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 09/23/2006 09/30/2006
10/07/2006

Small College Football
Week Ending Capsule for October 14, 2006

It was a busy week for all three conferences -- Middle Atlantic, President's Athletic and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference -- as the league standings begin taking shape.

Here are how those games unfolded:

PAC

Thiel 20, Grove City 0: For the third year in a row and the fifth time in the past six years, the Mercer County Cup will reside at Thiel College in Greenville.

Saturday afternoon at newly refurbished Robert E. Thorn Field, the Tomcats retained possession of the cup by tossing a 20-0 shutout at Grove City in Wolverine Homecoming 2006.

"There is no question that we had a little more incentive to play for today," said Thiel head coach Jack Leipheimer. "We talked about having the cup and maintaining possession of it and we are certainly glad to have been able to do that."

During the first half, the Wolverines had their backs to the wall for most of the 30 minutes as they kept shooting themselves in the foot.

However, although they were the recipients of the good field position, the Tomcats could only show seven points for their efforts, a situation that left Leipheimer somewhat disappointed although not concerned.

"I wasn't concerned that we only scored seven points, but I was disappointed because we missed some opportunities that we should have capitalized on," said Leipheimer. "But you have to deal with that type of thing because that is sometimes the way the game of football goes."

Only able to hold onto a 7-0 lead despite at halftime despite showing distinct advantages in time of possession (21:17 to 8:43), total yards offense (145-15) and first downs (9-2), Leipheimer's message to his squad at the break was a simple one.

"I just told them to go out and play 30 minutes of football as hard as we can and see what happens," he said.

The Tomcats put Leipheimer's message to work as they scored on their first possession of the second half by methodically marching 65 yards on eight plays.

Leading the offensive assault on the Wolverines during the afternoon was Tomcat reserve tailback Dan Hess as he rushed 32 times for 113 yards and all three Thiel touchdowns.

With starting tailback Steve Minton visible on the sidelines in street clothes while nursing an injury, Hess got his opportunity and he made the most of it.

"I love it (being the number one back) and it is a great experience for me," said Hess following the win. "I love when Steve and I can work together because it keeps the defense off balance because we have slightly different running styles. This is something I have been waiting for since last year and today I had a chance to do it again. It helps our team when Steve and I are here together, but don't get me wrong, I love to be the number one man."

Following his outstanding performance, Hess was quick to point out the efforts of his offensive line.

"It was pretty tough in the first half and we just had to try and grind it out until we got a rhythm going," said Hess. "Grove City has a great defensive line and they kept getting good penetration on us. Finally in the second half, we were able to put it together and our offensive line did an outstanding job of jelling together to get a lot of push up front. When that happens, it makes my job a lot easier."

While the Tomcats were busy taking care of the football, the Wolverines continued to shoot themselves in the foot. Following the game, GCC coach Chris Smith was quick to point out that his team never got anything going for much of the afternoon.

"We just couldn't make the plays to give ourselves a chance to feel good about things," said Smith. "All we needed was one sustained drive to get into the end zone, but it never happened. But you also have to give Thiel a lot of credit because up to this point in the season, we have been able to move the football. The outcome was just the combination of two things -- our making a lot of mistakes and the play of the Tomcats."

Facing the 14-0 deficit, Grove City mounted its best drive of the game in the final two minutes of the third period when they moved from their own 1-yard line to the Thiel 26.

However, as fate would have it for the Wolverines, quarterback Andrew DiDonato, who completed three passes for 40 yards and rushed for another 34 on the drive, was stripped of the ball by Tomcat linebacker Chris Hlinka (Youngstown/Chaney) and defensive tackle Logan Malie (Sharon) was there for the recovery.

"I just saw him starting to scramble around and I went for him," said Hlinka. "I went for the strip, fortunately I got it and my man Logan (Malie) recovered it for us to get the ball back.

Although Malie recovered the fumble, he graciously admitted that Hlinka did most of the work.

"He (Hlinka) stripped the ball and I was there to recover it," explained Malie. "He did the hard job and I followed with the glory job by falling on it."

Following the Grove City turnover, the Tomcats put the icing on the cake when Hess completed his "hat" trick from two yards out to set the final.

With the outcome, Thiel moves to 4-3 overall, 3-1 in the PAC, while the loss drops Grove City to 1-5 overall, 1-4 in the conference.

