District College Football Preview for Saturday, September 8th

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, September 6, 2012 | 2:57 PM

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Week two of the district college football slate comes your way with several PSAC crossover battles featuring East vs. West. The NEC starts conference play and a couple of PAC teams meet nationally ranked foes on the road.

Here are previews of All the games, three can be heard right here on the Network:

Slippery Rock(1-0) at Shippensburg(1-0)  1pm on WISR 680 AM and the MSA Sports Network
The Red Raiders offense was one of the best in the PSAC last season, while the Rock defense was one of the best in the nation, which one will win the battle in 2012 at Grove Stadium.

Jared Buck threw for three scores and ran for another as the Rock jumped out to a 35-0 halftime lead and never looked back at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium in a 52-6 win last Thursday night.

Look for the Rock to establish the run with Akeem Satterfield and Jimmy Zubik.

The Rock is very strong on the offensive line with center Austin Fedell returned along with transfer Jesse Buck. Add in returning starters Kirk Nypaver and tight end John Schademan, that makes for success running the ball for the Rock in 2012.

SRU used strong defense as well, picking off three passes and notched six quarterback sacks, while holding the Griffins down to 181 yards of offense, shutting down the Seton Hill running attack for minus 16 yards.

The secondary is also strong with Brandon Burley and Anthony Saunders both returning. Linebacker Quindell Dean also returns. The Rock D picked off 20 passes last season.

Saunders started 2012 off right last Thursday by picking off a pass and took it 50 yards for a touchdown, it was Saunders fourth pick of his career.

DE Jeff Thompson picked up 2.5 sacks last week, he moves into to 10th place on the Rock all time list.
The defense, led by Thompson, allowed just two rushing touchdowns all season. He is joined by Jack Charles and Derek Walker on the line.

Head coach Dr. George Mihalik returns for his 25th campaign as a head coach. His 162 wins place him fifth on the all-time PSAC wins list and sixth among active D-II coaches in wins.

The Red Raiders upset number 19 Shepherd 38-28 last week. QB Zach Zulli shared PSAC East Offensive Player of the Week honors, throwing for 392 yards on 26 of 35 and four touchdowns.

Shippensburg trailed 28-17 at the half, they scored 21 points in the second half.

WR Trevor Harman had six catches for 105 yards and two scores.

Shippensburg looks to get it's rushing game going, led by returners Mike Frenette and Kevin Herod.

While the defense allowed 28 first half points, the rush defense was strong, allowing just 48 yards.

The Rock leads the series 39-20-2, the last meeting came in 2007, the last time the Red Raiders were in the PSAC West.

Geneva(0-1) at Hobart(1-0)  Noon on WBVP 1230 AM and the MSA Sports Network
This is the first meeting between these two teams.

Geneva fell 56-53 last week to Frostburg State but quarterback Zach Hayward had a day for the ages. He was 39 of 49 for 535 yards and seven touchdowns, all Geneva school records. The 535 yards and seven touchdowns set PAC records. For his performance, the junior was named PAC Offensive Player of the Week.

The GT's had four different receivers catch at least six passes. Corey O'Patchen and Josh Guiser had 141 yards and 132 receiving respectively.

Brett Hutira set a Geneva record with 20 tackles in last week's game.

This week is the second of three straight road games for the Golden Tornadoes.

Hobart defeated Dickinson 31-0 last week. The Statesmen move up from 22nd to 18th in the D3football.com poll this week.

Hobart outgained Dickinson 399-54. Senior running backBobby Dougherty led the ground game with 88 yards and a touchdown. Senior quarterback Nick Strang was 13-of-24 for 117 yards and a TD.

Senior linebacker Andrew Kingdera recorded a team-high eight tackles. First-year defensive end Mark Guarino-Hyde added seven tackles, including 1.5 sacks, and sophomore defensive end Tyre Coleman chipped in five tackles and a sack.

St. John Fisher(1-0) at W & J(1-0)  1:30pm on WJPA 1450 AM and the MSA Sports Network
The Cardinals defeated defending PAC champion Thomas More 13-7 in overtime last week. They are ranked 9th in D-III by D-III football.com

St. John Fisher has advanced to the post-season each of the last nine seasons.

