WEST CHESTER, Pa. – With the returning regulars out of action, freshmen safeties Shawn Sopic and Nick Sipes of Curwensville got their first collegiate starts for Clarion University Saturday and wound up the leading tacklers for the Golden Eagle defense in a 49-21 loss to No. 22-ranked West Chester.
A Farrell Stadium crowd of 3,000 fans watched West Chester (2-1) quarterback Bill Zwann and running back Osagie Osunde make it a busy day for the Clarion (0-3) secondary in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference crossover game.
Zwann completed 14 of 19 passes for 354 yards and five touchdowns to earn PSAC Eastern Division Offensive Player of the Week honors. Osunde carried eight times for 90 yards and two TDs.
Sopic recorded eight solo tackles and one assist, while Sipes had seven solo stops and one assist. Sipes, a 5-11, 200-pounder, also recovered a Ram fumble.
The former Curwensville Area High School standouts are tied for third on the team in total tackles with 15 apiece. Sopic\’s 12 solo stops top the Golden Eagles. The 6-2, 190-pounder also has one fumble recovery and one of Clarion\’s four interceptions.
Clarion will play in front of its home fans Saturday. Bloomsburg, off to a 1-2 start after being nationally-ranked in NCAA Division II, will be the Family Day opponent in the 6 p.m. PSAC crossover game.
* * * * * * * * * *
WINCHESTER, Va. – An improved ground game added balance and ball control to the Albright College offense Saturday night, but former Clearfield Area High School quarterback Tanner Kelly still passed for 201 yards and two touchdowns as the Lions also got a tremendous defensive effort for a 30-7 non-conference victory over homestanding Shenandoah University.
His 12-yard scoring aerial to Nate Romig boosted Albright\’s lead to 16-7 with seconds left in the half, and the redshirt sophomore teamed up with favorite receiver Stephen Asay for a nine-yarder that ended the scoring late in the third quarter.
Kelly, who connected on 20 of 30 aerials, also had runs of 14 and 11 yards but was sacked three times and netted 16 yards for six carries. He punted five times, including a 52-yarder, for a 37.4-yard average.
Romig was named Middle Atlantic Conference Player of the Week after rushing 19 times for a career-high 121 yards and one TD, catching four passes for 43 yards and a TD and returning a kickoff for 16 yards. Asay had nine receptions for 110 yards.
Albright (2-1) had 182 yards rushing. The Lions\’ defense shut out the 0-3 Hornets, whose lone score came when Dallas Pryor picked off a Kelly screen pass at the A-2 and stepped into the end zone to make it 10-7 late in the second period. That proved to be the only highlight for the 2,073 fans in Shentel Stadium.
For the season, Kelly is 67-for-92 for 900 yards and eight TDs, all tops in the MAC. His 179.3 passing efficiency rating and 296.7 total offense average also are No. 1 in the MAC. He is averaging 37.4 yards for 13 punts.
Albright is idle this week before opening MAC play Oct. 29 at Fairleigh Dickinson University-Fordham.
* * * * * * * * * *
KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Like the other Shippensburg University backs, Dave Richards of Clearfield found little running room against a tough Kutztown defense Saturday afternoon as the Red Raiders lost the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference crossover game 28-16 before 5,200 fans at University Field.
Richards, who started at halfback, carried six times for 10 yards. For the season, the redshirt junior has 19 carries for 34 yards.
Shippensburg, 0-3 for the first time since 1969, led 16-7 at the half, but Kutztown (2-1) started the third quarter with a 94-yard kickoff return and an 87-yard pass for touchdowns en route to its first win over the Red Raiders in 10 years.
An interception near the goal line cost Shippensburg a chance to expand its lead in the final minute of the half, and the Red Raiders failed to score in four trips to the red zone in the fourth quarter.
The schedule doesn\’t get any easier for the Red Raiders after opening with three tough road games. Undefeated West Chester visits Seth Grove Stadium Saturday for a 3:05 p.m. PSAC crossover game, which will be broadcast live in Pennsylvania by the SPORTSfever TV Network and on the internet at CSTV.
