CLARION, PA -- Cal’s Brandon Lombardy rushed for 202 yards and tied a school record with 5 td’s as the Vulcans defeated a stubborn Clarion squad 41-14 on Saturday afternoon.

Cal, ranked #5 in the Northeast Region, clinched at least a tie for its second straight PSAC-West title raising its division reecord to 5-0 with an 8-2 overall record. Clarion dropped to 1-9 overall and 0-5 in the PSAC-West.

Cal led 21-0 in the third quarter when Lombardy scored on a 9-yard run with 11:21 to play, then Clarion mounted an impressive comeback.

The Golden Eagles drove 62 yards in 8 plays to find the endzone when freshman quarterback Tyler Huether (Penn Trafford)dropped back to pass, couldn’t find a receiver, and scrambled 7 yards for the score. Kyle Snoke’s PAT at 7:13 made it Cal 21-7.

After the Clarion defense held, the Golden Eagles went back to work, this time driving 70-yards in 9 plays. Huether this time fired a 13-yard td strike to freshman Kyle Mahoney (St. Marys/ECC) on a post-pattern for a Golden Eagles score. Snoke’s PAT cut the Cal lead to 21-14 with 1:03 left in the third quarter.

The Clarion “D” came up strong again and held Cal, giving the Eagles the ball on their own 26. But miscues have hurt the Golden Eagles in 2006 and after the offense failed to move the sticks, the punt team made a fatal error. A high punt snap and an ensuing fumble was downed at the Clarion 4-yard line, giving the Vulcans a golden opportunity that they did not waste.

On first down Lombardy carried the mail and went off left tackle into the endzone for his fourth touchdown of the day at 11:39 of the fourth quarter giving Cal a 27-14 lead.

Clarion got to midfield on its next possession, but a deflected Huether pass was intercepted by Chris Glass at the Vulcan 40 protecting the two score lead.

Lombardy scored his fifth rushing td with 1:15 to go in the game, then Jermaine Moye intercepted a Huether pass and returned it 28-yards for the final score.

Clarion totaled 234 total yards against Cal,including 101 rushing and 133 passing. Bloomsburg and East Stroudsburg are the only other teams to rush and pass for over 100 yards in a game against the Cal defense this season. Huether completed 10 of 25 for 133 yards and 1 td, plus rushed 15 times for 53 yards and 1 score.

Pierre Odom caught 6 passes for 101 yards, while running back Eddie Emanuel rushed 16 times for 69 yards.

Cal had 361 total yards including 211 rushing and 150 passing. Quarterback Joe Ruggiero completed 11 of 19 passes for 150 yards, while Nate Forse caught 3 passes for 61 yards.

Lombardy rushed 37 times for 202 yards and 5 td’s. He is only the second player at Cal to rush for 5 td’s in a single game. Wesley Cates had 5 against Cheyney in 2001. Lombardy is also the fourth Cal player to score 5 td’s in a single game.

Clarion’s defense also played well. The Golden Eagles were led by Kevin Rigby who had 13 stops and 2 tfl’s, with Matt Morris (11 tackles, 1 sack), Zach Gourley (11 hits, 2 tfl’s, 1 sack), Jimmy Simmons (2 tfl’s) and Jim McHale (1 sack) leading the way. Clarion posted 3 qb sacks against a Cal offensive line that had only given up two sacks in the first nine games.

Clarion visits Shippensburg next Saturday, while Cal returns home to host IUP in a PSAC-West showdown. A Cal win would give the Vulcans the outright division title and a likely berth in the NCAA D-II playoffs.

EDINBORO, PA – A change of venue certainly was to Edinboro’s liking on Saturday.  With heavy snow Thursday night making Sox Harrison Field unplayable, the Fighting Scots were forced to move their final home game to Frank B. Fuhrer Field on the campus of Allegheny College.  The move south, along with the new Field Turf surface in place, made for an enjoyable Senior Day, as Edinboro defeated Shippensburg, 54-30.

