PSAC Football Athletes of the Week - Week 3
Updated PSAC Standings
Updated PSAC Composite Schedule/Results
Updated PSAC Statistics
Shippensburg's
Zach Zulli is the East Offensive Player of the Week for the third straight week after setting a school record for passing yards and total offense and helping the Red Raiders do the same as a team. He shares the award for the second time in three weeks, this time with West Chester's
Mike Mattei, who tossed six touchdown passes. IUP's
Harvie Tuck garners the West Offensive award after a 200-yard effort on the ground in the Crimson Hawks' win over Lock Haven.
LIU Post's
Antonio Powell-Fields and Slippery Rock's
Isaiah Coleman are the East and West Defensive Players of the Week, respectively. They combined for three interceptions in their teams' wins.
PSAC Athletes of the Week - Sept. 16
(Week 3)
PSAC East Co-Offensive Player of the Week
Mike Mattei, West Chester
QB, Sr., Philadelphia, Pa./Chestnut Hill Academy
Mattei tied a school record by tossing six touchdown passes, including five in the first half, while completing 16-of-20 passes (80 percent) for 358 yards to help lead West Chester to a 56-14 win over Millersville. Over a third (37.5 percent) of his completions were for touchdowns. Mattei also ran five times for 31 yards (6.2 ypc) to finish with 389 yards of total offense, which helped the Golden Rams run up 655 yards of total offense, the fourth-best single-game total in school history. The six TD tosses marked just the seventh time since 1999 that a PSAC quarterback had thrown for six TDs in a game, but the fifth time in the last five seasons and the fourth time in the last two years.
PSAC East Co-Offensive Player of the Week
Zach Zulli, Shippensburg
QB, Jr., Schwenksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley
Zulli earns at least a share of the East Offensive Player of the Week award for the third straight week after completing 27-of-38 pases (71 percent) for a Shippensburg school record of 496 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Red Raiders to a 63-24 win over East Stroudsburg on the road. The 63 points scored marked the most points ever scored against East Stroudsburg at Eiler-Martin Stadium. He lost five yards rushing but his total offense of 491 yards is also a school record. The marks rank 12th and 18th, respectively, all-time in PSAC single-game history as he fell just four yards short of becoming the 12th player in PSAC history to throw for 500 yards in a game. The numbers came in just three quarters and primarily in the first half as Zulli was used sparingly in the first half. Zulli completed 21-of-28 passes for 422 yards and four TDs in the first half, including 14-of-15 for 301 yards and three TDs in the second quarter and the Raiders reeled off 56 consecutive points after trailing 14-7 in the first quarter. His performance helped Shippensburg rack up 718 yards of total offense and 606 passing yards, which rank fifth and third, respectively, all-time in PSAC single-game history. The Raiders are just the ninth team in league history to accumulate over over 700 yards of total offense in a game - and the second this year - and the fourth in conference history to throw for over 600 yards in a game.
PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week
Antonio Powell-Fields, LIU Post
DB, Sr., Hempstead, N.Y./North Plainfield (N.J.)
Powell-Fields tied for a team-high as he made seven tackles, including six solo stops and a tackle for loss, and also had an interception and a fumble recovery in LIU Post's 45-10 win over Cheyney. His pick came in the fourth quarter and it led to a long Pioneer drive that spanned over six minutes and ended with a field goal. His fumble recovering came in the second quarter at midfield and it helped lead to a shirt in field position that one possession later would lead to the Pioneers blocking a Cheyney punt and eventually scoring just before halftime to go up by 19 points.
PSAC West Offensive Player of the Week
Harvie Tuck, IUP
RB, Sr., Akron, Ohio/St. Vincent-St. Mary
Tuck ran for 202 yards on 20 carries (10.1 ypc) and two touchdowns to help lead IUP to a 42-0 win over Lock Haven. HIs 200-yard game was part of a 343-yard ground effort for the Crimson Hawks, who outrushed Lock Haven 343-31. Tuck's first TD run came in the first quarter from two yards out and put IUP up 7-0. After a first half in which the Crimson Hawks went into the locker room with just 148 yards of total offense and a 7-0 lead, IUP got an 82-yard kickoff return on the second half kickoff and on their next possession, Tuck broke off a 69-yard run for a TD to put the Crimson Hawks up by three scores.
