PSAC Football Athletes of the Week - 1

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WEEK 1 - SEPTEMBER 1-7
Standings | Statistical Leaders | Schedule/Results
Football: Eastern Division Offensive Athlete of the Week
Matt Soltes
East Stroudsburg (Jr. /QB)
Vernon, N.J. / Vernon

Junior quarterback Matt Soltes led the Warriors to a 43-35 come-from-behind win at LIU Post. He posted 467 total yards of offense highlighted by 384 passing yards. He accounted for five total touchdowns, comprised of four passing and one rushing. He was 19-for-34 through the air and recorded 13 carries for 83 yards. Soltes captained an offense that posted three fourth-quarter touchdown drives, as the Warriors were trailing 35-23 entering the fourth.
Football: Eastern Division Co-Defensive Athlete of the Week
Al-Hajj Shabazz
West Chester (Sr. / DB)
Philadelphia, Pa. / John Bartram

Al-Hajj Shabazz intercepted a pass, blocked a punt and jumped on another blocked punt in the end zone for a score in West Chester's 35-30 victory on the road over New Haven. Shabazz registered four tackles on the day, however, it was the timeliness of his other plays that left an impact. He jumped on a blocked punt in the end zone early in the third quarter, putting the Golden Rams up by two scores (28-16). Later he blocked a punt on New Haven’s first possession of the fourth quarter and then intercepted a pass on New Haven’s second possession of the fourth quarter to help preserve a five-point lead for the Golden Rams.
Football: Eastern Division Co-Defensive Athlete of the Week
Justin Shirk
Bloomsburg (Sr. / MLB)
Harrisburg, Pa. / Central Dauphin

Senior linebacker Justin Shirk was part of creating three turnovers for the Huskies in a 24-7 come-from-behind win at Stonehill. Shirk finished with nine tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack and two forced fumbles. His first tip created an interception by Donovan Morris in the first quarter. Shirk then created two key turnovers in fourth quarter, as the Huskies rallied from deficit. With Huskies preserving a 10-7 fourth quarter lead, his tackle and forced fumble on Stonehill runningback Colin Markus ended a Stonehill rally effort and set up a Bloomsburg touchdown. Shirk then recorded a sack for a loss of 10 yards and forced another fumble recovered by Bloomsburg later in the stanza. 
Football: Western Division Offensive Athlete of the Week
Shamar Greene
Slippery Rock (So. / RB)
Duquesne, Pa. / West Mifflin

Sophomore Shamar Greene ran for a career-high 195 yards on just 19 carries to lead The Rock to a 37-26 win over Kutztown. He ran for touchdowns of 58 and 53 yards and finished the game with a 10.3 yard per carry average. Both of his touchdowns were part of Slippery Rock’s 37 unanswered points scored after falling behind 20-0 early in the second quarter. 
Football: Western Division Co-Defensive Athlete of the Week
Kevin Clarke
IUP (So. / LB)
West Mifflin, Pa. / West Mifflin

Kevin Clarke led IUP's defensive charge with a career-high 13 tackles in his first start as the Crimson Hawks defeated visiting Saint Augustine's 41-19 on Saturday. Clarke made two tackles behind the line of scrimmage and also forced two fumbles while recovering one. Five of his 13 stops were solo, as he played a big part in a defensive unit that forced three turnovers on the day.
Football: Western Division Co-Defensive Athlete of the Week
Austin Miele
Slippery Rock (Sr. / LB)
Valencia, Pa. / Mars

Austin Miele had no problems moving up from safety to linebacker. He led the Slippery Rock defense to a 37-26 win over Kutztown that included holding the Golden Bears scoreless for a stretch of more than 40 minutes beginning early in the second quarter and lasting until the final play of the game. Miele finished with 12 tackles, including seven solo takedowns, two tackles for a loss, three pass breakups, one sack and one interception. Kutztown ran for a net of just 10 yards in the game.

TEAM NOTES

Bloomsburg
The Huskies defeated Northeast-10 member Stonehill in the season opener for the third straight year, 24-7, on the road on Saturday. The Huskies, who trailed late in the third quarter, rallied behind a tenacious defense which forced five Stonehill turnovers. Senior linebacker Justin Shirk had a hand in three of those turnovers, tipping what would turn into an interception and forcing two fumbles while junior corner back Damin Finley had an interception and a forced fumble. Senior running back Eddie Mateo rushed for 105 yards with two touchdowns. Bloomsburg enters the season with a streak of 15 consecutive seasons with seven or more wins. Only four schools in the divisions of NCAA (FBS, FCS, Division II, Division III) have a longer streak - Florida State, Virginia Tech, Northwest Missouri and Mount Union. It is also a PSAC record. Next up is the home opener on Saturday, Sept. 13 vs. California (PA).
 