Cody Miller scored on a two yard run in overtime to give the Cardinals the win. Ryan Kramer hit Tyler Stell for a touchdown on the opening drive to start the scoring.

Kramer was 17 of 24 for 186 yards and two interceptions, he ran for 127 yards on 35 carries.

The Cardinal defense held Thomas More to just 130 yards of offense.

The defense came to play for the Presidents in a 23-6 victory at Methodist last week. Junior defensive back B.J. Monacelli led the way with five tackles, a forced fumble and an interception. He was named PAC Defensive Player of the Week. John Hunter returned a fumble 63 yards to set up a score and safety Nathan Melhorn made eight stops to lead the Presidents. 

Tim McNerney led the offense with 91 yards and two touchdowns.

QB Matt Bliss was efficient, going 21 of 31 for 232 yards and a touchdown pass to Hunter Creel, his fifth of his career.

Alex Baroffio made 11 catches, the most of any receiver in the PAC in week 1.

Bryant(0-1) at Saint Francis(0-1)  Noon
The teams start NEC play this week.

Bryant fell to Marist 35-10 in the opener. RB Jordan Brown ran for 1,815 yards last season and averaged 5.5 yards per carry. Brown was held to just 43 yards on 22 carries in the opener.

Saint Francis lost 55-7 to nationally ranked James Madison. John Kelly hit Kevin Parker for the only score for the Red Flash.

Kelly returns after throwing for over 16 hundred yards last season as does RB Kyle Harbridge. The senior tailback ran 249 times for 1.430 yards and 14 touchdowns, among the leaders in FCS play.

A.J. Alexander had six touchdown catches last season, he is also a dangerous return man.

Robert Smith on the line, Bishop Neal at linebacker and Jake DeMedal in the secondary anchor the defense. DeMedal made 78 tackles and picked off two passes last season.

Albany(1-0) at Robert Morris(0-1)  Noon
It's the NEC opener for both teams and it won't be easy for the Colonials against the defending conference co-champs.

Albany defeated Colgate 40-23 last week. TB Drew Smith was named NEC Offensive Player of the Week. Smith ran for 174 yards on 24 carries and two fourth quarter touchdowns. The 174 yards was a career high and was the 19th time that Smith went over 100 yards for his career.

Ocieka Bakou was named NEC Special Teams Player of the Week, he blocked two punts in the second quarter on back to back possessions.

The Colonials were handled by defending national champion North Dakota State 55-0 last week. Robert Morris managed just 88 yards of offense in the game.

Jeff Sinclair returns at quarterback for the Colonials, he has battled several injuries over the last couple of seasons. Sinclair threw for 1,373 yards and 11 touchdowns last season, he was picked ten times. Sinclair also ran for six scores.

Deontae Howard will be expected to expand on his 386 yards rushing last season. The former Clairton star could be an explosive back for RMU.

Nolan Nearhoof anchors the defense, he made 60 tackles, including 12 for loss in 2011. Steve Mitchell will the other end.

The linebackers are strong with Brad Banas, Andrew Douglass and Kyle Cooper. Cameron Chadwick and D.J. Myers return in the secondary.

Dayton(0-1) at Duquesne(0-1)  12:10pm

Dayton lost at Illinois State 56-14 last week. Will Bardo was 7 of 21 for 96 yards passing and the Flyers' only offensive score, a 17-yarder to Branden Johnson. Gary Hunter returned a punt 77 yards for the other Dayton touchdown

The Dukes were cruising after one half, leading 20-10 against nationally ranked Old Dominion, but did not find the end zone again in a 57-23 loss. 

QB Sean Patterson and RB Larry McCoy were both shut down, especially in the second half. Patterson ended 9 of 21 for 94 yards and two interceptions, 33 of those yards came on a scoring strike to Sean Brady.  McCoy ran for 49 yards and a score. 
The Duquesne defense picked off three passes overall, including a Christian Kuntz Pick 6. Last week aside, defense is a strong suit for the Dukes entering 2012. Free safety Serge Kona returns after making 48 tackles, picking off two passes and forcing three fumbles in 2011. The linebackers are also strong with Chidozie Oparanozie, Derrick Lakins, Horvin Lattimer and Dorian Bell all returning.