PSAC West Defensive Player of the Week
Isaiah Coleman, Slippery Rock
S, So., Lawrence, N.J./Lawrence
Coleman led The Rock with 12 tackles, including nine solo stops, and also made two of the team's four interceptions to lead Slippery Rock's defensive effort in a 38-18 win over Gannon. His efforts helped Rock keep the Golden Knights out of the end zone for the first 53 minutes of the game. His first interception came in the second quarter at the Rock 27-yard line, halted a Gannon drive that had started at its own 27. His second pick effectively sealed the win for his team and he picked off Nadler later in the fourth quarter and returned it 19 yards, allowing Rock to run out the clock with under two minutes left in the game.
Team Notes
Bloomsburg
No. 12 Bloomsburg moved to 3-0 with a 44-37 win over #23 Kutztown … The win was Bloomsburg’s first win over a ranked-opponent since a 28-26 victory over California (PA) in 2010 … Franklyn Quiteh rushed for a game-high 152 yards and three scores. He moved into third place on the BU all-time rushing list with 3,710 yards. Quiteh is averaging 168 yards per game on the ground … Tim Kelly continued his stretch of 71 passes without throwing an interception. He passed for a career-high 246 yards with two touchdowns … Jarrett Pidgeon had 13 tackles in the victory and leads the team with 26 on the season … Larry Webster recorded 1.5 sacks on the day and has a team-high four this season … The Huskies travel to LIU Post next week in hopes of redeeming itself after a 24-21 defeat in the snow last season.
California
Cal U opened PSAC West play with a 24-14 victory against Edinboro … The Vulcans have won eight-consecutive and 10 of their last 13 PSAC West-opening games … Cal U has won both of its night games against Edinboro at Sox Harrison Stadium (2008, 2012) … The Vulcans have the started the year at 3-0 for the third time in the last six years (2007, 2010) … Head coach Mike Kellar joins Earle Bruce (1946) and John Luckhardt (2002) as the only coaches since World War II to start their coaching careers at Cal U with three-straight wins … Senior QB Peter Lalich passed for 321 yards in the win, marking his second-straight 300-yard game and sixth of his career … Junior DB CJ Townes made 10 tackles and one interception in his first career start … Townes made 30 starts for the Cal U men’s basketball team over the last two seasons … Senior RB Lamont Smith posted 103 rushing yards with one touchdown on 17 attempts against the Fighting Scots … Over the last three years, Cal U has posted a perfect 14-0 record when Smith rushes for at least 100 yards … Cal U will face its third nationally-ranked opponent in four weeks on Sept. 22 when it hosts IUP in the fourth-annual Coal Bowl … The Vulcans have won six of the last seven meetings against the Crimson Hawks, including all three previous Coal Bowl games
Cheyney
The Wolves opened PSAC East play by falling to the Pioneers of LIU Post 45-10 in O’Shields-Stevenson Stadium … Blaze Wasserleben was the Wolves offensive threat as the quarterback rushed for 163 yards on 15 carries. He also had Cheyney lone touchdown on a run around right end for 70 yards. Earlier in the contest he had an 88 yard dash called back on a holding penalty…Defensively the Wolves were led by Isaiah Fleming. The linebacker recorded 13 tackles including 2.5 for loss.
Clarion
Clarion dropped its PSAC-West opener 22-14 at Mercyhurst on Saturday ... QB Ben Fiscus rushed for 31 yards and 1 td - and passed for 162 yards and 1 td ... Fiscus continues to rank 13thin career rushing at Clarion ... Fiscus now has 1,508 career rushing yards on 327 carries ... Glenn Lovelace (2001-04) 1,558 yards is next up for 11th place ... Bobby Thomas continues to lead the team in rushing - with 307 yards on 63 carries - 4.9 yards per rush - in his first season at running back ... Clarion continues in the PSAC West this week with its third straight road game - at Gannon on Saturday - beginning at 6pm.
