CHESTER, Pa. – A touchdown with 17.5 seconds remaining capped a second-half comeback that lifted Widener College to a 28-24 win over visiting Albright as three scoring passes by Lions quarterback Tanner Kelly of Olanta (Clearfield Area High School) went for naught in the showdown for the Middle Atlantic Conference football championship Saturday.
Kelly\’s trio of TD aerials enabled Albright to take a 21-7 lead into intermission, but the crowd of 3,015 in Leslie C. Quick Jr. Stadium saw the Pride knock the Lions out of first place by forcing three punts, intercepting two passes and blocking a field goal attempt in the final 41:49.
Kelly completed all five of his passes on a 16-play, 61-yard drive that chewed up 8:51 and led to John Whelan\’s 30-yard field goal that gave Albright (7-2, 5-1 MAC) a 24-21 lead with 1:34 left.
However, Matt Campbell guided Widener (7-2, 6-0) 56 yards in eight plays for the winning TD, an 18-yarder that punctuated his 27-for-43, career-best 279-yard, three-touchdown day. He was selected MAC Offensive Player of the Week.
Kelly had to be in the running for that honor after connecting on 22 of 30 aerials for 253 yards and keeping the ball 21 times for 79 yards, including runs of 26 and 18 yards. Five sacks cost him 22 yards.
The redshirt sophomore also averaged 50.7 yards on three punts, one a 68-yarder pinned Widener on its three-yard line late in the third quarter. But the Pride drove 97 yards in 11 plays to tie the game 21-21.
Kelly, who has at least two TD passes in all by one of Albright\’s games, leads the MAC quarterbacks in completions (179), completion percentage (68.3), yards (2,396), touchdowns (23), yards per game (299.2) and passing efficiency rating (169.5).
He also is tops in total offense with 2,481 yards, a 275.7 average, for 371 plays and is the No. 2 punter with a 39.0 average for 43 kicks.
In NCAA Division III statistics, with 500 players ranked in each category, Kelly stands seventh in passing efficiency, 20th in passing yards, 23rd in total offense average and 40th in punting.
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EDINBORO, Pa. – Freshmen Nick Sipes and Shawn Sopic of Curwensville formed the backline of the Clarion University defense Saturday against Edinboro, which took control in the second quarter and went on to a 49-30 victory in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division football game at Sox Harrison Stadium.
Sipes started his sixth game at strong safety and made seven tackles, while Sopic started for the second time at free safety and assisted on two stops and broke up one pass.
Sipes also contributed six points with a 21-yard field goal and three PAT conversions. He returned one kickoff for 14 yards.
A crowd of 2,671 saw Clarion (0-10, 0-5 PSAC West) go in front three times in a wild first quarter before Sipes gave the Golden Eagles their last lead at 23-21 via his field goal with 11:44 left in the half.
Edinboro (7-3,-2) outscored the visitors 28-7 the rest of the way and finished with 570 yards of offense, including 415 through the air.
Sipes is third among Clarion defenders with 64 tackles, four for losses totaling 10 yards. He has broken up two passes and recovered one fumble. He also has returned two kickoffs for 23 yards. In the last four games, he has made three of four field goal tries and seven of nine extra point attempts.
Sopic is tied for fifth with 40 stops. He has one interception, two passes broken up and two fumble recoveries.
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CARLISLE, Pa. – Beau Ryan of Clearfield was one of the Juniata College\’s leading tacklers again in a 41-14 Centennial Conference loss to host Dickinson before a Homecoming crowd of 3,800 fans at Biddle Field Saturday.
In his second start, the sophomore free safety made three solo stops and assisted on four tackles, including one for a loss of one yard. Ryan also returned one kickoff for 10 yards.
The Eagles, 0-9 with one game remaining, ended their first season in the Centennial Conference at 0-8. Dickinson (7-2) is tied for second place at 5-2.
Ryan ranks sixth on the Juniata defense with 35 tackles. He has been involved in 3.5 stops behind the line of scrimmage.
In addition, Ryan has one carry for 15 yards and five kickoff returns for 51 yards.
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INDIANA, Pa. – The stout Indiana University defense stonewalled the Shippensburg ground game Saturday, making it a long afternoon for Dave Richards of Clearfield and the other Red Raider backs in a 30-0 shutout in front of 4,585 fans at Miller Stadium.
