Football Athletes of the Week - Week 11 (Nov. 8)
Shippensburg's Chad DiFebbo led his team to its first PSAC championship since 1981 and was named the MVP of the championship game and for his efforts, he is also this week's PSAC East Offensive Player of the Week. East Stroudsburg's Shawnte Carroll is the PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week after setting a school record for interceptions in a game with four and also tying an NCAA record with three in a quarter in helping the Warriors top Slippery Rock and remain alive for an NCAA playoff berth. Edinboro's Joe Wanson, a career backup to Trevor Harris, earned his chance to shine and did just that, helping the Fighting Scots top Millersville to also keep their playoff hopes alive as he threw three touchdown passes to earn the PSAC West Offensive Player of the Week award. Gannon's Randy Colling blocked a potential game-winning field goal on the final play of regulation and then forced a fumble on Bloomsburg's first play of overtime to clinch the upset for Gannon and he is this week's PSAC West Defensive Player of the Week.
PSAC Players of the Week - Nov. 8
(Week 11)
PSAC East Offensive Player of the Week
Chad DiFebbo, Shippensburg
QB, Sr., Phoenixville, Pa./Trinity Pauling (NY)
DiFebbo completed 18-of-24 passes (75 percent) for 294 yards and four touchdowns while not throwing an interception and being sacked just once to lead Shippensburg to a 42-35 win over California in the PSAC championship game. For his efforts, he was also named the MVP of the championship game after helping the Red Raiders win their first PSAC title since 1981. With his four TD passes, he also broke the school record for TD passes in a season with 26, surpassing the previous mark of 25. Of DiFebbo’s 18 completions, 13 went for 10 or more yards and he was particularly efficient on first down, going 6-for-8 for 82 yards, with all six completions going for over 10 yards.
PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week
Shawnte Carroll, East Stroudsburg
CB, So., Levittown, Pa./Harry S. Truman
Carroll set the school record with four interceptions, including three in the fourth quarter to tie a NCAA Division II record for interceptions in a quarter, and returned two of them for touchdowns to help lead East Stroudsburg to a 54-28 win over Slippery Rock and remain in the hunt for an NCAA playoff berth. He is just the fourth player since 1970 in Division II and the second from the PSAC to record three interceptions in a quarter. His first return for a TD came with just 2:59 left in the first half and it gave the Warriors a 40-14 halftime lead. After Slippery Rock had scored twice to gain some momentum in the fourth quarter, Carroll picked off three straight passes, returning one 40 yards for a TD with just 5:17 left in the game to wrap up the scoring. Carroll totaled 76 return yards on his four picks and also made three tackles in the game.
PSAC West Offensive Player of the Week
Joe Wanson, Edinboro
QB, Gr., Dubois, Pa./Dubois
Wanson, the backup to record-setting Edinboro QB Trevor Harris for his entire career, earned his first career start in the final regular season game of his career and made the most of it, throwing for 231 yards and three touchdowns to lead Edinboro to a 28-25 win over Millersville to keep the Fighting Scots’ playoff hopes alive. Wanson completed 17-of-33 passes and also ran in a two-point conversion late in the game. Wanson, who previously had just two TD passes in his whole career, completed TD passes of 22, 25 and 19 yards, the latter coming in the fourth quarter after Millersville had closed to within two points at 20-18. He then ran in the two-point coversion after that touchdown to give Edinboro a 10-point lead. He was not sacked and also had nine rushing yards.
PSAC West Defensive Player of the Week
Randy Colling, Gannon
DL, So., Arcade, N.Y./Pioneer
Colling almost single-handedly helped lift Gannon to a 10-7 overtime upset win over Bloomsburg. The sophomore defensive lineman recorded nine tackles (3 solo, 6 assists), the second most on the team, but made two big plays the ultimately decided the game. He blocked a potential game-winning field goal by Bloomsburg’s Jon Koenig from 45 yards on the final play of regulation to preserve the 7-7 tie and force overtime. Then, after the Golden Knights had taken a 10-7 lead in overtime, he forced a game-ending fumble when he stripped Huskie QB Dan Latorre on the first play of Bloomsburg’s first possession of overtime. His nine tackles were also a career high.