The victory evens the Boro’s record at 5-5, along with 2-3 in PSAC West action.  Edinboro needs a victory next Saturday, November 11, at Lock Haven to finish with a fourth straight winning season.  Shippensburg falls to 4-6 overall and 2-3 in league play.

Edinboro actually trailed at one point by a 21-20 margin early in the second quarter after Shippensburg quarterback Gabe Maiocco completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Pat Ferguson with 12:15 left in the second quarter. 

But Edinboro proceeded to outscore the Red Raiders 34-3 before a late Shippensburg touchdown pass accounted for the final score.  The Fighting Scots put up 27 points in the second quarter and ended the half leading 47-24.  The 47 points tied the school record for points in a half.  Edinboro previously scored 47 points in the first half against West Virginia Wesleyan in 2004.

Rich Cerro (Franklin, PA/Franklin) started the scoring onslaught with touchdown catches of 78 and 28 yards from Trevor Harris (Waldo, OH/Marion Pleasant) on back-to-back offensive plays.  The first came after the ensuing kickoff after Shippensburg had taken the lead.  The second came after Tom Davidson (Geneva, OH/Geneva) blocked a punt, with Edinboro taking over at the Ship 28.

Edinboro went ahead 40-21 with 4:08 left in the second stanza when Harris threw his fourth touchdown pass of the half, connecting with tight end Kyle Witucki (Tarentum, PA/Highlands) on a 12-yard scoring play.  That score was set up by a 62-yard interception return by Davidson down to the Ship 33.

Shippensburg answered with an eight-play, 48-yard drive that culminated with Jamie Reder’s 38-yard field goal with 1:32 to play.  But on this afternoon that was too much time for Harris.  He calmly directed an 11-play, 83-yard drive that ended in a four-yard run by Houston Brown (Westerville, OH/Westerville Central) with just two seconds remaining.  Brown’s second touchdown of the day gave Edinboro a 47-24 lead at the half.

The second half settled into more of a defensive battle.  After a scoreless third quarter, Harris finished his afternoon with his fifth touchdown pass, tying the school record, covering four yards to Witucki with 11:13 left in the game.  The Red Raiders accounted for the final score with 2:08 to play as Tim Devanney hauled in a 23-yard touchdown pass from Chad DiFebbo.

The two teams combined for 34 points in the first quarter and 37 in the second.  Edinboro took a 7-0 lead when Damion Malott (Akron, OH/Akron North), one of 11 seniors celebrating Senior Day, stepped in front of a Tony Gomez pass and returned it 41 yards for a touchdown just 72 seconds into the game. 

Back came Shippensburg, as Howard Chavous returned a kickoff 63 yards to the Boro 16.  Aaron Dykes scored three plays later on a five-yard run. 

Edinboro went ahead 14-7 as Brown capped a 12-play, 90-yard drive with a four-yard TD run.  As was the case all day, Shippensburg’s greatest weapon was the kickoff return.  Ferguson returned the ensuing kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-14 with 6:15 left in the first quarter.

The Fighting Scots grabbed the lead at 20-14 following another Gomez interception.  Jim Soltis (Garrettsville, OH/Cardinal) accounted for this pickoff, returning it four yards to the Ship 17.  Edinboro appeared to score on the next play on a Harris to Ryan Valasek (Natrona Heights, PA/ Highlands) for 17 yards.  The play was called back due to an ineligible receiver downfield.  It didn’t matter, as three plays later the duo combined on a 10-yard TD aerial.  Kody Robertson’s (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Davidson) was no good, one of two on the day that went awry.

The day featured plenty of records.  Harris completed 25 of 37 passes for a school-record 437 yards with 5 TDs.  He set the season record for completions (169), is now fourth in season attempts (275), and is third in season yards passing with 2,194.  He needs 88 yards to break the record of 2,281 yards set by Justin Bouch in 2004.

