FOOTBALL
PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Quarterback Tanner Kelly of Olanta used his legs more than his right arm in playing a very important role for Albright Saturday afternoon as the Lions remained undefeated by rallying for a 26-20 victory over host Pace, a Division II foe.
The redshirt senior, a Clearfield Area High School graduate, ran for two touchdowns and averaged 46.7 yards for three punts, earning Middle Atlantic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors for the fourth time in his career.
Three sacks cost him 17 yards, and he ended up with 48 net yards for 12 keepers while completing 15 of 18 passes for a career-low 79 yards.
Only 750 fans were in Pace Stadium to see the winless Setters open a 20-3 lead midway through the third quarter, but the Lions quickly bounced back to narrow the gap to 20-18 when Kelly rambled 21 yards for a TD with 3:29 left in the period.
An interception thwarted Pace\’s next threat, and Albright (3-0) immediately drove 91 yards in 14 plays and 7:26, Kelly punching it in from the one on fourth down with 1:02 remaining in the game. Then, he hit Nate Romig with a pass for the two extra points.
Kelly\’s longest punt was a 69-yarder that pinned the Setters on their four late in the half.
The 6-3, 215-pounder leads the MAC in completion percentage (74.1) and passing efficiency (185.0). He has completed 40 of 54 aerials for 556 yards, an average of 185.3 yards per game that ranks sixth among MAC quarterbacks.
Kelly, who has 96 yards rushing, is fifth in total offense with 652 yards, a 217.3 average, for 80 plays.
Three rushing TDs have him tied for sixth in scoring for non-kickers.
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CALIFORNIA, Pa. – Former Curwensville Area High School standouts Nick Sipes and Shawn Sopic combined to make 23 tackles for the Clarion defense Saturday afternoon, but California scored a touchdown with 1:01 remaining to pull out a 35-31 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division win.
Sipes registered a game-high and career-high eight solo stops and six assists for a total of 14 tackles, including one sack.
Sopic matched his season-opener total with nine tackles, including four solo efforts, and forced a fumble that the Golden Eagles recovered. He also broke up one Vulcan aerial.
The two junior safeties\’ performances weren\’t enough to key what would have been Clarion\’s first 2-0 PSAC West start in years, though the Golden Eagles held the lead on four occasions, the last time at 31-28 with 4:40 left.
Sipes leads Clarion and the entire PSAC with 33 solo tackles and shares the conference lead with Bloomsburg linebacker Anthony Smith in total stops with 56.
The 5-11, 215-pounder also tied for fourth in the PSAC in sacks and tackles for losses. He has chased down opposing quarterbacks five times for 20 yards in losses and caught opposing backs in their backfield eight times for 29 in losses.
Sipes has forced one fumble and has been called on for seven kickoffs, averaging 45.7 yards.
Sopic is fourth on the Clarion \’D\’ with 27 tackles, including 14 solo stops, and three passes defended. He also had blocked one kick.
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HUNTINGDON, Pa. – Senior free safety Beau Ryan of Clearfield made four solo tackles in Juniata\’s 34-7 setback administered by visiting Franklin & Marshall in front of 511 fans at Knox Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Senior defensive end Devin Yastro (Clearfield Area H.S.) of Olanta and freshman defensive back Isiah Morgan of Clearfield also got into the Centennial Conference game for the Eagles, who\’ve lost four games.
Ryan has risen to fourth on Juniata\’s tackle chart with 19 stops after three consecutive starts.
He\’s third in solo tackles with 14 and owns two of the Eagles\’ three interceptions.
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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Redshirt junior J.D. Skebo of Curwensville started at right guard for the second week in a row as Slippery Rock defeated Indiana 7-3 Saturday night, only The Rock\’s second win over the Crimson Hawks in 11 years.
The hosts\’ offense struggled in front of 3,150 fans, netting only 105 yards, but was bailed out by the defense in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division battle.
A.J. Saunders returned an interception 60 yards for the lone touchdown late in the first quarter and was rewarded with PSAC West Defensive Player of the Week honors.
