FOOTBALL
CLARION, Pa. – Former Curwensville Area High School backfield mates Nick Sipes and Shawn Sopic, both sophomores who have been in the starting lineup all year, ended the season on a high note as Clarion closed its 2008 schedule with a 41-20 victory over Cheyney Saturday.
Sipes, switched to running back after lettering as a strong safety in 2007, rambled 37 yards for the Golden Eagles\’ final touchdown early in the fourth quarter and totaled 70 yards while Sopic secured a share of the team lead in tackles for the season with seven stops in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference interdivision game played in front of a partisan Memorial Stadium crowd of 2,000.
Sipes carried three times for 56 yards and caught one pass for 14 yards. He also assisted on one tackle and recovered a fumble on special teams.
Sopic, the Golden Eagles\’ free safety, checked in with four solo tackles and three assists.
For the season, Sopic led the team in solo tackles with 37 and interceptions with three. He assisted on 28 stops for 65 total tackles, which tied sophomore linebacker Garrett McMullin for the team lead. Sopic also tied for most passes broken up with five.
PSAC statistics show Sopic tied for seventh in interceptions, tied for 20th in solo tackles and tied for 32nd with McMullin for total stops.
Sipes finished as Clarion\’s second-leading rusher with 45 carries for 297 yards, a 6-6 average that led the Golden Eagles, and three TDs.
He caught 12 passes for 104 yards and was credited with a 28-yard punt return when he blocked the kick against Slippery Rock.
Sipes also was a member of the Clarion kickoff and punt teams, making 10 solo tackles and two assists.
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READING, Pa. – Albright relied more on the punting of Clearfield Area High School graduate Tanner Kelly of Olanta more than the redshirt junior quarterback\’s running or passing Saturday as freshman back Josan Holmes scored twice in the fourth quarter to lead the Lions past Widener and into sole possession of first place in the Middle Atlantic Conference.
Kelly punted a career-high eight times for a 39.2 average in the defensive struggle before 550 fans in Shirk Stadium. Two of his kicks backed the visitors inside their own five in the second half. His longest boot, a 51-yarder, resulted in a touchback late in the game.
On offense, Kelly experienced his toughest game of his three-year career, including the fewest passing yards (90) and most interceptions (3) of his 27 starts. He completed 12 of 21 passes and was sacked a season-high six times for minus-35 yards. That left him with minus-12 yards for nine rushing plays.
Albright (7-2, 5-1 MAC) relied on its ground game, Holmes finishing with 195 yards for 31 carries, for its fourth win in a row. The Lions wound up alone atop the MAC because King\’s (2-7, 1-5) upset Lycoming (6-3, 4-2) 24-7.
Kelly continues to lead the MAC in completion percentage (63.6) but dipped from first to third in passing efficiency (127.4). He remains second in completions (150 in 236 attempts) and fell into a tie for third in TD passes (13) and now is fourth in fewest interceptions (8).
He dropped one spot to fourth in total offense with a 187.1 average per game. Of his 1,684 total yards, 1,474 have come through the air.
Kelly climbed one place to second in punting with a 37.3 average for 46 kicks.
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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Redshirt junior linebacker Nate Sipes of Curwensville made two tackles on special teams and one on defense for Slippery Rock in Saturday\’s 38-21 defeat by East Stroudsburg in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference interdivision game.
Redshirt sophomore offensive lineman J.D. Skebo of Curwensville was on the forward wall for the extra point unit.
An estimated 2,500 in N. Kerr Thompson Stadium saw The Rock fall below .500 for the season with a 5-6 finish, including 3-4 for fifth place in the PSAC Western Division.
Sipes played in every game on special teams and as a backup linebacker. He was in on 28 tackles, 19 of them solo stops. He had two tackles for losses of eight yards and recovered one fumble.
Skebo was utilized at both guard positions before being shifted to center on the second-team offense. He was a member of the extra point and field goal units for the final seven games and also saw significant action on offense in wins over Clarion and Lock Haven.
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HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Beau Ryan of Clearfield made two tackles for Juniata in its season-ending 53-41 Centennial Conference loss to Dickinson before a Senior Day crowd of 1,100 at Chuck Knox Stadium Saturday afternoon.
The junior defensive back wound up with 17 tackles and six assists for 23 stops. He had one tackle for a loss of one yards and broke up one pass.
Ryan\’s three-season totals show 41 solo tackles and 23 assists, with 4.5 tackles for losses of seven yards.