Team Notes
Bloomsburg Huskies
Bloomsburg dropped its third straight game of the year, the first time since 1993 for that to happen…Should the Huskies not earn an NCAA playoff bid QB Dan Latorre will finish his career with 7,370 career passing yards. That is 104 yards shy of the school record. Latorre will also finish with 61 career touchdown passes, second best in school history…K Jon Koenig hit his 92nd straight extra point attempt after going 1-1 against Gannon…TB Derrick Price went over the 2,000 yard mark for his career and is in 10th place all-time at Bloomsburg…If Bloomsburg earns an NCAA playoff bid it would be the third time in four years the Huskies would go to the NCAA playoffs.
California Vulcans
Cal U made its fourth appearance in the PSAC Championship on Saturday, falling 42-35 at Shippensburg…The Vulcans hold a 2-1-1 all-time record in the "State Game"…QB Josh Portis passed for a career-high 305 yards and two touchdowns in the loss…Portis remains the PSAC's leader with 26 touchdown passes this year…Sr. WR A.J. Jackson leads the league in all three major receiving categories - receptions (74), receiving yards (1,027) and receiving touchdowns (13)…Jackson is one of only three players in school history to post 1,000 receiving yards in a season…Cal U allowed a season-high 195 rushing yards in the PSAC Championship…The Vulcans have won nine of their last 11 games in the month of November dating back to 2005…LB Dontey Brown ranks fifth in the PSAC in tackles despite missing two games this year...Cal will make its third straight NCAA playoff appearance.
Cheyney Wolves
The 12-12 halftime score against Clarion marked the only time this season that the Wolves were not trailing when they went into the locker room...The 12 points scored were the most the Wolves have put on the score board since the thrilling loss to Millersville on homecoming...Cheyney sports the longest losing streak in the country (regardless of division), 28 games.
Clarion Golden Eagles
Clarion ended its regular season with a 32-12 win at Cheyney…They were ranked #9 last week in Super Region 1…Alfonso Hoggard rushed for 102 yards and 3 TDs…he becomes only the fourth person to go over 1,000 yards at Clarion (1,046 yds) in a season…Steve Witte, Ron DeJidas and Elton Brown were the other three…Hoggard had 17 rushing TDs - a new Clarion single season record…Old record was 16 by Mickey Catello (1966 & Steve Witte 1996)…Jacques Robinson - 8 catches, 104 yds, 1 TD…Season 70 catches, 89 yards, 5 TDs…Career 163 catches (3rd all-time), 1,899 yards (7th career)…QB Tyler Huether hit 14 of 17 passes for 175 yards and 1 TD…He is second all-time at Clarion in completions, attempts and passing yards with 483 of 925 passes for 5,884 yards and 30 TDs…Clarion has won six in a row for the first time since 1992.
C.W. Post Pioneers
C.W. Post closed out its season on a four-game win streak as the Pioneers doused Lock Haven 27-15, Saturday afternoon on Hickox Field…The Pioneers completed their season with a 6.5 overall record that included a 5-2 mark in the PSAC East, recording their first winning season since 2006…Fr. RB Thomas Beverly rushed for 122 yards with three touchdowns and in the process broke the 1,000-yard rushing mark for the season…Beverly is the first C.W. Post running back to hit 1,000 since 2005…So. ILB Billy O'Connor led all defensive positions with 15 tackles (4s, 11a) and added a forced fumble and a pass break up…C.W. Post improved in the PSAC this year, averaging 29.1 points a game and compiling 4,133 total offensive yards, its best output since the 2005 season.
East Stroudsburg Warriors
ESU scored on three of its first five offensive plays, had three interception returns for TDs and So. CB Shawnte Carroll set the school record with four interceptions in a 54-28 win over Slippery Rock...ESU had seven takeaways and leads PSAC in both interceptions (18) and fumble recoveries (15)...Carroll had TDs of 36 and 40 yards and Sr. FS Nicholas Artinger had a 45-yard return (ESU's last three TDs)...He tied a Division II record with three interceptions in the fourth quarter (fourth player since 1970)...Jr. QB Matt Marshall threw TD passes on three straight plays in the first 4:23 to give ESU 20-0 lead...Marshall is the fourth ESU quarterback to throw for 2,500 yards in a season...Jr. OLB Matt Freed had 20 tackles (t-4th in DII) and led PSAC in tackles (121, 11.0/game) for the second straight year...The Warriors will make their first playoff appearance since 2005.
