PSAC Football Athletes of the Week - Week 5
Updated PSAC Standings
Updated PSAC Composite Schedule/Results
Updated PSAC Statistics
A pair of quarterbacks from the West share this week's Offensive Player of the Week award after both
Cody Harris of Edinboro and
Ben Fiscus of Clarion rallied their respective teams from fourth quarter deficits to pull out victories while also posting impressive numbers. Speaking of impressive numbers, Shippensburg quarterback
Zach Zulli continues his as he threw for five more touchdowns and accounted for over 400 yards of total offense to earn the East Offensive Player of the Week for the fourth time in five weeks.
Kutztown's
Zach Greenwald and Clarion's
Julian Howsare both came up with big plays in the fourth quarter of their games that were key to their teams' wins and they are the Defensive Players of the Week. Howsare earns his second straight honor
PSAC Athletes of the Week - Sept. 30
(Week 5)
PSAC East Offensive Player of the Week
Zach Zulli, Shippensburg
QB, Jr., Schwenksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley
Zulli completed 32-of-41 passes (78 percent) for 403 yards and five touchdowns to help lead Shippensburg to 49-6 win over Lock Haven. He also ran for 32 yards on five attempts (6.4 ypc) to finish the game with 435 yards of total offense - all in just three quarters of play. The win is Shippensburg's ninth straight dating back to last year, which is the third longest in Division II, and Zulli's 403-yard passing effort is his second of the year of over 400 yards and the third-highest in school history. He completed his first 11 passes of the game, just two short of the school record and went 9-for-9 for 168 yards and two TDs in the opening quarter. Zulli now has 22 passing touchdowns this season and 56 in just 16 career games - nine short of tying the Shippensburg record of 65.
PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week
Zach Greenwald, Kutztown
DE, So., Glassboro, N.J./Paulsboro
Greenwald recorded 13 tackles (three solo), including 2.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks to help lead Kutztown in a 56-49 win over Slippery Rock in a rematch of last year's PSAC championship game. Greenwald also recorded a pass break up and a forced fumble in the win. He stripped Rock running back Akeem Satterfield at the Rock 22-yard line with just over five minutes remaining the game and the score tied 49-49. That set up the Golden Bears at the Rock 21 and three plays later, Curtis Wortham ran it in from three yards out for what would turn out to be the game-winning score.
PSAC West Co-Offensive Player of the Week
Ben Fiscus, Clarion
QB, Jr., Indiana, Pa./Indiana
Fiscus posted 412 yards of total offense and led Clarion to a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to give the Golden Eagles a 31-27 come-from-behind win over East Stroudsburg. Clarion, which entered the fourth quarter trailing the Warriors 27-17, put together two long drives in the fourth quarter to rally. Fiscus started the rally in the third quarter, as with Clarion down 17-10, he ripped off a 66-yard run that would have been a 78-yard touchdown run if not for a penalty on Clarion. The Golden Eagles eventually scored to tie the game. After East Stroudsburg scored on its next two drives to take a 10-point lead, Fiscus engineered an nine-play, 80-yard drive, capped by a Fiscus touchdown pass to Rob Irwin to pull Clarion within three 27-24 midway through the fourth. He went 4-for-4 passing for 68 yards on that drive. Clarion then got the ball back on an interception and from there, Fiscus guided the Eagles on the eventual 14-play, 82-yard game-winning drive that included key third and fourth down conversions and ended with the game-winning touchdown being scored with just 27 seconds remaining. For the game, Fiscus completed 19-of-30 pases for 245 yards and the touchdown and also rushed for 167 yards on 22 carreis (7.6 ypc).
PSAC West Co-Offensive Player of the Week
Cody Harris, Edinboro
QB, Jr., Waldo, Ohio/Marion Pleasant
Harris completed 27-of-34 passes (79.4 percent) for 381 yards and accounted for all four Edinboro touchdowns in a 31-24 overtime win at LIU Post. He threw for three touchdowns without an interception and also ran for one. With the Fighting Scots trailing 24-17 after the Pioneers went ahead with just 31 seconds remaining in regulation, Harris found Devin Ghafoor on a 41-yard hookup on third down with just seven seconds left to give the Scots the ball at the LIU Post 12. From there, Harris connected with Marcus Johnson for the game-tying touchdown to send the game into overtime. In the first extra session, Harris found Johnson again, this time from 20 yards out on the second play of overtime to put Edinboro up by a touchdown and after the Scots stuffed LIU Post on a fourth down play on their overtime possession, they walked away with the win. Harris ended the game with 373 yards of total offense and with his third career 300-yard passing game. It also marked the second straight week that he accounted for all of Edinboro's touchdowns in a game as he also accounted for all five in last week's win over Lock Haven. His 381 passing yards is the sixth-most in Edinboro single-game history.
