PSAC Football Athletes of the Week - 10

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East Stroudsburg’s Matt Soltes (offensive) and Bloomsburg’s Justin Shirk (defensive) captured PSAC football East Athletes of the Week for their contributions to their teams’ Saturday victories.

In the Western Division, IUP’s Johnny Franco (defensive) and Mercyhurst’s Brandon Brown-Dukes (offensive) earned PSAC football Athletes if the Week for their performances on Saturday.

PSAC Athletes of the Week – Nov. 4
(Week 10)

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

Matt Soltes accumulated 382 yards of total offense (256 passing, 126 rushing) and four touchdowns in East Stroudsburg’s 62-14 win over Millersville. He scored two long rushing touchdowns of 54 and 41 yards, giving him his second straight 100-yard rushing game; the first ESU QB with back-to-back 100-yard games since at least 1970. Soltes entered Saturday’s game following a PSAC record and NCAA freshman record 666 yards at LIU Post last Saturday. His 1,444 yards over the last three games are the most in ESU history. Soltes has thrown for 1,154 yards and rushed for 290 yards in the last three outings. Soltes surpassed the 2,000 yards passing milestone with 2,228 and 2,500 yards total offense with 2,695 yards.
 
PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week
Justin Shirk, Bloomsburg
So., LB, Harrisburg / Central Dauphin

With under a minute to play, West Chester quarterback Matt Mattei completed a pass to Adam Dempsey, who was hit hard by Bloomsburg sophomore linebacker Justin Shirk that caused a fumble in West Chester territory that was jumped on by Pidgeon to end the game. Shirk finished the 24-23 win over the Golden Rams with a career-high and game-high 14 tackles including eight solo stops and two for a loss, along with the forced fumble that capped the contest. His two tackles for loss added-up to seven yards, including a six-yard tackle behind the line of scrimmage that pushed West Chester back to the Bloomsburg 13 that later contributed to West Chester settling for a field goal in the third quarter.


PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Week
Johnny Franco, IUP
Sr., S, Altoona, PA / Tyrone

Johnny Franco helped seal-up at 38-35 win over Gannon with two interceptions in the final 1:19 of the final divisional game of the season. Not starting due to an injury, Franco was forced into action in the second half of a tight game and proved to be the difference maker for the IUP defense. His first pick came on a fourth down and 17 with 1:30 to go, picking off Liam Nadler and returning it 32 yards into Gannon territory. After getting the ball back with 20 seconds to go, the Golden Knights again started to drive but on the final play of the game, a final heave by Nadler fell short and Franco got his hands on it, sending IUP to the PSAC championship game against Shippensburg. His total interception yards added-up to 35, in addition to his four total tackles in the second half, two of which were solo stops.


PSAC West Offensive Athlete of the Week
Brandon Brown-Dukes, Mercyhurst
Fr., RB, Orlando, Fla. / Winter Park

Redshirt freshman Brandon Brown-Dukes spearheaded a Mercyhurst offense that downed a PSAC play-off hopeful California. Brown-Dukes continues his attempt at re-writing program history, as he finished Saturday afternoon with 21 carries for 124 yards (5.9 yards per carry) and two touchdowns. It was his sixth 100-yard rushing game of the season. With his two touchdowns against the Vulcans, Brown-Dukes established a new school record with 15 rushing touchdowns in a single season. Tim Ruth (1985) and Richard Stokes (2007 and 2008) held the previous record of 13. Brown-Dukes also surpassed Craig Woodard's freshman rushing record with his 124 yards on Saturday. Woodard rushed for 1,166 yards in his rookie campaign back in 1992. Brown-Dukes now has 1,221 rushing yards and needs 93 yards next Saturday to break Mercyhurst’s all-time rushing record of 1,313 yards held by Gerald Anderson in 2010.

