PSAC Football Athletes of the Week - 4

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WEEK 4 - SEPTEMBER 22-29
Football: Eastern Division Offensive Athlete of the Week
Zach Zulli
Shippensburg (Sr., QB)
Schwenksville, Pa. / Perkiomen Valley

Shippensburg senior Zach Zulli became the fourth quarterback in PSAC history to throw 100 career touchdown passes Saturday in a 48-10 win. Zulli finished the day completing 28-of-36 passes for a season-high of 353 yards and five touchdowns. On the ground Zulli recorded seven carries for 30 yards. In 28 career games at quarterback, Zulli has now thrown 100 touchdown passes to just 26 interceptions. With 383 yards of total offense in Saturday's game, Zulli also moved into the PSAC's all-time top 10 for that category, sitting ninth with 9,208 yards.
Football: Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Ronell Williams
West Chester (Jr. / LB)
Chester, Pa. / Chester

West Chester’s Ronell Williams posted a season-best 15 tackles (7 solo) in WCU's 22-21 win over Kutztown Saturday night. Perhaps his biggest stop of the day came on a 3rd-and-1 when he stuffed Kutztown fullback Justin Michalak, who tried to bull his way up the middle for the first down. The tackle forced Kutztown to punt with two minutes left in the game and KU holding a 21-16 lead. Williams finished with a 0.5 tackle for loss of two yards and a pair of passes broken-up. 
Football: Western Division Offensive Athlete of the Week
Liam Nadler
Gannon (So., QB)
Leipsic, Ohio / Leipsic Local

Liam Nadler led Gannon to a 45-25 victory at previously undefeated Clarion while breaking the school’s single-game record for completion percentage by completing 22-of-26 pass for an .846 completion percentage. Nadler completed his first 13 passes which included two touchdown passes, as Gannon scored touchdowns during each of its first five possessions to assume a 35-7 lead. Nadler finish the day with 309 yards of total offense, with 291 yards passing and 4.5 yards per carry. 
Football: Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Terrell Holloway
IUP (Sr. / S)
Penn Hills, Pa. / Penn Hills

IUP’s Terrell Holloway notched three interceptions in a 20-7 victory over California during the annual Coal Bowl game. The first pick came when Marco Pecora blitzed and tipped a Cody Schroeder pass. The next two both came in the end zone, the first on a third and goal from the six and the second on a third and goal from the five. On his last interception he wrestled away the ball from the California receiver.

TEAM NOTES

Bloomsburg
The No. 11 Huskies improved to 4-0 on the year and 2-0 in the PSAC East with a 56-10 victory over visiting Lock Haven on Saturday. Franklyn Quiteh rushed for 205 yards and three touchdowns on just 11 carries to surpass 6,000 rushing yards for his career, moving to 13th on the all-time Division II record list with 6,116 yards. He also added a fourth touchdown on a 33-yard reception from quarterback Tim Kelly, who threw for 184 yards and four touchdowns. Glenn Hutton Jr. caught three passes – all for touchdowns. Kelly, Hutton and Quiteh all tied their career-highs for single game touchdowns. Joe Parsnik added 101 yards on the ground, his first career 100-yard rushing day. Safety Tomas Cabrera added an 82-yard interception for a touchdown. Interim head coach Paul Darragh became the first Bloomsburg coach to win his first four games at the helm of the program. Bloomsburg travels to Gannon for a PSAC crossover contest next Saturday.


California (Pa.)
Cal U committed five turnovers (all interceptions) on Saturday in the fifth-annual Coal Bowl, suffering a 20-7 loss at No. 7 IUP. The Vulcans entered the weekend with a six-game winning streak in the longstanding rivalry. Cal U was held without an offensive touchdown, as senior DB Dewey McDonald scored the team’s only touchdown on an 80-yard interception return. The Vulcans have returned an interception for a touchdown in three-straight games with McDonald becoming the first Cal U player in over a decade to return multiple interceptions for a touchdown in a season. Cal U was held under 100 rushing yards for the third time this season and the seventh time in the last 12 games. Sophomore P Andrew Cerett recorded a career-long 79-yard punt at IUP and averaged 54.2 yards on five punts. The Vulcans will play back-to-back nationally-ranked opponents on the road (IUP, West Chester).
 