PSAC West Defensive Player of the Week
Julian Howsare, Clarion
DE, So., Altoona, Pa./Altoona
Howsare earns his second straight West Defensive Player of the Week award after making eight tackles, including four sacks and also forcing a fumble in Clarion's 31-27 win over East Stroudsburg. Of his four sacks, three came in the second half as Clarion was making a comeback, including two in the fourth quarter. His four sacks resulted in a loss of 23 yards and his final one came on the game's final play as he sacked and stripped the East Stroudsburg quarterback to seal Clarion's second straight win.
Team Notes
Bloomsburg
Bloomsburg rushed for 483 yards, the most since 2004, in a 43-24 win over Gannon at Danny Hale Field at Redman Stadium … Junior running back Franklyn Quiteh became Bloomsburg's third 4,000-yard rusher in school-history with his second 200-yard performance of the season. He rushed for 202 yards on 26 carries and a pair of touchdowns to lead the Huskies on the ground. For his career, Quiteh has totaled 4,034 rushing yards. He is one of 11 runners in the PSAC to eclipse the 4,000-yard mark and currently ranks ninth all-time … The Huskies also received a tremendous outing from Quiteh's running-mate Eddie Mateo. Mateo ran for 180 yards on 17 carries for an impressive 10.6 average. 122 of his 180 yards came in the first half on just six carries including a 74-yard dash down the sideline in the first quarter … The rushing outage was the most for Bloomsburg since it ran for 541 yards against Cheyney in 2004. It was also the eighth time Quiteh and Mateo have each rushed for over 100 yards in the same game … Despite the lopsided final score, the Huskies had to come-from-behind in the second half to keep its undefeated season alive. Gannon led 24-21 early in the third quarter, but Bloomsburg racked up 22 consecutive points off three touchdowns to silence the potential Golden Knight upset … Up front, senior defensive end Larry Webster continued his aggressive play with 2.5 sacks. It was a career-high for Webster who entered the weekend leading the conference in total sacks. He now has 7.5 through five games. His five tackles were also a career-best.
California
The Vulcans rallied tie to the game after facing a 14-point halftime deficit before suffering a 37-34 loss to West Chester … It marked the first loss by Cal U in PSAC Crossover play since 2009 (Bloomsburg) … Cal U lost to an unranked team at home in the regular season for the first time since the 2009 season-opener (Saginaw Valley) … Senior QB Peter Lalich surpassed the 300-yard mark for the fourth-consecutive game, posting 342 yards and three touchdowns … Through five games, he is averaging over 70 passing yards more per game than last year when he broke the single-season school passing record … Junior WR Trey Johnson set a career high with 11 receptions against the Golden Rams, which ties him for third in single-game school history … Senior DB Rontez Miles finished with 12 tackles and two interceptions, marking the first multi-interception game of his career … He is the first player to record two interceptions in a game since Tommie Campbell in 2010 (Bloomsburg) … Junior DB C.J. Townes led the team with a career-high 13 tackles despite not starting the game … The Vulcans were whistled for only two penalties, marking their fewest total since 2009 … Cal U allowed a running back to eclipse the 200-yard mark for the second-straight week and has yielded a combined 495 rushing yards in the last two games.
Cheyney
Marcus Jones rushed for 110 yards on 18 carries to lead the Wolves ground attack but it wasn’t enough as Cheyney (1-4) fell to Mercyhurst 36-10. It was the first time all season the he eclipsed the century mark … It was a tail of two halves for the Wolves on the grid iron. In the first half Cheyney held fast holding the high powered rushing attack of the Lakers (4-1) in check. The Wolves took the opening kick-off and fumbled on their fourth play from scrimmage. Mercyhurst took over on its own 49 and marched the 51 yards in five plays but missed the PAT to take a short lived lead. On the Wolves next possession they marched 75 yards on nine plays capped by a Justin Watkins six yard rush around the right end and after a Jewel Jones PAT the Wolves were up 7-6. The second quarter started with each team controlling the ball on long drives that resulted in both teams putting points on the board … The second was all Mercyhurst as the Lakers posted 23 unanswered points … Isaiah Fleming led the recorded 11 tackles to lead all players.