Team Notes

Bloomsburg
Bloomsburg forced three West Chester turnovers in the fourth quarter to lift the 13th-ranked Huskies to a 24-23 victory over the Golden Rams. Dan Haverstock, Jarrett Pidgeon, and Justin Shirk all came up with WCU drive-ending plays for the Huskies in the fourth quarter. Shirk finished with a career-high 14 tackles including eight solo stops and two for a loss, along with a forced fumble. With the win, Bloomsburg head coach Danny Hale earned his 212th career victory, tying him for second in PSAC history with Millersville's Dr. Gene Carpenter. Tim Kelly tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Dickerson in the third quarter; marking the sixth straight game the senior has hauled-in a touchdown pass. Franklyn Quiteh rushed 31 yards up the middle on fourth-down for his 18th rushing touchdown of the season. Quiteh entered the game as the leading rusher in Division II and ran for 121 yards on 25 carries. The touchdown and extra-point gave BU 14 points, setting a school-record 34 consecutive games of scoring 14 or more.


California (Pa.)
Cal U closed divisional play with a 40-7 loss at Mercyhurst after entering the weekend in a three-way tie for first place in the PSAC West standings. The Vulcans have lost back-to-back games against PSAC West opponents for the first time since the 2004 season. Cal U finished third in the divisional standings this year after earning at least a share of seven-consecutive PSAC West titles, which is a league record. The Vulcans suffered their largest margin of defeat since losing 45-7 to Minnesota Duluth in the 2008 NCAA Semifinals. Senior RB Lamont Smith became just the fourth player in school history to post at least 3,000 rushing yards in a career (3,023). Junior DE B.J. Stevens tied the single-season school record of 19.0 TFL set by Gary Butler in 2007. Stevens also ranks second in single-season school history with 11.5 sacks, which is only 0.5 sack shy of the record set by Butler. Cal U committed four turnovers in the loss, including two fumbles on special teams. Cal U managed its lowest amount of total offense since the 2011 season-opener.


Cheyney
Linebacker Isaiah Fleming was credited with a season high 15 tackles but the Wolves fell 61-9 to undefeated Shippensburg, the seventh ranked team in the nation. Cheyney’s Ernest Polite intercepted a Jeff Tomasetti pass on the Raiders second play from scrimmage at the Cheyney 20 yard line. Tyler Wilkinson converted a season and career high 43 yard field goal on the Wolves first possession of the second half. The turnover bug once again bit the Wolves. Cheyney fumbled four times and threw an interception. Cheyney’s leading rusher was Marcus Jones. The junior was credited with 80 yards on 16 carries.


Clarion
Clarion dropped a 48-13 decision to Edinboro at Memorial Stadium to drop the overall record to 4-6 and 2-5 in the PSAC-West. QB Ben Fiscus continues to lead the team offensively. He leads the team with 636 rushing yards and 5 td's, while passing for 2,296 yards and 14 td's. He has rushed for 1,955 career yards and 16 td's, while passing for 4,157 yards and 26 td's. Junior receiver Jon Reid has passed the 1,000 career yards receiving mark - checking in now with 1,088 on 73 catches. Clarion hosts West Chester in the season finale Saturday on senior day, when 13 seniors will be honored in pre-game ceremonies.

East Stroudsburg
ESU improved to 5-4 (4-3 PSAC East) and at least a share of third in the PSAC Eastern with a 62-14 win at Millersville. R-Fr. QB Matt Soltes, coming off a PSAC record and NCAA freshman record 666 yards total offense at LIU Post, had 382 yards (256 passing, 126 rushing). Soltes has 1,444 yards total offense the last three weeks (1,154 passing, 290 rushing), the most in ESU history. Warriors gained 588 yards (307 passing, 281 rushing) after posting PSAC record 828 yards (552 passing, 276 rushing) at LIU Post. ESU had 3 backs with 50+ yards for the 2nd straight week (Soltes, Sr. TB Kendrick Williams, Sr. TB Eric Deery) after doing it last week for the first time since 2001. Jr. WR Dusty Reed became the 10th Warrior with 2,000 career receiving yards (2,033). Jr. K Taylor Groff hit from 44 and 52 yards, tying his career-best. Groff has four career field goals from 51+ yards, three alone this season; no other kicker in PSAC history has more than one. Groff has made nine straight field goals and 52 straight PAT (14-21 FG this year - tied his own record with 6 from 40+).

