PSAC Football Athletes of the Week - 9

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East Stroudsburg’s Matt Soltes (Offensive) and Bloomsburg’s Jarrett Pidgeon (Defensive) were selected as the East’s PSAC Football Athletes of the Week for their performances in the ninth week of PSAC football.

Nigel Barksdale (Offensive) of Slippery Rock and Mavens Toussaint (Defensive) of IUP were named the West's PSAC Football Athletes of the Week for their performances on Saturday.

PSAC Athletes of the Week - Oct. 28
(Week 9)


PSAC East Offensive Athlete of the Week
Matt Soltes, East Stroudsburg
QB, Fr., Vernon, N.J./Vernon

Soltes set a PSAC record for total offense with 666 yards, just 15 yards shy of the Division II record, in a 45-37 win at LIU Post.  The game was just his fifth career start as he led an offense that shattered the PSAC record single game record with 828 yards. His 666 yards ranks 10th in collegiate football history and second in NCAA Division II. He threw for 535 yards, sixth-most in PSAC history and third-most in ESU history, going 26-for-42 with five touchdowns. Soltes ran for 131 yards on 12 carries, the highest total offense figure in D-II this year, and fourth-most in all of college football. He broke the PSAC record of 651 yards (Erik Anderwkavich, LIU Post vs Kutztown, 2010) and ESU record of 597 (Damian Poalucci vs Mansfield, 1996). He had 421 yds in the first half (302 passing, 119 rushing) and 629 through three quarters. Soltes averaged 10.9 yards per carry in his 12 rush attempts that included two 30+ runs.


PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week
Jarrett Pidgeon, Bloomsburg 
LB, Sr., Barnegat, N.J./Southern Regional

Pidgeon recorded a game-high 13 tackles, including nine solo tackles and four assisted takedowns, and an interception for a touchdown against the Raiders. In the middle of a 28-point comeback, Pidgeon took an interception from Zach Zulli 39 yards for a touchdown to cut the score to 35-21. Pidgeon also had a pass breakup.


PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Week
Marvens Toussaint, IUP
CB, Sr.,  Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Port Charlotte

Toussaint helped IUP to its third shutout of the season in a 45-0 win over Clarion. Toussaint picked off two passes in the redzone to end a pair of Clarion threats and help preserve the shutout. His first pick-off came in the second quarter at the 18-yard line with 2:15 left in the half. Early in the third quarter Toussaint intercepted another Clarion pass attempt at the five yard line. He also registered a pass break-up and two solo tackles to help the Crimson Hawks improve to 5-1 and take the top seat in the Western Division.


PSAC West Offensive Athlete of the Week
Nigel Barksdale, Slippery Rock
QB, Jr., San Jacinto, Calif./San Jacinto HS

Barksdale accumulated 402 yards in total offense versus a California defense that ranks sixth in the PSAC in that category (368 ypg) to lead The Rock to an upset victory against #13 Cal, which was unbeaten in PSAC-West action prior to the game. He passed for season-high 283 yards in the game, while running for 119 yards against a Vulcan defense that is third in rushing defense with a 113 yards per game allowance rate. Barksdale passed for over 230 yards (15-of-22) for the fourth time in as many starts this fall to lead The Rock to its third consecutive victory. 


Team Notes

Bloomsburg
In a battle of nationally ranked, unbeaten teams 10th-ranked Shippensburg University scored with five seconds left to knock-off 4th-ranked Bloomsburg University, 49-42, on Saturday. Bloomsburg, which trailed 35-7 at halftime, tied the score at 42-all with 2:39 to play on a 52-yard touchdown pass from Tim Kelly to Ryan Dickerson. Junior running back Franklyn Quiteh finished with 31 carries for 268 yards and four scores, while Kelly was 11-for-27 passing for 158 yards and a touchdown. Dickerson finished with five catches for 108 yards and one score. Defensively, Jarrett Pidgeon had 13 tackles, while Terrell Oglesby had eight tackles. Both seniors brought down an interception as Pidgeon took his 39 yards for a touchdown. Quiteh opened the second half with a 67-yard touchdown run, moving him into fifth place in the PSAC in career rushing yards to pass former Red Raider John Kuhn. Quiteh has rushed for 4,825 yards. Pidgeon answered the Quiteh run with a 39-yard interception return for a touchdown the following possession.