* * * * * * * * * *
BOWIE, Md. – Redshirt sophomore running back Nate Sipes of Curwensville saw his first action in the backfield for Slippery Rock University in Saturday\’s 35-7 non-conference win over Bowie State in front of 942 fans at Bulldogs Stadium.
The 6-0, 230-pounder gained four yards on two carries late in The Rock\’s third consecutive victory, which marks SRU\’s best start since 1991.
Slippery Rock, ranked No. 27 in last week\’s Don Hansen Football Gazette NCAA Division II national poll, will host Kutztown in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference crossover game Saturday at 7 p.m.
* * * * * * * * * *
HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Tight end Devin Yastro of Olanta and defensive back Beau Ryan of Clearfield played in Juniata College\’s Centennial Conference debut against undefeated Ursinus in Knox Stadium Saturday afternoon.
The two former Clearfield Area High School gridders are sophomores.
A crowd of 1,800 fans saw the Eagles build a 20-19 halftime lead, but the visiting Bears (3-0, 1-0) scored three touchdowns on passes in the third quarter on their way to a 44-26 win that snapped an eight-game losing streak to Juniata.
Ursinus junior quarterback Nicholas Dye was named Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week after completing 18 of 29 passes for 299 yards and a school record-tying five touchdowns.
Juniata (0-2, 0-1) will play at home again Saturday against Franklin Marshall. Kickoff is 1 p.m. for the conference game.
* * * * * * * * * *
GREENSBURG, Pa. – Although the University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg women\’s soccer team is struggling to score goals so far this season, freshman Dani Struble of Curwensville has lived up to the athletic department\’s projection of her as \”one of the major new bright spots.\”
According to the player profile on the university\’s website, \”Her scoring ability will be a key for the team, and she will make an immediate impact.\”
Struble, who has started all but one of the Bobcats\’ seven games, has accounted for 24 of their 73 shots and 12 of their 35 shots on goal.
She has registered two goal of the team\’s five goals, both coming in the 3-1 win over Bethany on Sept. 8.
Pitt-Greensburg is 1-5-1 against a tough pre-Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference schedule, including a 3-1 loss to 4-2 Waynesburg Saturday and a 1-0 loss to 5-0-2 Westminster Tuesday afternoon.
Struble had two of the Bobcats\’ six shots, none on goal, against Westminster. She had three of the 11 shots against Waynesburg.
The Bobcats host Mount Union Thursday at 4:30 p.m. and then begin conference play against Pitt-Bradford at home Saturday at 1 p.m.
* * * * * * * * * *
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa, – Freshman midfielder Juliana Howell of Clearfield started for the once-beaten and nationally-ranked Slippery Rock University women\’s soccer team Sept. 12 when The Rock nipped Lock Haven 2-1 in double overtime on Bob DiSpirito Field at N. Kerr Thompson Stadium.
Howell managed two shots, including one of The Rock\’s 11 shots on goal in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference game.
She has played in every game, including five as a starter, and has scored two goals. Six of her nine shots have been on goal, a 66.7 percentage that ranks seconds on the team.
Slippery Rock is 4-0 in the PSAC Western Division and 7-1 overall after blanking Mansfield 4-0 Saturday in a PSAC crossover game.
The Rock, which has climbed two notches to No. 3 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America NCAA Division II poll released Wednesday, will host defending PSAC-West champ and 2007 preseason favorite Indiana Thursday at 7 p.m. and Millersville Saturday at 3 p.m. IUP (4-2) is tied for 10th in the Northeast Region rankings, which have SRU No. 1.
* * * * * * * * * *
LOCK HAVEN – Mark Auman, a freshman midfielder from Clearfield, played in his fourth game for the Lock Haven University men\’s soccer team in a 5-0 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference shutout of visiting Bloomsburg Saturday.
The Bald Eagles (7-2) nipped Millersville 3-2 in double overtime Monday evening to tie East Stroudsburg atop the PSAC with a 6-1 record and 18 points.
Auman has one assist in four games, one as a starter.
Lock Haven will travel to East Stroudsburg Saturday for a 2 p.m. showdown for the PSAC lead.