California
The Vulcans claimed a 33-24 victory against Virginia State in their season-opener on Saturday. The teams combined for 48 first-half points before being limited to a total of three field goals in the second half. Cal U has won four of its last five season-openers and head coach Mike Kellar improved to 5-0 all-time as head coach. Senior K Cody Nuzzo tied all-time school record for field goals and became the first kicker in school history with four field goals in a game (26, 20, 26, 26). Senior DB Corey Ford blocked a pair of punts against Virginia State and sophomore DB Jordan Bowman returned one for a touchdown. Junior transfer DL Kenny Wilkins tallied nine stops and 3.0 TFL in his college debut. Junior QB James Harris passed for 207 yards before halftime behind touchdown passes of 69 and 49 yards. The game featured a pair of 30-minute lightning delays and lasted three hours, 58 minutes
 
Cheyney
Cheyney fell to Lincoln in the “Battle of the Firsts”; the season opener for both teams, 30-12 before a sold out crowd at Lincoln Stadium in only the second night game ever played in the stadium. Cheyney overcame a 10-0 halftime deficit with a rally in the second half but could not hold on to give Coach Anthony Johnson his first victory as a head coach. Justin Watkins ended the game as the Wolves leading rusher with 89 yards on 11 carries. It was CUs first lead of the night. Signal caller Michael Campbell was 7-22 for 113 yards in his debut. Kahlif Dandy was his favorite receiver catching four balls for 56 yards. Isaiah Fleming was once again his stellar self, recording 13 tackles, two tackles for loss, and an interception as a safety.
 
Clarion
The Golden Eagles opened the season with a 27-13 loss at FCS opponent Saint Francis. Clarion rallied with 13 early fourth quarter points to make a game of it ... Freshman Delrece Williams scored the first points of the season on an 11-yard run. He finished with 41 yards and 1 td on 9 carries. Backup sophomore qb Connnor Simmons came on in the second half to complete 6 of 9 passes for 50 yards and 1 td in his first action as an Eagle. His first td pass was an 8 yarder to Mark Nicholas midway through the fourth quarter. Senior rb Bobby Thomas rushed for 34 yards and now has 1,327 career yards (18th at Clarion). All-America defensive end Julian Howsare led with 7 tackles, 3 tfl's and 1 sack. Safety Cory McNamara also had 7 hits with a pass breakup. Series with Saint Francis now tied 1-1. Golden Eagles defeated SFU 7-6 in 1953 in the only other meeting. Clarion travels to Millersville in a PSAC game this Saturday. Kickoff set for 4pm.
 
East Stroudsburg
ESU opened 2014 with a 43-35 win at LIU Post on Saturday, rallying from a 35-23 deficit entering the 4th quarter with 20 unanswered points. The comeback, which came after a lightning delay of almost an hour-and-a-half with 11:27 remaining, is ESU's 3rd-largest 4th-quarter comeback in 419 games (245 wins) under 41st-year head coach Denny Douds. Douds improves to 30-11 in season openers and has won 7 straight and 14 of 16 since 1999. R-Jr. QB Matt Soltes had 467 total yards (384 passing, 83 rushing) and 5 total TD's (4 passing, 1 rushing), including the go-ahead 3-yard rushing TD with 4:40 left. He threw a 50-yard TD pass to Sr. WR Dusty Reed (4 catches, 126 yards) with 2:28 remaining to put ESU ahead 43-35. ESU's defense had a goal-line stand in the final minute, keeping LIU Post out of the end zone after 2nd-and-goal from the 3. Jr. CB Teron Dobbs had 2 interceptions, giving him 10 in his career. R-So. TB Robert Healy, last year's PSAC East Freshman of the Year, had 4 catches for 103 yards and ran for 51 yards. Soltes moved into the top 25 in PSAC history in career total offense (7,341 yards). He ranked 2nd in total offense through a PSAC QB's sophomore year with 6,874 yards in 2012-13, and is the only returning Harlon Hill candidate in Super Region 1. ESU hosts Slippery Rock next Saturday, with Douds (SRU '63) facing his alma mater for the 12th time. SRU is 8-3 against Douds, but ESU has won the last 2 meetings (2008-09).
 
