PSAC Football Athletes of the Week - 1
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FOOTBALL EASTERN DIVISION OFFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Craig Reynolds
Kutztown (Sr. / RB)
Willow Grove, Pa. / Abington
Reynolds, who missed the final three games of last season due to injury, started his senior year with 107 yards on 15 carries and two touchdowns. After Assumption took the lead with less than 5:00 to play, Reynolds had a 36-yard kick return to set KU up with good field position, and capped the drive with the game-winning, three-yard touchdown run. Including the game-winner late, Reynolds also ran for a 77-yard touchdown in the first half. It was the longest run of his career and KU's longest since a school-record 98-yard run by Terry Williams in 2015. Notably, Reynolds tied Williams for sixth in school history with 22 career rushing touchdowns. He now needs 65 yards for 2,000 in his career and also moved into fifth in school history in career all-purpose yards. |
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FOOTBALL EASTNER DIVISION DEFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Nate Barnes
West Chester (So. / LB)
Carlisle, Pa. / Carlisle
Barnes led West Chester in tackles with seven during the Golden Rams' 44-6 season-opening victory over host Bentley last Thursday. However, that is not what stood out the most. Of Barnes' seven tackles, half of them (3.5) were sacks that amounted in a loss of 22 yards. He also recovered a fumble and was credited with a pass breakup. His fumble recovery in the early portion of the game led directly to the Golden Rams' first touchdown of the game. His 3.5 sacks is tied for the fifth most in a single game in school history and was just half of a sack shy of tying the school record. All of this was accomplished as the converted defensive back was playing his first college game at linebacker. Additionally, West Chester's defense allowed just 63 yards of total offense while registering as many sacks (7) as Bentley had first downs (7). WCU's defense was so stifling that Bentley managed just two field goals in the game - one was a career-long 46-yarder and the other was off a drive that started at West Chester's 10-yard line following an interception. |
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FOOTBALL EASTERN DIVISION SPECIAL TEAMS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Andrew Chegia
West Chester (So. / PK)
Kennett Square, Pa. / Unionville
Chegia accounted for four extra point conversions and a 28-yard field goal in West Chester's 44-6 season-opening victory against Bentley. The sophomore capped off a 10-play, 60-yard drive early in the third quarter when he split the uprights with his field goal. |
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FOOTBALL WESTERN DIVISION OFFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Ricky Rogers
IUP (Gr. / WR)
Monroeville, Pa. / Gateway
In first game at IUP as grad transfer, caught 6 passes for 73 yards and 3 touchdowns in No. 4 Crimson Hawks' 21-17 win at No. 15 Ashland Thursday night. Rogers scored game-clinching touchdown on 13-yard pass from QB Lenny Williams with 10:03 left in fourth quarter. He had three receptions on that drive for 35 yards. The graduate student capped 11-play 75-yard drive with 20-yard TD catch gave IUP 14-10 lead with 0:26 left in first half. |
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FOOTBALL WESTERN DIVISION DEFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Tavarus Sample
Slippery Rock (Sr. / DB)
Dover, Del. / Dover
Sample came up with two crucial interceptions to lead the SRU defense in a comeback 38-31 win over Kentucky State. His first interception came in the third quarter in when the game was tied at 28-28 and was returned 62 yards to set up the go-ahead TD for SRU's first lead of the game. He then picked off a pass with 17 seconds left in the game to seal the 38-31 win. He also made five solo stops on the day. |
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FOOTBALL WESTERN DIVISIONL SPECIAL TEAMS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Jake Chapla
Slippery Rock (Jr. / P/K)
Pittsburgh, Pa. / Plum
Chapla booted a 38-yard FG that all but put the game away in a 38-31 win for SRU as it came with just 48 seconds left. He was perfect 5-for-5 on PAT kicks in the game and averaged 47.3 yards per punt on three punts. His only miss came from 51 yards and was just left. |
Game Notes:
