District College Football Preview for Saturday, September 14th

By: HSSN Staff
Wednesday, September 11, 2013 | 9:27 PM

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Crossover play is the highlight this week in the district college football slate as the PSAC Eastern and Western Divisions square off. Robert Morris looks to win their second straight and W & J heads to meet a nationally ranked opponent.

Here are previews of ALL the games, recaps will be posted on Sunday.

Shippensburg (0-1) at Slippery Rock (1-0)   6pm on WLER 97.7-FM and the MSA Sports Network
The Red Raiders were ranked in the top 10 to start the season but were shut out by then number 25 Shepherd last week. It was the first time the Red Raiders were blanked since 2008. Shippensburg was ranked 7th in the first AFCA poll and 14th in the D2football.com poll, they are unranked this week.

QB Zach Zulli was held to just 140 yards passing, his 21 game streak of tossing a td pass over.

Shippensburg averaged 531 yards per game on offense last season, they were held to 217 by Shepherd.

WR Trevor Harman had 5 catches for 79 yards.

DB Mike Goode made 11 tackles last week, including 8 solo stops.

QB Nigel Barksdale set a SRU single game record with 6 touchdown passes, he threw for 465 yards, the second highest total in Rock history. He was named D2football.com Player of the Week and PSAC Western Division co-Offensive Athlete of the Week. Barksdale was rehabbing from an injury and listed as third on the depth chart prior to the Northwood game.

The Rock ran 110 plays from scrimmage and totaled 675 yards of offense.

WR Ken Amos and Jaimire Dutrieuille each tallied 116 yards of receiving. Rock receivers averaged 16.9 yards per completion.

Barksdale and the Rock offense take full advantage with four of five starters returning on the offensive line.

CB Anthony Saunders started 2013 where he left off, he picked off a pass and took it 28 yards to the house. The senior corner has returned three interceptions over the last two seasons.

P James McCombie averaged 53 yards per punt on 4 tries, including a career best 74 yarder. That punt is just two yards shy of the school record.

It is the first of three games against the Eastern Division for the Rock. SRU is the only team in the Western Division that is scheduled to play the three teams that have combined to win the last four PSAC Eastern Division titles. (Shippensburg 2009 and 2012, Kutztown 2011 and Bloomsburg 2010)

The Rock has the series advantage 39-21-2, the teams were division rivals for many years in the West before Shippensburg moved to the East.

W & J (1-0) at St. John Fisher (1-0)   1pm on WJPA 1450-AM and the MSA Sports Network
The Presidents opened the season with a 58-21 win over Wooster. RB Dion Weigand ran for 128 yards and three first half touchdowns in the victory, he was named PAC Offensive Player of the Week.

Another W & J player was honored by the conference, Alex Baroffio was named PAC Special Teams Player of the Week. The senior WR had a career high 257 all purpose yards, with five of his returns setting up the Presidents for scoring drives. Baroffio was also named ECAC Division III Southwest Special Teams Player of the Week for his efforts. Baroffio needs seven catches to become the all-time leader in school history.

The 58 points were the most in a season opener since 2002, scoring 63 against Ursinus. The 28 points in the opening quarter were also the most since W & J scored 30 in the second quarter at Westminster in 2007.

QB Matt Bliss was 27-33 for 312 yards with a td pass and a pick, the 4th time that Bliss went over 300 yards in a game. Dan Lucas had 10 catches, Baroffio had 9.

Junior Jared Pratt transferred from Colgate and made a big impact in his first game, with 12 tackles. Marlon Brown also had impact in his first start, with a Pick 6 for 75 yards.

The Cardinals are ranked 19th entering the game, knocking off Otterbein 28-0 last week.

Senior RB Cody Miller ran 17 times for 83 yards and a score.

QB Tyler Fenti  was not effective, going just 10-24 but racked up 233 yards and 2 touchdowns. RB Ryan Kramer started at quarterback last season against W & J, he was the leading receiver last week with 7 catches for 70 yards.

The Cardinals held Otterbein to just 9 first downs and 145 yards offense. DE Mason Judd and LB Dalton Donk each had 10 tackles to lead the team.

St. John Fisher won the first and only meeting last season at Cameron Stadium, rallying in the fourth quarter for a 28-24 win.