East Stroudsburg
Shippensburg rolled up 606 yards passing, 719 yards of total offense and the second-most points vs. an ESU team in school history with a 63-21 win at Eiler-Martin Stadium ... Ship's 600-yard passing game, one of four in PSAC history, joins two games by ESU, both in 1996 - 616 at Mansfield and 603 at New Haven ... Jr. WR Dusty Reed caught 11 passes for 198 yards, both career-highs, and a 65-yard TD ... Reed went over 100 catches and 1,500 yards in his career, with 107 catches for 1,532 yards ... He had 62 catches for 929 yards in 2011, both ESU sophomore records ... Jr. QB Nate Daniels (9-20, 131 yds) and Fr. Matt Soltes (8-20, 114 yds) combined for 245 yards ... Daniels threw for 355 yards and 4 TD vs. Lock Haven last week ... Ship's passing and total offense totals are both the most ever by an ESU opponent ... Red Raiders had 625 yards in last year's 44-14 win, including 401 rushing ... Head coach Denny Douds coached his 399th career game ... He will become the 15th coach in college football history with 400 games next week vs. Cheyney, and fifth to coach every career game at one school … ESU can become the fourth PSAC school with 450 wins … Douds has been involved in 278 of the 449 wins in program history, including a PSAC-record 233 as head coach (t-5th most in DII history).
Edinboro
Edinboro suffered its second straight loss to a nationally-ranked opponent on Saturday night, losing to sixth-ranked California(Pa.), 24-14. The Fighting Scots opened the season with a 30-14 loss at then-19th-ranked Bloomsburg … Edinboro had not lost its first two games to start a season since 2000 … In addition, the last time the Scots lost their home opener was 2008, that also coming to California(Pa.) … Junior Cody Harris completed 26 of 37 passes for 270 yards, becoming just the fourth passer at Edinboro to throw for over 4,000 yards. He now has 4,251 yards. He has also moved into fourth place in career completions (396) and is sixth in career attempts (577) … Marcus Johnson was Harris’ favorite target, enjoying the second-best day of his career with 8 catches for 116 yards … A pair of freshmen running backs accounted for both of Edinboro’s touchdowns vs. Cal … John Washington entered the season as the third string tailback and Duane McKelvin the fourth teamer, but they saw considerable action due to injuries. Washington scored on a one-yard run and McKelvin caught a 12-yard TD pass. It represented the first career TDs for both … After finishing with 19 tackles at Bloomsburg, senior SS Kenny Pettis once again led the Scots with 14 tackles vs. Cal … James Jackson intercepted a pair of passes and now has 11 career pickoffs, good for a tie for 10th … Edinboro has now lost eight in a row to Cal, but has won 11 games in a row against its next opponent, Lock Haven.
Gannon
Gannon dropped its second consecutive game with a 38-18 loss at Slippery Rock, falling short against the Rock for the first time since 2008 … Redshirt freshman Liam Nadler set school records for completions (35) and attempts (63) … Nadler threw for 325 yards, becoming the third quarterback in school history to record a pair of 300-yard games in the same season … Redshirt senior Matt Szczupakowski broke a school record with four field goals … Sophomore Justin Caliste tied a 15-year-old school record with 12 receptions … Caliste’s 100 receiving yards marks the fifth 100-yard game by a Gannon receiver this season, breaking the old school record of four set in 1997 … Caliste has recorded back-to-back 100-yard games, becoming the second Golden Knight this season and fourth player in school history to accomplish the feat … Sophomore Ta’Von Bailey recorded career-highs in total tackles (10) and solo tackles (7).
IUP
The 17th-ranked Crimson Hawks rolled to a 42-0 win over Lock Haven Saturday … IUP notched its second consecutive shutout win … Sr. RB Harvie Tuck rushed for 202 yards and two touchdowns on just 20 carries … Sr. RB De’Antwan Williams added two touchdowns on the ground as well … Jr. WR Pat Brewer had an 82-yard kick return for a touchdown to begin the second half, the first of his career … Jr. QB Mike Box was 5-of-12 for 68 yards through the air … Jr. TE Tyler Dummermuth led the receiving corps with three catches for 44 yards … Sr. SS Johnny Franco had a game-high six tackles for IUP … Jr. DB Michael Meriwether Jr. recorded five tackles in his first game since being converted from running back … The Crimson Hawks have held opponents to less than 10 points for five consecutive games dating back to last season.
Kutztown
No. 21 Kutztown came up just short in a 44-37 loss to No. 12 Bloomsburg ... KU is just 1-2, but both losses have come to teams ranked in the top 12 by the AFCA ... Quarterback Kevin Morton became Kutztown's all-time leader in passing yardage, setting his second career record this season ... He now has 9,184 career yards, passing the record Andy Breault's record of 9,096 yards ... He went 16-of-21 for 182 yards, two touchdowns and an interception ... Josh Luckenbaugh finished the game in relief and went 16-of-24 for 194 yards and two scores with one interception ... Shahaid Smith had 12 catches, the most for a Golden Bear since Elfren Quiles hauled in a dozen passes in October 2007, and 113 yards ... Kodi Reed, meanwhile, had a team-high 119 yards on eight catches and two touchdowns ... Curtis Wortham rushed for 102 yards ... Greg Carroll had a game-high 17 tackles, the most for a KU player since Brian Bingnear had 17.5 in 2007 ... Zach Greenwald forced three of the Huskies' seven fumbles in the game and had 10 tackles.