 

Gannon(1-0) at West Chester(0-1)  Noon
These schools meet for the first time ever.

The Golden Knights rallied to defeat Lake Erie 36-33 last week. QB Liam Nadler made his NCAA debut and threw for a school record 420 yards and four touchdowns on 27 of 44. The four touchdown passes tied the school record, Nadler is the only Golden Knight to ever throw for 400 yards in a game. He led Gannon on an 80 yard drive for the game winner.

Sophomores Abraham Ocasio and Joe Sobucki became the third duo in school history to have 100-yard receiving performances in the same game

Brad Rzyczycki became only the second head coach in school history to win his debut.

West Chester dropped a 41-21 decision last week to Delaware. QB Sean McCartney scored a first quarter touchdown on a four yard run was lost for the game in the third quarter.

RB Rondell White ran for 209 yards, including runs of 49 and 52 yards. All of the three West Chester scoring drives were 80 yards or longer.

Matt Carroll and Ronell Williams intercepted passes, it's was Carroll's first interception of his career.

Edinboro(0-0) at Bloomsburg(1-0)  1pm
The Fighting Scots were picked fourth in the preseason coaches poll in the PSAC West. Head coach Scott Browning starts his 7th season at Edinboro.

Cody Harris enters his junior season ranked sixth in career passing yards with 3,772 yards. He was a second team All-PSAC West selection in 2011 after completing a school-record 72.2 percent of his passes for 1,961 yards.

Junior James Jackson was named a BSN third team preseason All-American at cornerback

The Huskies took down Stonehill College 44-28 last week. Head coach Danny Hale moves into 14th place on the D-II victories list with 204 career wins. Bloomsburg moved up to 19th from 25th in the coaches poll after the win.

Franklyn Quiteh ran for 218 yards, he moves into fourth place on the Huskies career rushing list. Eddie Mateo also ran for 114 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the win.

Red shirt freshman Tim Kelly starts at quarterback for the Huskies.

The defense forced seven turnovers, including five interceptions.

Edinboro leads the series 6-2.

IUP(1-0) at Cheyney(1-0)  1pm
IUP rolled to a 33-6 win over Southern Connecticut on Saturday, the 7th straight win for IUP over the Owls. 

Harvie Tuck ran for 185 yards on 28 carries and a touchdown. Montay Green also ran for 101 yards and a score.

QB Pat Smith was efficient, going 11 of 16 for141 yards, including a 51 yard touchdown pass to TE Tyler Dummermuth in the third quarter.

On the defensive side, lineman Greg Meisner notched five tackles and a sack.

IUP moved into the top 25 as well, entering this week's coaches poll at number 23.

Cheyney defeated Lincoln 34-21 in the opening game of the season, scoring the game's first 21 points.

Justin Watkins scored his first NCAA touchdown on the opening drive with an eight yard run.

The Wolves defense came to play last week, forcing five turnovers and gathering five sacks.

IUP has won all four meetings between the teams.

Clarion(1-0) at LIU Post(0-0)  1pm
The Golden Eagles defeated Fairmont State 7-0, picking up their first shutout since 2009. Safety Andrew Paronish picked off a pass and recovered a fumble, he was named PSAC West Defensive Player of the Week. The defense held the Falcons to just 34 rushing yards.

With the win in the opener, Clarion starts the season 1-0 for the first time since 2009.

QB Ben Fiscus threw for 136 yards and a score, he also ran for 77 yards, placing him 16th on Clarion's all time rushing list.

Bobby Thomas made his debut at running back and toted 20 times for 80 yards.

The Pioneers were idle last week.

Head coach Bryan Collins starts his 15th season at the helm, LIU Post is picked third in the PSAC East preseason poll.

Steven Laurino looks to build on his successful freshman campaign last season, where he passed for 1,870 yards and 19 touchdowns and added 764 yards on the ground with three touchdowns. 

Junior running back Jeff Mack led the Pioneers in rushing with 865 yards and eight touchdowns and looks to help lead the Pioneers in scoring

It's the first time these teams have played, it may also be the last with LIU Post leaving the PSAC next season.