Bloomsburg: Bloomsburg opened the 2018 season with a 30-16 victory over visiting Merrimack College on Saturdayafternoon in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The Huskies have now won 17 of their last 19 home openers and improved to 8-3 lifetime against schools from the state of Massachusetts. Senior Hakeem Sillman, who was making his first appearance in a Bloomsburg uniform, rushed for 142 yards on just 17 carries. Sillman finished the day with 264 all-purpose yards, adding one catch for 25 yards and three kick returns for 97 yards in the victory. He averaged 8.4 yards per carry and had seven runs of at least 10 yards on the afternoon. His 142 rushing yards were the most by a Bloomsburg player in a season opener since Franklyn Quiteh rushed for 182 yards against Stonehill on September 7, 2013. His 264 all-purpose were the most in the PSAC in week one and marked the most by a Husky in a season opener since Jamar Brittingham totaled 283 all-purpose yards against Slippery Rock on August 27, 2005. Redshirt sophomore Erik Benjamin made his first collegiate start under center and accounted for three total touchdowns (two rushing, one passing). He completed 9-of-20 for 145 yards and added four carries for 16 yards on the ground. Redshirt junior Alex Annan led the Huskies’ defense with a career-high 11 tackles. Prior to the opening kickoff, Bloomsburg dedicated the brand new Jahri Evans Scoreboard in which the former Husky and NFL great was on hand for the ceremony. Evans donated $500,000 for the installation of the LED videoboard, which stands more than 23 feet tall and 31 feet wide. The Huskies will return home on Saturday, September 8 to host Edinboro University. Edinboro leads the all-time series, 6-4.
California: The Vulcans opened the year with a 28-23 loss at defending-G-MAC Champion Ohio Dominican, which was ranked No. 23 in the preseason AFCA Top 25 poll. It marked the first season-opening loss for Cal U since the 2011 campaign. Freshman QB Noah Mitchell finished with 329 passing yards on 32-of-51 attempts with three touchdowns and three interceptions, including two off deflections. He became the first freshman quarterback to start a season-opener for the Vulcans since Joe Ruggiero in 2004. Mitchell completed passes to nine different players with redshirt junior Jordan Dandridge leading the team with nine receptions for a career-high 120 yards. Dandridge also caught a touchdown in his fourth-straight game after suffering a season-ending injury last year in Week 3. Cal U limited Ohio Dominican to only 38 rushing yards on 27 attempts. Junior linebacker London Cloud, a transfer from Lackawanna, registered eight stops and 3.5 TFL in his debut with the program. The Vulcans finished the game with over a 17-minute advantage in time of possession after totaling 28 first downs and running 88 plays.
Clarion: Clarion is now 0-1 on the season. The Golden Eagles will play the first of only four road games this year on Saturday when they take on Lock Haven. This will be the 66th meeting between the Golden Eagles and the Bald Eagles, with Clarion owning a 48-16-1 record in the series. Mylique McGriff finished with 137 all-purpose yards against Shippensburg (94 rushing, 43 receiving). McGriff scored the second-longest touchdown of his career in the first quarter, galloping for a 53-yard score. James Metzgar kicked a career-long 40-yard field goal at the end of the first half against Shippensburg Redshirt freshman Ryan Barr, playing in his first career game, averaged 42.8 yards per punt on Saturday. He landed three punts inside the 20-yard line and two on the one-yard line. Layne Skundrich and Brandon Vocco tied for the game-high with 11 tackles apiece against the Red Raiders.
East Stroudsburg: ESU fell 49-17 at #8 Ferris State (Mich.) on Thursday night, its first trip to Michigan since falling 55-20 at Grand Valley State in the national semifinals in 2005 and the third-furthest trip west in school history. Warriors opened their 45th season under head coach Denny Douds, who leads active NCAA coaches in career wins (263), ranking 1st in PSAC history and 16th in NCAA histor. He ranks 7th all-time in games coached (463) with a record of 263-197-3, and 4th in games coached at one school. R-So. QB Ben Moser threw for 234 yards and a TD in his 8th career start. R-So. TB Devante Robinson had 157 all-purpose yards, including 85 from scrimmage (38 rushing, TD; 47 receiving) Sr. WR Jylil Reeder had 7 catches for 84 yards and a TD. R-Sr. TB Jaymar Anderson (1,046 yards in 2017) was out due to injury. Sr. OL Michael Fleming, a 3-time All-PSAC East selection at tackle, made his 29th career start. ESU hosts Seton Hill on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. in their 2nd meeting. Warriors won 70-7 on the road in 2013.
