Skipping The Sidelines by Bill Albright

Don Hansen's Football Gazette
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NCAA 1-AA - 1-AA Mid-Major - Division II - Division III - NAIA - NCCAA

"Skipping The Sidelines"
By Bill Albright

Archives: 09/09/2006   09/16/2006   09/23/2006   09/30/2006
10/07/2006   10/14/2006   10/21/2006   10/28/2006
11/04/2006   11/11/2006   11/25/2006

Other Feature Articles by Bill :
McKolosky and Ziegler Making Things Happen For Westminster
Persistence Pays Off For Tim Devanney

Small College Football
Week Ending Capsule for September 29, 2007

College football is closing in on the halfway point of the season, and with that happening, some big games are beginning to appear in the President's Athletic Conference, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and the Middle Atlantic State's Conference.

In the PAC, Waynesburg and Westminster remained at the top of the heap with victories over Thomas More and Grove City respectively, Indiana University of Pennsylvania edged Slippery Rock with a last-second field goal in a key PSAC matchup and Wilkes defeated Lebanon Valley in a key MAC contest.

Here is a closer look at how those games and other unfolded during the past weekend:

PAC

Westminster 14, Grove City 7

NEW WILMINGTON -- Homecoming is supposed to be a happy time for the home team, and for the Westminster football team, that was the case last Saturday.

Rolling out the red carpet to arch-rival Grove City College, the Titans gave the alums a lot to cheer about as they made two first-half touchdowns stand up for a 14-7 win over the Wolverines.

"Our defense played solid football today and they made plays when they had to," said Titan coach Jeff Hand. "It was a real nice win for us on homecoming and we are real proud of that. We are obviously happy with the victory and now we are going to take a look at the film for the positives and negatives of today's game."

Although disappointed with his team's fourth loss in five decisions, GCC coach Chris Smith had a lot of good things to say about his troops.

"We play hard and with a lot of heart," said Smith. "We got another great effort and played hard enough to win, but at the same time, we make enough errors not to win. That has been the case for us in most of our losses this season."

After Westminster (3-1, 1-0) saw its first possession end with a lost fumble, the Titans came back to take a 7-0 lead with a 68-yard drive that took eight plays, reserve running back Jacob Shaffer going in from one yard out for the score. The big play in the drive was a 32-yard pass hookup between quarterback Kevin Franz and wideout Jason Discello.

However, not to let things get away from them, the Wolverines answered with their first possession of the second quarter on a 1-yard plunge to paydirt by Matt Weil.

During the next 10 minutes, the defensive units of both squads took control of the game until the Titans set up shop on their own 37.

Ten plays and 63 yards later, Franz hit Discello with a 6-yard scoring pass, and with his second conversion of the game, Fred Romeo (Poland Seminary) set what would turn out to be the final at 14-7 Titans with 30 seconds left before halftime.

For Discello, his half dozen catches matched his career best, while his 77 receiving yards was a new career high.

Although there was no scoring in the second half, the Wolverines (1-4, 1-2) had numerous opportunities to put points on the board, but it just didn't happen.

During the final 30 minutes, the Wolverines ran 20 more (46 to 26) plays than did the Titans, but they were unable to put any points on the board as the Titan defensive unit bent, but didn't break.

"Our defense plays our hearts out every game and today was just another one of those days," said Titan defensive end Andrew Robison (Wilmington Area). "We didn't come through as well as we would have liked on some third down plays, but overall, we were able to stop them when it really mattered."

As for not being able to finish the drives, Smith feels it is just a matter of not coming up with the big play at the critical time.

"We have to come up with the 20-yard play, the 33-yard play or whatever it takes," he said. "In our last drive, we worked hard to get the first-and-10, but then we had a breakdown in blocking that resulted in a 7-yard loss because of a sack."

If there was a Workhorse of the Game award to be given, it would have to go to Titan running back Nick McKolosky who rushed 26 times for 108 yards while also catching three passes for another 24 yards.

"Our Dawgs up front were getting a great push and making the correct blocks," said McKolosky of his success. "I have to give a lot of credit to our fullback Josh Kutzner because he made some great blocks and I was getting good reads from him."

As for eclipsing the century mark in yards, McKolosky said that was simply a bonus for his efforts.