Clarion
Clarion raised its record to 3-2 on the season with a 31-27 win over East Stroudsburg ... Clarion rallied from a 27-17 fourth quarter deficit ... QB Ben Fiscus took Clairon on two, long scoring drives to win the game ... He rushed for 167 yards and passed for 245 yards ... Fiscus is 11th in career rushing at clarion with 1,769 yards on 361 carries ... Clarion's last win in the series came in 1987 ... ESU had won seven straight against the Golden Eagles prior to Saturday night's win ... Julian Howsare had four sacks in the game to lead the defense ... He now has six sacks on the season ... Clarion will host #6 ranked Cal in the Annual Homecoming Day game - which also serves as the ALF Game in Clarion. Kickoff is set for 2pm.
East Stroudsburg
ESU fell to 2-2 as Clarion used two fourth-quarter TD drives for a 31-27 win on Saturday night … Clarion ended a 7-game losing streak in the series since 2000 … Denny Douds coached his 401st career game (234-164-3) after becoming the first DII coach, and 15th overall, to reach 400 games in a 59-27 win vs. Cheyney last week … Fr. QB Matt Soltes made his first career start, going 17-32 for 256 yards and a TD and running 21 times for 62 yards for 318 yards total offense … Soltes was the 7th freshman to start at QB under Douds and first to make his first start on the road … His 256 passing yards edged Jimmy Terwilliger (251 vs. Lenoir-Rhyne, 2003) as the most in a freshman’s first start … They are also 6th-best in a first career start among the 31 QB’s to make at least 1 start … Jr. WR Dusty Reed had 6 catches for 113 yards, including a 23-yard TD 2 minutes into the 3rd quarter … Jr. K Taylor Groff made a 51-yard field goal late in the 3rd quarter, his 4th career FG of 48+ yards … Groff’s 12 career FG from 40+ are tied for the most in school history … He is 32-44 in his career, 14-15 on game-tying or lead-changing kicks … his career-long is 52 yards in 2011 at Kutztown … ESU hosts West Chester for Homecoming next Saturday … ESU will induct its 1964-65 PSAC championship teams to the Hall of Fame, along with All-America back Barry Roach and end Thomas Washburn, who played in that era.
Edinboro
After accounting for five touchdowns a week earlier in a win at Lock Haven, Cody Harris had another big week while leading the Fighting Scots to a 31-24 overtime win at LIU Post. The junior quarterback completed 27 of 34 passes for 381 yards, his third career 300-yard game. Harris threw for three touchdowns and ran for a fourth to account for all of Edinboro’s touchdowns for the second straight week … After LIU Post went up 24-17 with just 31 seconds remaining in the game, Harris found Devin Ghafoor on a 41-yard Hail Mary pass … On the next play his 12-yard TD pass to Marcus Johnson knotted the score with just three seconds remaining. He then found Johnson on a 20-yard TD pass in overtime for the winning score. The 381 yards is the sixth-highest total in Edinboro history … Ghafoor was a hero on both sides of the ball. In addition to catching 4 passes for 123 yards, the defensive back-turned-wide receiver took part in 6 tackles, including the tackle of Jeff Mack on the final play of the game that kept the Pioneer back a yard short of a first down to clinch the win … Johnson caught two touchdown passes for the second straight week. In the last three games he has now caught 20 passes for 265 yards with 4 TDs. The junior has moved into 18th place in career receptions (77) and 16th place in career yards receiving (1,131) … Senior free safety Kenny Pettis finished with 14 tackles, his fourth straight game in double figures … The overtime win was the second in Edinboro history. The Scots had lost their previous three overtime games, including the last to Mercyhurst in 2010, but previously won 29-23 over Lock Haven in 1997.
Gannon
Gannon dropped its fourth consecutive game after opening the season with a 36-33 victory against Lake Erie … The Golden Knights last lost four straight games September 19-October 10, 2009 … Sophomore Mike Phillips recorded a career-high 17 tackles, shattering his previous career-high by seven and equaling the third-highest single-game total in school history … Senior Khayree Connors-McChristian also set a career-high with 15 tackles, jumping seven spots into 13th place all-time at Gannon with 217 career tackles … Senior Will Giles became the third Golden Knight to set a career-high in tackles at Bloomsburg with 15 stops … Sophomore Justin Caliste reached double digits in receptions for the second time this season with 10 … Caliste and sophomore Abraham Ocasio have 35 catches through five games, sitting only 14 receptions shy of the school’s single-season record … Freshman Liam Nadler had his fourth 200-yard passing game during the first five games.