Bethany (0-1) at Geneva (1-0)   8pm on WBVP 1230-AM and the MSA Sports Network
The Bison trailed 30-9 in the third quarter against Centre last week before making a furious comeback on touchdown runs from Phil Acrie, Matt Grimard and Brandon Hill. Centre defeated Bethany 33-28.

Grimard threw for 336 yards, he needs two more touchdown passes to become the all time leader.

WR Eric Blinn returns to Beaver County, having played his high school ball at Western Beaver. Blinn grabbed 11 passes last week for 130 yards.

The GT’s pounded Frostburg State 47-3 last week at Reeves Field. Geneva is looking to win two straight games for the first time since the final two games of the 2011 season.

QB Zach Hayward had a great game in the win, going 24-29 for 266 yards and two touchdowns.

It was the Lawrence County connection that helped lead the Golden Tornadoes last week. RB Dylan Jones of Laurel ran for 92 yards and a touchdown, he also caught a td pass from Hayward.

And Rocco Colavecchia of Shenango was efficient in the red zone, rushing for only 16 yards but a pair of scores. Colavecchia also had 51 yards receiving from his slash position.

LB Dylan Goodell had his usual great game, leading the team with ten stops.

Geneva leads the series 28-11-1, but the Bison have won the last two, including a 42-36 overtime win last season.

Dayton (1-1) at Robert Morris (1-1)  Noon
The Flyers rebounded from a loss at Youngstown State to knock off Duquesne 23-20 last week. Will Barto ran for 79 yards and a pair of scores, he threw for 171 yards on 16-32. Barto is the team’s leading rusher with 111 yards. His main target is Gary Hunter with 11 catches for 115 yards. Bardo has only one td pass and 2 interceptions.

William Will kicked 3 second half field goals to lead the Flyers to the win.

Robert Morris defeated Morgan State 31-14 last week.

Former Sto-Rox QB Paul Jones is 24-59 for 371 yards and 4 touchdowns, he is third is the NEC QB stats. Dontae Jeter leads the Colonials with 8 catches, Duane Mitchell is right behind at 7 grabs.

K Connor Shennan is just 1-4 this season on field goals, making only a 27 yarder.

DB Antwan Eddie was named co-NEC Rookie of the Week, racking up 96 yards on 4 punt returns. Eddie also has a pick this season. LB Mike Cook is tied for the NEC lead with 19 tackles. DB D.J. Myers has 15 tackles including 11 solo stops. 

Saint Francis (0-1) at James Madison (1-1)   6pm
The Red Flash fell at Georgia Southern 59-17. RB Kyle Harbridge played for the first time since 2011 and ran for 135 yards on 25 totes. Harbridge was one of the top running backs in the FCS before missing all of last season with a pre-season injury.

The Saint Francis QB duo of Capri Thompson and Max Ward combined for just 94 yards on 7-19.

James Madison fell at Akron 35-33 last week after beating Central Connecticut State 38-14 in the opener. Dae’Quan Scott ran for 107 yards on 27 carries with a score. Michael Birdsong threw for 310 yards and 3 scores.

Birdsong ran for 2 scores and threw for another in the CCSU victory.

Bloomsburg (1-0) at Edinboro (1-0)   Noon
The Huskies put up 457 yards on the ground in a 41-13 win over Stonehill. RB Franklyn Quiteh ran for 182 yards and 3 touchdowns, he ran for over 100 yards for the 18th straight game. Quiteh needs 180 yards to become the all-time leading rusher in the PSAC. Da’Shon Munger ran for 135 yards, WR Glenn Hutton had 5 catches for 124 yards. It was the first win for interim coach Paul Darragh, who took over for Danny Hale.

Bloomsburg goes from 18th to 15th in the latest AFCA Division II poll.

Edinboro defeated Walsh at Fawcett Stadium in Canton 35-34 last week. Cody Harris was 36-47 for 304 yards and 4 touchdowns in the win. Harris now has 17 300 yard passing games and has thrown for 4 or more scores in 4 games. Ben Eisel had 11 receptions and Keven Sonnie pulled in 2 touchdown passes. The Fighting Scots were 12 of 19 on third down last week.