California (Pa.)
Cal U suffered a 28-26 loss to Slippery Rock on Saturday to fall into a three-way tie for first place in the PSAC West standings. Slippery Rock is the first PSAC West team to win two-straight meetings against Cal U since 2003-04. The Vulcans suffered its first home loss in PSAC West play since Nov. 11, 2006, a streak spanning 19 games. The Vulcans blocked two kicks for the second-straight week and the fourth time in the last six years. Cal U allowed Slippery Rock’s Nigel Barksdale to become the first quarterback to rush for over 100 yards since Saginaw Valley’s Charles Dowdell in the 2010 season-opener. Junior B.J. Stevens has recorded at least one sack in four-consecutive games and ranks second in single-season school history with 17.5 TFL, just 1.5 TFL shy of tying the school record set by Gary Butler in 2007. Senior RB Lamont Smith is now just 28 rushing yards shy of becoming the third 3,000-yard rusher in school history.

Cheyney
Cheyney scored two fourth quarter touchdowns falling to cross-town neighbor West Chester 59-14. 
Blaze Wasseerleben got the Wolves on the board early in the final quarter when he spun out of a tackle behind the line of scrimmage and rushed three yards up the middle to prevent a shutout. Later in the quarter, Josh Simmons scored his first collegiate touchdown after he caught a-yard 30 Wasserleben pass down the near sideline.  The Wolves did out score the Golden Ram 14-10 in the second half. Isaiah Fleming led all players with 12 tackles (five solo) and was credited with 1.5 tackles for loss.

Clarion
Clarion dropped a tough 45-0 decision to #16 IUP on Saturday. The Clarion offense had three possessions - starting with first and goal - but the IUP defense kept Clarion out of the endzone. Ben Fiscus completed 12 of 29 passes for 181 yards. The Clarion defense did a tremendous job on the nation's #1 runner, Harvie Tuck, who was held to 97 yards on 25 carries. Sophomore Jacob Heintz led the defense with 15 tackles, 4 tfl's and 2 sacks - while the PSAC's leading sacker Julian Howsare posted 2 more sacks to run his season total to 13.

East Stroudsburg
R-Fr. QB Matt Soltes led a record-breaking offensive performance in ESU's 45-37 win at LIU Post. Soltes (666 yards) and ESU (828 yards) both set PSAC records for total offense, also both the most in DII this year. Warriors are the first team in PSAC history with 800 yards in a game, shattering record of 757 (California vs Mansfield, 2005). ESU threw for 552 yards and ran for 276. Soltes was 26-42 for 535 yards (6th-most in PSAC history) with 5 TD, and ran for 131 yards on 12 carries. He was 22 yards from the D-II record of 688 set by JJ Harp (Eastern NM) in 2009. Soltes made his 5th career start and is averaging 337.4 yards passing and 394.8 yards total offense as a starter.

Edinboro
Edinboro’s 24-21 loss to Mercyhurst marked the fifth straight year that the visiting team won. Branden Williams blocked two more kicks this week, giving him four this year, all in the last three games, and 12 for his career. Williams blocked a field goal, then added a blocked punt, which he picked up and returned nine yards for a touchdown. The Fighting Scots posted a season-high 158 yards rushing, with Cody Harris’ 77 yards the top individual figure this year. Harris now has eight touchdowns rushing, a school record for quarterback. The offense has scored 25 touchdowns, and Harris has either thrown or rushed for 21 of them. Jeremy Donaldson became the third defensive player to also see time on offense. The true freshman started last week at outside linebacker. He became the sixth tailback for the Scots this year, carrying 10 times for 24 yards vs. Mercyhurst. Kevin Sonnie caught his first career touchdown pass on a diving seven-yard reception. Mercyhurst converted just 2 of 13 third downs, but the Lakers were 3 of 5 on fourth down. Bruce Davis finished with a career-high 12 tackles. Edinboro must win its final two games against Clarion and Kutztown to avoid its first losing season since 2002.

Gannon
Gannon snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 13-7 victory at Lock Haven, extending the Bald Eagles’ losing streak to 51 games. Jansen Jones rushed for a career-high 183 yards, representing the 10th-highest single-game total in school history, the most rushing yards by a Golden Knight since Zach Boedicker had 184 against Mercyhurst on September 22, 2007. Jones shattered his previous career-high of 128 yards set against Slippery Rock on November 5, 2011. Gannon rushed for 196 yards as a team, producing the most rushing yards since having 216 against Lock Haven on October 15, 2011. The Bald Eagles’ seven points were the fewest allowed by the Golden Knights since a 47-0 shutout of Millersville on September 17, 2011. The Gannon defense recorded 11 tackles for a loss, three sacks, one interception, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery, with eight different Golden Knights recording tackles for a loss.