IUP
No. 22 IUP moved to 4-1 on the year with a dominating 41-7 victory at Millersville on Saturday … The Crimson Hawks outgained the Marauders 552-142, racking up 346 yards in the air and 206 yards on the ground … IUP committed 14 penalties totaling 152 yards, more than the total offense of the Marauders … Making his first start of the season, Jr. QB Mike Box went 15-24 for 278 yards and a touchdown … Jr. WR Pat Brewer caught 7 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown and also returned the opening kickoff of third quarter 92 yards for a touchdown … The kickoff return was the second touchdown on the season for Brewer, who also returned the opening kick of the third quarter against Lock Haven for a score … Sr. RB Harvie Tuck had 2 touchdowns on the day to stretch his season total to 9, tying his career-high for a season … The Crimson Hawks will host rival Slippery Rock on Homecoming next Saturday.
Kutztown
Kutztown got back in the win column after a fourth quarter comeback for a 56-49 win ... Head Coach Raymond Monica became the third coach in school history to reach 40 career wins ... Kevin Morton and Josh Mastromatto both returned from injury ... Morton became the 19th player in Division II history with 100 career TD passes after hitting Kodi Reed for a 17-yard score in the second quarter ... The Golden Bears passed for over 300 yards as KU has reached the mark in every game this season ... Morton became the fifth player in PSAC history with over 10,000 yards of total offense in the game and now has 10,167 ... He also passed Bob Findora for fifth in conference history in passing yards with 9,485 ... Morton also passed Trevor Harris for second in the PSAC record book with 102 passing touchdowns ... His final pass completion of the game tied Andy Breault's school record of 733 ... Mastromatto, who had missed two straight games, rushed for 36 yards, caught eight passes for 91 yards and scored two touchdowns ... Colby Tuell caught 10 passes, marking the third straight game a KU player reached double figures ... Mike Garneau recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown after a bad SRU punt snap ... Matt Connors recovered two fumbles ... Zach Greenwald had 13 tackles and forced a fumble that set up the winning TD ... The KU defense forced five turnovers.
LIU Post
LIU Post suffered an overtime loss to Edinboro, 31-24, on Saturday ... The Pioneers totaled 401 yards of offense and led the game in rushing yards with 169 ... Sophomore quarterback Steven Laurino completed 21 of 38 pass attempts for 232 yards and two touchdowns and rushed in for a third ... LIU Post's defense kept the Fighting Scot's rushing to 77 yards and totaled five sacks ... Senior Antonio Powell-Fields led with 12 tackles while freshman Anthony Turano made 11 tackles ... Junior Rob Bright had nine tackles along with a 10-yard sack in the second quarter ... LIU Post returns to conference play next Saturday when it travels to play Shippensburg.
Lock Haven
For the second time in three weeks, Lock Haven fell to a top-25 team … On Saturday, LHU fell to No. 21 Shippensburg 49-6 marking the 47th straight loss for Lock Haven, who falls to 0-5 on the 2012 season … The 47 straight losses in the longest active losing skid in college football and set a new NCAA Division II record for all-time consecutive losses (Minnesota Morris, 46 losses from 1998-2003) … Lock Haven’s last win came in the 2007 season finale at Clarion (W, 17-14 OT) … LHU is 0-2 in Western Division action this season and hits the road to take on Mercyhurst next Saturday … Tashawn Bunch made a game-high eight tackles in the loss to SHIP … Linebacker Matt Kirchner was one of five Bald Eagles with five tackles in the loss to Shippensburg. He leads the team 32 stops on the year.
Mercyhurst
Mercyhurst won its fourth consecutive game by defeating Cheyney 36-10 on Saturday in Cheyney. It was the first meeting between the two schools since 2009 … The Lakers improved to 3-0 lifetime against the Wolves, outscoring Cheyney 116-20 in the three meetings … Mercyhurst's four-game winning streak ties the second longest streak since joining the PSAC in 2008 … RB Brandon Brown-Dukes rushed for 99 yards and tied a career-high with three rushing touchdowns. He also had three scores against Millersville in week two. The 99 yards snapped his streak of three consecutive games with 150 yards or more on the ground, which tied the program record … Over the last four games, Brown-Dukes has rushed for 629 yards and nine touchdowns … Mercyhurst rushed for 221 yards in the win, the fourth consecutive game with 200 or more yards on the ground. It was, however, their lowest output since 119 against Notre Dame College in the opener … LB T.J. Latimer led the Lakers with five solo stops and also blocked a Cheyney punt in the third quarter that resulted in a safety … It was the first Mercyhurst safety since August 27, 2005 against Gannon … Mercyhurst led 13-10 at halftime but outscored Cheyney 23-0 in the second half and outgained the Wolves in the final 30 minutes 243-60 … The Lakers return home next Saturday to take on Lock Haven at 12:00 p.m … Mercyhurst is 4-0 lifetime against the Bald Eagles, having outscored Lock Haven 151-24 in the previous four meetings.
