FOOTBALL
CLARION, Pa. – Clarion junior linebacker Nick Sipes of Curwensville was rewarded for anther outstanding effort, 11 tackles in a 24-0 victory over Lock Haven Saturday night, by being named Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division Defensive Player of the Week.
The 5-11, 215-pounder, who had five solo tackles and one sack, sparked an inspired Golden Eagle defense that limited the Bald Eagles to 180 yards, including a minus-7 yards rushing, for Clarion\’s first shutout since a 16-0 win over Lock Haven in 2005.
Sipes made three tackles in the Bald Eagle backfield for losses of nine yards.
\”We\’re really happy Nick received this award,\” Clarion head coach Jay Foster said for the school\’s athletic website. \”Nick comes to play each and every game and always gives 100 percent. We\’re proud to have him here at Clarion.\”
Sipes ranks second in the PSAC in solo tackles (25), total stops (42) and tackles per game (10.5). He is fourth in tackles for loss (6.5 for a 1.62 average) and fifth in sacks (3.5).
Senior free safety Shawn Sopic of Curwensville had one assist and one pass broken up as Clarion balanced its record at 2-2 in front of 5,000 fans at Memorial Stadium.
His season totals are 18 tackles with 10 solo stops and two passes defended.
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HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Beau Ryan of Clearfield turned in a seven-tackle, one-interception performance in his second consecutive start at free safety for Juniata Saturday afternoon.
However, visiting Ursinus disappointed the 853 fans in Knox Stadium by blanking the Eagles 31-0 in their Centennial Conference opener.
Ryan was Juniata\’s second leading tackler with four solo stops and three assists, boosting his season totals to 10 and five, respectively.
The senior three-year letterman\’s interception in the fourth quarter was his second for the 0-3 Eagles.
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CLEVELAND, Ohio – David Kalgren of Curwensville started at quarterback in his second game for Oberlin Saturday, but nationally-ranked Case Western Reserve made it a long night for the freshman and his Yeomen teammates.
Six touchdown passes gave the host Spartans a 41-0 halftime bulge, and they enhanced their No. 10 status in NCAA Division III with a 41-6 win in front of 2,267 fans at Case Field.
Kalgren completed 11 of 23 passes for 67 yards but was intercepted twice and lost one of his two fumbles. The 5-11, 180-pounder wound up with five net yards for nine rushes.
He did engineer a 14-play, 80-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter, completing three of six passes for 33 yards. Two connections were third-and-12 and third-and-10 situations and the other was on a second-and-11.
In Oberlin\’s two losses, Kalgren has 14 completions in 27 pass attempts for 94 yards and one TD. He carried 14 times for 32 yards.
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EDINBORO, Pa. – Offensive lineman J.D. Skebo of Curwensville got the first start of his collegiate career and helped pave the way for 415 yards of offense, but Slippery Rock wound up on the short end of a 28-24 thriller when Edinboro scored with 24 seconds left Saturday evening.
The redshirt junior played right guard for The Rock, which lost for the first time in four games.
A Sox Harrison Stadium crowd of 6,327 saw the Fighting Scots prevail in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division opener for both teams with an 8-play, 70-yard drive in 1:15 after The Rock had gone in front with 1:39 on the clock.
Skebo, also a mainstay on the extra point and field goal units, was one of the road graders for Slippery Rock\’s ground attack that averaged 5.2 yards a carry and an aerial game that produced 200 yards on eight completions.
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PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Dan Hutchins kicked two field goals and three extra points out of the holds of redshirt sophomore Andrew Janocko of Clearfield as Pitt earned its first 3-0 start since 2000 by defeating Navy 27-14 in front of an announced Heinz Field crowd of 55,064 Saturday evening.
Hutchins\’ three-pointers of 29 and 18 yards were the only scoring by the Panthers after they grabbed a 21-7 halftime lead.
Pitt is listed among the other teams receiving votes in this week\’s Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Top 25 polls.
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BETHANY, W.Va. – Junior running back Tyler Kirkwood of Frenchville (Clearfield Area H.S.) was one of the Grove City reserves who saw action Saturday as the Wolverines tumbled Bethany 35-14 in the Presidents\’ Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
The first night game in Bison Stadium history attracted 1,985 fans.
Grove City is 1-2.
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WOMEN\’S SOCCER
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Dani Struble of Lumber City (Curwensville Area H.S.) booted her second game-winning goal of the season as Westminster slipped past John Carroll 2-1 at University Heights, Ohio, on Sept. 15.
The junior forward found the net on an assist by Samantha Killmeyer at the 78:49 mark. Two of her five shots were on goal.
Struble was limited to a season-low one shot in a 1-0 victory over visiting Juniata Saturday.
Westminster has won five games in a row since dropping its first two outings.
With two goals and one assist, Struble leads the Lady Titans in points with five as well as shots (29) and shots on goal (13).
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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Junior Juliana Howell of Clearfield has one goal in six appearances as a reserve forward for Slippery Rock.
In The Rock\’s 2-1 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division loss to Gannon at Erie Saturday, Howell\’s lone shot with just 40 seconds remaining sailed high.
She did not play in Wednesday\’s 2-1 upset of No. 16-ranked Indiana.
At 3-2-1, Slippery Rock stands fourth in the PSAC West with 13 points. The Rock is 4-2-1 overall for the season.
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LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Junior Jen Williams of Clearfield still ranks fourth in scoring for Lock Haven with six points in seven games.
She cashed in her only three shots of the season in the Lady Eagles\’ opening win.
After being shut out 3-0 at California Wednesday, the Lady Eagles snapped a five-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory over Edinboro Saturday, their first success in six Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division games. They are 2-5 overall.
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DUBOIS, Pa. – Jilissa Keller of Grampian (Curwensville Area H.S.) has one goal and one assist in seven starts for the first-year Penn State-DuBois team.
The Lady Lions are 1-6 after their first two shutout defeats, 5-0 to the Westminster junior varsity at New Wilmington Saturday and 9-0 to LaRoche at Pittsburgh Sunday.
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MEN\’S SOCCER
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Junior midfielder Mark Auman of Clearfield has one assist in five games for Lock Haven, which is 1-3 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division and 3-3-1 overall.
Auman was credited with one shot on goal in the Bald Eagles\’ 4-2 home win over Mercy (N.Y) Friday.
He did not play in last Wednesday\’s 3-2 overtime loss to California in PSAC West action.
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WASHINGTON, Pa. – John Lohta of Clearfield has one assist for Washington & Jefferson, now 3-3 after shutting out Marietta (Ohio) 1-0 last Wednesday.
The junior midfielder has appeared in every game for the Presidents, with five starts.
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NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Junior Alan Baldwin of Olanta (Clearfield Area H.S.) owns one assist in five games as a reserve midfielder for Westminster.
He played in the Titans\’ 5-1 victory over Pitt-Greensburg last Wednesday in the middle game of three home dates.
Westminster (5-3) also beat LaRoche 2-1 Monday but had its three-game win streak halted by Case Western Reserve (Ohio) Saturday, falling 2-1 in overtime.