Edinboro
Edinboro concludes the 2012 season on Saturday against Kutztown. The two have not met since 2007. At 4-5, the Fighting Scots need a win to ensure a tenth straight non-losing season. Edinboro last had a losing season in 2002 (5-6). Cody Harris threw for a career-high 460 yards at Clarion, the second-highest single-game figure in Edinboro history. The junior quarterback tied the school record with five touchdown passes (28, 62, 3, 11, 59 yards) and added a sixth touchdown rushing. His 474 yards in total offense also ranks second. Harris has now thrown for 2,564 yards, the fourth-highest season total, and his 18 TDs rank ninth. Ben Eisel posted career highs with nine receptions for 110 yards, and Marcus Johnson added four catches for a career-high 143 yards. It marked the first time two receivers had topped 100 yards since the 2009 NCAA playoff game against West Liberty when Gary Nolen and Johnson went over 100. Senior free safety Kenny Pettis keyed a bend-but-don’t break Boro defense with eight tackles, plus an interception in the end zone and a fumble caused and recovered at the Edinboro five. He has 98 tackles, two shy of becoming first Boro player since 2006 with 100 tackles.

Gannon
Gannon nearly pulled off another late-season upset before falling to No. 14 IUP 38-35 Saturday afternoon. The Golden Knights defeated 2011 PSAC West champ Slippery Rock in the home finale last year and knocked nationally-ranked Bloomsburg out of the postseason with a 10-7 overtime victory in the 2009 season finale. Gannon scored 35 points on the nation’s top scoring defense that was allowing only 8.67 points per game. The Golden Knights produced 351 yards of total offense against the nation’s top defense in yards allowed per game (227.56). Sophomore Abraham Ocasio broke Gannon’s single-season records for receiving touchdowns (10) and receiving yards (886). Ocasio tied the school record for 100-yard receiving games in a season with four. Redshirt freshman Liam Nadler tied a school record with four touchdown passes in a game accomplished eight previous times, including himself in the season opener. Nadler also tied the school record for most 200-yard passing games in a season with seven.

IUP
14th-ranked IUP held off an upset bid by Gannon to win 38-35 on Saturday and clinched a spot in the PSAC Championship game against Shippensburg. Sr. FS Johnny Franco had two interceptions in the last 1:19 of the game, including one on the final play to clinch the victory. The game featured eight lead changes, including six in the wild second half. Sr. RB De’Antwan Williams had 173 yards of total offense and a two-yard touchdown run on fourth down to help put IUP on top with 3:16 left to play. Jr. QB Mike Box finished 13-of-18 for 171 yards and two touchdowns through the air, throwing scores to Jr. TE Tyler Dummermuth and sophomore FB Dom Maggio. Despite 12 penalties for 108 yards by IUP, the defense forced three Gannon turnovers and had three sacks. IUP wins its first PSAC West title since 2006 and will appear in the conference championship game for the first time since 1987, defeating West Chester that year 21-9 (the game was not played 1988-2007).


Kutztown & LIU Post
Kutztown and LIU Post did not compete this Saturday due to extensive damages caused by Hurricane Sandy. The game has been re-scheduled for November 17, at Kutztown. 

Lock Haven
Lock Haven University football dropped a PSAC West clash at Slippery Rock on Saturday, 35-7. The loss puts LHU at 0-10 on the year heading into their season-finale next Saturday at home vs. Cheyney. LHU is 0-7 in PSAC West play. The loss to SRU marked the 52nd straight for The Haven. The 52 straight losses are the most in Division II history and it marks the longest active losing streak in college football. Brandon Brader carried the ball 25 times for 62 yards. Coming into the game, Brader needed just four yards to move into sole possession of eighth-place on Lock Haven's all-time career rushing list. He's now just 134 away from seventh. The Lock Haven defense recorded a two-interception game for the third straight week. The Bald Eagles only had three INTs all of last year. The Haven now has nine on the year, the most since the 2007 season (14). James Goins and Tashawn Bunch led LHU with eight and six tackles, respectively. George Christas and Derrick Watkins each had an interception.