IUP
The 16th ranked Crimson Hawks went to 8-1 on the season with a 45-0 win over Clarion. Junior QB Mike Box led a balanced attack as IUP totaled 477 yards and 23 first downs. The Crimson Hawks had 272 yards through the air and 205 on the ground and owned the ball for 37:06. Box went for 179 and two TDs through the air and another 16 and a score on the ground. Senior RB Harvie Tuck ran for 97 yards and a score while Sr. RB De'Antwan Williams had 99 yards and a score. Sr. TE Jon Sharp had a team-high four catches for 59 yards.

Kutztown
Kutztown's offense continued to fire on all cylinders, piling up 710 yards in a 59-3 win over Millersville. Sophomore placekicker Jack Ruggieri has made all 124 of his extra points, a Division II record for consecutive points after touchdown. The Golden Bears had both two 100-yard receivers and two 100-yard rushers in the contest. Kevin Morton was nearly flawless for the second straight week, carving up the Marauders for 344 yards and three touchdowns on 21-of-26 passing. Brett Fox caught five passes, including a 72-yard touchdown on the Golden Bears' first play from scrimmage, for 122 yards and a touchdown. Kodi Reed matched his five catches and covered 111 yards and also scored once. Curtis Wortham rumbled for 186 yards and three scores on 18 rushes. Adrian Sterling ran for a career-high 165 yards, including a 90-yard touchdown run that was just one-yard short of the school record. Kutztown's defense allowed just 218 yards of total offense, including only 65 pass yards. Zach Greenwald continued his breakout season with nine tackles, three for loss and two sacks.

LIU Post
LIU Post rallied with 24 points in the fourth quarter but fell short to East Stroudsburg, 45-37, in its final home contest of the season on Saturday. Sophomore quarterback Steven Laurino passed for a season-high 284 yards and three touchdowns. Senior Thomas Beverly led the team with 81 rushing yards on four carries all in the fourth quarter. Junior Joe Botti caught six passes for 71 yards and a touchdown. On defense, freshman Brandon Cheney recorded a five-yard sack in the first quarter. The Pioneer defense has made at least one sack in seven of their eight games this season. Junior Rob Bright made a game-high 13 tackles while junior Casey Biasi and senior Anton Rukaj each made 12 and 11 tackles, respectively.

Lock Haven
Despite another tremendous defensive effort, the Lock Haven University football team fell to 0-9 on the year and 0-6 in PSAC West play. Lock Haven was edged by Gannon 13-7 on Saturday night. The loss marked the 51st straight for LHU. The 51 straight losses are a Division II record and the longest active losing skid in college football. Late in the first quarter George Christas returned an interception 41 yards for a TD. It was the first time since LHU and Gannon met last year that a Bald Eagle returned an interception for a TD. Fifth-year senior QB Jarrett Kratzer made his 22nd career start for Lock Haven under center. The Haven recorded two interceptions and forced three total turnovers in the game. Ryan Good made a game-high 11 tackles to lead LHU. Ben Snyder had eight tackles, four tackles-for-a-loss and two sacks. Tyrai Anderson also had an interception for The Haven.

Mercyhurst
Mercyhurst improved to 4-5 lifetime against Edinboro with a come-from-behind 24-21 victory. The road team has now won the last five meetings in the all-time series. Mercyhurst trailed 21-14 entering the fourth quarter but scored 10 unanswered points to leave with the victory. Redshirt sophomore QB Alec Swartz hit senior WR Paris Bruner on a 75-yard reception down to the Edinboro 1-yard line to set up the game-winning touchdown. It was the longest play of the season for the Lakers and was the longest reception of Bruner's career. With his two rushing touchdowns Saturday, redshirt freshman RB Brandon Brown-Dukes tied the single-season record with 13 touchdowns this season. He joins Tim Ruth (1985) and Richard Stokes (2007 and 2008) who previously set the career mark. Junior PK Steven Wakefield had six points on Saturday (three PATs and a field goal) giving him sole possession of the all-time scoring record for points by a kicker in school history. Wakefield now has 171 career points, surpassing the previous record of 165 held by Phil Scanlon (2002-06). Freshman TE John Matarazzo recorded the first three receptions of his career, while senior TE Ryan Bartizal had his first catch since the opener at Notre Dame College. Junior DE Dustin Galich led the Lakers on defense with 12 total tackles and two fumble recoveries.

