EDWARDSVILLE, Pa. – Another superb game by quarterback Tanner Kelly of Olanta (Clearfield Area High School) and five takeaways by the defense enabled Middle Atlantic Conference co-leader Albright College to defeat a depleted Wilkes football team 35-25 before 1,200 fans at Ralston Field Saturday afternoon.
Kelly completed 22 of 38 passes for 352 yards and four touchdowns as the once-beaten Lions earned their sixth consecutive win. They are tied with future foes Widener and Delaware Valley at 4-0 atop the MAC.
Wilkes (2-6) fell to 2-2 in the MAC two days after coach Frank Sheptock suspended 26 players, including starting quarterback Al Karaffa, for violating team rules.
Kelly\’s favorite target was Stephen Asay, who was named MAC Offensive Player of the Week for his 11-reception, 179-yard, three-touchdown day. The wide receiver\’s scoring catches covered 16, 75 and 29 yards.
Running back Nate Romig hauled in seven passes for 151 yards. His 75-yard TD reception on a third-and-12 play gave Albright a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.
The Lions turned their 21-13 halftime edge into a 35-13 cushion on Kelly\’s final TD pass and Matt Christ\’s 32-yard interception return in the third period.
Christ was named MAC Defensive Player of the Week for making 12 tackles, picking off two passes and forcing a fumble that set up a TD.
Kelly averaged 34.7 yards for seven punts, four of them pinning the Colonels inside their 20.
The redshirt sophomore, who has been intercepted only four times in 200 attempts, leads the MAC passers in completions (135), percentage (67.5), yards (1,913), yards per game (273.3), efficiency (171.9) and touchdowns (17). He is No. 1 in total offense plays (279), yards (1,875) and average (267.9) and is second in punting with a 38.7 average for 36 boots.
Kelly also owns eight of the MAC\’s single-game highs for the season.
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SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Running backs Dave Richards of Clearfield and Nate Sipes of Curwensville were on opposite sides of one of the wildest finishes in college football history – four touchdowns and four lead changes in the final 1:28 – that resulted with visiting Slippery Rock pulling out a thrilling 38-34 win over Shippensburg.
The Seth Grove Stadium crowd of 5,634 saw the Red Raiders outscore The Rock 21-17 in the fourth quarter of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division game, only to have their upset bid foiled when Nate Crookshank hit Paul Favers for a 17-yard touchdown pass with two seconds remaining.
The teams traded kickoff returns for TDs after Shippensburg (2-6, 1-2 PSAC West) had gone in front for the first time on Gabe Maicco\’s 12-yard scoring aerial to Tim Devanney with 1:28 on the clock.
Then, starting at its 26 with 1:04 to play, Slippery Rock (7-1, 2-1) rode Crookshank\’s six completions in eight passes and his 10-yard run to the winning score.
Richards tallied his third touchdown in as many weeks for the Red Raiders, a three-yarder late in the third quarter that cut The Rock\’s halftime lead to 14-13 when the PAT try was missed.
The redshirt sophomore carried eight times for 64 yards and caught one pass for six yards.
In the last three games, Richards has rushed for 231 yards on 31 carries, a 7.5 average.
For the season, he has 70 carries for 323 yards and two receptions for 16 yards.
Sipes made two tackles for The Rock\’s kickoff team and also returned a kickoff for 10 yards.
The redshirt sophomore has registered three solo tackles and two assists in the last four games. He shows three carries for nine yards in limited time on offense.
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FAIRMONT, W.Va. – Freshmen safeties Nick Sipes and Shawn Sopic of Curwensville combined for a dozen tackles in Clarion\’s best defensive effort of the season, but the Golden Eagles were denied their first victory when Fairmont State made a goal line stand in the waning minutes to preserve a 21-14 triumph before 1,341 fans at Duvall-Rosier Field Saturday evening.
After Fairmont State (3-5) scored the go-ahead touchdown, Clarion (0-8) seemed poised to tie the game with a first down at the FS-2 and more than two minutes remaining. However, two running plays that were stuffed in the backfield, an incomplete pass and a fourth-down sack ended the Golden Eagles\’ threat.
Sipes, starting for the third consecutive week, logged six solo tackles and one assist, while Sopic had three solo stops and two assists.
Kyle Cathcart, Sipes\’ cousin, led Clarion with 10 tackles, three for losses of 15 yards. The redshirt senior linebacker, converted from defensive end earlier in the season, is the son of Curwensville Area High School graduates Randy and Sue (Stott) Cathcart.
Cumulative statistics show Sipes second on the team with 48 stops and Sopic sixth with 33. Sipes has three tackles for losses of 10 yards and one fumble recovery. Sopic has one interception and two fumble recoveries.
Cathcart has 47 tackles, including 10 behind the line of scrimmage for losses of 24 yards, plus one sack and one interception he returned for 61 yards.
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Beau Ryan of Clearfield was involved in six tackles for the second week in a row for the Juniata College football team, but the Eagles suffered another loss, 28-13 to Moravian before 2,147 fans at Rocco Calvo Field Saturday.
The Eagles are winless in seven games, six against Centennial Conference foes. Moravian is 6-2 with a 4-2 CC record.
Ryan had two solo tackles and four assists, one for a one-yard loss. He also returned one kickoff for seven yards.
The sophomore defensive back continues to climb in the team statistics. He has 18 tackles and shows 2.5 tackles for losses.
Also, Ryan has carried one time for 15 yards and has returned two kickoffs for 20 yards.