Cheyney
Cheyney University (0-4:0-2) fell 40-6 to East Stroudsburg (3-1:1-1) in PSAC football action. Cheyney wide receiver Marquis Garcia Palmer caught five passes for 102 yards but it was not enough to overcome the 430 yards the Warriors racked up through the air. The Cheyney front seven was able to put a lot of pressure on the ESU quarterback, sacking him four times but the signal caller was still able to find his targets. Javier Garcia, Isaiah Fleming, Robert Brooks and Travis Elliot each registered one sack apiece.
 

Clarion
Clarion lost a 45-25 decision to Gannon on Saturday which also served as Homecoming for the Golden eagles and the annual ALF Festival. The loss was the first of the 2013 season putting the Golden Eagles at 3-1 overall and 1-1 in the PSAC-West. ALL PSAC-West qb Ben Fiscus, who was injured in game 2 against Lock Haven, will be out for the year with a leg injury. His replacement, red-shirt freshman Darelle Carson, started his second career game against Gannon and completed 15 of 28 passes for 215 yards and 2 td's, while running for 33 yards. On the season Carson has completed 28 of 54 for 454 yards and 3 td's, while rushing for 156 yards and 1 td. Tailback Bobby Thomas averaged 8.0 yards per carry against Gannon gaining 80 yards on 10 carries, including a 38 yard td run. All-America defensive end Julian Howsare posted 14 tackles, 4 tfl's, 1 sack and 1 fumble caused against Gannon. His career totals show him playing in 25 games with 117 tackles, 32 tfl's, 22 sacks, 6 fumbles caused and 8 pass break-ups. The Clarion - Gannon game was produced by Sportsfever TV and will be replayed on ROOT Sports on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 7pm. Clarion travels to East Stroudsburg this saturday for a 6:05 start.


East Stroudsburg
ESU (3-1, 1-1) evened its PSAC East record with a 40-6 win at Cheyney. R-So. QB Matt Soltes had 419 total yards and 4 TD, going 19-for-33 for 387 yards and 3 TD, and rushing for 32 yards and a 4th-quarter score. R-Jr. TE Steven Jones caught all 3 TD passes, with 4 catches for 144 yards, scoring from 80, 53 and 3 yards. Jones is the first ESU TE to score 3 TD under 40th-year head coach Denny Douds. His 144 receiving yards are 3rd-most by an ESU TE under Douds, and the most since 1984. R-Sr. WR Robert Bleiler had his 2nd straight 100-yard game (7 catches, 154 yards). R-Fr. TB Robert Healy, the nation's top freshman rusher (130.3 ypg), had 36 yards on 11 carries. ESU forced 3 turnovers and has a +9 turnover margin (11 takeaways, 2 giveaways). Warriors have a 34:01-25:59 time of possession advantage for the season. Soltes is 3rd in the PSAC in total offense (317.2 ypg) after games of 376 and 419 the last two weeks. He has 11 TD and 1 Int., plus 2 rushing TD. ESU hosts 3-1 Clarion this Saturday night at Eiler-Martin Stadium.


Edinboro
Edinboro claimed a 43-7 win over Seton Hill in the first meeting between the two teams. The Boro defense did not allow a point while holding the Griffins to 116 total yards, forcing four turnovers, recording five sacks and allowing just one third down conversion in 12 attempts. Redshirt freshman QB Jon Girvin came off the bench to pass for two touchdowns and run for two more. They were the first touchdowns of his career. He completed 18 of 28 passes for 150 yards and ran for 36 yards on 15 carries. Senior WR Marcus Johnson caught at least seven passes for the third straight week. He finished with seven catches for 51 yards and a TD. Johnson moved up to eighth in career receptions (127) and seventh in career receiving yards (1,883). He also had a 66-yard kickoff return, his third of 60-or-more yards this year. Freshman T.J. Hardy made all three of his field goal attempts (39, 27, 27). Jeremy Donaldson scored on a 22-yard run and matched his career high with 89 yards rushing. Senior DE Bobby Kmetz paced the defensive effort with 1.5 sacks, and freshman CB Rob Harden had his first career interception. Edinboro hosts Lock Haven on Saturday in the annual Homecoming game. Kickoff is 2 p.m.