"The first goal of the team is just to win the game," he said. "As running backs, we have goals of averaging four yards every time we carry the ball and I think I got that (4.2). As long as I am over four yards a carry, I am happy."

Washington & Jefferson 64, St. Vincent 6

LATROBE, Pa. – Washington & Jefferson College piled up a school-record 863 yards of total offense during its lopsided victory over Saint Vincent on Saturday afternoon at Chuck Noll Field.

The 12th-ranked Presidents (4-0) set a school-record with 424 rushing yards on 42 attempts, while three W&J quarterbacks combined to complete 31-of-38 passes for 439 yards and four touchdowns. The 439 yards passing also set a new school record.

Individually, sophomore place-kicker Chuck Grabner (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Pickerington) broke a school record with five field goals (30, 19, 36, 23, 25). Grabner booted four in the second half.

After totaling 863 yards and 41 first downs on 80 plays from scrimmage, the Presidents are now averaging 626.6 yards per game and 9.0 yards per play this season.

Junior running back Kevin Mathews (Pittsburgh, Pa./Upper St. Clair) totaled 227 all-purpose yards and a career-high four touchdowns. He rushed eight times for 122 yards and two scores (21, 20), while catching four passes for 64 yards and two touchdowns (11, 31).

Grabner drilled all four of his second-half field goal attempts and the Bearcats (0-4) finally got on the scoreboard with 1:14 remaining in the third quarter on a touchdown pass from Mike Speal to Jake Gabelt.

Swallow completed 16-of-19 passes for 323 yards and four touchdowns in 25 minutes of action. Junior Zack Zebrasky (Canonsburg, Pa./Washington) completed 12-of-15 attempts for 98 yards after filling in for Swallow.

McCafferty compiled a career-high 171 yards on six catches, while Ravida posted 70 yards on five receptions. Junior linebackers David Gitlitz (Columbus, Ohio/Bexley) and John Fahey (Youngstown, Ohio/Boardman) had six tackles, while senior free safety Todd Keenan (Bloomingdale, Ohio/Indian Creek) and sophomore strong safety Mike Sedunov (Herminie, Pa./Yough) both added interceptions.

Saint Vincent was limited to 210 yards and 10 first downs. Three SVC quarterbacks combined to complete 8-of-22 pass attempts for 74 yards. Speal led the Bearcat runners with 53 yards on five carries.

Waynesburg 20, Thomas More 6

With the two teams tied at 6-all, Waynesburg scored two third-quarter touchdowns to break deadlock and post the Presidents' Athletic Conference victory over Thomas More.

Thomas More falls to 2-2 on the season and 1-2 in the PAC, while the Yellow Jackets improve to 4-0 overall, 2-0 PAC.

Senior receiver John Resch (Louisville/Trinity) scored the only Thomas More touchdown, hauling in a 37 yard pass from freshman Josh Gauger (Avon, IN/Avon) in the second quarter. The extra point was blocked, and the teams went into the locker room tied at 6-6.

Freshman Matt Clark (Cincinnati, OH/McNicholas) had a career-high 15 tackles to lead the Saints, while sophomore Andy Poe (Reading, OH/Reading) pulled down 10 stops. Three players - senior Terence Toone (Columbus, OH/South), senior David Dransman (Cincinnati, OH/Colerain) and sophomore Brandon Kohrs (Newport/Newport Central Catholic) - all had nine tackles.

Resch finished the game with four catches for 84 yards, while sophomore Cordario Collier (New Albany, IN/New Albany) yielded 68 yards on 21 carries. The 68-yard game broke a string of four straight 100-yard games for the sophomore back.

Gauger went 8-of-13 for 100 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Thiel 37, Bethany 13

Thiel College senior running back Steve Minton (Cranberry Twp./Seneca Valley) took over another career mark Saturday afternoon at Alumni Stadium as Minton led the Tomcats to a convincing 37-13 win over rival Bethany College in a President's Athletic Conference matchup.

Minton rushed for 238 yards to establish his new school mark.

Minton carried the ball 24 times Saturday for a career-best 238 yards and a pair of scores (76, 23). His 238 yards passed Justin Napotnik '04, who ran for 225 yards in the Tomcats' 31-28 victory over Kenyon College on Nov. 15, 2003, on the single-game rushing list. Minton's 76-yard touchdown run in the second quarter of action was the longest run from scrimmage in his career.