Millersville
Millersville started a different quarterback for the third time in the last four games and a fourth quarterback took snaps against Kutztown. Millersville rushed for 157 yards, giving it two consecutive games with at least 150 yards rushing. Zack Riley recorded his first sack of the season and only Millersville's fourth in the last eight games. The 710 yards of offense allowed was the most ever allowed by a Millersville team and ranks fifth all-time in the PSAC. Myron Myles led Millersville with 74 rushing yards--his most since totaling 93 in the season opener. He has averaged 5.9 yards per carry in his last two games.

Shippensburg
Senior WR Bryan Barley caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from junior QB Zach Zulli with 4.8 seconds remaining Saturday afternoon from SU Student Association Field at Seth Grove Stadium that gave No. 10 Shippensburg a 49-42 victory over No. 4 Bloomsburg and clinched the PSAC Eastern Division title for the Red Raiders. Shippensburg (9-0, 6-0 PSAC East), playing in front of a capacity crowd of more than 7,000 spectators, extended its Division II-best winning streak to 13 consecutive games and assured itself a berth in the PSAC State Game to be held Nov. 10 from the site of the Western Division champion. With 654 yards of total offense in Saturday’s game, Shippensburg also established a new school record for total offensive yards in a season (5,179). Zulli finished the game completing 35-of-60 for 496 yards – matching the second-most in a single game in school history. He also tossed an incredible seven touchdowns in addition to a pair of interceptions while leading the team with 80 rushing yards on 15 carries. Sophomore WR Trevor Harman had seven receptions for 172 yards and three touchdowns, breaking the single-season school record for receiving touchdowns and tying Ware’s school record for career receiving touchdowns (26). Senior TB Mike Frenette broke his own school record for receptions in a season by a running back (44), hauling in eight passes for 69 yards. Shippensburg tied a single-season record for passing attempts (409), with six of SU’s seven PATs, junior Michael Lloyd set a new single-season record for PAT attempts and now has 58 on the year.

Slippery Rock
Jr. QB Nigel Barksdale, who threw for a season-high 283 yards and one TD in Saturday's upset win over 13th-ranked California, has passed for 1040 yards and nine TDs in four starts this fall. Barksdale has thrown for over 230 yards in all four of his starts. Barksdale has also rushed for 462 yards and six TDs as The Rock's starting signal caller. Defensively, The Rock held Cal to 313 total yards, 123 yards under its PSAC-6th-ranked per-game average, and 80 yards under its PSAC-4th-ranked per-game average of 304 passing yards per game. Saturday's win over California was SRU's second consecutive in the season series after the Vulcans had strung together five straight wins over SRU. Sr. PK Kurt Brackman moved into sixth place on SRU's career PAT list with four Saturday that improved his four-year total to 86. Brackman also moved into 16th place on SRU's career scoring list with 146 points. Rock can guarantee themselves a fourth consecutive winning season with a victory over either Lock Haven next Saturday or Bloomsburg in the season finale Nov. 10.

West Chester
West Chester improves to 44-1-1 against Cheyney in the all-time series. Saturday’s win was the 31st straight win for the Golden Rams in the series. West Chester assured itself of its first winning season since 2009 with its sixth victory of the year. West Chester’s 59 points were the most scored in a game this season and the second time that they reached 50 points. West Chester’s 28 points scored in the second quarter were the most since it scored 28 against Millersville in the first quarter on Sept. 19, 2009. West Chester’s 49 points in the first half were the most since putting up 49 against Mansfield on Oct. 15, 2005. So. MLB Ronell Williams registered his team-leading 100th tackle of the season. He is the first player to reach 100 tackles in a single season since Mike Dell achieved that feat in 2008. Also, place-kicker Shawn Leo hit his 30th career field goal, tying former Golden Rams kicker John Marotta’s (1987-1990) school record. R-Fr., RB Brandon Monk registered a career-high 213 all-purpose yards. Jr., FB Jared Bonacquisti’s two TD runs were the first two of his career. Jr., WR Nick Hall scored the first TD of his career – a rushing touchdown.