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NOTRE DAME, Ind. – John Lytle of Clearfield was one of four sophomores who accounted for the five wins by the University of Notre Dame men\’s swimming and diving team in a season-opening 158-104 loss to Southern California in the Rolfs Aquatic Center Friday.
He won the 100-yard freestyle in 45.40 seconds and also placed second in the 200 free in 1:39:49 and swam the leadoff leg in 46.27 for the 400 free relay team that finished second in 3:08.56.
USC was ranked No. 15 and Notre Dame No. 22 for the first dual meet between the two universities.
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ALTOONA, Pa. – Penn State-Altoona goalkeeper Brandon McQuillen of Woodland (Clearfield Area High School) posted his fifth shutout of the season without having to make a save as the Lions topped Alvernia 3-0 in a non-conference men\’s soccer game at Spring Run Stadium Monday night.
The Lions (13-4) bounced back from Thursday\’s 3-1 loss to Penn State-Behrend in a duel for second place in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference. That defeat dropped them to 6-2 and cost them a bye in the first round of the AMCC Playoffs, so they\’ll begin post-season play at home Saturday against Lake Erie or Frostburg State. Regular season champion Medaille (14-1-2, 7-0-1) and PS-Behrend (11-4-2, 7-2) have the byes.
McQuillen, who made three saves against PS-Behrend, has a 10-4 record with 53 saves in 15 starts. The sophomore has a goals-against average of 0.93 and a saves percentage of 80.3.
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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Lucas Feathers of Clearfield registered two assists, one on the game-winning goal, for Slippery Rock in a 4-1 victory at Shippensburg in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference men\’s soccer action Oct. 16.
The sophomore forward also attempted two shots for The Rock.
He played in his 16th game Saturday as SRU (9-6-2, 8-4-2 in the PSAC) fell 3-2 to visiting West Chester (9-8, 8-6).
Feathers has one goal to go with the two assists for four points.
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NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Alan Baldwin of Clearfield played in both games as the Westminster College men\’s soccer team held on to first place in the Presidents\’ Athletic Conference with wins at Waynesburg 4-0 Oct. 17 and at Grove City Saturday.
The Titans, 9-5-3 for the season, are 4-0-1 in the PAC with one game remaining. They hold a slim lead over Washington & Jefferson (3-0-2) and Thomas More (3-1), their final-game opponent.
Baldwin has one goal and one assist for three points in seven games, including three as a starter.
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WASHINGTON, Pa. – Freshman John Lhota of Clearfield played for the Washington & Jefferson College men\’s soccer team in a 4-0 victory at Grove City on Oct. 16.
The Presidents (8-5-3) missed a chance to tie for first place in the Presidents\’ Athletic Conference Saturday when they had to settle for a 1-1 tie at Bethany (W.Va.). Their 3-0-2 record is second to Westminster\’s 4-0-1.
Lhota has played in eight games.
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BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Lock Haven University men\’s soccer team moved closer to a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference playoff berth with a 1-0 squeaker over Bloomsburg Saturday afternoon, and freshman Mark Auman of Clearfield played in his eighth game for the Bald Eagles.
Lock Haven, 11-5 overall, is second in the PSAC at 10-4 for 30 points, trailing only East Stroudsburg (12-2 for 36 points).
Auman, who made one start, has one assist.
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GREENSBURG, Pa. – Leading scorer Dani Struble of Curwensville was limited to only three shots in losses at LaRoche 3-2 in overtime Oct. 17 and Medaille 2-1 Saturday that dropped the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg women\’s soccer team into sixth place in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference.
That means a road game in the first round of the AMCC Playoffs for the Lady Bobcats, who were edged 1-0 by Franciscan (6-8-2) at Steubenville, Ohio, in a non-conference game Monday for a final regular season record of 6-12-1.
Pitt-Greensburg, which finished 4-5 in the AMCC, will play at third place Penn State-Altoona (11-5-1, 6-2-1) Saturday at 2 p.m.
Struble, a freshman forward, has scored five goals and added eight assists for 18 points.
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BEAVER FALLS, Pa. – Geneva College goalkeeper Amber Weaver of Clearfield suffered a concussion and did not play in the second half of a 3-0 Presidents\’ Athletic Conference loss to Thomas More Oct. 17 at Wilder, Ky.
The junior gave up one goal and made five saves in the first 45 minutes.
She did not play Saturday when Thiel scored on its only shot for a 1-0 win over the Golden Tornadoes, who have scored only two goals in their last nine games. They are 0-6-1 in the PAC and 2-12-1 overall.
Weaver has a 2-10-1 record with a 2.78 goals-against average and a 78.5 saves percentage. She has stopped 128 of 163 shots.
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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Freshman forward Juliana Howell of Clearfield saw action in a reserve role as the Slippery Rock University women\’s soccer team clinched the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division championship with a 2-0 victory over Clarion Thursday night.
The Rock, which upended West Chester 3-1 Saturday afternoon, is 14-3-1 and 7-1-1 in the PSAC-West with one game remaining.
West Chester (12-2-2)was ranked No. 5 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Division II poll and No. 1 in the NCAA Northeast Regional rankings, two spots above SRU.
Howell has two goals for four points in 13 games. She has started seven games.
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CALIFORNIA, Pa. – Ashleigh Mohney of Bigler (Clearfield Area High School) started at forward for the California University women\’s soccer team in losses to Edinboro 1-0 Oct. 17 and at Millersville 4-0 Saturday evening.
The Vulcans are 3-14-1 with a 1-7-1 record in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division.
Mohney, a sophomore, has played in all of their games, starting in 13.