Mercyhurst(0-1) at Millersville(1-0)  1pm
The Lakers lost to Notre Dame College 59-42 last week. It's the most points given up by Mercyhurst since a 59-7 loss to Grand Valley State in 2007, when the Lakers were in the GLIAC.

WR Paris Bruener made his mark on special teams, returning a kickoff 86 yards for a score.

Vladmir Rock switched from defense to offense this season and had 3 catches for 72 yards and a touchdown. Devyn Woods made his first NCAA start and had 5 catches for 77 yards and score scores.

Mercyhurst turned the ball over 8 times in the loss. 

Linebacker Jordan Rigby was named PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in a 41-17 win over West Virginia Wesleyan. Rigby made five tackles, picked off two passes, one returned for a touchdown.

Millersville got great offensive performances from a couple of new starters. QB Ted Stachitas ran for 120 yards and a touchdown, he also tossed a td pass. Myron Miles ran for 93 yards and a score. Bobby Jones added 3 touchdowns for the Marauders.

This is also the first meeting between these teams.

Lock Haven(0-1) at East Stroudsburg(0-0)  6:05pm
The Bald Eagles lost their 43rd consecutive game last week, falling to Division I Fordham 55-0. Lock Haven has not won a game since the final game of the 2007 season. The 43 game streak is the longest current streak of any team in NCAA football on any level.

Denny Douds returns for his 39th season at ESU, he leads the PSAC with 232 career wins, he is also the NCAA D-II leader in games coached with 397.

The Warriors look to bounce back from consecutive 3-8 seasons. Three players are fighting to take over at quarterback, Nate Daniels, Matt Soltes or Steven Adams. Adams was the season starter at Shippensburg in 2010 before transferring.

Whoever wins the job will have lots of receivers to throw to. Dusty Reed, Jordan Hallman and Robert Blieler all return. RB Kendrick Williams also returns, having rushed for over 16 hundred yards in his career.

ESU enters the season with heavy hearts, starting linebacker Derek Brown died July 5th following a car accident six days earlier.

Both teams have won seven games in the series, they will play every year starting next season as the Bald Eagles shift from the West to East Division.

California(1-0) at Kutztown(1-0)  6:05 pm
Another week, another matchup of Top 25 teams for the Vulcans, after a 30-22 victory over 17th ranked Hillsdale last week.

The Vulcans moved up from 11th to 10th in the AFCA coaches poll with the win over the defending GLIAC Champion, they'll meet the defending PSAC champions this week.

QB Peter Lalich threw for 275 yards and four touchdowns in the win, including three first half scores.  Junior Trey Johnson, a former running back, set career highs in receptions, yards and touchdowns after making his first career start at wide receiver

Preseason All-American CB Rontez Miles made eleven tackles and broke up a pass in the end zone on the game's final play to preserve the win.

Kutztown is led by quarterback Kevin Morton, the two time PSAC East Offensive Player of the Year. Morton shared the weekly honor for the opening week after a 58-6 win over St Anselm. Morton was 31 of 45 for 409 yards and six touchdowns, he also ran for a score. That all came in the first half.

Morton also broke the Golden Bears record for career touchdown passes with 91. Kutztown put up 723 yards of offense in last week's win, the fifth most yards in PSAC history. 

Kutztown started the season 12th in the preseason coaches poll, they moved up one spot after last week's win. The Golden Bears are the favorites to win the PSAC East title this season. 

Kutztown has won 7 of the 8 games when these teams have played with one tie.

Seton Hill(0-1) at Urbana(1-0)  Noon
QB Ryan Morris returns to lead the Seton Hill offense, he does not have a receiver on the roster that has caught a pass in NCAA play. D.J. Carter is expected to be his main target along with Darvin Henderson, both have transferred to Seton Hill.

The Griffins could not run the ball at all last season, averaging just 1.8 yards per carry, one of the lowest totals in Division II. Tavin Davis moves into the backfield, transferring from Arkansas Tech, David Miller will also see some carries.

Linebacker Calvin Mason and Darius Turner lead the defense. Mason made 66 stops last season.

Davis scored the only touchdown last week in a 52-6 loss at Slippery Rock. The Griffins managed just 181 yards offense, with minus 16 yards rushing and six quarterback sacks.