Edinboro: Edinboro won its third straight season opener, and second straight over Lake Erie. The 69-0 win represented the most points in a season opener since an 83-0 win over Alliance in 1928. Edinboro has now posted back-to-back shutouts after ending 2017 with a 63-0 win at Cheyney. The defense held Lake Erie to 104 total yards with seven sacks, and forced six turnovers. Andrew Tomko made his second career start at quarterback. The redshirt sophomore threw for 311 yards and 3 TDs after entering the year with 207 career yards passing and one touchdown. He added a 32-yard touchdown run. Walter Fletcher rushed for 110 yards on 23 carries. The redshirt junior now has 11 100-yard rushing games in his career. He has also gained 100 yards on the ground in each of his three season openers. Ta'Nauz Gregory caught just three passes, but for 131 yards. The junior now has seven career 100-yard receiving games. Eight different players scored touchdowns for Edinboro.
Gannon: Gannon began the 2018 campaign with a 35-32 home setback against Southern Connecticut State. The Golden Knights dropped their season opener for the first time since 2012, ending a streak of six consecutive season-opening victories. Senior Marcus Jones recorded his 11th 100-yard rushing performance in his last 12 games dating back to last season. Gannon scored at least 22 points for the 11th time in the last 12 games. Jones jumped into fourth place all-time at Gannon with 2,791 career rushing yards, passing Jon Richardson (2006-09) and Brock Jones (Peninsula, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) (2012-15). The season opener featured seven lead changes and 40 fourth-quarter points. Redshirt senior Geremy Paige recorded a game-high 11 tackles on the defensive end.
IUP: No. 4 Crimson Hawks defeated No. 15 Ashland 21-17 on the road Thursday night. It was the second straight season-opening win over Eagles in game featuring pair of top 25 teams. This was IUP's fourth straight season opening win, and 18th in the last 21 years dating back to 1998. QB Lenny Williams threw for three touchdowns, his ninth career 3-TD game. He now has 82 career touchdowns, six short of tying Brian Eyerman (88) for the IUP record. Head coach Paul Tortorella is now 14-1 overall and 5-0 against top 25 teams. The Crimson Hawks host Millersville Thursday at 6:30 p.m.
Lock Haven: For the second straight season the Bald Eagles opened the year with an NCAA Division FCS opponent. On Saturday (Sept. 1), LHU fell to host Duquesne, 45-0. It marked the first meeting between the two Pennsylvania schools. Last year, Lock Haven dropped its 2017 opener at Saint Francis, 69-3. Last season's opener marked LHU's first game vs. an FCS team since the 2012 season-opener at Fordham. In all, Saturday's game at Duquesne marked LHU's 13th game vs. an NCAA DI FCS opponent since 2000. Nine of those games served as season-openers. LHU hasn't beaten a FCS opponent since 1971 when the Bald Eagles opened the season with a 14-7 victory over Delaware State. Leading the way for Lock Haven Saturday was Obadiah Asare. The sophomore linebacker was all over the field and finished with a game-high 11 tackles, which included seven solo stops and a one tackle-for-loss. Asare also forced and recovered a fumble.
Millersville: Collin Shank completed 24 of 37 passes for 250 yards in his third career start. In just 12 quarters of football in his career, he has accounted for nine touchdowns and throw for 931 yards. He has averaged 337 yards in his two career starts. Joey Farley kicked a 25-yard field goal. He has made six consecutive field goals and 31 consecutive PAT tries dating to last season. Farley also led Millersville in yards with six catches for 62 yards. Phil Overton's touchdown catch was the sixth of his career. Trejon Dinkins led Millersville with 12 tackles. He also forced a fumble and recorded a tackle for loss.