Complementing Minton's effort was junior running back Dan Hess (Apollo/Kiski) as Hess wouldn't be left out by rushing for 150 yards and two touchdowns on 28 totes. The Tomcats (2-3, 1-1) rushed for a school-record 425 yards on 64 attempts, averaging 6.6 yards per carry. Thiel held a huge 38:18-21:42 edge in time of possession and limited Bethany (2-2, 0-1) to just 218 total offensive yards. Saturday was the first time in their careers that both Minton and Hess eclipsed the 100-yard mark on the same afternoon. For Minton it was his 12th time over 100 while for Hess it was his fifth.

Senior wide receiver Marc LaScola (Wellsville, Ohio/Wellsville) was called into action early in the contest when sophomore quarterback Willie Bova (Port Allegany/Port Allegany) was sidelined. LaScola, recruited to play quarterback, made an effortless move under center and finished out the contest. Despite completing just one-of-eight passes for 27 yards, LaScola ran an effective offense, running for 30 yards on five carries on his own.

Senior place-kicker Sammy Koyl (Cleveland Heights, Ohio/Benedictine) converted on a career-high three field goals, knocking in three-of-four with a long of 35 (twice).

Starring for the Tomcats on defense was senior defensive end Chris Lorber (Mayfield Heights, Ohio/Benedictine) who recorded 8.0 tackles (2.5 for loss), 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Junior linebacker Sam Swartzfager (Shippenville/Keystone) and senior linebacker Michael Stimac (East Brady/Karns City) each posted 6.0 tackles.

Senior defensive end Robert Hughes (Youngstown, Ohio/Rayen) notched his third career defensive touchdown, scoring from 11 yards out on a fumble recovery with 11 seconds to play in the third quarter to give his team a 31-13 lead. Senior cornerback Antonio Quarterman (St. Petersburg, Fla./St. Petersburg) and senior defensive end Aaron Gorka (Johnstown/Westmont Hilltop) each added an interception.

PSAC

IUP 34, SRU 31

Matt McNelis kicked a 28-yard field goal in the final play of the game to give IUP a 34-31 win over Slippery Rock in the PSAC West opener for both teams.

IUP, ranked 21st in the American Football Coaches Association Poll, remained undefeated at 4-0 overall and won its PSAC West opener for the 25th consecutive season. Slippery Rock suffered its first loss and is 4-1 and 0-1 in the division.

Andrew Krewatch completed 27 of 39 passes for 310 yards and three touchdowns, all in the first quarter, as the Crimson Hawk built a 21-7 lead at the end of the opening quarter. Anthony Cellitti grabbed a team-high seven receptions for 62 yards while Dan Pickens and Ken Witter both had six catches and combined for 129 receiving yards.

IUP never trailed in the contest and led 31-24 after a 42-yard field goal by McNelis with 13:10 remaining in the game. Slippery Rock tied the game for the third time at 31-31 with 8:46 left on a 37-yard touchdown run by Ryan Lehmeier.

IUP got the ball back for the final time at its own 43 with 4:27 remaining. The Crimson Hawks put together a drive of 46 yards to the Slippery Rock 11, the drive including a pair of crucial third-down conversions.

Following an attempt by The Rock to "ice" McNelis, he maintained his focus and drilled the game-winning field goal. For IUP, it was its eighth win in the last nine meetings with SRU.

Nate Crookshank completed 10 of 19 passes for 206 yards for the Rock and a touchdown but was intercepted twice in the second half by Quinton Cobb and Mike Reid. Corey Manfull rushed for 99 yards and two touchdowns in the first half but did not see action in the second half due to an injury. Although it came out on the short end of the final score, Slippery Rock managed a slim 411-408 edge in total offense for the game.

Cheyney 30, Lock Haven 19

In a game matching two winless squads, the Wolves (1-4) came out of the battle with its first win of the season as they defeated the University Bald Eagles 30-19.

LHU the game despite racking up 19 first downs and rushing for 160 yards.

Leading the LHU charge was Ibrahim Smith who ran for 114 yards on 23 carries. Smith's 100 yard performance was the first in nearly three seasons for LHU.