Urbana defeated Tusculum 53-33 last week. QB D.J. Mendenhall threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns in the win, he also ran for 3 scores.

Thiel(0-1) at Rochester(0-0)  Noon
It's the first ever meeting between the two teams.

The Tomcats fell 16-13 at home last week, dropping their 23rd consecutive game. QB Taylor Fink scored both touchdowns for Thiel.

DE Tim Taylor needs nine sacks to break the school's all time mark.

Rochester starts their season this week. Junior Dean Kennedy appeared in six games last year at quarterback. He threw for 388 yards and a pair of TDs. Kennedy also ran for positive yardage (102 yards on 22 carries).

Two 30-catch receivers are back at the wideout spots: junior Garrett Kesel (31/354 yds., 1 TD) and senior Tom Hayes (30/496/3 TD).

Frostburg State(1-0) at Waynesburg(1-0)  1pm
The Bobcats defeated Geneva 56-53 last week. Chuky Iweh ran 25 times for 140 yards for Frostburg State. Kenny Emmons was 17 of 31 for 283 and four touchdowns. Anthony Young had 7 catches for 118 yards with 3 touchdowns including the game winner, Antonio Wood had 3 receptions for 100 yards.

Waynesburg rallied for 20 fourth quarter points to defeat Muskingum 34-23 last week. RB Bertrand Ngampa ran for 91 yards, including a 40 yard touchdown.

On the defensive side, Bryan Gary made seven tackles and picked off his first pass of the season.

Waynesburg leads the all time series 27-12-1.

Wooster(0-1) at Saint Vincent(0-1)  1pm
First meeting between the teams.

Wooster fell to Allegheny 17-14 last week in their NCAC opener. Wooster jumped out to a 14-0 second quarter lead on two Richard Barnes touchdown passes, one to Tyler Sinclair for 9 yard and a 2 yard strike to Justin Rice, but did not score again. 

The Bearcats fell to Bridgewater 23-7 last week.  David Emmanuel caught a one yard touchdown pass from Andy Borgen for the only Saint Vincent score.

WR Ricky Douglas needs four catches and 214 yards to take over the Saint Vincent all time lead. Douglas had five catches and 88 yards in the opener.

Anderson(0-1) at Grove City(0-1)  1:30pm
Anderson fell to NAIA member Taylor 46-0 last week. Anderson was held to just four first downs and 25 yards.

This comes courtesy of the Grove City athletic department: The Grove City football team did not commit a penalty in the team’s season opener at Carnegie Mellon, marking the first time in recent memory that the Wolverines played a penalty-free game. Of the 200 Division III programs that played last week, only Grove City went without being penalized. A total of 556 NCAA football programs played last week and only Grove City and Central Michigan went without a penalty.

The Wolverines dropped a 23-20 decision to the Tartans, in a game that took almost six hours to complete, due to a 1 hour and 50 minute lighting delay in the third quarter.

WR Anthony Ritchie had a huge day with seven catches for 82 yards and two touchdowns.

Chris Gibbs led the Grove City defense with 12 tackles.

First meeting between the teams.

Carnegie Mellon(1-0) at Allegheny(1-0) 3:30pm
CMU defeated Grove City 23-20 last week. Rob Kalkstein finished 8 of 16 for 192 yards, including long touchdown passes to Timothy Swanson of 52 yards and Tim Kitka of 45 yards
The Tartan running game was held to 181 yards, Jared Delello led the way with 71 yards on 15 carries. Jake Nardone scored a touchdown for CMU.

Allegheny trailed 14-0 in the second quarter of it's season opener againt Wooster, but the weather changed all that.

Play was halted with 51 seconds remaining until halftime due to lighting, after that the Gators took over the game. Mike Person hit David Bassi for an 8 yard touchdown on the first play after the delay to cut the Wooster lead to 14-7 at the half.

Person found Isaac Gittens for a 32 yard score late in the third quarter to knot the score at 14.

Wooster would drive on the first possession of the fourth, but turned the ball over on downs at the Allegheny 19. After both teams punted. the Gators took over at their own 31 with 7:50 remaining. Person led Allegheny on a great drive, going 15 plays and leading to a Ryan Mong 28 yard field goal with ninety
 

Tags: Geneva, Washington