Valasek caught 10 passes for 159 yards, tied for the second-most receptions in a game.  The senior broke the school record receptions in a season with 57, and is now fourth in season receiving yards with 916.  Cerro set career-highs with 7 receptions for 182 yards, the 182 yards the eighth-highest single-game total.  Witucki added 4 catches for 64 yards.

Edinboro ended the afternoon with 487 total yards, with a school-record 437 through the air.  Brown, a true freshman in just his third game at tailback, finished with 58 yards and 2 TDs on 15 carries. 

Shippensburg ended the afternoon with almost as many yards on kickoff returns as total offense.  The Red Raiders totaled 250 yards on nine returns.  Meanwhile, they were limited to 271 yards in total offense, managing 58 yards on 29 rushes against the PSAC’s second-ranked rushing defense and leading defense in total defense.

Gomez started the game at quarterback and would return later, but completed just 1 of 5 passes for 5 yards with a pair of interceptions.  Maiocco came off the bench to complete 10 of 20 passes for 154 yards.  Ferguson caught 6 passes for 139 yards, and returned five kickoffs for 153 yards.  David Richards was the leading rusher with five carries for 44 yards.           

Dave Jazenski (Erie, PA/Iroquois) and Soltis paced the Boro defense with 10 tackles and a sack each.  Jazenski finished with 3.5 tackles for losses.  The defense accounted for three interceptions and four sacks.  Davidson moved into third place in career interceptions (14) with his second of the season.

LOCK HAVEN, PA – Cory McFadden rushed for 146 yards and two touchdowns to lead Kutztown  to a 30-10 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference crossover victory over Lock Haven Saturday night. 

McFadden ran the ball 15 times and scored on runs of 79 and 21 yards.  Elfren Quiles caught five passes for 77 yards and two touchdowns, tying the single-season school record for TD catches.  Kyel Spotts was 11-of-20 for 154 yards and two touchdowns. 

KU’s defense picked off three Lock Haven passes. Brian Bingnear led KU with 12 tackles and had one of the interceptions.   

Ilio DiPaolo completed 11-of-24 passes for 85 yards for LHU.  He also led the team with 36 rushing yards.

McFadden scored on the first play from scrimmage on a 79-yard run, Kutztown’s longest run from scrimmage since Emneko Sweeney’s school record 91 yard run in 1998. 

Mike Grosso’s first career interception set up Kutztown’s next score.  The defensive end tipped Ilio DiPaolo’s pass at the line and intercepted it.  Spotts connected with Larry Baumgardner on a 35-yard pass to set up McFadden’s second TD run, a 21-yard scamper. 

Lock Haven got on the board late in the second quarter.  DiPaolo engineered a 48-yard, seven-play drive, capped with his four-yard TD pass to Rafael Smith.  The extra point made it 14-7 with 57 seconds left. 

KU, however, stretched its lead before the half.  KU drove 58 yards on seven plays, including a 25-yard pass from Spotts to Quiles as time expired in the first half.  It was the seventh time in nine games this season in which KU scored in the final minute of the first half. 

Lock Haven had to settle for a field goal midway through the third after taking over deep in KU territory.  A punt went off the back of a KU player and LHU recovered at the six yardline.  Four plays later, Marc Domonkos hit a 27-yard field goal to make it 21-10 with 3:53 left in the third. 

Kutztown bounced right back.  The Golden Bears marched down the field, chewing up 5:34 on 11 plays, capped by a  20 yard pass from Spotts to Quiles.  The TD catch was the junior receivers’ 10th of the season, tying the single-season record held by three other players (Rich Hamilton in 2000, Mark Steinmeyer and Dom Mele both in 1991). 

Brian Bingnear picked off DiPaolo on LHU’s next play and KU went right back to clock killing mode.  The Golden Bears embarked on a 13-play, 55 yard drive that claimed 7:40 off the clock.  Steve Sandberg capped it with a 20-yard field goal with 4:08 to play.

Millersville 48, Cheyney 12