Head coach Scott Browning picked up his 50th win in 8 seasons as the boss of the Fighting Scots.  Devin Ghafoor, formerly of Perry, led Edinboro with 12 tackles.

Edinboro leads the all time series 6-3, but they have not faced each other since 2007.

West Chester (1-0) at Gannon (1-0)   Noon
The Golden Rams defeated then number 12 New Haven 45-14 last week. RB Rondell White was named PSAC  Eastern Division Offensive Athlete of the Week.  White ran for 96 yards, had 94 yards receiving and 87 return yards, while scoring three touchdowns.

QB Sean McCartney was 20-26 for 290 yards and 3 scores. West Chester enters into the AFCA Division II poll at number 23 this week.

The Golden Knights defeated Lake Erie 36-33 last week. RB Jansen Jones ran for a career high 218 yards and the Gannon offense had no turnovers. WR Quad Law made 6 catches for 101 yards, both career highs for the former Ringgold star.

West Chester won last year’s matchup 21-17, the only meeting between the teams.

Millersville (0-1) at Mercyhurst (0-1)   Noon
Millersville fell to LIU Post 47-16 last week. Freshman Dante Barkley made 8 catches, replacing leading receiver Dominic Sanders, who was out with an ankle injury.

The Lakers fell 17-16 to Bentley last week. QB Anthony Vendemia threw for 207 yards and a td in the loss, he completed passes to 10 different receivers. Brendan Brown-Dukes ran for 77 yards and a score. 

Mercyhurst won the only other meeting between the teams, 45-7 on the road in 2012.

Kutztown (0-1) at California (1-0)   3:30pm
Kutztown fell in overtime to Clarion last week. QB Alec Werner had a career day in his first start, the true freshman threw for 394 yards on 40 of 57. WR Alex Tonnies had 17 catches for 123 yards and a score. The 17 catches tied for second place all time in the PSAC for a single game.

Cal defeated Hillsdale 22-19 last week. QB Cody Schroder threw for 3 second half touchdowns, including the game winner with 50 seconds left. Schroder notched a career high 270 yards passing and completed throws to 8 different receivers.

DB Dewey McDonald made 15 tackles in his first start as a Vulcan, he played 3 seasons at Fairmont State. The special teams came thru, blocking a pair of first half field goal attempts.

Kutztown leads the all-time series 7-1-1.

Cheyney (0-1) at IUP (1-0)   4pm
The Wolves fell to Lincoln 33-28 last week. Eugene Moten was the star with 255 return yards. Marcus Jones scored with 2 minutes remaining but Cheyney could not convert on the two-pointer and failed to recovered the onside kick.

IUP defeated Southern Connecticut State 30-20 last week. QB Mike Box threw for 296 yards and two scores as the Crimson Hawks racked up 500 yards of offense. RB De’Antwan Williams ran for 135 yards after he was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA earlier in the day.

LB Carl Fleming, the MVP of late year’s PSAC title game, made a career high 15 tackles. DB Marco Pecora had 2 interceptions.

The Crimson Hawks move up to number 8 this week in the AFCA poll, from number 10 last week. IUP has won all 5 meetings with Cheyney.

Lock Haven (1-0) at Clarion (1-0)   6pm
Break up the Bald Eagles after winning their second straight game 31-13 over West Virginia State. Lock Haven won the regular season finale over Cheyney to end a 52 game losing streak.

Brandon Brader ran 19 times for 68 yards and 2 touchdowns, he is now 7th on the Lock Haven career rushing list, he needs 19 yards to move into sixth place and 107 yards to reach the 2 thousand mark for his career.

The Golden Eagles defeated Kutztown 39-38 in overtime at Memorial Stadium. Senior QB Ben Fiscus was named co-PSAC Western Division Offensive Athlete of the Week. The Indiana native threw for three touchdowns and ran for two more, including the game winner in overtime. Fiscus is now in the top 10 at Clarion for rushing, competions and attempts, passing yards and touchdown passes.

LB Julian Howsare was also honored as PSAC Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week. Howsare had 8 tackles, including 2 sacks and forced a fumble to set up a Clarion touchdown drive, he has 20 sacks for his career.

Clarion leads the series 45-16-1.