Cheyney quarterback Derrick Murray threw for 267 yards, Murray's favorite target Dominique Curry piling up 190 receiving yards in the win.

Mistakes killed the Bald Eagles as Lock Haven was penalized 17 times for 143 yards in the game.

Leading the Bald Eagles defensively was Linebacker Shawn Crebs (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg) who had six tackles on the afternoon.

The win snapped a 23 game losing streak for Cheyney.

West Chester 44, Bloomsburg 28

The Huskies dropped their PSAC-East opener to the Rams by the final of 44-28.

The loss drops the Huskies 2-3, 0-1 in the PSAC East, while West Chester improves to 4-1, 1-0 in the PSAC East.

Mike Washington made most of the noise for West Chester as the wide receiver scored four touchdowns in the win, three through the air and one on the ground.

The first half featured a see-saw battle as West Chester scored first, but Bloomsburg answered. The Golden Rams went on top 14-7, but again the Huskies had an answer for a 14-all tie.

Just before halftime, WC made the most of three third-down conversions to move 61 yards for a score to lead by 21-14 at the intermission.

Not being able to finish drives has hurt the Huskies at times in their first four games, and Saturday was to be no different as both of their scoring opportunities in the third period produced no points by coming up short of the end zone.

Bloomsburg was led by quarterback Dan Latorre who rushed five times for a career-high 81 yards, while also completing 12 of 26 passes for 273 yards and four touchdowns. Brahin Bilal caught five passes for 145 yards and three scores.

Osagie Osunde gained 134 yards on 24 carries, while Washington caught four passes for 134 yards and three scores. Quarterback Bill Zwaan finished 14-24 for 278 yards and four TDs.

California (PA) 56, Clarion 0

California junior RB Brandon Lombardy (Moureland Hills, Ohio/Chagrin Falls) rushed for a game and season-high 177 yards on 16 carries and scored three touchdowns, all in the first half, to lead the 12th-ranked Vulcans (5-0, 1-0 PSAC West) to the shutout victory over Clarion (0-5, 0-1 PSAC) Saturday in the opening PSAC West football game for both teams.

Lombardy had a big first half for the Vulcans running for 177 yards and 3 td’s on 16 carries. QB Joe Ruggiero completed 10 of 15 passes for 104 yards and 1 td in the first half as well. Lombardy did not have a carry I the second half and Ruggiero did not play.

Cal’s defense, which entered the game ranked first in NCAA Division II in total defense, third in rushing defense and fourth in scoring defense, held Clarion to 22 yards rushing, 62 yards passing, 84 yards total offense and recorded its second-straight shutout.

Combined with Cal’s 57-0 win at Cheyney on Sept. 15, the Vulcans registered consecutive shutout victories for the first time since 1934 and scored 50 or more points in back-to-back wins for the first time in team history.

Lombardy scored on runs of 40, 1 and 36 yards and fumbled the ball into the end zone at the one yard line on another try. Senior WR Nate Forse (Uniontown, Pa./Laurel Highlands) recovered the loose ball in the end zone for the first of his two touchdowns.

Lombardy, who entered the game tied for 22nd in the country in rushing yards per game, finished with his third-highest career rushing game and became the third player in Cal history to gain more than 2,500 career rushing yards (now 2,510).

In addition to the fumble recovery in the end zone, Forse caught an 18-yard scoring pass from Sr. QB Joe Ruggiero (Detroit, Mich./Franklin) late in the second quarter. Ruggiero completed 10-of-15 passes for 104 yards. Forse had five receptions for 53 yards.

The Cal defense, which had three sacks and nine tackles in the Clarion backfield, was led by Sr. LB Josh Zunic (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny), who had seven tackles and recorded his 200th career stop. Zunic had two of Cal’s nine tackles for loss.

Clarion RB Eddie Emmanuel had 36 yards on 17 carries while WR Herb Carraway had three receptions for 34 yards to lead the Golden Eagles offense.

Clarion quarterback Tyler Huether injured his hand in the first half and was removed in place of backup Gino Rometo who finished the game.

While the Vulcans racked up 519 yards total offense, Clarion managed only 22 rushing yards and 62 passing yards for a total offense of 84 yards.

Defensively Clarion’s Dane Williams had 10 tackles, Nick Sipes had 9 stops and 1 tfl, and Quintyn Brazil posted 7 hits, 2 tfl’s and 1 int.