Waynesburg 41, Bethany 15: The Yellow Jackets cruised to their win on the strength of 354 yards rushing. Eric Daniels led the Jackets devastating ground attack with 161 yards good for one score, while Daniels' running mate, Ryan Abels, amassed 157 yards on 25 tries good for three scores. With his total, Daniels moved into sixth place in Waynesburg grid history as he now shows 2,290 yards for his outstanding career. Defensively, the Yellow Jackets were led by Dan Andreassi with 10 stops and one sack, while Brendon Steele added a half dozen tackles and LaDrekus chipped in with four stops. Both Burford and Steele each had one sack. The Yellow Jackets only allowed the Bison 98 yards of total offense through the opening three quarters. Although the Bison came out on the short end of the final score, standout wide receiver T. J. Parker set a pair of career receiving records and tied another. Parker had eight receptions to give him a career total of 150, while his 76 receiving yards gives him 1,969 for his career, also a new Bethany mark. Parker's touchdown late in the game was his 17th as a Bison, equaling the mark originally set by Brian Dickman (1991-94). Defensively, the Bison were led by Bill Wineberg with a dozen tackles.

Washington & Jefferson 50, Westminster 7: The Presidents were led by the tandem of running back Ryan Mendel and quarterback Bobby Swallow as they combined for a total of 154 yards rushing and five touchdowns. The game marked the return of NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, both graduates of W&J. After the President's took a 7-0 lead on their first possession, the Titans answered right back with a score of their own. Unfortunately for the Titans, they didn't have nearly enough answers for the W&J onslaught. Swallow completed 16 of 19 passes for 212 yards and one touchdown, while Mendel added another 131 yards overland on 28 attempts. Wide receiver Tom McCafferty led the receivers with four catches for 76 yards. On the defensive side of the line of scrimmage, the President's were led by David Gitlitz with eight tackles, while Dan Brodland chipped in with 1.5 sacks. For the Titans, quarterback Kevin Franz was 19-for-28 through the airways for 94 yards and one score. Freshman running back Nick McKolosky ran for a career-high 76 yards on just eight tries, one of McKolosky's rushes covering 43 yards which was the longest play from scrimmage for Westminster this season and set up the Titans lone touchdown. Junior wideout Jason Discello led the Titan receivers with five catches for 36 yards, while the Westminster defense was led by sophomore linebacker Jordan Blinn with a career-high 18 tackles. Blinn is currently the PAC's second leading tackler.

Thomas More 13, Frostburg State 7: The Saints used special teams to pull this game out of the fire when Chris Willis returned a punt 59 yards for the winning score just before halftime. Frostburg State took the lead in the game with a touchdown in the opening quarter before Thomas More knotted the count at 7-all to set up Willis's heroics on special teams. Frostburg State had two potential scoring drives in the second half, but the Thomas More defense, led by Brad Steinmetz (forced fumble) and Bo Allen (fumble recovery). Monty Collier led the Saints in rushing with 133 yards on 23 carries while scoring a touchdown, while sophomore quarterback Trevor Stellman was 9-for-17 passing for 87 yards. Allen and Nick Hazlett led the TM defense, Allen adding nine tackles (two for loss) to go along with his rumble recovery, while Hazlett was close behind Allen with eight stops.

PSAC

Bloomsburg 41, Kutztown 14: With All-American Jamar Brittingham on the sidelines, it was time for Christian Allen and Josh Heck to take over, and they did just that. Allen rushed for a career-high 185 yards and four touchdowns while Heck also had a career-best 180 yards and one score to lead the Husky ground assault on the Golden Bears. For the game, the Huskies accumulated 516 yards of total offense. After the Huskies scored the first 20 points of the game, Kutztown got on the board with a TD toss from Kyle Spotts to Elfren Quiles just before the end of the first half. Kutztown cut the Bloom lead to 20-14 with a score on its first possession of the second half, but the Huskies answered the score with a 91-yard drive in 11 plays, quarterback Dan Latorre connecting with Brahin Bilal to make it 27-14 Bloomsburg, and the Huskies never looked back. For Bloom, Latorre finished at 10-for-20 for 143 yards and one touchdown, Bilal snaring a half dozen passes for 92 yards and his one touchdown. For Kutztown, quarterback Spotts connected on 13 of 28 attempts for 189 yards and a pair of scores. Tyler Trettin led the Husky defensive unit with eight tackles. For the Golden Bears, Mike Grosso finished with 10 tackles, including three for losses and one sack. Brian Bingnear had a dozen stops, while Tyler Trettin led Bloomsburg's defense with eight stops.