Mercyhurst
Mercyhurst put together its most impressive showing of the season on Saturday afternoon, knocking off 22nd-ranked California (Pa.) 40-7 at Tullio Field and earning a share of the PSAC Western Division title. Redshirt freshman Brandon Brown-Dukes continues his attempt at re-writing program history. He finished Saturday afternoon with 21 carries for 124 yards and two touchdowns. It was his sixth 100-yard rushing game of the season. With his two touchdowns, Brown-Dukes established a new school record with 15 rushing touchdowns in a single season. Brown-Dukes also surpassed Craig Woodard's freshman rushing record with his 124 yards on Saturday. Senior WR Paris Bruner finished the day with four catches for 72 yards and a touchdown. His 72 yards on Saturday gives him 1,484 receiving yards for his career, moving him into sixth place on the school's all-time list. He passed Tim Brediger who had 1,481 from 1994-98. On Cal's first play from scrimmage after the Lakers took a 21-0 lead, Vulcan quarterback Cody Schroeder was picked-off by senior Linnell Robinson, who then ran 52 yards down the left sideline and into the endzone. It was Robinson's third interception of the season and fifth of his career. It was also Mercyhurst's first pick-six since Bryant Kimball accomplished the feat with a 46-yard touchdown against Shepherd in the NCAA Quarterfinals back in 2010.

Millersville
David Coates totaled 155 yards in kick returns for Millersville, giving him 1,039 yards on 39 returns this season, giving him a school record which was previously set in 1994. He is the first player in the PSAC to total 1,000 kick return yards this season and leads the No. 2 returner by 343 yards. Ian Sadon and Myron Myles combined 140 yards rushing. Sadon rushed for 52 yards in the first five games of the season but has since totaled 306 yards and two touchdowns on 43 carries (7.2 yards per carry). Myles has rushed for at least 61 yards in each of his last three games and has at least one run of 20 yards in each of the last three games. Austin Warfel caught a career-high six passes for 62 yards and his first career touchdown. Sanders has caught a pass in 22 consecutive games and has 31 grabs in his last five games. T.J. Richardson recorded his first interception of the season. Jamie Thomas set a career high with 10 tackles. Zack Riley recorded a sack for the second consecutive week, giving him 2.5 on the season. Jeff Lawson, with 2,841 total punt yards this season, has set a school record in that category in back-to-back seasons. Of 151 punts over the last two years, 51 have been inside the 20 and only five have been touchbacks.

Shippensburg
#7 Shippensburg improved to 10-0, 7-0 with a 61-9 rout over Cheyney. SU set two more single-season records to bring its total to seven single-season records set – and 40 total records broken or tied – in 2012. The Raiders recorded 25 first downs to run its season total to 287, breaking the 281 from last year’s team. SU also scored two touchdowns on fumble returns to bring its total to five defensive scores this season – surpassing the previous record of four defensive touchdowns by the 1999 squad. For the first time in nearly 60 years, the Shippensburg defense held the opposing team to zero passing yards as Cheyney QBs combined to go 0-for-3 passing with an INT on Saturday. It’s the fifth time in school history and the first time since 1953 that an SU defense has held an opponent to zero or fewer yards passing. Junior quarterback Zach Zulli set the career passing yardage mark as he threw for 284 yards, giving him 6,586 in just 21 career games. Senior running back Mike Frenette moved into third place all-time on the SU career rushing yardage list, running for 67 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries to give him 2,283 career yards. Senior QB Jeff Tomasetti earned the Senior Day start and went 3-for-5 passing and carried the ball four times for 11 yards while leading the Raiders on a fourth-quarter touchdown drive.

Slippery Rock
The Rock beat Lock Haven for the 24th consecutive time and 31st time in the last 32 meetings on Saturday. The win was SRU's fourth consecutive this fall and assured the Green and White a fourth consecutive winning season. The win, combined with Mercyhurst's win over California, gave The Rock a share of third place in the final PSAC-Western Division standings. The Rock close out their 2012 season next Saturday with a home game vs. Bloomsburg, the second-place team in the PSAC-Eastern Division.

West Chester
West Chester’s 24-23 loss leaves them at 46-24 in the all-time series with arch-rival Bloomsburg. The Golden Rams have now lost the last three meetings with the Huskies. Jr., RB Rondell White rushed for 211 yards. He is the first player in school history to reach 200 rushing yards in a single game three times in the same season. White now has 1,321 rushing yards on the season. He will need 218 yards in his final game of the season next week against Clarion to tie the school’s single-season mark of 1,539 set by Mike Eckmeyer in 2002. White went over 2,000 yards rushing in his career as a result of Saturday’s performance, and now stands 14th on the school’s single-season list with 2,120 career rushing yards. Senior QB Mike Mattei threw his 25th TD pass of the season Saturday, tying him for 7th on the school’s all-time single-season charts.