District College Football Preview for Saturday, September 22nd

By: Bruce Markey
Thursday, September 20, 2012 | 12:15 PM

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Week 4 of the college football season will kickoff on Saturday with 2 games right here on the Network. Conference play continues, including a battle for the top spot in the PSAC West in the Coal Bowl as IUP and Cal square off.

Here are previews of ALL the games, recaps coming your way Sunday morning:

Slippery Rock(2-1) at Mercyhurst(2-1)  1pm on WISR 680-AM and the MSA Sports Network
The Rock got great defense in a win over Gannon last week at home. Isaiah Coleman picked off two passes and led the team with 12 tackles, the sophomore was named PSAC West Defensive Player of the Week. The defense picked off 4 passes and made 3 sacks in a 38-18 win.

Also, the SRU defense is tied for the D-II lead in team interceptions with 8.

In the win, the Rock scored touchdowns in 5 different ways, on a run, a pass, a fake field goal, a kickoff and a interception return. The Pick 6 from Anthony Saunders was his second of the season, that's the first time a Rock defender has had two since Brian Polk in 1998.

QB Jared Buck returned from a minor injury and completed passes to 10 different receivers. Buck has thrown for 439 yards and 6 td's this season.

RB Akeem Satterfield is looking to get back towards the top of the conference rushing stats. Satterfield is 7th in the PSAC at 90.3 yards per game. Satterfield is 6th on the Rock all-time touchdown list and needs 25 yards to move into the top 10 in rushing at the Rock.

WR John Schademan is the favorite target with 10 catches, 3 for touchdowns.

Mercyhurst defeated Clarion 22-14 last week. Brandon Brown-Dukes ran for 157 yards on 20 carries. Brown-Dukes is averaging 8.8 yards per carry and has scored 4 touchdowns, he is third in the conference in rushing.

The Lakers did the job on special teams, blocking three Golden Eagle punts.

WR Paris Bruner is dangerous on offense, he is also a talented kick return man. Bruner leads D-II with an average of 52.5 yards per return. Mercyhurst is first in the league for kickoff returns, the Rock is second.

Mercyhurst is second against defending the pass in the conference, but 12th against the run for 5th overall. The Rock is the opposite, 4th against the run, but 13th against the pass for 8th place.

Each team has two wins in the series, but the road team has never won. In fact, SRU has not won in the city of Erie since 2002, defeating Gannon.

W & J(2-1) at Thiel(1-2)  1:30pm on WJPA 1450-AM and the MSA Sports Network
W & J has dominated this series over the years, winning 6 straight and 29 of the last 30. The last Tomcat win in Greenville was in 1980.

Look for RB Tim McNerney to have a big day, he has posted 184 yards and 3 touchdowns in 2 overall meetings with Thiel. McNerney ran for 115 yards and a score in the 24-17 win over Grove City. The McNerney td was the 29th of his career. McNerney is second in the conference with 373 yards rushing.

WR Alex Baroffio hauled in 9 passes for 83 yards and a score. Baroffio has 33 grabs thru 3 games, good for second in D-III. Hunter Creel has 14 catches on the season, 3 for scores.

QB Matt Bliss threw for just 125 yards but did toss a td pass. The junior is second in the PAC in passing at 586 yards, he is 63 of 96 on the season, with 4 touchdowns, he also has 4 picks.

The Tomcats ended a 24 game losing streak with a 21-14 overtime win over Geneva last week.

RB Taylor Fink is 6th in the conference in rushing at 68 yards per game.

DE Tim Taylor was named PAC Defensive Player of the Week with 6 tackles, 3 sacks and 2 pass break ups in the win.

LB Ethan Ludwig is 6th in tackles, at 8.7 per game.

Duquesne(2-1) at Bryant(0-3)  1pm
The Dukes open NEC play, the Bulldogs are 0-1 in the conference.

Duquesne defeated Valparasio 45-17 last week. RB Larry McCoy played 3 quarters but he made them count. McCoy was named the NEC co-Offensive Player of the Week with 171 yards and 3 touchdowns in the win. It was McCoy's 21st game with 100 or more yards rushing, tying a school record. The senior also leads the NEC in rushing at 344 yards.

QB Sean Patterson is 4th in the conference at 180 yards passing per game, he has thrown 4 td passes, but also has 4 picks. Patterson has found 2 targets in Gianni Carter with 14 catches and Noel Oduhu with 12.

Dorian Bell had 9 tackles in the win, including 2 for loss.

RB Jordan Brown needs just 29 yards to become the all time rushing leader in Bulldogs history, he has 3,497 for his career. Brown is 7th in the conference in rushing at 77 yards per game.