Shippensburg 20, Lock Haven 17 (OT): For the second week in a row, the Bald Eagles played two quality opponents tough before coming out on the short end of the stick. "Our defense played outstanding football," said LHU coach John Klacik. "We had one breakdown after a turnover, but on the whole, they played very well. We need to learn how to finish games." The Bald Eagles took the initial lead following a Shawn Crebs interception when Marc Domonkos nailed a 39-yard field goal. Shippensburg answered with a 50-yard TD sprint by Chris Infante, but LHU came right back to take a 10-7 lead at halftime on a 13-yard end-around by Rafael Smith, a 46-yard pass from quarterback Ilio DiPaolo to Smith and a 14-yard run by Troy Wile. The 10-7 Bald Eagle lead held up through three periods, but the Red Raiders would outscore LHU 10-7 in the final period to set up the overtime. LHU had first "dibs" in the extra period, but couldn't find its way into the end zone. On their first possession, the Red Raiders got the game-winner when place-kicker Dwaine Berger drilled a 32-yard field goal. Chris Hawkins paced the LHU ground game with 44 yards on a dozen totes, while Infante eclipsed the century mark with 109 yards on 14 lugs. DiPaolo was 13-of-30 for 131 yards and one score, while Tony Gomez hit on six of 15 attempts for 82 yards and one score. Smith grabbed seven balls from DiPaolo for 113 yards. Defensively, LHU was led by Derek Harsch who celebrated his birthday with a game-high 13 tackles. Ship's Jaron Nalewak was also credited with 13 stops.

California 24, Slippery Rock 14: California quarterback Joe Ruggiero threw for one touchdown and ran for another that sealed the deal in this win. The victory extends Cal's win streak to three games and nine home games over the past two years. Ruggiero completed 22 of 35 passes for 223 yards, including an 8-yard scoring toss to Brandon Jackson. Ruggiero went over the 4,000-yard mark in career passing (4,198) while posting the 11th 200-yard performance in his 20 games at a Vulcan. For The Rock, it marked the second game in a row that turnovers turned victory into defeat. In last week's 28-21 loss to Shippensburg, SRU turned the ball over five times, while in the loss to Cal, it was four second-half interceptions that led to the setback.Sophomore running back Brandon Lombardy was the workhorse of the day for the Vulcans with 32 carries that netted him 140 yards. California began putting the handwriting on the wall from the get go as Marc Huddleston took the opening kickoff to The House for a quick touchdown. While there were a lot of negatives for The Rock, one of the positives was by the special teams that set up SRU's first touchdown when Anthony Walls almost duplicated Huddleston's effort with a 61-yard kickoff return to the Cal 28. Three plays later, quarterback Nate Crookshank hooked up with Luke Wetzel for the score. Defensively for Cal, Jermaine Moye and Josh Zunic led the way with seven tackles each. Griffin's two sacks raised his total to a team-best 5.5 for the season. For SRU, Corey Lacek, leading the nation in tackles for loss, came up with 1.5 sacks. Crookshank finished the game with 14 completions on 25 attempts for 183 yards and one touchdown. He now ranks third in career pass completions (345), fourth in attempts (624) and passing yards (4,525) and fifth in career touchdown passes with 31.

East Stroudsburg 12, Edinboro 0: For the first time since 1969, the Fighting Scots suffered back-to-back shutouts, while the loss was also Edinboro's fourth straight home field loss, something that hasn't happened since 1978. The 'Boro defense played well, limiting All-American Jimmy Terwilliger to 16 completions on 30 attempts for 199 yards. Terwilliger also rushed for 45 yards, but was sacked five times. After suffering a 10-0 whitewashing at the hands of California (PA) last week, the Scot offense was once again unable to get untracked, finishing with only 227 yards. The game also marked the third straight game that Edinboro was unable to rush for at least 100 yards, limited to just 71 net yards by the Warrior defenders. For Edinboro, Trevor Harris completed 16 of 32 attempts for 156 yards. Entering the game, Harris had only been intercepted four times on the season, but suffered three "picks" by the ESU defensive unit. In addition to the three interceptions, the Scots also surrendered four sacks and were guilty of 11 penalties for 94 yards. Ryan Valasek led EUP with six receptions for 76 yards, becoming the sixth Edinboro receiver to catch 100 passes in his career. Valasek, a senior, now has caught 102 balls for the Red & White. For ESU, linebacker Jayson Frank led in tackles with 14 stops, Dave Pacchioni and John Vetter each adding seven more to the Warrior total. Michael Gnall, Dave Lotier and Michael Wiggins were the recipients of the interceptions on throws by Harris.

