Skipping The Sidelines by Bill Albright

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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 10/14/2006 10/21/2006 10/28/2006
11/04/2006

Other Feature Articles by Bill : Persistence Pays Off For Tim Devanney

Small College Football
Week Ending Capsule for November 11, 2006

It was the end of the line for most teams in the PSAC, PAC and MAC during the past weekend, while for a few, there will be another day to play the game before they pack away the uniforms for the winter as several will be moving on to participate in the NCAA Division I and II tournaments as well as in the ECAC fracas.

Those teams fortunate enough to receive post-season bids were West Chester and Bloomsburg in the PSAC, Washington & Jefferson from the PAC and Wilkes in the MAC.

Here is a look at how the regular season came to an end for most of those teams:

PSAC

California(PA) 21, IUP 17: With the win, the Indians shared the PSAC-West title with the Vulcans. With the loss, the Vulcans likely lost their chance at a NCAA bid. If Cal doesn't get a bid, the Vulcans finished the season with their sixth straight PSAC title and also posted eight wins for the second straight year and the fourth time in team history. While the Indians won the war, Vulcan tailback Brandon Lombardy won the battle with Chris Morgan of IUP. Lombardy finished with 157 yards on 28 totes, while Morgan led the IUP attack with 124 yards on 20 carries. As a team, IUP held edges in total offense (415-403), first downs (23-18) and time of possession (31:52-28:08). Cal led by as much as 17-7 in the fourth period, but IUP quarterback Kevin Weidl pulled out some of his magic as he engineered a pair of fourth-quarter scoring drives in the final eight minutes of the game. The game-winner was a 28-yard effort from Weidl to junior wideout Anthony Cellitti with less than a minute left in the game. Leading the California defense was sophomore linebacker Darren Burns who had a team-high eight solo tackles included in his nine total hits. Defensive back Jermaine Moye was next in line with seven stops and eight total hits to go along with a pair of pass break-ups. Moye became the fourth Vulcan this season to reach the century mark in tackles and now shows 106 for the season. Other Vulcans to eclipse the century mark in stops were John Zunic, Brian Mohr and Gary Butler. Freshman defensive back Terrence Johnson had a pair of interceptions of Weidl in the loss. For the game, Weidl finished with 19 completions on 36 attempts for 261 yards with two TD tosses and three interceptions.

Bloomsburg 35, Cheyney 6: While Cal and IUP shared the PSAC-Wet crown, the Huskies captured the PSAC-East title outright with their win. The win was the 10th straight for Bloomsburg and it marks the first time in school history that a team has finished with double-digit wins in back-to-back seasons. Cheyney hung around in the first period until Bloomsburg pulled away with a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter. Cheyney's only score of the game came on a TD connection between quarterback Ronald Thompson and receiver Dominique Curry good for 73 yards. Josh Heck, subbing for the injured Jamar Brittingham, rushed for 98 yards and one score, while Dan Latorre had another strong game, completing eight of 11 attempts for 146 yards and three scores. Tight end Luke Kuklick caught the game's first TD pass from Latorre, while Brahin Bilal was on the receiving end of both of Latorre's scoring aerials in the second period. Defensively, Rob Biernat led the way with a half dozen tackles, while Phil Riccardi added four stops for Bloom. For head coach Danny Hale, the title was his eighth as the mentor of the Huskies.

Shippensburg 35, Clarion 10: Clarion took the initial lead in the game when the Golden Eagles scored their first points against Ship in four years on a 31-yard field goal by Kyle Snoke. Clinging onto a 14-10 lead, the Red Raiders scored 21 unanswered points to pull away to the victory. Junior running back David Richards ran for 106 yards and one score, while the Ship defense limited Clarion to just 202 total yards of offense. Prior to Saturday's effort, the only other time Richards reached the 100-yard mark was in a 58-28 loss to Slippery Rock in 2005. The victory, the sixth straight for Ship over Clarion, concluded the Raiders second losing season in a row, the first time that has happened since 1996. With a team-high 52 yards receiving, Patrick Ferguson completed his career with 1,702 yards receiving, good for seventh on the all-time SU list. In the last four meetings, Ship has outscored the Golden Eagles 129-10. The Shippensburg defense, which limited Clarion to just 72 yards in the second half, featured three linebackers who combined for 24 tackles. Bill Morrison was the lead with 11 stops, while Jaron Nalewak had seven, including two for loss, and Frank Duffy added a half dozen. With his two tackles for loss, Nalewak finished the season with 23, one short of the Ship single-season school record. Senior quarterback Tony Gomez finished his career with 3,431 yards and 26 touchdowns. For Clarion, quarterback Tyler Huether completed only eight of 26 attempts for 91 yards, while also rushing for an additional 48 yards. Clarion running back Eddie Emanuel carried 24 times for 75 yards, finishing with 967 yards for his first season. Defensively, Clarion was led by Tom Schreppel with seven tackles and an interception, while Jimmy Simmons posted five tackles and one sack.