Gannon
Gannon remained one of only two PSAC Western Division teams undefeated in divisional play with a 45-25 victory at previously-undefeated Clarion last Saturday. The Golden Knights are 2-0 in the PSAC West for the first time since joining the league in 2008 and 3-1 overall for the first time since their final campaign as an NCAA Division II Independent in 2003. Redshirt senior Jansen Jones entered the season with two 100-yard rushing games and has now rushed for at least 160 yards three times in four contests this season. Jones’ 219 yards of all-purpose yards against Clarion represented the 11th-highest single-game total in school history while his 167 rushing yards equaled the 15th-highest. Redshirt sophomore Liam Nadler completed his first 13 passes and broke the school’s single-game completion percentage record with a 22-of-26 chart. Junior Justin Caliste accumulated 249 all-purpose yards, the sixth-highest single-game total in school history. Caliste broke the school record for longest punt return with a 90-yard return for a touchdown in the second quarter. Caliste assumed sole possession of the school record for career punt returns for a touchdown with his fourth.
 

IUP
The seventh-ranked Crimson Hawks improved to 4-0, 2-0 on the season with a 20-7 win over rival California in the Fifth Annual Coal Bowl. The win snapped a six-game losing streak to the Vulcans, who dropped to 3-1, 1-1. Sr. RB De’Antwan Williams was named the Player of the Game, rushing a career-high 38 times for 167 yards and two touchdowns. Sr. DB Terrell Holloway picked off three Vulcans’ passes, including two in the IUP end zone, and broke up another. IUP forced five turnovers, all interceptions, and held the Vulcans to just 205 yards of total offense. Sr. QB Mike Box completed 9-of-13 passes for 151 yards and a 35-yard touchdown to Sr. WR Terrill Barnes, who caught six passes for 96 yards. Sr. LB Carl Fleming had a game-high 12 tackles.  IUP hosts Millersville next Saturday on Homecoming, and will honor former coach Frank Cignetti, Sr. as the field will be named in his honor. 
 

Kutztown
Kutztown (0-4, 0-2) shut down one of the top rushing attacks in the country and led for more than 47 of the 60 minutes, but 17th-ranked West Chester (4-0, 2-0) showed its senior poise and scored the game-winning touchdown with 1:05 to play to topple Kutztown 22-21. Junior wide receiver Brett Fox hauled in a career-high 13 catches for 190 yards and a touchdown. As a core, Kutztown made it a point to put numerous defenders on the ball carrier at all times. It limited the seventh-rated rushing attack in Division II to 51 yards on 23 attempts. Freshman quarterback Alec Werner leads the PSAC in completions (137) and is second in passing yards (1,378) and completion percentage (65.6). Kutztown's opponents this season are a combined 14-2 overall. Based on current season averages, Kutztown's defense has held three of its four opponents to less than its season average in rushing yards, including two of the top teams in Division II. It now returns home for three of its next four games.


Lock Haven
Saturday marked Lock Haven’s first-ever PSAC East road game and the first time in 2013 LHU took on a nationally-ranked opponent. Despite a career-high 206 yards from QB Dillon Mazzoni and a TD on the game’s first play, LHU lost to No. 11 Bloomsburg 56-10. RB Brandon Brader scored on the game’s first play. Despite just 17 rushing yards from Brader, the Haven standout sits just three yards away from Lock Haven’s all-time No. 4 spot on the career rushing list. LHU entered Week 4, 2-1 for the first time since 1992. Defensively, LHU got another solid outing from George Christas and Tony Ballon, who combined for 16 tackles. Next weekend is LHU’s second straight road game.
 

Mercyhurst
Mercyhurst dropped its second straight contest on Saturday night at Slippery Rock 58-34. The Lakers are now 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the PSAC West. The home team has won all six meetings in the series between the two schools (3-3). Senior PK Steven Wakefield nailed two field goals on Saturday to give him 24 career field goals, breaking the school's all-time record. Phil Scanlon (2003-06) held the previous record of 23. Junior DB Colin Kimball returned an interception 58 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. It was the fourth longest interception return in school history and it marked Kimball's fourth pick of the season and his second returned for a touchdown. Kimball has four of the team's six interceptions this season. In the process, Kimball broke two school records - most interception returns for touchdowns in a season (two) and most interception return yards in a season (144).
 
 
Millersville
Several Millersville players produced career highs and career firsts against Shippensburg. Trenton Petrovich set new personal highs in both yards (79) and catches (4). Curtis Frye tossed his first career touchdown pass, and freshman kicker Evan Stahl made his first career field goal. Dominic Sanders caught a season-high four passes for 80 yards. Teams have started kicking away from David Coates, the NCAA Division II active leader in kick return yards. He had only two chances against Shippensburg and took one for 40 yards. He now has six returns of at least 40 yards.
 