West Chester 54, Millersville 27: Freshman quarterback Brad Lantz threw for 124 yards and three scores, but it wouldn't be enough to overcome the Ram assault. On the other hand, the Rams had things pretty much their own way as they racked up 471 yards total offense, including 322 yards passing. The Rams, who own four straight wins over the Marauders, opened the scoring with a long distance TD connection from quarterback Bill Zwann to Mike Washington that covered 83 yards. Ville quarterback Dan Csencsitz finished with 15 completions on 20 attempts for 161 yards. Brent Steimetz, who led the West Chester ground game, scored four times. Leading the Millersville defense were Matt Harmon and Shane Gosnell with six tackles each, while Brandon Scott chipped in with five more stops.

IUP 33, Clarion 7: There was both good and bad news for Clarion in this game. The good news was that the Golden Eagles took advantage of their first possession to score a touchdown for a 7-0 lead. However, the bad news came during the remainder of the game when IUP tallied 33 unanswered points, including 27 in the second half, to pull away for the win. Leading the IUP comeback was quarterback Kevin Weidl who completed 13 of 23 passes for 131 yards. Two of Weidl's passes covering 31 and 15 yards were good for touchdowns to Tobias Robinson, the first two career scores for Robinson. Weidl moved into fourth place on IUP's all-time passing touchdown list with 47. IUP tailback Chris Morgan came up just short in a quest for his 9th straight 100-yard rushing game with 99 yards. For Clarion, quarterback Tyler Huether completed 14 of 30 passes for 191 yards, Pierre Odom grabbing eight balls for 135 yards. Clarion's Eddie Emanuel, who entered the game ranked 22nd in the nation with an average of 108 yards per game, was held to just 29 yards on tries by the stingy IUP defense. Nick Wallace continues on his torrid field goal pace, nailing four more 3-pointers to tie a school record. Clarion's defense was led by Kevin Rigby with 10 tackles, on for loss, while Matt Morris had nine stops and an interception.

Cheyney 26, Mansfield 6: For the first time since 1989, Cheyney was able to win its homecoming game. The victory is also Cheyney's first of the season and the first PSAC win for the Wolves since 1998 when they also defeated Mansfield. Donald King gave the Wolves the initial lead with a touchdown late in the first period. Holding onto the 6-0 lead heading into the second half, Cheyney doubled its lead early in the third period when Demel Chambers intercepted a Tyler Blakeslee pass and returned the "pick" for a 55-yard touchdown. After the Wolves scored another pair of TDs, Mansfield averted the shutout on its final possession when Rodney Davis hauled in a 15-yard scoring strike from Blakeslee. Blakeslee completed 18 of 44 passes for 143 yards and one score, but was intercepted twice. Davis caught eight passes for 75 yards, while freshman Tucker Berry ran rushed for 43 yards on nine attempts. Andrew Turner led the MU defense with seven tackles and Josh Miller added a half dozen more. For Cheyney, Tyree Cooper led the defensive effort with 8.5 tackles (7 solos), while freshman Chambers added 3.5 stops in addition to returning his interception for a score.

MAC

Wilkes 13, Lebanon Valley 10: For the second time in three weeks, the Flying Dutchmen came up just short against a quality opponent. Two weeks ago, LV came up a single point short in a 19-18 loss to Del Valley. With the Colonels trailing, 10-6, Jim Jordan caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Al Karaffa with five minutes left in the third period for the game-winner to keep their record perfect at 6-0. Tom Andreopoulos rushed for a game-high 84 yards that included a 14-yard jaunt for a touchdown for Wilkes. Jordan finished with 129 yards on seven catches, while Karaffa threw for 229 yards while completing 17 of 23 attempts. For the Flying Dutchmen, Charlie Parker ran for 66 of his 74 yards in the first half. One of the big keys for the Colonels came in the second half when the defense stepped up and limited the

Dutchmen to just 79 total yards, including 25 on the ground. Dan Kelly completed 14 of 19 pass attempts for 137 yards, his favorite target Adam Brossman who came up with seven catches for 87 yards. Brossman is now just 46 yards shy of the all-time LV receiving career. Brossman also punted seven times for an average of better than 37 yards per kick. Lebanon Valley's Brian Cottone led all players in the game with 17 tackles, while linebacker Kyle Follweiler came with 15 for Wilkes. Terry Kaufman chipped in with nine tackles for LV, while senior cornerback Dan Stauffer picked off his fifth interception of the campaign, matching his career high.