Bryant lost at then #25 Maine 51-7. QB Mike Westerhaus ran for the only score. Westerhaus is 5th in the NEC in passing at 141 yards per game, he has 2 td passes and 4 interceptions.

The Bulldogs fell to Saint Francis two weeks ago in the NEC opener 39-28. The Red Flash scored 24 second half points for the win. Westerhaus threw for 128 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Saint Francis(2-1) at Towson(1-1)  7pm
RB Keion Wade was named NEC co-Offensive Player of the Week. Wade ran 27 times for 243 yards and 3 scores during a 57-23 win over Morehead State last week. The Red Flash grounded out 457 yards rushing as a team, despite losing Kyle Harbridge for the season. Harbridge was in the top 5 in rushing in the FCS last season.

Freshman RB Khairi Dickson ran for 42 yards and a td, he was named NEC Rookie of the Week. A.J. Alexander and QB John Kelly hooked up for 2 td passes.

Wade is 2nd in the NEC rushing leaders, Dickson is 3rd and Kelly is 5th. The Red Flash lead the conference in scoring offense.

Towson defeated William and Mary 20-17 last week. Terrance Wade ran for 153 yards on 20 carries but did not score for the first time in 9 games. QB Grant Enders was 16-21 for 175 yards and a td pass to Erron Banks, he ran for 59 yards.

Edinboro(0-2) at Lock Haven(0-3)  3pm
The Fighting Scots lost to Cal 24-14 last week at home, it's the first 0-2 start for Edinboro since 2000.

QB Cody Harris was 26-37 for 270 yards, he goes over the 4 thousand yard mark for his career, only the 4th Fighting Scot to do so. Marcus Johnson was his favorite target with 8 catches for 116 yards.

Safety Kenny Pettis has 33 tackles in 2 games this season, he led with 14 stops vs. Cal. Pettis also leads the nation in total tackles per game. James Jackson had a pair of interceptions in the loss, he has picked off 11 passes in his career.

Lock Haven fell to IUP 42-0, it's the 45th consecutive loss for the Bald Eagles, who have not won since the final game of the 2007 season. The 45 game streak is the longest current streak in any level of NCAA football.

Edinboro has won the last 11 meetings with Lock Haven and leads the overall series 39-14-1.

IUP(3-0) at California(3-0)  3:30pm
Both IUP and Cal were picked as co-favorites by the coaches to split the West title. The Vulcans have won the first three Coal Bowls which was started in 2009, the winner receives the Lunch Pail Trophy.  Both are ranked for the first time in a long while, Cal is ranked 6th, IUP 14th in this week's AFCA D-II poll.

Harvie Tuck was named PSAC West Offensive Player of the Week. Tuck ran for 202 yards on 20 carries and scored twice in the IUP 42-0 win over Lock Haven on Saturday.

The Crimson Hawks ran for 343 yards in the game, but only led 7-0 at the half. De'Antwan Williams also ran for two scores. Pat Brewer returned the second half kickoff 82 yards for a score.

IUP has yielded just six points on the season so far and ranks second nationally and first in the conference in rushing, scoring and total defense

Cal starts 3-0 for the third time in six seasons with a 24-14 win at Edinboro last week. QB Peter Lalich threw for 321 yards in the win, his second straight 300 yard game and sixth of his career.

RB Lamont Smith ran for 103 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries.

DB C.J. Townes made 10 tackles and picked off a pass in his first career start. Townes has made 30 starts for the Cal U. basketball team. 

IUP leads the series 58-24-5, but Cal has dominated lately, winning the last 5 meetings.

Clarion(1-2) at Gannon(1-2)  6pm
Clarion fell to Mercyhurst 22-14 last week. QB Ben Fiscus threw for a touchdown and ran for another, but did not post big numbers against the Lakers defense.

RB Bobby Thomas leads the Golden Eagles in rushing with 307 yards, with an average of 4.9 yards per carry. Thomas is starting his first season on offense, he played in the secondary last season.

Gannon fell to SRU 38-18 last week. QB Liam Nadler threw for 325 yards on 35-63, both of those numbers are Gannon single game records. Nadler becomes the third Golden Knights QB to throw for 300 or more yards twice in a season. WR Justin Caliste had 12 catches, tying a school single game record.

Clarion leads the series 3-1, with consecutive wins.

Seton Hill(0-3) at West Virginia Wesleyan(0-3)  1pm
The Griffins dropped a 42-6 decision to Shepherd last week. Seton Hill has lost 5 straight games.