Edinboro
Edinboro opened the season on Thursday night with a 38-24 loss at No. 16 Carson-Newman. It is the first of three Thursday night games for Edinboro this year. Cody Harris threw for 177 yards and 3 TDs to move into second place in career passing yards (7,438) and third in career touchdowns passing (58). Sophomore TE Nick Helmick has three career TD receptions, and all have come in season openers. He caught one last year at Walsh and had a pair at Carson-Newman. Helmick finished with career highs of five catches for 54 yards. A total of ten players made their first career starts, with six on defense and four on defense. The four defensive backs had a combined one-career start. One of the players making his first start was NG Josh Kibbie. The sophomore finished with 14 tackles, eight solo, and had a pair of fumble recoveries. Sophomore CB Montell Martin made his first start and broke up three passes. Edinboro will face former PSAC West rival Shippensburg this week. It is the first meeting between the two since 2009.
 
Gannon
Gannon raced out to a 23-0 lead en route to a 16-point victory over Southern Connecticut State last Saturday in the season opener for both programs. Junior Brock Jones rushed for 150 yards on 24 carries during his first career start after entering the game with 28 career rushing yards. True freshman Karch Holland went 3-for-4 in field goal attempts during his first collegiate game, missing only a 45-yarder wide left in the fourth quarter. A Gannon kicker has made three field goals in a single game only seven times prior to Saturday. Sophomore Mike Zanders, redshirt junior Josh Wiechelt and sophomore Qwaheem Marshall tied for the team lead with 10 tackles each. Wiechelt had a career-high 10 tackles with all 10 coming during the first half. Marshall also set a career-high with 10 tackles. Redshirt senior Luke Rankie and redshirt freshman Nico Mendieta made their first career interceptions during the fourth quarter. The Golden Knights won their fourth consecutive game against a Northeast-10 Conference opponent dating back to the 2000 season. Gannon head coach Brad Rzyczycki remained undefeated in three career season openers. Rankie jumped three spots and into 18th place all-time at Gannon with 212 career tackles after making six stops during the opener.
 
IUP
The No. 20/23 Crimson Hawks began their 2014 season with a 41-19 home victory over Saint Augustine's (NC) at Miller Stadium on Saturday afternoon. IUP was outgained by the Falcons 379-357, but forced three turnovers and came up with stops when it mattered. 137 of those yards by the Falcons came in the first half, as IUP built a 27-7 halftime lead. R-So. LB Kevin Clarke made his first career start for injured Sr. LB Dorian Lane and made 13 tackles while forcing two fumbles. Fr. FS Tahki Turner made eight stops and returned an interception 30 yards while Karon Gibson, another newcomer, had seven tackles and a sack. The offense featured new faces that made an impression, including QB Chase Haslett, who threw for 176 yards and three touchdowns and Fr. RB Luigi Lista-Brinza ran for 111 yards and two scores. IUP hits the road for a pair of games, first traveling to Kutztown for a 1:05 p.m. matchup with the Golden Bears (0-1) on Saturday.
 
Kutztown
The Golden Bears (0-1) built a 20-0 lead early in the second quarter, but the momentum quickly shifted toward Slippery Rock, who scored 37 unanswered points to spoil the potential upset and earn a 37-26 win over Kutztown on Saturday night. In his first career start, QB Chad Barton threw for 358 yards on a school-record 64 pass attempts. Jim Clements is the 16th head coach in KU's modern football history. Dating back to 2011, Kutztown has thrown 30 or more pass attempts in 20 of its last 22 games. Sam Dougan led the way with eight tackles, making him the 17th Golden Bear in program history with 200 tackles (202).?
 
Lock Haven
The Bald Eagles opened the 2014 season with a 19-14 loss at West Virginia State Saturday (Sept. 6) in non-conference action. It marked the second straight seasons where the two teams opened the year against each other. Last season, LHU beat the Yellow Jackets 31-13 at home. Following a two hour and 27 minutes weather delay, that began early in the third quarter, the Bald Eagles scored a pair of third-quarter TDs, but the rally came up short. Mike Williams made a game/career high 14 tackles. 2014 marks the fourth year for LHU head coach John Allen and the Bald Eagles are looking to build off the 2013 success. Last year’s three wins were the most since 2004. Leading the way is senior safety George Christas, a Preseason All-American selection. LHU hosts Seton Hill next Saturday. 
 