Widener 31, Susquehanna 14: Widener used a well-balanced offensive attack to get the job done. Khalee Prothro carried 22 times for a career-best 210 yards and two third-period touchdowns, while Mike Schmidt added four receptions for 102 yards and two more scores. Prothro's scoring jaunts covered 25 and 28 yards, while Schmidt's scoring connections through the airways covered 26 and 48 yards as the Pride built up a 24-0 lead and never looked back. For Susquehanna, Jim Owen caught three balls for 72 yards and a touchdown, while Jamie Schild paced the Pride with five receptions for 55 yards. Widener quarterback Matt Campbell finished with 10 completions on 21 attempts for 165 yards and two scores. Damian Buggy led the Crusaders with eight tackles (seven solo shots), one interception, 3.5 tackles for loss totaling 21 yards and a pair of sacks for another negative 18 yards. For Widener, Evan Snydman finished with four tackles that included a pair of sacks, while Susquehanna's Rob McGarrigle led all players with 11 tackles (six solos) and a forced fumble. Widener's Mike McFadden led his team with eight stops.

Delaware Valley 21, Albright 13: The Aggies kept pace with Wilkes by recording the win. Freshman quarterback Mike Isgro tossed a pair of touchdown passes while running for a third to figure in all of the DV scoring. Albright scored first before the Aggies scored 21 unanswered points for a 21-6 lead before holding off the Lions. Isgro finished with 15 completions on 24 attempts for 193 yards and his pair of touchdown passes. He also rushed for a game-high 79 yards and one score in 13 carries. For Albright, Jake Sheffield carried the ball 14 times for 64 yards while also catching seven passes for another 63 yards. John Kiphorn led the Aggies in receiving with four catches for 59 yards, and with that total, moved into the 10th spot on DV's all-time receiving list. For Albright, Kelly Tanner finished with 22 completions on 40 attempts for 201 yards and two 6-pointers. Stephen Asay led all Lion receivers with a half dozen grabs for 59 yards and one touchdown.

Kings 23, Juniata 7: Junior tailback Jeff Fields led the Monarchs to their win with 179 yards on just 15 carries while scoring three touchdowns. Fields wasn't the only Monarch who enjoyed a lot of success during the day as he added 134 yards on 28 lugs. With the win, King's moved to 5-1 overall, keeping pace with Wilkes and Del Valley at 5-0 in the conference. Kiel Knisley led Juniata with 116 yards rushing on 23 attempts, while Jason Koch made four catches for 24 yards and David Nicklaus added three catches for another 54 yards. Juniata quarterback Jay Leonard finished with eight completions on 23 attempts for 81 yards, but was intercepted three times. Leonard's counterpart, Jeff Searfass only completed a half dozen of his 16 pass attempts in blustery wind conditions. Defensively, Andy Miller, Alex Waleski and Andrew Knittle each seven tackles to tie for top honors on the Juniata defense. For King's Matt McGovern and Craig Haywood tied for the team lead in tackles with 10 each, Tom Tulaney chipped in with eight.

Moravian 28, FDU-Florham 14: Sophomore running back Tyler McCambridge rushed for a career-best 166 yards and a touchdown on 33 carries to lead the Greyhounds to their win. Kris Bisci caught a total of three passes for 19 yards, while wideout Shawn Martell added a pair of catches for 26 yards. FDU-Florham quarterback Dan Huff only completed six of 16 pass attempts for 84 yards, but did add 72 yards on 18 carries overland. Andrew Morrissey led the Moravian defense with nine tackles, a pass break-up, a forced fumble and one fumble recovery. Morrissey's teammate Cliff Garr added seven tackles (1.5 for losses), one sack and one interception. Leading the Devils on the defensive side of the ball was K. C. Ogbonna with a dozen stops and a sack, while Tom Sharples had nine tackles and defensive back Derek Gregory was credited with seven stops.