The Crimson Hawks (8-1), who went into the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division game ranked No. 20 in NCAA Division II, held the Red Raiders (3-7) to minus-16 yards rushing.
Kevin Marshall, starting in place of Richards at right halfback, had half of Shippensburg\’s 20 carries but managed just two net yards. Team leader Aaron Dykes carried only two times for minus-four yards. Richards\’ number wasn\’t called.
Richards, a redshirt junior, remains No. 2 in rushing for the Red Raiders with 70 carries for 323 yards and three touchdowns. He has caught two passes for 16 yards.
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LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Nate Sipes of Curwensville saw action for the Slippery Rock University football team in a 27-11 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division win over Lock Haven at Hubert Jack Stadium Thursday evening.
The Rock (8-2, 3-2 PSAC-West) has beaten the Bald Eagles (0-10, 0-5) 19 times in a row.
Sipes, a redshirt sophomore, has played in nine games with three carries for nine yards, one kickoff return for 10 yards and nine tackles.
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EDINBORO, Pa. – Matt Kyler of Clearfield engineered three solid wins, two by falls, but the Army wrestling team did not fare nearly as well, salvaging only one victory in Saturday\’s season-opening quadrangular meet hosted by Edinboro University.
The Black Knights lost 21-15 to the 18th-ranked Fighting Scots after bowing 26-13 to No. 34 Maryland. They rebounded to end the long day with a 31-13 win over Mercyhurst.
Kyler, retuning at 141 pounds, decisioned Maryland\’s John Kohler 5-1 and then pinned Edinboro Torsten Gillespie in 6:59 and Mercyhurst\’s Baxdon Scaletta in 2:50.
As a freshman, Kyler started out at 133 and moved up a weight midway through the season, posting a 31-12 record, including 9-6 in dual meets.
He led the Cadets in wins and major decisions (10). He had six falls to share team honors in bonus point wins (16).
Kyler won titles in the Academy Championships and New York States tournaments and was runner-up in the Oklahoma Gold Classic and the Body Bar Invitational. Also, he placed fifth in Penn State\’s Nittany Lion Open.
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WASHINGTON, Pa. – University of Pitt-Johnstown 165-pounder Kyle Keane of Bradford (Clearfield Area High School) had to bow out of the Washington & Jefferson Collegiate Open because of a hip injury after winning two bouts Sunday.
The redshirt sophomore pinned Devin Todd of Thiel in 40 seconds and major decisioned Josh Miller of Mercyhurst North East 12-0.
Coach Pat Pecora projects Keane, who was 7-2 in dual meets and 13-5 overall last season, to be a regular for the Mountain Cats, who are ranked No. 5 in the National Wrestling Coaches Association NCAA Division II Preseason Poll.
At 125 pounds, Pitt sophomore John Sutika of Grampian (Curwensville Area High School) lost 15-4 to eventual champion Derrek Bosso of UPJ and 2-1 to freshman Brandon Samson (Brookville) of W & J.
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FROSTBURG, Md. – Brandon Boyer of Clearfield made an auspicious debut for the Washington & Jefferson College men\’s swimming and diving team in its season-opening 114-69 win over Frostburg State Saturday.
The freshman sprinter won the 100-meter freestyle in 57.32 seconds and led off for the Presidents\’ victorious \’A\’ 200 medley relay team.
Boyer also was on the \’A\’ 200 free relay team that swam exhibition since the meet already had been decided. The Titan foursome would have placed second, just one-tenth of a second behind the W & J \’B\’ quartet.
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WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – Junior co-captain Brandon Good of Clearfield was one of only three winners for the Lycoming College men\’s swimming team Saturday in its dual meet opener, a 145-114 Middle Atlantic Conference loss to 2-0 Albright.
Good won the 100-yard butterfly in 57.66 seconds and placed fourth in the 200 fly in 2:24.56.
He also swam on the Warriors\’ \’B\’ 200 medley relay team that finished fourth.
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WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Sophomore John Lytle of Clearfield was the individual standout for the University of Notre Dame men\’s swimming and diving team in losses to two nationally-ranked opponents Friday in Purdue\’s Boilermaker Aquatic Center.
The No. 17 Fighting Irish, who fell to now No. 13 Southern California in their opener, were beaten 219-81 by No. 14 Purdue and 171-127 by No. 22 Texas A & M.