Edinboro 33, Shippensburg 18

Fighting Scot quarterback Trevor Harris completed 33-of-44 pass attempts, both school records, for 331 yards and three touchdowns as Edinboro won just its second PSAC Western Division opener in the last 11 seasons. Ironically, both victories have come against Shippensburg in 2005 and 2007.

The loss marked the first time since 1961 that the Red Raiders (0-5, 0-1 PSAC West) have started a season with five consecutive losses. That year, the team finished 0-8 under Hall of Fame coach Jack Roddick.

Saturday marked the fourth-straight game in which Harris has thrown at least three touchdowns and the eighth time in his 16 career starts. In two games against Shippensburg, he has thrown for 768 yards and eight touchdowns while completing 58-of-81 passes for 71.6-percent. Last year, Harris threw for a school-record 437 yards and five touchdowns on 25-of-37 passing.

On Saturday, the Fighting Scots (4-1, 1-0 PSAC West) jumped out to a 20-0 lead with 11:15 remaining in the second quarter when Harris connected with David Bostic for an 80-yard touchdown, the first of Bostic's career.

However, as has been its trademark this season, Shippensburg refused to quit and battled back on consecutive touchdown runs of 11 and two yards, respectively, by red-shirt senior Aaron Dykes (West Chester/Downingtown), eventually pulling the Red Raiders within one possession, 26-18.

After a stop by the Shippensburg defense that forced an Edinboro punt, the Red Raider offense took over at their own 16-yard line with 2:48 left. Following a 15-yard run by Maiocco and completions of 13 yards and 16 yards to red-shirt senior Tim Devanney (Mifflinburg/Mifflinburg) and red-shirt sophomore Mike Harris (East Earl/Garden Spot), Shippensburg faced a third-and-10 from the Edinboro 40-yard line with just under two minutes remaining.

But, much like last week's heartbreaking loss against West Chester that ended on the 1-yard line, the Red Raiders would be denied their first win of the season for the second-straight week. Gabe Maiocco's pass was deflected and intercepted by Dan Skelton who returned it 77 yards for the game-clinching touchdown with 1:45 to play, giving Edinboro a 33-18 lead.

Maiocco finished the game with a career-high 263 yards, the fourth time this season he has set a new career-high in passing yards. He completed 20-of-43 attempts, but was intercepted once and did not throw a touchdown.

Harris led Shippensburg with six receptions for 80 yards, the fourth time in five games this season that he has totaled at least six catches. Aaron Dykes led the rushing attack with 13 carries for 44 yards and two scores.

For Edinboro, Houston Brown finished with 95 yards rushing and one touchdown on 19 carries while Bostic had four catches for 103 yards and a score. Rich Cerro totaled a game-high seven receptions for the Fighting Scots as Harris completed at least one pass to eight different receivers.

MAC

Wilkes 29, Lebanon Valley 22 (OT)

Lebanon Valley took Wilkes to overtime, but the Colonels scored a touchdown before LVC turned it over in the extra period and Wilkes prevailed, 29-22.

Lebanon Valley's (1-3, 0-1 MAC) Caleb Fick threw the last of his three interceptions in overtime, to Kyle Follweiler, to end the game. Wilkes (0-3, 1-0 MAC), the defending MAC champion, got its first win of the year as the Colonels extended their MAC winning streak to 17 games.

Despite the interception, Fick erupted for 304 yards on 24-of-42 passing and senior Adam Brossman caught a season-best 12 passes for 180 yards. Sophomore Charlie Parker ran 19 times for 65 yards.

Wilkes' Alex Pearson rushed for 169 yards on 33 carries.

LVC responded with a long drive, this time with Ryan Brennan finishing a 74-yard campaign with a punch-in run. Fick found Brossman for a two-point conversion to put the Dutchmen up 22-19 late in the game.

Wilkes was set up with a golden opportunity with five minutes left in regulation. Parker fumbled the ball in the backfield and Augusto Lombana pounced on it at the LVC 22. However, the Dutchmen defense held, and the Colonels had to settle for Della Fortuna's 30-yard field goal to tie the game 22-22.

