC, Thiel has only scored 66 points all season, dead last in the conference. RB Devon Drish ran for 131 yards last week.

Westminster leads the series 44-19-8, the Titans won 35-0 under the lights in New Wilmington last season.

Carnegie Mellon (4-2) at Wittenberg (6-1)  1pm
The Tartans go for their 500th win in the program’s history, but it won’t be easy. Coming off a bye week, CMU has won three straight games going in, however the Tartans have lost four straight coming off of the bye.

CMU has a triple-threat rushing attack, Patrick Blanks leads the team with 576 yards and eight touchdowns, Jake Nardone has ran for 460 yards. Blanks averages 7 yards per carry, Nardone 6. Add in Chris Garcia’s 313 yards, you have a good rushing threat.

When the Tartans throw, QB Rob Kalkstein is 47 of 89 for 593 yards. His main target is Alexander Lum, with 16 catches.

The Tigers are ranked 23rd this week in the AFCA Top 25 in Division III. Wittenberg bounced back from a non-conference loss to Huntington, with a 45-7 win over Kenyon last week. The loss two weeks ago was the Tigers first in regular season play since 2008. TB Connor Warye ran for 130 yards and two scores.

QB Ben Zoeller leads the NCAC with 1,919 passing yards, he has thrown 14 touchdowns.Zoeller is 19th in D-III in passing. Josh McKee and Michael Cooper are the top targets for Zoeller, with 48 and 36 catches respectively. Both are in the top 20 in D-III in receiving yards.

The Tigers lead the series 3-2. 

Tags: Geneva, Slippery Rock, Washington