Millersville
Millersville totaled 87 rushing yards for the most against IUP in a game this season … Sean Quarterman also ripped off a 52-yard rush, which was the longest of his career and the longest by any player against the IUP defense this season … Quarterman led Millersville in rushing for the second consecutive game. It was the first start of Quarterman's career and his one-yard touchdown run in the second quarter was the first score of his career … A Millersville quarterback has led the team in rushing in four of five games … Reggie Slaton set up the touchdown with a 40-yard fumble return, which was the longest by a Marauder since a 58-yarder against Cheyney in 2009 … Jeff Lawson totaled 11 punts, giving him 11 punts for the second week in a row. He has averaged over 39 yards per punt in three consecutive weeks. His five punts inside the 20 were a season high as well … Pat Cantrell totaled a career-high 10 tackles … Dylan Ricker's half-sack was the first of his career … Millersville's defense has forced at least one turnover in each of the last 11 games dating to the 2011 season.
Shippensburg
Shippensburg extended its winning streak to nine games, the third-longest stretch active in Division II, with a 49-6 win at Lock Haven … SU only faced fourth down twice in the game and never punted ... Saturday was the first game since the Week 1 victory over Shepherd that Shippensburg failed to score 40 points in the first half … Junior quarterback Zach Zulli completed a career-high 32 passes in the win … Zulli finished the first quarter 9-for-9 passing for 168 yards and two touchdowns … With 22 passing touchdowns this season, Zulli now has 56 in just 16 career games – nine short of tying the career record of 65 set by Chris Gicking (1998-00) … SU is averaging 53.2 points per game and also 404 passing yards per game through five contests … The Red Raider defense has now totaled 35 tackles for loss over the last three games … SU has had three defensive scores through five games this season, which equals its amount over the last three seasons combined … SU has 20 sacks and 49 TFLs through just five games … SU has outscored opponents 108-40 in the second quarter, 167-68 in the first half and 99-28 in the second half this season.
Slippery Rock
Rock erased a 42-21 halftime deficit with 28 unanswered points to take 49-42 lead with 13-plus minutes left to play vs. Kutztown in the rematch of last year's PSAC Championship Game ... Jr. QB Nigel Barksdale accounted for 430 yards in total offense (169 rushing, 261 passing), ran for two TDs and passed for three in first Rock start ... Barksdale's rushing yardage total believed to be highest ever by a Rock QB ... Sr. RB Akeem Satterfield rushed for 99 yards and two TDs to move into 8th place on SRU career rushing yards chart (2,674 yards in 4 seasons) ... Jr. WR LaQuinn Stephens-Howling caught six passes for 121 yards and two TDs ... Rock outgained Kutstown by 561-350 total yardage margin, but lost 56-49 decision thanks to 28 Kutztown points off five Rock fumbles ... Rock's point total is the highest ever in a losing effort ... Rock hits the road for next two games, at Indiana and at Clarion, before hosting Edinboro in SRU Homecoming Game Oct. 20.
West Chester
West Chester’s win over No. 6 Cal marks the first time WCU has beaten a Top 10 program since a 31-10 win over No. 10 Bloomsburg in 2009 … West Chester is a perfect 4-0 against Division II opposition so far this season … the win ended a personal four-game losing streak by the Golden Rams to the Vulcans in the all-time series … WCU takes a 5-4 lead in the series … Sr. DB John O’Donnell’s 48-yard fumble recovery return for a TD marked his second touchdown of the season … he also returned an interception 48 yards for a score against Gannon earlier in the year … that defensive score also marked the fourth straight game in which West Chester has benefitted from a touchdown by its defense or special teams … O’Donnell 48-yard INT return against Gannon, Mike Lonergan a 22-yard fumble recovery for a TD against Millersville (special teams), Andrew Cohen a 4-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown … O’Donnell a 48-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown … RB Rondell White’s 200-yard rushing performance tied a pair of school records held by Thomas Fulton … White and Fulton are the only two RBs in WCU history to record multiple 200-yard rushing efforts in the same season and are the only two WCU RBs to rush for 200 yards three times in a career … White rushed for 209 yards earlier this year against Delaware … He rushed for 203 yards against ESU last year … White’s 36 carries is tied for 11th most in a single game in WCU history.