East Stroudsburg 56, Kutztown 16: Jimmy Terwilliger and Wideout Evan Prall gave the Warriors a memorable senior day in the win. Terwilliger, who finished 18-of-27 for 327 yards, threw for eight touchdowns, five to Prall. Prall tied the PSAC single-game record for TD receptions,while also setting new conference marks in career TD receptions (50) and receiving yards (4,093). For the Golden Bears, wideout Elfren Quiles set a new KU single-season mark for TD catches, bringing his total to an even dozen with a pair of TD catches in the game. The Warriors racked up 525 yards of total offense in the game and were not forced to punt one time. Kutztown senior Brett Harbach had five catches good for 46 yards, while senior tight end Jason Henley grabbed four balls for 75 yards. Senior defensive tackle Scott Smith and senior defensive end Mike Grosso had seven tackles each. Senior linebacker Dan Chominski was close behind Smith and Grosso with a half dozen hits to his credit.

Edinboro 51, Lock Haven 25: The 51 points marked the first time Edinboro had scored 50 points or more in back-to-back games since 1994. Trevor Harris wound up his record-breaking campaign in outstanding fashion. The redshirt freshman threw for a school-record 437 yards and five touchdowns last week and put the lid on his initial campaign by completing 23 of 38 attempts for 353 yards and 3 touchdowns. The 353 yards ties him for the third-best single-game total in EU history. Harris's favorite target, Ryan Valasek, concluded his career in fine fashion as well, catching seven passes for 116 yards and two scores. Valasek finished with 64 catches for 1,032 yards, boosting his career mark to 2,265 yards on 132 receptions. Edinboro place-kicker Kody Robertson completed his fine career with career records in extra points (144) and attempts (165). His 33 field goals is the third-best for the Scots, while his 234 points is the second-highest total by a Scot player. For Lock Haven, it was the case of a senior and freshman leading the way on offense. Freshman quarterback Ilio DiPaolo threw for a career-high 276 yards, while Smith caught a career-best 12 passes for 176 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Defensively, Edinboro's Jim Soltis and LHU's David Show shared game honors with 10 stops each. Jonathan Nalewak followed Show with eight stops, giving him 280 tackles for his career, 10th best in LHU history.

West Chester 21, Slippery Rock 20: In this game, the one point was enough to carry the Rams to their victory. After the two teams exchanged leads, the final outcome came right down to the final seconds when a Ryan Daniel field goal with 43 seconds left appeared to be on target before sailing just wide to the left. With the win, West Chester (8-3) most likely locked up a NCAA playoff berth, while the loss dropped SRU to 7-4 and their season is over. Turnovers played a big part in the outcome as WC quarterback Bill Zwaan was guilty of four interceptions, while the Rock lost a pair of fumbles and quarterback Nate Crookshank was intercepted one time. All other things considered, a muffed kickoff return that ended up as a touchdown recovery by Brett Paterson in the end zone, eight seconds following a touchdown connection of 15 yards between Zwaan and wideout Mike Washington. Washington finished with 96 yards and one score, while Eric Ruffenbach posted four grabs for another 68 yards. Brian Steinmetz led the Ram ground game with 98 yards on 25 carries. Steinmetz also caught four passes for another 28 yards. While the Ram defense and horrible weather held Crookshank to just 131 yards passing on 15-of-30, A. J. Saunders picked up the slack as he rushed for 135 yards on 16 attempts. Luke Wetzel, one of nine seniors playing their final games for SRU, finished with six catches for 75 yards and one score. Wetzel's TD catch was a nifty one-handed effort. Jared Palmer led the Rock defense with a dozen tackles, while Seth Randall finished with nine stops, including a quarterback sack. Cory Lacek and Brandon Rakszawski recorded eight stops each for the SRU defensive unit which WC coach Bill Zwaan praised as "the best defensive unit we faced all season, including Delaware's".

Millersville 41, Mansfield 0. No report was filed by either school.

