Skipping The Sidelines by Bill Albright

Don Hansen's Football Gazette
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"Skipping The Sidelines"
By Bill Albright

Archives: 09/09/2006 09/16/2006

Small College Football
Week Ending Capsule for September 23, 2006

It was the final full week of crossover games for the teams in the PSAC. If you are keeping score, it was 4-3 in favor of the East, largely due to big wins by Millersville over IUP and East Stroudsburg over California (PA).

In the PAC, four teams matched up in a pair of conference games, while two of the remaining three completed their non-conference matchups prior to really getting into the PAC portion of the schedules.

Here is a close look at how those games turned out:

PAC

Thiel 17, Thomas More 14 (OT): No less than twice did the Tomcats come from behind to win thrillers in their championship season of 2005, and the "cardiac kids" of Coach Jack Leipheimer did it again Saturday in their conference opener for 2006. Trailing by a 14-0 margin to Thomas More, the Tomcats rallied to score the final 17 unanswered points of the contest for their overtime win. Thiel scored the equalizer in the final minutes of regulation on a six-yard pass from Billy Blankenship to Mark LaScola with 19 seconds left, then got a 27-yard field goal from Sammy Koyl in overtime for the victory. For Thomas More, sophomore quarterback Trevor Stellman was 6-of-11 for 55 yards, while tailback Lawrence Colbert added another 70 yards on 27 carries in the Kentucky mud.

Waynesburg 29, Grove City 18: This game featured a matchup between a pair of previously winless teams, and when the smoke cleared, the Yellow Jackets came out on top. Ryan Abels led the Jackets to the win as he became the all-time rushing leader in Waynesburg history. When Abels ripped off a 56-yard touchdown in the final moments of the game, he put himself into the top spot with 3,350 yards, eclipsing the previous mark of 3.297 set by Mike Stout (1996-99). Abels finished the game with 122 yards on 21 carries and a pair of touchdowns. Abels' running mate Eric Daniels rushed for 88 yards on 15 attempts, Daniels becoming the eighth player in Yellow Jacket history to rush for more than 2,000 yards. Grove City, led by junior tailback Matt Weil with 120 yards on 18 carries, accumulated 373 yards of total offense. Freshman quarterback Andrew DiDonato also had a solid day for GCC by completing 15 of 35 attempts for 173 yards and one score. Grove City took the initial lead in the game on a 15-yard run by freshman halfback Matt Weaver, but from that point on, Waynesburg scored 20 unanswered points and they never looked back. Jay Yanak caught four passes for 33 yards for the Wolverines, Scott Fichter checking in with five catches for 63 yards. Senior cornerback Chris Schwamberger intercepted a pass, while junior linebacker Bill Waugh recovered a fumble to go along with his seven tackles.

Westminster 27, Adrian 24 (2 OT): For the Titans, it was a win against a team that was picked in the pre-season poll to win the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association title this year. Freshman kicker Fred Romeo kicked the game-winner in the second overtime to lift the Titans to their win. Romeo also kicked a 16-yard field goal in Westminster's first overtime session, and for his efforts, Romeo was chosen as the PAC Special Team's Player of the Week. Nick McKolosky led the Titans in both rushing and receiving, rushing for 28 yards on 10 attempts and one score, while snaring eight passes for another 82 yards and a second score. Freshman quarterback Kevin Franz had an outstanding day throwing the ball as he completed 30 of 43 attempts for 307 yards and two touchdowns. Adrian running back T. J. Williams led all rushers in the game with 117 yards on 23 carries, while Williams' teammate Desmond Upshaw caught eight passes for 77 yards to lead the Bulldogs. Defensively, Westminster sophomore linebacker Jake Martinez led the Titans with 10 stops, while Adrian's pre-season All-American linebacker Taz Wallace led the Bulldogs defensively with 18 tackles, a pass defense, one sack and a pair of tackles for loss.