Edinboro Fighting Scots
Joe Wanson waited 43 games for his first career start and made the most of it...After serving as Trevor Harris' backup for four years, Wanson started his final career game and led Edinboro to 28-25 win at Millersville...He completed 17 of 33 passes for 231 yards and 3 TDs, adding a two-point conversion run. He previously had two career TD passes…Josh Brown enjoyed the best game of his career with 6 catches for 118 yards, with TD grabs of 22 and 19 yards. Brown has 625 yards receiving, ranking 14th in the season records, and caught 6 TD passes, which is tied for tenth…Alex Romanias made field goals of 28 and 21 yards and has now made eight straight field goals. The sophomore is 9 of 11 overall…So. DE Keir Jeter had two sacks, a career-high, as Edinboro recorded five sacks…At 8-3, the Fighting Scots finished with eight-or-more wins for the fifth time this decade…Head coach Scott Browning has 30 wins in four years, the most by any Edinboro coach in his first four years....Edinboro will make its first NCAA playoff appearance since 2004.
Gannon Golden Knights
Gannon concluded the season with its fourth consecutive victory after a 10-7 victory at 19th-ranked Bloomsburg...The victory was Gannon's first-ever against a nationally-ranked opponent and secured the program's first winning season since 2003...The Golden Knights' four-game winning streak is their longest since winning nine straight in 2003...The overtime game was Gannon's first since a 26-23 home victory against Northern Michigan in 2005...So. Randy Colling recorded a career-high nine tackles, blocked a possible game-winning field goal at the end of regulation and forced the game-ending fumble on Bloomsburg QB Dan Latorre in overtime...The Gannon defense held its last three opponents (Lock Haven, IUP and Bloomsburg) to 10 points...So. Khayree Connors-McChristian reached double digits in tackles for the third time this season...He also recovered both the blocked kick at the end of regulation and the fumble that ended the game in overtime.
IUP Crimson Hawks
IUP wrapped up a disappointing season on a high note when Craig Burgess kicked a 41-yard field goal with five seconds left to give the Crimson Hawks a 34-32 win at Kutztown...The winning kick came after IUP lost a 31-3 second quarter lead and was the 31st career field goal for Burgess, passing John Sandstrom for the top spot in school history...Burgess also extended his extra point streak to 91...Fr. CB Cory Lanterman made his first start and intercepted two passes, bringing one back 62 yards for a touchdown...The IUP defense also scored on a five-yard fumble return by Carl Thornton and a Cosie Spigelmeyer fumble recovery in the end zone...Tobias Robinson will enter his senior season ranked ninth in IUP history with 2,179 rushing yards...This was IUP’s first trip to Kutztown since 1986 and they remained undefeated in 10 games vs. Kutztown.
Kutztown Golden Bears
Kutztown finished a 3-8 season with its fourth loss of the year in which an opponent scored to go ahead in the final minute or in overtime...Another loss, to Slippery Rock, had the go-ahead score with 4:29 left in the game...QB Kevin Morton averaged 300 yards passing over the final four games...His 1,921 passing yards this season are seventh-most in a single season at KU...Kutztown loses 18 seniors from this year's squad...One of the seniors is K Matt Dineen, who shattered the single season field goals made (17) attempted (20) records, and came within 0.7 percent of the single-season FG% record of 85.7...Dontay Wilson finished with 2,174 career rushing yards, good for seventh on KU's career chart.
Lock Haven Bald Eagles
For the second consecutive season, Lock Haven failed to win a game as the Bald Eagles went 0-11...LHU most recently fell 27-15 on the road at CW Post in The Haven’s 2009 season finale...The loss marks the 21st straight for LHU, who hasn’t won since the 2007 season finale at Clarion...Despite the loss to Post, LHU outgained the victors 386-238...LHU QB Shawn Faulk passed for 251 yards and rushed for two TDs...It marked the first time a LHU QB had passed for over 200 yards since the 2006 season...Wes Plummer finished as Lock Haven’s leading tackler with 62 stops.