Juniata finished 1-7 in the Centennial Conference and 1-9 overall.
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PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Redshirt freshman quarterback/holder Andrew Janocko of Clearfield handled the snaps for placekicker Conor Lee\’s five extra points and two field goals in No. 25 Pitt\’s 41-7 rout of Louisville Saturday afternoon.
A crowd of 44,055 in Heinz Field saw the twice-beaten Panthers lock up a bowl bid with their seventh win and remain in the Big East Conference race at 3-1.
Lee, who was named to the ESPN The Magazine\’s Academic All-East Team after graduating magna cum laude with a 3.715 grade-point average in the spring, is the fifth leading kicker in the nation with 83 points. He\’s made 18 of 20 field goals and all 30 extra points, extending his streak of PATs without a miss to 105 in his college career.
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MEN\’S SOCCER
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Despite a first-round 3-1 loss to Western Division kingpin California in the opening round of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Playoffs on Nov. 5, Lucas Feathers of Clearfield and Slippery Rock will be playing in the post-season.
The Rock (13-6-1) is one of four PSAC teams that will make up the Atlantic Regional bracket in the bottom half of the NCAA Division II Super Region 3 Tournament.
No. 2 seed Slippery Rock is paired against third seed East Stroudsburg (15-6) Friday. Host and No. 1 seed Millersville (16-3) will meet California (13-7-2) in a rematch of Saturday\’s PSAC title game, which Cal won in a 3-2 upset..
Slippery Rock\’s only other NCAA appearance was in 2005, when The Rock won the PSAC crown.
Feathers is tied for third goals (4) and assists (3) and fourth in points (11) for The Rock. The junior forward\’s 35 shots and 13 shots on goal are third highest.
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NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Sidelined because of a foot injury for most of the season, Alan Baldwin of Olanta (Clearfield Area H.S.) had to watch as his Westminster teammates added the Presidents\’ Athletic Conference Tournament title to their regular-season championship with wins over Grove City 3-2 and Washington & Jefferson 2-1 in double overtime last week.
The sophomore midfielder has appeared in only eight games for the Titans (16-5), who will host City University of New York Athletic Conference champion Hunter (11-7-2) Thursday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA Divsion III Tournament.
The winner will go on the road Sunday to test No. 3-ranked Montclair (N.J) State (20-0).
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WASHINGTON, Pa. – Sophomore midfielder John Lhota of Clearfield saw action in a reserve role as Washington & Jefferson split a pair of overtime games in the Presidents\’ Athletic Conference Tournament last week.
He was credited with two of the second-seeded Presidents\’ 12 shots in a 2-1 double-overtime loss to regular-season champion Westminster in the title game at New Wilmington Saturday evening. The Presidents nipped Thomas More (Ky.) 2-1 in overtime in Tuesday\’s semifinal.
W & J (9-7-4) was rewarded with an invite to the East Coast Athletic Conference Division III South Championships. The Presidents are seeded No. 7 and will travel Wednesday to play No. 2 seed Frostburg (Md.) State (13-4-1).
The semifinals and finals are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday on the field of the highest remaining seed.
Lhota has played in every game for the Presidents. He has scored one goal and recorded 12 shots.
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WOMEN\’S SOCCER
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Sophomore forward Juliana Howell of Clearfield got her 11th start of the season in Slippery Rock\’s 5-2 loss to Mercyhurst in the first round of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Playoffs last week, but The Rock\’s season was extended with a berth in the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Tournament.
Mercyhurst went on to beat West Chester and Indiana by identical 2-1 scores to claim the championship in its first season in the PSAC.
Slippery Rock (13-6-1) was the final team to make the region tourney. The Rock will meet third seed Bloomsburg (13-5-1) Friday at Mercyhurst, with the winner advance to the semifinals against the host Lakers (13-4-4) on Sunday.
Howell has three goals and one assist for seven points in 16 games.
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NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Dani Struble of Lumber City (Curwensville Area H.S.) registered one of Westminster\’s five shots on goal against visiting Washington & Jefferson in their Presidents\’ Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal Nov. 5, but the Titans couldn\’t cash any and fell 1-0 in double overtime.
Third-seeded W & J (15-5-1) went on to upend regular-season champion Thomas More (Ky.) 1-0 in overtime for the tourney title and the automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Westminster (14-4-2) still be making a post-season appearance for the seventh consecutive year, though. The Titans were awarded the No. 2 seed behind Frostburg (Md.) State for the East Coast Athletic Conference Division III South Championships.