LVC likewise received a great opportunity when senior Russell DeStefano intercepted Karaffa at the Lebanon Valley 43. The Dutchmen started an epic 17-play drive that included six opportunities to score inside the five-yard line.

Ultimately, LVC couldn't punch it in from the one and had to try a field goal from 23 yards for the lead with 1:13 remaining. Sophomore Dan DiBona, however, had the distance but hit the left upright, and the game went to overtime.

Following a Wilkes score in overtime, the Dutchmen immediately went for the end zone in their offensive opportunity, with Fick missing Brossman and Vinju on consecutive plays. On third-and-10, Fick was intercepted by Follweiler at midfield and the game was over.

Game notes: The last time LVC worked overtime was in a 28-27 loss to King's in 2004 ... LVC held a massive advantage in time of possession, holding the ball for 38:16 ... LVC was 2-of-3 on fourth-down conversions ... Fick's 304 yards was a career-high ... Brossman crossed 3,000 yards receiving for his career and now has 3,143 yards ... LVC's wide-outs also got into the running game; Brossman carried three times for 17 yards and Vinju once for 29 yards ... Cottone turned in seven tackles, a blocked extra point and an interception.

Widener 16, Lycoming 14

Senior Tom Laurich (Warminster, PA) drilled a 22-yard field goal with 4:31 left in Widener's 16-14 Middle Atlantic Conference victory at Lycoming in Williamsport, PA.

During the winning drive, senior Matt Campbell (Broomall, PA) found sophomore Ian Decker (Phillipsburg, NJ) for 12 yards to the Lycoming 32 yard line on third and 10. Widener (2-2, 1-0 MAC) also converted a first down to the Warriors 24 yard line when the home team was called for pass interference.

Lycoming (0-4, 0-1 MAC) on the ensuing drive almost hit a big play when Tim Hook completed a 46-yard pass to Bill Margetich at the Widener 25 yard line. But the play was called back due to an ineligible man downfield.

Campbell completed 16-of-27 passes for 190 yards and one touchdown. Junior Steve Cook (Drexel Hill, PA) had 20 carries for 73 yards, senior Mike Falkenstein (Newark, DE) notched several key plays en route to five catches for 64 yards and senior John Martorell (Aston, PA) ended with 10 tackles.

Cook ran it in from one yard with 48 seconds left in the first for a 13-7 Widener lead. It remained that way until the fourth quarter when Bill Bulmahn caught a nine-yard touchdown pass from Hook with 11:10 to play for a 14-13 Lycoming lead, preceding the winning drive.

With the result, Lycoming College falls to 0-4 overall, 0-1 in the conference, while Widener is now even at 2-2, 1-0 in conference play.

The Warriors have lost their last three games by a total of nine points, falling to Ursinus and Susquehanna by three and four respectively.

Hook, a highly-touted freshman quarterback, got the start against Widener.

The "puppy" attempted 31 passes, completing 22 for 151 yards, in a refocused offense that moved the ball better than in previous contests. Hook also rushed nine times for 14 yards, while being sacked only once.

Hook's classmate, running back Josh Kleinfelter (Bellwood, PA) electrified the home crowd just 25 seconds into the game with a 61-yard touchdown run. Kleinfelter found daylight in the middle and took it to the house. However, he managed just 17 more yards on the day as Lycoming’s offense totaled 104 yards on the ground.

The Warriors had two prime scoring opportunities in the second quarter, but failed to convert on either. To open the period, Lycoming drove to the Widener 8-yard line on several Hook completions. But tight end Bill Margetich’s (Glenolden, PA) fumble after a catch ended the threat.

Three possessions later, Hook again led Lycoming deep into Pride territory. A completion to Margetich set up a 1st-and-goal at the one-yard line, two unsuccessful runs and a costly penalty for illegal motion led to a missed 22-yard field goal by Warrior freshman Sean Teufel (Virgina Beach, VA) with 1:27 left in the half.

Lycoming’s defense continued to play tough, sacking Campbell four times on the afternoon, including two by defensive end Ryan Yaple (Stillwater, PA). Freshman defensive back Travis Leonarczyk (Shenandoah, PA) led the Warriors with nine tackles for the game, while Widener’s John Martorell finished with ten tackles.

Widener’s Campbell finished the game with 190 passing yards (1 TD), while running back Cook led the Pride with 74 rushing yards.