PAC

Washington & Jefferson 54, Bethany 0: The Presidents wrapped up their 21st PAC football championship with the win. Nineteen of the 21 titles have come in the past 21 years. The win by W&J was also the 24th straight over the Bison. Ryan Mendel led the way for the Prexies, going over the century mark in rushing for the seventh straight game with his total of 160 yards. He also scored four touchdowns along the way. With his effort, Mendel upped his season mark-to-date to 1,269 yards and 17 touchdowns. The Presidents, who totaled 504 yards including a season best 328 yards rushing, didn't throw a single pass in the second half. When Mendel was running with the ball, quarterback Bobby Swallow was completing eight of 10 passes for 176 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Kevin Mathews added 91 yards on the ground to Mendel's effort. Defensively for W&J, Nick Cherish moved into fourth place on the career interception list with his 14th "pick". Linebacker Aaron banes led the defense with eight tackles, including a pair for loss and one sack. W&J forced five Bison turnovers. For Bethany, Matt Blumer and Milton Joyner combined to complete 23 of 39 pass attempts for 132 yards. Senior linebacker led the Bison with 11 stops.

Waynesburg 21, Westminster 9: Senior running back Ryan Abels rushed for a season-best 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns and the Yellow Jacket defense forced four Titan turnovers en route to the win. After trailing 7-0, Waynesburg tallied 21 unanswered points for a 21-7 before setting the final by surrendering a safety. Abels and fellow running back Eric Daniels combined to rush for 295 yards, Daniels showing 73 yards on 17 tries in his final game as a Yellow Jacket. Jason Nagy gave the Titans its only lead of the game with a 1-yard TD plunge before Abels tied the game on Waynesburg's next possession. Danny Reed finished as the only Yellow Jacket with a reception as Tres Cobb only threw seven passes, completing two for 17 yards. For Westminster, freshman quarterback completed his very successful first year by completing 25 of 37 attempts for 266 yards. However, Franz suffered four interceptions. Brendon Steele led the Jackets with 14 tackles (10 solos), two loss, while also adding a quarterback and interception to his solid game. Defensive lineman LaDrekus Burford registered four stops, three of the four going for losses. Franz became just the fourth quarterback in school history to throw for more than 2,000 yards in a single, winding up with 2,090 in his first crack at college football. Sophomore linebacker Jordan Blinn led the Titans defensively with 14 tackles, Blinn followed by Jake Wilczynski with eight stops.

Carnegie Mellon 14, Thiel 7: One year ago, the Tomcats emerged with a victory that enabled them to complete an undefeated regular season to earn them a berth in the NCAA playoffs. This year, it was Carnegie Mellon's turn. With the game scoreless, the Tartans scored first when they marched 65 yards on 11 plays, running back Travis Sivek scoring from one yard out. During the drive, Sivek carried seven times for 31 yards. CMU doubled its lead late in the third period on a 9-yard TD spring by Robert Gimson. Thiel, which was limited to just 140 yards on 43 snaps while going 1-for-11 on third-down conversions, made it interesting in the fourth period when they completed a 70-yard scoring drive, quarterback Billy Blankenship hitting wideout Marl LaScola with a 14-yard TD pass. Although the Tartans won the war, Thiel running back Steve Minton won the biggest battle by becoming the all-time leading rusher in Thiel Tomcat history. Minton totaled 66 yards for the day to put his name into the record books. Defensively for the Tomcats, linebacker Chris Hlinka led the way with 14 tackles, nine of Hlinka's tackles of the solo variety. Complementing Hlinka's effort was defensive tackle Kellen Manning with six tackles, two for loss, to go along with a quarterback sack.

Thomas More 21, Mount St. Joseph 17: The Lions, ranked 13th, were the highest ranked team to ever be beaten by Thomas More. Mark Carlisle tied the school record for tackles on the final play of the game with a forced fumble. Carlisle racked up an awesome 20 tackles, while junior Kyle James connected with senior Chase Weber for a 79-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring. James, in his first-ever start as a college quarterback, finished with 129 yards on eight of 13 passing good for the one touchdown. The Thomas More special teams also played a big part in the win with three blocked kicks and a safety on a bad snap from center. After Mt. St. Joseph had taken the lead in the game, freshman running back Monte Collier capped an 11-play, 80-yard drive with a 3-yard run to paydirt that took nearly seven minutes to complete. Collier finished the game with 107 yards on 28 tries. For Thomas More, the 6-4 finish was its first winning campaign since 2003.