The Titans will host Catholic University (10-7-2) Wednesday evening, with the winner moving on to meet third seed Delaware Valley (14-4-1) or sixth seed Swarthmore (9-4-4) Saturday.
The eight-team field\’s highest remaining seed will host the weekend\’s semifinals and finals.
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WRESTLING
BROCKPORT, N.Y. – Army junior 149-pounder Matt Kyler of Clearfield won three matches to advance to the 10th annual Oklahoma Gold Classic finals, where he was upended 7-4 by Steve Brown of Central Michigan.
The fourth-seeded Brown, who had beaten defending champion and top seed Will Rowe of Oklahoma in the semifinals, was named the tourney\’s outstanding wrestler.
Kyler, seeded second and ranked No. 4 in one national poll, pinned Kent State\’s Jeremy Depoy in 1:29 and decisioned Hofstra\’s seventh seed P.J. Gillespie 3-2 and Oklahoma\’s third seed Kyle Terry 4-1 before losing for the first time in seven bouts this season.
With 77 points, Army finished sixth in the eight-team tourney.
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LANSING, Mich. – Penn State redshirt sophomore Brad Pataky of Clearfield placed fourth at 125 pounds in the Michigan State Open Sunday.
After winning his first two bouts, Pataky lost 12-4 to Northwestern All-American Brandon Precin in the semifinals and then was beaten by Ian Moser of Bloomsburg in the third-place match.
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BEREA, Ohio – Sophomore 141-pounder Thomas Barger of Clearfield won two of three bouts to mirror Lycoming\’s 2-1 start in the Baldwin-Wallace Duals Saturday.
Barger beat Damian Rose 9-7 in the Warriors\’ 24-18 win over Thiel, major decisioned Eric Schubert 13-3 in a 30-10 victory over Baldwin-Wallace and was nipped 7-6 by Eric Meyer in a 22-10 loss to Mount St. Joseph\’s (Ohio).
Barger posted a 16-10 record last season.
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LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Lock Haven junior 174-pounder Derek Caldwell of Curwensville was victorious in one of his three matches in the Buffalo (N.Y.) Open on Nov. 2.
Caldwell pinned Broncho Rollins of Alfred State in 2:47 in the first round of wrestlebacks after losing 9-1 to Pat Carter of Mercyhurst.
Then, who was beaten 9-7 in overtime by Jason Pagan of American International.
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MEN\’S SWIMMING
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Junior John Lytle of Clearfield finished second in two individual events and sparked a relay team to victory, but No. 16 Purdue proved too much for Notre Dame (1-2) and handed the Fighting Irish a 187-108 setback in Rolfs Aquatic Center Saturday.
Lytle touched the wall in 45.85 seconds in the 100-yard freestyle and 1:40.18 in the 200 free, with Boilermaker John Schmitt winning both races.
In the 400 free relay, Lytle staked his team to the early lead with a 47.11 leadoff leg, and the Fighting Irish went on to win in 3:08.39.
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PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Sophomore Brandon Boyer of Clearfield led off for two Clarion \’B\’ relay foursomes that placed third and added a point for finishing fifth in an individual event, but the Golden Eagles were defeated 153-147 by host Carnegie-Mellon Saturday.
Boyer posted a 26.51-second backstroke leg for the 200-yard medley relay quartet that turned in a 1:39.38 effort and a 22.73 leg for the 200 free relay team that recorded a 1:29.14 time.
He was fifth in the 100 back in 57.20 and seventh in the 200 back in 2:08.59 for the 1-1 Golden Eagles.
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ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. – Senior Brandon Good of Clearfield qualified for the Middle Atlantic Conference Championships in the 200-yard butterfly as Lycoming trimmed Elizabethtown 117-60 for its second win in three meets.
Good, who already has a MAC qualifying time in the 100 fly, placed third in the 200 fly in 2:22.55.
His 23.01 third leg helped the Warriors\’ \’B\’ 200 free relay team to victory in 1:42.15, and he had a 26.13 fly leg for the third-place \’B\’ 200 medley foursome.
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MEADVILLE, Pa. – Twin brothers Chris and John Bodle of Clearfield made up half of the Westminster \’C\’ 200-yard freestyle relay team that placed fourth in Saturday\’s 131-74 win over host Allegheny.
Chris swam the second leg in 25.33 seconds and John followed with a 25.42 leg.
Chris also placed fifth in the 1000 free race in 11:41.07.