East Stroudsburg (1-0) at Seton Hill (0-1)   6pm
The Warriors knocked off Northeast 10 favorite American International last week 21-14. DB Teron Dobbs was named PSAC Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week. Dobbs had 2 interceptions and broke up a pass in the end zone. The sophomore also had a sack on a fourth and goal play to stop a scoring drive.

TB Robert Healy ran for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns. Head coach Denny Douds is the fifth coach to coach 40-plus years at the same school and moved into a tie for 25th place on the NCAA wins list, tying legendary Ohio State coach Woody Hayes with 238 victories.

The Griffins fell 37-29 to former WVIAC conference foe Fairmont State last week. Seton Hill moves into the PSAC Western Division for the 2013 season and beyond. Nick Hafhill took over at QB for starter Andrew Jackson and was 27-42 for 305 yards and 4 touchdowns. Norman Darden had 8 catches for 121 yards and 3 touchdowns, Maurice Fisher and Edwards Collins each pulled in 7 passes.

All-American Tyler Zimmer had 13 tackles to lead Seton Hill. It will be the first meeting for the Griffins and the Warriors. 

Waynesburg  (1-0) at Frostburg State (0-1)   1pm
The Yellow Jackets pulled out a 21-17 win over Muskingum last week. Bernie Thompson caught the game winning pass from Carter Hill with 23 seconds left. Waynesburg  jumped out to a 14-0 lead. 

Hill was 19 of 34 for 222 yards and 3 touchdowns. WR Andrew English has 6 catches for 104 yards and a score.

DE Brandon Fedorka picked up his first two sacks of the season. S Bryan Gay made 12 stops, with 9 solo tackles. Head coach Rick Shepas picked up win number 50 at Waynesburg.

Waynesburg leads the series 28-12-1.

Allegheny (0-1) at Carnegie Mellon (0-1)  1pm
The Gators struggled in their NCAC opener, falling to Kenyon 37-7 last week. The Gators could gain only 82 yards on the ground. Freshman QB Joe Nigro threw for 150 yards and a touchdown. Nigro hit Andrew Niklaus for a 52 yard td in the third quarter for the only score. Lucas Morton had 5 catches, Niklaus 4.

The Allegheny defense gave up 483 yards of offense last week to the Lords.

CMU struggled in a loss to Grove City 28-10. QB Rob Kalkstein was picked off on the game’s opening play, he was just 14-27 for 158 yards. The former Gateway star needs 242 yards to move into fourth place on the school’s all time passing list, he has thrown 25 career touchdowns. 2012 leading receiver Tim Kitka was held to just 3 catches for 47 yards.

Zachery Erra-Hernandez ran for 76 yards on 16 carries. The Tartans were just 4 of 12 on third downs.

S Jack Butler made 11 tackles for the Tartans, a career high. CMU leads the series 30-20-2.

Grove City (1-0) at Anderson (0-1)   1:30pm
The Wolverines beat Carnegie Mellon 28-10 at home last week. Grove City has won four straight games overall and is looking for their first 2-0 start since 2004.

QB Brian Pell led the Wolverines with 98 rushing yards, he ran for two scores and threw for another. FB Steve Maskrey had a career high 86 yards, he also scored. The Wolverines were 8 of 14 on third down conversions.

The Wolverine defense contributed in the win, LB Bobby Tuttle picked off Rob Kalkstein on the first play from scrimmage. Jason Skyrm made 12 tackles and Brandon Miller added 11 to lead Grove City.

Anderson fell to NAIA power Taylor last week 58-7. The Ravens have a 17 game losing streak. Grove City won the only meeting between the teams 47-10 in 2012.

Rochester (0-0) at Thiel (0-1)   1:30pm
The Tomcats dropped a 41-20 decision to Juniata last week. Freshman RB Josh Wannamaker ran for a td to tie the game at 7. Senior QB Andrew Smith was yanked in the fourth quarter for Ryan Radke, the sophomore hit Brian Fedzen and Ron Howard for touchdowns. 

It is the season opener for Rochester, the YellowJackets were 4-5 last year. QB Dean Kennedy returns, he threw for over 2 thousand yards last year, breaking the school single season record. Rochester won the only meeting between the teams 17-7 in 2012.

Tags: Geneva, Washington