Mercyhurst Lakers
Mercyhurst finished its second season in the PSAC with a 4-7 overall mark, 3-4 in the Western Division after dropping a 45-13 decision to West Chester in the season finale...It was the first meeting between the two squads…The 45 points were the most allowed by the Lakers this season and the most since a 45-31 loss at Northern Michigan in 2007…The Lakers also finished 4-7 that year…The 458 yards of total offense allowed was the most since Gannon racked up 468 a year ago…Through two seasons, Mercyhurst is 3-3 against teams from the Eastern Division…LB Bryan Boyced moved into 20th on the all-time tackles list (211 TT) after posting a game-high 10 stops…TE Josh Szeluga finished his storied career in fourth-place all-time for receptions (117) and sixth-place for receiving yards (1,391)…RB Ben Jennings ended his career with 330 carries for 1,483 yards (4th all-time).
Millersville Marauders
Millersville’s defense saved its best performance against the run for the last game of the season. It held Edinboro to 3.4 yards per carry and 128 yards total, marking the first time since the opener that it held at team under 200 yards rushing...With 137 rushing yards of their own, the Marauders outrushed an opponent for the first time in the 2009 season...Brad Lantz recorded the ninth 100-yard rushing game of his career, and finished his four-year stint at Millersville in fourth place on the career rushing list with 2,670 yards...His 642 career carries were just six shy of the school record...Jamal Smith finished the season with 12 touchdowns (10 receiving, two rushing), the most by a Millersville player since 2005...Smith also finished 1,357 all-purpose yards, which is the most by a Marauder since Juan Jones totaled 1,435 in 2005.
Shippensburg Red Raiders
Shippensburg (9-2) won its first PSAC championship game since 1981...The Red Raiders have defeated all three of their nationally-ranked opponents this season...SU has reached 9+ wins for just the fourth time in school history (third under Rocky Rees) and the first since 2004...The Red Raiders have thrown 27 touchdown passes this season, the most in a campaign since 1999 and the second-most in SU single-season history…SU has won six straight at home dating back to last season...Sr.Chad DiFebbo set a new school record for passing touchdowns in a season with 26...Sr. Mike Harris, a Harlon Hill regional candidate, is just one touchdown short of tying the SU career record...Sr. P Kyler Ford unleashed a 76-yard punt on Saturday, the third-longest in SU history...Shippensburg extended its season-long, school-record streak of scoring at least 23 points in every game to 11 contests...Shippensburg will make its first NCAA playoff appearance since 2004.
Slippery Rock - The Rock
Damarcus Cleckley rushed for a career-high 169 yards in his final collegiate game Saturday at East Stroudsburg...A.J. Saunders had 175 yards in kick returns and blocked a punt in his Rock finale...Pat Marsilio blocked a punt and rejected an extra point in his final Rock game...Brandon Watters recorded his team-leading fourth interception...Rock quarterbacks threw six interceptions at ESU, three each by Ryan O'Rourke and Rocco Colavecchia, and ESU returned three of the picks for TDs...The Rock is now 11-3 all-time against East Stroudsburg and 8-3 vs. Denny Douds-coached Warriors...Douds is a 1963 Slippery Rock graduate and 1990 SRU Athletic Hall of Fame inductee...Saturday's loss dropped Rock head coach George Mihalik's record vs. PSAC-East teams to 40-18-2 in 22 seasons.
West Chester Golden Rams
West Chester concluded its season with a 45-13 victory over Mercyhurst Saturday afternoon...It marked the first meeting between the two schools in football...Joe Wright threw for 328 yards and two touchdowns...He threw for more than 300 yards in three of his last four games...West Chester had two different wide receivers catch for more than 100 yards for the second game in a row...Dan DePalma and Steve Miller were each over 100 yards against Mercyhurst...DePalma and Ryan Paulson were over 100 yards against Bloomsburg...West Chester won four of its last five contests, including the final three at home...Joe Wright threw 20 touchdown passes on the year, marking the second straight year in which he reached 20 TD passes.