Washington & Jefferson 33, Oberlin 13: The President's did the job on both sides of the ball as Ryan Mendel rushed for a career-high 192 yards and the W&J defensive unit came up with a half dozen sacks. The Presidents scored the first 26 points of the game to all but settle the issue at that time. In addition to Mendel's overland efforts, W&J sophomore running back Kevin Mathews added another 62 yards on 10 tries to give the Presidents a game-total of 307 yards rushing. Quarterback Bobby Swallow had another good day for the Prexies, completing eight of 14 attempts for 149 yards and a pair of scores. Tom McCafferty and wideout David Ravida each caught three of Swallow's passes, Ravida leading the way with 63 yards to his credit. Dan Broadland led W&J defensively with nine tackles and a pair of sacks. For Oberlin, which was outgained 456-257 in the loss, quarterback Greg Mangan completed 21 of 33 pass attempts for 255 yards and one score. R. V. Carroll entered the game as the nation's sixth-leading rusher, but was held to just 29 yards on a dozen totes by the stingy President defensive unit.

PSAC

Bloomsburg 24, Clarion 10: Junior running back Jamar Brittingham led the 10th-ranked Huskies to their come-from-behind win with 160 yards and two scores. With his total, Brittingham moved into second place on Bloomsburg's all-time rushing list with 3,595 yards. He also became Bloom's all-time career leader with 56 touchdowns as well as the all-time scoring leader with 336 points. Clarion jumped out to a 10-0 lead on a Kyle Snoke 35-yard field goal followed by a 17-yard scoring pass from Mark Rupert to Matt Foradora. Trailing by the 10-7 margin, the Huskies tallied the final 17 points for the win. Quarterback Dan Latorre finished 9-for-13 for 168 yards and a touchdown despite being intercepted three times. Greg Masters caught three of Latorre's passes for 63 yards and the one score. For Clarion, Rupert completed 11 of 20 aerial attempts for 132 yards and one touchdown. Running back Eddie Emanuel rushed 17 times for 81 yards and receiver Herb Carraway added 71 yards on three receptions. Clarion's defense was paced by Zach Gourley with a half dozen tackles, one for loss, while Erik Yonish, Quintyn Brazil and Kevin Rigby were credited with the interceptions on Latorre throws.For Bloomsburg, Matt Smith had nine tackles, while Jesse Cooper and Stevie Draper each added seven.

East Stroudsburg 41, California (PA) 34: After being shutout in terms of tossing a touchdown pass last week, All-American Jimmy Terwilliger bounced back strong as he threw for 389 yards and four scores as the Warriors overcame a 31-21 halftime deficit. Fourteen of those completions went to Evan Prall who tied a school record for receptions in a game. In addition to his throwing efforts, Terwilliger also used his legs to pile up another 50 yards on 11 lugs. California, ranked 25th in the latest American Football Coaches Association poll, jumped out to a leads of 10-0 and 31-7, but couldn't hold off the Warrior offensive assault. The Vulcans scored on their first five possessions of the first half. While Terwilliger was setting yet more records, Cal's Joe Ruggiero was also strong as he completed 17 of 24 attempts for 240 yards and three touchdowns before leaving the game with an injury. Two of Ruggerio's TD tosses went to wideout Marc Huddleston. Terwilliger also suffered his first three interceptions of the season at the hands of Brian Mohr, Darren Burns and safety Jermaine Moye.

Lock Haven 24, Mansfield 21: This battle between two previously winless teams went right down to the wire before the Bald Eagles were able to pull out the victory. "We just talked about competing for 60 minutes," said LHU coach John Klacik. "All I asked of my players was to just give 60 minutes of effort to see if they were better than the other team." A big swing in the game came when senior Derek Harsch blocked a Mountaineer punt and Jonathan Nalewak returned it for 43 yards to cut the Mansfield lead to 21-16. After a three-and-out, LHU quarterback hit Troy Wile with a 69-yard "bomb" to the Mansfield 7-yard line. On a fourth-and-goal from the one, Perry Smith went over the top for the game's final score and the LHU win. DiPaolo finished with 19 completions on 37 attempts for 226 yards. Wile had five catches for 99 yards and DiPaolo was LHU's leading rusher with 26 yards on 11 tries. Defensively, LHU was led by Luke Ellison, Demetrius Wilson and Harsch with eight tackles each.