QB Ryan Morris has been a bright spot for Seton Hill, throwing for 746 yards this season. D.J. Carter has been his favorite target with 22 catches and a touchdown. Derrick Dyer is averaging 4.3 yards per carry in the backfield.

On the defense, Tyler Zimmer has 38 tackles to lead the team, he also has 7 sacks and an interception.

West Virginia Wesleyan fell 33-16 to West Liberty State for their 5th straight loss.

QB Nate Montana has thrown for just 394 yards, he has split time with Jeremy Mussellman, who has 3 td passes. Donte Boston leads the team with 13 catches. No Bobcat player has ran for 100 yards overall this season. Jesse Robertson is the team leader with 35 tackles.

The Bobcats have won the last 3 meetings.

Thomas More(1-1) at Waynesburg(3-0)  1:30pm
The defending champions defeated Westminster 27-23 last week. QB Luke Magness was 22-27 for 205 yards and the game winning touchdown to Ryan Winkler with 18 seconds remaining.

Adam Rauch had 80 yards rushing on 16 carries, Landon Savoy had 20 touches for 79 yards. 

Senior DB Kenny Veal was named PAC Special Teams Player of the Week, he blocked 2 punts and made 4 tackles in the win.

Thomas More starts the week unranked in the AFCA Poll but fell 2 spots to #23 in the D3football.com poll.

The Saints lead the series 6-3, but the Yellow Jackets had the biggest win of the nine games last season when they ended the Saints 26 game PAC winning streak.

QB Tyler Fatigante was named PAC Offensive Player of the Week, going 14-15 for 138 yards and 3 touchdowns, he also ran for a score in a 35-14 victory over Saint Vincent. It's the first 3-0 start for the Yellow Jackets since 2007.

RB Dominic Moore ran for 101 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. TE Adam Moses had 7 catches for 72 yards and a td.

Waynesburg leads the conference, averaging 30 points per game, the Yellow Jackets also are second in scoring defense.

Bethany(0-2) at Grove City(1-2)  2pm
The Wolverines have won 7 straight over the Bison at Robert E. Thorn Field. Grove City has won 13 of the last 15 games overall.

Bison QB Matt Grimard needs 31 rushing yards to become the first Bethany QB to run for more than 1,500 yards in his career, he would become the 7th player to surpass that total overall.

The Bison dropped a 49-33 shootout to Randolph-Macon last week. WR Johnathan Foster set career highs with 8 catches for 85 yards. Safety Simeon Young made 13 tackles in the loss.

Grove City TB Shane Kaclik leads the conference in rushing with 379 yards and with 5 touchdowns. Kaclik ran for 161 yards and a touchdown in a 24-17 loss at W & J.

Jason Skyrm made 13 tackles, Ryan Althausen made 10 stops, including a sack.

Saint Vincent(0-3) at Westminster(1-1)  7pm
The Titans lead the all-time series 8-3 but have dropped the last 2 meetings.

The Bearcats fell to Waynesburg 35-14 last week. Darius Brown returned a kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown and Matt Deakins hit Lazaro Garcia for an 80 yard td pass in the fourth quarter. 

QB Dak Britt figured in on all three Titan touchdowns in the 27-23 loss to Thomas More. Britt threw for 211 yards and 2 touchdowns, he led Westminster in rushing with 124 yards and a score.

Derrick Orloski made 9.5 tackles for the Titan D, Alex Kernicky was right behind at 8.5 stops.

Allegheny(1-1) at Wabash(2-0)  1pm
Allegheny was idle last week. The Gators claimed an opening week win over Wooster before falling to CMU 37-7 two weeks ago.
Allegheny has used 2 quartebacks this season, Mike Person started the opener, Joe Dawida started game 2. Dawida, the former Western Beaver QB, is listed first on the depth chart this week.

Wabash is ranked sixth in D-III in the first AFCA coaches poll released this week. The Little Giants won 35-2 at Denison last week. The defense forced 6 turnovers and QB Chase Belton threw for 218 yards and a pair of scores in the win.

Allegheny is 3-9 all time against Wabash.

DePauw(0-2) at Carnegie Mellon(3-0) 1pm
DePauw fell 52-14 at Wittenberg last week. QB Drew Seaman threw 2 touchdown passes to Kevin Ude Interim coach Scott Srnka takes over for Robby Long, who was dismissed on Monday, for what the school. called failure to comply with the school's policies and administrative expectations. 

CMU defeated Catholic University 35-17 last week. QB Rob Kalkstein threw for 290 yards and 3 touchdowns on 10-12.

The Tartans look to go to 4-0 for the first time since 2006.

Tags: Washington