Lytle finished second in the 200-yard freestyle in 1:40.44, good for first against Texas A & M, and third in the 100 free in 45.86.
Notre Dame\’s top returning freestyle sprinter with two individual and two relay school records, Lytle also swam the leadoff leg for the third-place 400 free relay team and anchored the fourth-place 400 medley relay foursome with a 20.58 split.
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NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Freshmen Chris Bodle and John Bodle of Clearfield swam on Westminster College relay teams in a 169-84 victory over visiting Allegheny Friday.
Chris swam a 25-second leadoff leg for the Titans\’ 200-yard medley relay foursome that finished second.
John was on a pair of fourth-place quartets with a 24.76 anchor for in the 200 medley relay and a 25.09 leadoff leg in the 200 free relay.
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ERIE, Pa. – Goalkeeper Brandon McQuillen of Woodland (Clearfield Area High School) made six saves, but Penn State-Behrend scored on a rebound in the 57th minute to nip the Penn State-Altoona men\’s soccer team 1-0 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Playoffs semifinals Oct. 31.
Second seed PS-Behrend (12-4-3) then upset regular-season champion Medaille (16-2) 2-1 for the title.
The season will continue, though, for PS-Altoona (15-5) as the Lions were selected as the third seed for the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Division II South Region Championships and will travel to Dallas, Pa., Wednesday to test second seed Misericordia (13-5-1), the Pennsylvania Athletic Conference runner-up.
McQuillen, a sophomore, has a 12-5 record for 18 starts in goal. He has allowed 16 goals in 1503:52 minutes for a 0.96 goals against average and stopped 63 shots for a 79.7 save percentage.
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NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Alan Baldwin of Clearfield played in a reserve role as the regular-season champion Westminster College men\’s soccer team failed to uphold its top seed in the Presidents\’ Athletic Conference Tournament by falling 3-1 to visiting Thomas More in a semifinal game Oct. 31.
Fourth seed Thomas More (13-5), which avenged a 4-0 loss to the Titans just four days earlier, was beaten 2-1 by second seed Washington & Jefferson (11-5-3) in the championship game.
Westminster (10-6-3) received a bid for the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Division III South Region Championships for the second year in a row and will host PAC rival Bethany (8-8-3) Wednesday night.
Baldwin, a freshman midfielder, has tallied three points on one goal and one assist in eight games.
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EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. – Freshman midfielder Mark Auman of Clearfield had one of Lock Haven University\’s 10 shots in a 1-0, double overtime loss to East Stroudsburg in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference men\’s soccer championship game Saturday.
The Bald Eagles, who also were runners-up to the Warriors in the regular season, did not receive a bid for the NCAA Division II Northeast Region Tournament, which will be hosted by top East Stroudsburg (19-2-1).
Auman also played Wednesday when Lock Haven advanced to the title game with a 3-0 victory over visiting Millersville (11-8-1).
The Bald Eagles finished 13-7.
Auman scored one goal and one assist for three points. He saw action in 12 games, two as a starter.
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GREENSBURG, Pa. – Dani Struble of Lumber City (Curwensville Area High School) has been named to the 2007 All-Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Women\’s Soccer Team as an honorable mention selection after topping Pitt-Greensburg in every offensive category.
The freshman forward shared the conference lead with six assists and was tied for 11th in points with 10.
Pitt-Greensburg finished sixth in the AMCC with a 4-5 record before losing 3-0 to Penn State-Altoona in the first round of the playoffs.
Struble started 19 of the 20 games she played for the 6-13-1 Lady Bobcats and led them in goals (5), assists (8), points (18), shots (44) and shots on goal (24). She had one game-winning goal.
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WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Freshman forward Juliana Howell of Clearfield did not play in No. 13 Slippery Rock University\’s 2-0 loss to No. 19 West Chester in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference women\’s soccer championship game Sunday after seeing action in The Rock\’s 2-0 home semifinal win over Edinboro Friday.
On Monday, Slippery Rock (16-4-1) received the expected berth in the NCAA Division II Northeast Regional Tournament.
The third-seeded Rock will return to West Chester Friday to take on sixth seed Adelphia (12-5), with the winner to meet second seed West Chester (16-2) on Sunday.
East Coast Conference champ CO.W. Post (16-1-2) is the No. 1 seed.
Howell has scored two goals in 14 games for The Rock, which set a school record for wins against Edinboro (13-5-3).