Millersville 17, IUP 14: Brad Lantz rushed for 91 yards and the Marauder defensive unit came up with four turnovers to down the Indians. One big key in the game came when Lantz converted a key fourth down play with two minutes remaining in the game. With the two teams each showing a pair of touchdowns, the margin of victory was provided by Doug Ruhl, a transfer from IUP, when Ruhl drilled a 32-yard field goal with five minutes left in the game. Offensively for the Marauders, Darnell Johnson added another 52 yards rushing to Lantz's total, while quarterback Dan Csencsitz completed 9 of 20 passes for 114 yards, 41 of those yards coming on a 41-yard scoring aerial to Andrew Tischbein. For IUP, Chris Morgan, the second leading rusher in the nation in Division II, carried 19 times for 141 yards and one score. Morgan's total also pushed him over the 3,000-yard mark for his career. As it turned out, the big defensive play of the game was turned in by Brandon Shelton stepped in front of a Kevin Weidl pass and returned the interception 74 yards for a score. Weidl ended the game with 12 completions on 22 attempts for 125 yards and one score. However, Weidl was intercepted twice and also lost a pair of fumbles to end other IUP drives.

Slippery Rock 34, Kutztown 10: The Rock, led by the legs of A. J. Saunders who rushed for 89 yards and three scores, picked up their third win in four starts. Saunders scored on runs of 10 and one yards in the first half before adding an 8-yard TD jaunt to his total in the third period. Saunders' running mate, Damarcus Cleckley also had a good night lugging the pigskin with 86 yards rushing. Overall, SRU held an overwhelming 441-246 edge in total yardage over the Golden Bears. When Saunders and Cleckley weren't carrying the mail overland, quarterback Nate Crookshank was using the airways as he completed 13 of 24 attempts for 204 yards and one touchdown. Defensively, The Rock racked up five quarterback sacks, two by Clint Forsha who finished with nine tackles. They also had interceptions by Seth Randall and Anthony Walls. The Rock completed its well-balanced scoring with a pair of field goals from Ryan Daniels of 31 and 22 yards. Daniels was also perfect (4-for-4) on PATs while keeping the pressure on Kutztown by averaging nearly 59 yards per kickoff. For the Golden Bears, Kyle Spotts was 11-for-31 for 175 yards and one TD. Elfren Quiles caught four passes for 98 yards and the one score. Defensively for KU, Brian Bingnear was credited with 16 tackles and a pass break-up. He also caused a fumble that resulted in a recovery by teammate Dan Chominski. Mike Grosso added 10 tackles, including four for loss and a sack. Grosso also recovered a Rock fumble.

Edinboro 28, Cheyney 6: On the heels of its frustrating loss to Bloomsburg, the Fighting Scots bounced back with its decisive win over the Wolves. Sophomore running back Ulysee "Spud" Davis led all rushers with 108 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown. Trevor Harris was almost perfect for the Scots as he completed 14 of 16 passing attempts for 197 yards and three scores. If there was a downside to the Scots win came in the penalty department where they were flagged nine times for 95 yards. For Cheyney, Derrick Murry completed 17 of 35 passes for 174 yards, Murry's favorite target Dominique Curry who caught 10 of Murry's passes for 130 yards and one score. The Wolves defensive effort was paced by Eddie Dordies with four tackles, three for loss. David Williams also chipped in with a sack of Harris.

West Chester 24, Shippensburg 0: The Ram defensive unit limited the Red Raiders to just 29 yards rushing and 189 total yards in recording the shutout. The Ram defense was all over the Shippensburg quarterbacks for a half dozen sacks, seven tackles for loss and four interceptions. Jimmy Lewis, Brett Paterson, Corey Rhood and Joe Cefalo each had a "pick", while Tyler Downes recovered a Ship fumble. Offensively, Bill Zwaan was 7-for-17 for 147 yards and one score, while backup quarterback also tossed a TD pass covering 45 yards to Dean Millard. David Richards led the Raiders with 117 all-purpose yards, while Jaron Nalwak posted six tackles, including four for loss. The Shippensburg rushing total of 29 yards was the lowest since 1996 when Slippery Rock held the Raiders to just 31 yards overland.