Seton Hill
Seton Hill drops to 0-4 overall and 0-2 in PSAC play after a 43-7 loss at Edinboro. Edinboro led 36-0 before Tim Johnson returned a fumble 23 yards for the only SHU touchdown.  The Griffins were outgained 367-116 in total offensive yardage. The Scots had 21 first downs to just 9 for SHU. Seton Hill will travel to Shippensburg next Saturday.
 

Shippensburg
Senior Zach Zulli became the fourth quarterback in PSAC history to throw 100 career touchdown passes Saturday and senior defensive end Jake Metz broke the school record for career sacks as the Shippensburg University football team rolled up 504 yards of offense in a 48-10 victory over Millersville from Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium. In 28 career games at quarterback, Zulli has now thrown 100 touchdown passes to just 26 interceptions – joining Jimmy Terwilliger (148), Kevin Morton (119) and Trevor Harris (100) among PSAC annals. With 383 yards of total offense in Saturday’s game, Zulli also moved into the PSAC’s all-time Top 10 for that category, sitting ninth with 9,208 yards. Metz recorded 2.5 sacks for the second consecutive week, bringing his season total to 5.0 (second-most in PSAC) and his career total to 24.5. Defensively, the Red Raiders amassed seven sacks in a game for the first time since its last outing at Millersville on Oct. 29, 2011. SU has 12 sacks in its last two games after not tallying any in the first two games of the season. Junior Blair Brooks ran for a career-high 112 yards on 17 carries. Junior Trevor Harman had seven receptions for 151 yards and two touchdowns, marking the ninth 100-yard receiving game of his career and his 18th game with at least one touchdown catch.
 

Slippery Rock
Sr. WR John Schademan set a new SRU single-game record with 229 pass receiving yards in the win Sept. 28 over Mercyhurst. Schademan, who had 11 catches in the game, has collected more than 100 pass receiving yards in all four Rock games this fall and is the first Rock player to have four 100-yard pass receiving games in a season since All-America performer Devin Goda recorded five in SRU's 2011 PSAC-West championship season. Sr. QB Nigel Barksdale completed 27 of 36 passes for 439 yards and two TD's vs. Mercyhurst. His yardage total was the third-highest in Rock history, only 26 yards shy of his own second-place mark of 465 in the season-opening win at Northwood (Mich.). Barksdale's effort kept him among the national leaders in passing yards, passing touchdowns and total offense. Jr. RB Teddy Blakeman accounted for five TD's in the win over Mercyhurst with three rushing touchdowns, a pass receiving TD and a running-back-option TD pass to Schademan. The Rock offense set a new school record for points in the first four games with 194, 41 points more than the previous best set in 2000. The Rock need to score only four points in their Oct. 5 road game at Kutztown to set a new standard for five-game scoring and are 37 points shy of the best six-game scoring total in school history. In addition to the 58 points, The Rock offense collected 609 yards Sept. 28 against a Mercyhurst defense that only allowed 14.7 points and 311.3 yards per game coming into the contest. The Rock defense held Mercyhurst's powerful running game 54 yards under its No. 4-ranked average of 200.7 yards/game.


West Chester
West Chester improves to 4-0 for the first time since 1974 when the Golden Rams won their first eight games of the campaign. West Chester opens the year at 2-0 in conference play for the second straight season. West Chester now leads the overall series against Kutztown, 49-9-1.  West Chester and Kutztown combined for a grand total of nine turnovers (Kutztown-4; WCU-5). There were a combined nine fumbles in the game. West Chester surrendered its first sack allowed of the season. However, the Golden Rams registered six sacks in the game themselves. That is the most sacks in a game by WCU since dropping Millersville’s QB six times on Nov. 6, 2010. Jr., MLB Ronell Williams registered a season-best 15 tackles. Jr., QB Sean McCartney threw for a season-high 383 yards. His 42 pass attempts and 25 pass completions were each the second most in a single game for the signal caller. Jr., DB Al-Hajj Shabazz intercepted two passes in the game to establish a new personal high. Both Keyser and Brundidge caught for more than 100 yards in the game. It marked the first time since 2009 that West Chester had two wide receivers catch for more than 100 yards in the same game. Ironically, it came one week after WCU had two RBs rush for more than 100 yards in the same game.