LIU Post
LIU Post opened PSAC East play with a 45-10 win over Cheyney ... The Pioneers have won all four meetings against the Wolves dating back to 2008 ... Sophomore quarterback Steven Laurino completed 27 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns and rushed in a third to bring his season total to nine TD's in two games ... Senior defensive back Antonio Powell-Fields helped lead the defense with seven tackles along with a fumble recovery and an interception ... Sophomore David Sumter also made seven tackles along with a forced fumble ... Freshman Tim Sternfeld booted the first field goal of his college career on a 34-yard attempt in the third quarter ... The Pioneers have won five straight games dating back to last season and will put the streak on the line when they host division leader, Bloomsburg, next Saturday at 1 p.m.
Lock Haven
For the third straight week, the Lock Haven was shutout on the road … The Bald Eagles, 0-3 on the season, opened PSAC West play at No. 17 IUP on Saturday and lost 42-0 … The loss marked the 45th straight for Lock Haven as the Bald Eagles have failed to win game since the 2007 season finale at Clarion (W, 17-14 in OT) … LHU’s losing streak sits at 45 games, which is the longest such streak in college football, regardless of Division … The DII record for consecutive losses in 46 … The three straight road games marked the first time since 2005, where LHU opened away from home three straight weekends … Lock Haven finally plays at home on Saturday (9/22) when the Bald Eagles host Edinboro at Community Day … Starting safety had a big game for LHU at IUP as the Bald Eagles look poised for an upset 30 minutes in as the Bald Eagles trailed just 7-0. George Christas (Dallastown, Pa./Dallastown) made a game-high 10 tackles (six solo) … The start at IUP marked the 16th under center for QB Jarrett Kratzer … So far this year, LHU’s opponents hold a 1,378-yard to 513-yard advantage in total offense and The Haven is being outscored 128-0 … Christas 10-tackle effort at IUP helped him take over the top-spot on the team with 21 stops on the year. LB Matt Kirchner is on pace as well and has 20 including nine solo stops.
Mercyhurst
Mercyhurst won for the second consecutive week on Saturday, 22-14 over Clarion in the Lakers' home opener … Mercyhurst improved to 4-1 lifetime against the Golden Eagles … The Lakers' ground game again stole the headlines on Saturday as Mercyhurst rushed for 239 yards as a team … The Lakers have rushed for 618 yards over the last two games … Redshirt freshman Brandon Brown-Dukes rushed for 157 yards on 20 carries and also scored his fourth touchdown in the last two games. In wins over Millersville and Clarion, Brown-Dukes has carried the ball 42 times for 370 yards (8.8 yards per carry) and four touchdowns. Brown-Dukes had a career-long 65-yard run in the third quarter and then scored on a 29-yard run to close out the third quarter. He has back-to-back games of 150 yards or more - the Mercyhurst record is three straight by Richard Stokes in 2007 … QB Anthony Vendemia threw for 118 yards in the win, becoming the 10th quarterback in Mercyhurst history to throw for 2,000 career yards. Vendemia has 2,010 career passing yards - Joe Laffey (2005-09) is ninth with 2,074 … RB Allen Jones II entered the top-20 on the school's all-time rushing list with his 67 yards Saturday. He now has 734 career rushing yards - 20th in school history … WR Paris Bruner had two catches for 44 yards and now has 930 career receiving yards - 70 shy of becoming the 12th player in history with 1,000 receiving yards … Mercyhurst blocked three Clarion punts on Saturday - two by Vladmir Rock and one by Chris Lyle … Mercyhurst hosts Slippery Rock next Saturday for Homecoming Weekend … Each team has won two games in the all-time series with every game won by the home team.