Millersville
Millersville led by as many as 17 points in the second half before being shocked in the final two minutes by a Livingstone comeback that included two touchdowns in less than two minutes. The Marauders were impressive on offense, though, generating 503 yards of total offense--the most by a Millersville club since 2006. Millersville also created three touchdowns of more than 40 yards. True freshmen Kevin Wiggins (1) and Malont'a Patterson (3) combined for four touchdowns. Malont'a Patterson's debut was historic as he caught two touchdown passes, five total receptions for 113 yards and added a rushing TD of 41 yards. Wiggins' 64-yard TD catch was the longest by a Marauder since 2010. Quarterback Matt Misley threw four TD's and no interceptions. He totaled 244 yards passing and 71 rushing, becoming the first Marauder to throw for 200 and rush for 70 in the same game in more than 10 years. Myron Myles rushed for a career-high 97 yards. Trenton Petrovich caught his second career touchdown pass. P.J. Santos scored on a fumble return--the first by a Marauder since 2010. 
 
Mercyhurst
Mercyhurst lost its third straight season opener on Saturday when it fell 27-21 on the road at Bentley University. However, after losing season openers in the previous two seasons, the Lakers won 16 of 20 games thereafter. Redshirt junior running back Brandon Brown-Dukes rushed for 58 yards and one touchdown in the loss. He moved into second place on the school’s all-time rushing list with 2,361 yards – he needs 1,021 to surpass Richard Stokes, who rushed for 3,381 yards from 2005-2008. Meanwhile, his touchdown was the 25th rushing score of his career – fourth on the all-time list. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Zach Emerick made his first collegiate start on Saturday and completed 14-of-24 passes for 106 yards and one touchdown. The Lakers were limited to 150 yards of total offense, and just 81 yards after scoring on their opening drive of the game with just over 10 minutes left in the first quarter. Mercyhurst will travel to #10 West Chester next Saturday. The Lakers are 0-1 lifetime against the Golden Rams, losing 45-13 in 2009.
 
Seton Hill
Seton Hill dropped their opener by the score of 55-30 to Shippensburg on Thursday night. The teams combined for 181 plays and 1,104 total yards of offense in the contest. SHU was just 3 of 17 in third down conversions. The Griffins are now 3-7 in season openers in their 10-year history. SHU is also now 0-2 all time against Shippensburg. Griffin QB Drew Jackson threw for 321 yards and 4 TDs in the loss. FJ Williams had 3 receptions for 92 yards and 2 TDs. Tim Johnson led the SHU defense with 12 total tackles, including 3 for a loss and 1 sack. The Griffins will travel to Lock Haven next Saturday for a PSAC Crossover.
 
Shippensburg
Shippensburg opened its season with a 55-30 win at Seton Hill on Thursday. It was the first night season opener and first Thursday season opener in Red Raider history. Shippensburg won its first road opener since 2005. SU ran 103 total plays, one short of the school record, and totaled 713 yard on offense, fourth-most in school history. Of SU's eight touchdown drives, seven were longer than 66 yards – including scoring drives of 96 and 97 yards in the second half. The 302 rushing yards achieved by the Red Raiders are the most since recording 304 rushing yards on Sept. 22, 2012 versus Millersville. Junior quarterback Chris Lawshe became the 15th quarterback in school history to surpass 300 yards passing in one game, completing 23-of-34 for 310 yards and two touchdowns in addition to running for two scores. Junior wide receiver Sheldon Mayer had nine receptions for a game-high 194 yards, including an 88-yard touchdown reception – marking the fifth-longest pass play in school history.
 
Slippery Rock
Slippery Rock scored 37 unanswered points after falling behind 20-0 in the first half. Head coach George Mihalik improved his career record to 177-106-4 and improved his home record to 100-42. The Rock won their sixth straight season opener and improved to 9-1 in home openers under Mihalik. Slippery Rock improved to 22-9 all-time under the lights at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium in night games (lights installed in 2003). Zack Newsock is the ninth QB under Mihalik to pass for more than 285 yards in a single-game. Newsock threw for the third most yards in a season-opener since 1990. Saturday served as White Out night for SRU, which saw a packed stadium of 8,311 fans. Saturday was also Hall of Fame night as the 2014 class was inducted at a banquet earlier in the day. Mihalik is fourth among all Division II active head coaches in career wins and will play against the No. 2 person on that list next week in ESU head coach Dennis Douds (245 wins). Shamar Greene ran for a career-high 195 yards, including touchdown runs of 58 and 53 yards. Greene finished with an average of 10.3 yards per carry. Newsock hit eight different receivers in the game.
 
West Chester
West Chester defeated New Haven on the road 35-30.