Grove City 14, King's Point 6: The Grove City defense stopped Kings Point running back Cameron Amigo on a third-and-goal from the 1-yard line to preserve the win. In addition to holding the King's Point offense to just a pair of field goals, the Wolverine defense also got into the scoring act when senior safety Clay Piper returned a second-quarter interception 95 yards for a score. In addition to Piper's "pick", Chris Schwamberger, Ian Minster and Mike Baker also picked the pockets of the KP quarterbacks. Schwamberger's interception came in the end zone to keep KP from scoring. Sophomore strong safety Shane Coughlin led the Wolverines with 11 tackles, while Minster and junior linebacker Bill Waugh each had 10 stops. Waugh was also credited with three pass break-ups. Freshman Tony Clark and senior defensive end Richard Welch each had a sack. King's Point totaled 485 yards on 96 plays, picking up 30 first downs along the way. Quarterback Chuck Kleinschnitz completing 32 of 55 attempts for 295 yards. Amigo ran for 105 yards on 22 lugs.

MAC

Wilkes 28, King's 7: After securing the NCAA automatic berth in the upcoming playoffs last week, the Colonels completed a perfect (10-0) season with the win. King's scored the only points of the first period with its touchdown, but the Colonels took control of the game from that point to pull away for the win with 28 unanswered points. Junior quarterback Al Karaffa threw three touchdown passes, Karaffa finishing with 14 completions on 21 attempts for 205 yards. Jim Jordan , who was chosen as the Player of the Game for Wilkes, caught six balls for 104 yards and two scores. Matt Pizzaro added two catches for 63 yards and one score. Tom Andreopolous entered the game needing 112 yards to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark, finished with 158 yards on 30 carries. For King's, quarterback Jeff Searfass hit on 10 of 24 attempts for 172 yards. Bob Cirko was Searfass's top target with two catches for 85 yards. The Monarchs managed only 46 yards on the ground and another 218 in the air against a Wilkes defense that entered the game ranked among the nation's leaders in both categories. Tyler Henning led the Colonels defensively with 10 tackles, while Anthony Serafin contributed seven tackles and a sack. For King's, Matt McGovern led the Monarchs with a dozen stops. Ton Tulaney was one behind McGovern with 11 hits to his credit.

Lebanon Valley 55, Albright 33: Junior receiver Adam Brossman caught 14 passes for 337 yards, both school records. Senior quarterback Dan Kelly passed for a school-record 430 yards and five touchdowns in what could have been his final collegiate game. With the win, the Dutchmen finished 6-4, its first winning season since 1992. The win was also coach Jim Monos' 139th game coaches at LV, passing Lou Sorrentino for the school record. Brossman also tied three different single-season school records. His three touchdown catches tied his own single-season mark of 15, his 14 receptions upped his season total to 62 and his 20 points tied his single-season scoring mark of 94 set last season. Kelly, who broke the school record for TD passes in a game (6) last week, was nearly perfect. He completed 21 of 26 attempts without throwing a single interception. He also ran for a touchdown. Freshman tailback Charlie Parker ran for 99 yards and one score on 21 tries. For Albright, Tanner Kelly also had a good day, throwing for 328 yards and four scores. Kelly's favorite target was Nate Romig who caught seven balls for 175 yards. Senior cornerback Keith Comrey enjoyed an outstanding day for the Dutchmen, coming up with his first two career interceptions while also posting seven tackles. Freshman linebacker Will Keylor also made seven hits for LVC, while Albright's Brett Gaul led all defenders with 10 hits.

Lycoming 28, Susquehanna 14: Lycoming quarterback Glenn Smith figured in all four Warrior scores as he passed for three and ran for a fourth. Smith, who ran for 126 yards on a dozen totes, completed 13 of 19 attempts for 131 yards. For Susquehanna, Dave Paveletz rushed 26 times for 127 yards and a score, while Justin Wutti completed 10 of 18 attempts for 109 yards and one score. The Warriors went on top for keeps early in the fourth period when Smith ran 24 yards on a third-and-10 play from the 35, two plays before he scored his touchdown from five yards out. Lycoming controlled the football for over 31 minutes, converting on seven of 12 third-down conversions to finish with 349 yards total offense. Jeremy Ebert led all players with five catches for 52 yards and one score,while Chris Beissel added four receptions for 40 yards. Defensively, Tim Mahoney led the Warriors with a dozen stops and a fumble recovery, while Rob Hauke and Rob McGarrigle led the Crusaders with eight tackles each. Shawn Rafferty added an interception for SU.

Delaware Valley 16, Widener 0: Widener's regular season ended with the loss. Widener couldn't overcome two missed field goals in the opening half and DV took advantage of a turnover. Junior Matt Campbell completed 15 of 28 attempts for 198 yards for Widener. He also suffered three interceptions. Senior Jamie Schild had six catches for 113 yards and sophomore Khalee Prothro racked up 97 yards on 20 carries. For the Aggies, Mike Isgro completed 15 of 28 passes for 100 yards.