Millersville
Millersville dropped its second consecutive game in which it surrendered at least 45 points … West Chester has now won 10 in a row in the series between the programs … Mike Jones recorded his second TD reception of the season—both of longer than 20 yards. He now has two touchdowns receiving and two rushing, giving him two more in the first three games of 2012 than he has in his previous two seasons as a Marauder … David Coates returned the second half kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown, giving him three returns of at least 48 yards this season. The TD return was the first of his career and the second TD of his career. It was also the first touchdown on a kickoff return since Jamal Smith’s against LIU Post in 2010. It also came within three yards of matching the school record for the longest return … Coates now leads the PSAC in return yards and kick returns. The 97-yarder was the longest in the PSAC this season and his 31.2 average is second among players with more than five returns … Reggie Slaton added another half-sack and a tackle for loss to his totals. He remains tied for the PSAC lead with 5.5 TFL … Saturday’s game was the first of the season that QB Ted Stachitas did not lead Millersville in rushing. That honor went to Myron Myles, who totaled 40 on nine carries … Jones led the team in catches with five, boosting his team-leading total to 14.
Shippensburg
Shippensburg routed East Stroudsburg 63-21 to open PSAC play and set numerous records in the process … SU scored 56 unanswered points in the win … It was the team’s first victory at night since a 28-24 win at Clarion on Sept. 18, 2010 … Junior QB Zach Zulli set the school single-game records for passing yards (496) and total offense (491) … The old school record for passing yards was set in 1983 … SU’s 719 yards of total offense against the Warriors is the second-most in school history and the sixth-most in PSAC history in a single game … SU’s 606 passing yards obliterated the old school record by 183 yards and ranks third all-time in PSAC history … Shippensburg has won seven consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 8, 2003 to Oct. 2, 2004 … In the first half this season (three games), Zulli is 54-of-82 for 953 yards, 10 TDs and 0 INTs … SU leads the league in averaging 52.0 points, 450 passing yards and 581.1 yards of total offense per game … SU is also averaging an incredible 10.9 yards per reception … SU last put up 63 points in a victory at Millersville on Sept. 26, 2009 … SU’s 156 points through the first three games of the season are more than 12 Division II schools totaled for the entire 2011 season, three of which were from the PSAC.
Slippery Rock
Rock scored TDs in five different manners Saturday vs. Gannon with 1 TD via run, 1 via conventional pass, one via fake-FG pass, one via interception return and one via kickoff return to successfully open defense of its PSAC-West title, snap three-game losing streak in series vs. Gannon and gain some revenge for last year's Week 10 loss that denied SRU the outright PSAC West title and ultimately a berth in the NCAA D-II playoffs ... Rock defense recorded four INTs and sacked Gannon QB Liam Nadler three times to withstand a 325-yard passing effort ... Rock D kept Gannon out of the end zone for the first 53 minutes of the game ... Rock QB Jared Buck completed passes to 10 different receivers ... Holder Michael Bongivengo threw a nine-yard TD on a fake field goal attempt ... Fr. RS Jaimire Dutrieuille returned a kickoff 92 yards for a TD ... Jr. CB Anthony Saunders took an interception back 42 yards for his second return TD of the season ... Saunders is the first Rock player to have a pair of INT TDs in the same season since All-American Brian Polk recorded the feat in 1998 ... Sr. PK Kurt Brackman kicked a 22-yard field goal and was 5-for-5 on extra-point kicks to improve his season totals to 2-for-2 FG and 17-for-17 PATs ... With the win over Gannon, The Rock remained unbeaten (7-0) since their home facility, formerly known as N. Kerr Thompson Stadium, was renamed Mihalik-Thompson Stadium Sept. 9, 2011, in honor current Rock head coach George Mihalik.
West Chester
West Chester’s 56 points marked the seventh straight year that the Golden Rams scored at least 41 points against Millersville and the third time in that span that the Rams went over 50 points … The Golden Rams’ 655 yards of total offense marked the most against Millersville in 80 meetings and the fourth most in a single game in school history … Sr. WR Erick Brundidge’s three TD receptions is the first time a Rams player caught three TD passes in a game since Dan DePalma caught three against Millersville in 2010 … Sr. QB Mike Mattei’s six TD passes tied a school record … Joe Wright last threw six TDs in a game at Kutztown in 2008 … The last time West Chester returned a fumble recovery for a touchdown was against Millersville in 2008 (Ronnie Koons) …Jr. PK Shawn Leo is a perfect 14-for-14 on extra points this season … He has 85 career PATs and is one away from tying Eric Wentling for fifth on the school’s all-time list.