The Rock is off to a 4-1 start with a 1-1 conference log.
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OBERLIN, Ohio – Freshman quarterback David Kalgren of Curwensville replaced starter Joey Zebelian for one Oberlin possession late in the third quarter of the Yeomen\’s home opener Saturday afternoon.
Neither signal-caller could spark the Oberlin attack, as Allegheny departed Savage Stadium with a 22-0 victory in the first North Coast Athletic Conference game for both teams.
Kalgren kept the ball twice for five yards and was sacked for a three-yard loss on third down.
His rookie season totals show 17 rushes for 34 net yards and 14 completions in 27 pass attempts for 94 yards, with one touchdown and one interception for the 0-3 Yeomen.
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RALEIGH, N.C. – Redshirt sophomore Andrew Janocko of Clearfield trotted on to the Carter-Finley Stadium turf five times to hold for Pitt place-kicker Dan Hutchins Saturday afternoon, helping the Panthers pileup 31 points, but North Carolina State knocked the invaders out of the unbeaten ranks by scoring the final 21 points.
Both teams stand 3-1 after the Wolfpack\’s 38-31 triumph in a non-conference duel that attracted a sold-out crowd of 57,583.
Hutchins booted a 35-yard field goal to go with four extra points.
Pitt begins Big East Conference play Friday at Louisville in an 8 p.m. kickoff that will be shown nationally on ESPN2.
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GROVE CITY, Pa. – Junior back Tyler Kirkwood (Clearfield Area H.S.) of Frenchville saw action for Grove City in a 28-10 loss to Washington & Jefferson Saturday night.
A crowd of 5,100 at R.E. Thorn Field saw the Wolverines tumble to 1-1 in the Presidents\’ Athletic Conference and 1-3 for the season.
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WOMEN\’S SOCCER
NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Dani Struble (Curwensville Area H.S.) of Lumber City netted the game-winning goal against Pitt-Greensburg last Wednesday and assisted on the game-winner against Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio) Saturday as Westminster stretched its winning streak to seven since opening the season 0-2.
Struble shifted the Lady Titan offense into high gear in the ninth minute against visiting Pitt-Greensburg. Her breakaway goal via Kristin Kajari\’s assist triggered a seven-goal explosion in the non-conference shutout. She also sent a pass to Sarah Nee for a breakaway goal that made it 4-0 in the 55th minute.
Struble\’s through ball set up Nee for the first of her three goals at the 22:00 mark of the Lady Titans\’ 3-0 win over Baldwin-Wallace.
The starting junior forward had six shots in the two games and tops Westminster in shots (35), shots on goal (13) and SOG percentage (37.1).
All three of her goals have been game-winners. She is third in goals, tied for the team lead in assists with three and second in points with nine.
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SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Junior forward Juliana Howell of Clearfield has one goal in eight games for Slippery Rock.
She had one shot on goal in The Rock\’s 3-0 win at Millersville Saturday. All but one of her seven shots this season have been on goal.
The Rock, 5-3-1 overall, lost 2-1 to visiting Mercyhurst last Wednesday and now is tied for fourth place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division at 3-3-1.
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LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Junior midfielder Jen Williams of Clearfield hasn\’t launched a shot since sending all three of her attempts into the net in Lock Haven\’s opener against Ohio Valley, but she still ranks fourth on the team with her six points and is tied for second in goals.
Williams has played in every game for the Lady Eagles, who upped their Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division record to 2-7 with a 1-0 victory at Clarion on Sept. 22 and slipped to 3-6 overall with a 6-0 loss at East Stroudsburg Saturday.
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MEN\’S SOCCER
WILMINGTON, Ohio – Junior John Lhota of Clearfield got an assist from Mike Pappas and beat the Wilmington goalie after a deflection for the lone goal at the 26:07 mark as Washington & Jefferson disappointed the hosts Saturday night.
The Presidents escaped with their third consecutive shutout win and a 5-3 record although being outshot 18-8.
Lhota also was a starting midfielder with one shot on goal in W & J\’s 5-0 home victory over LaRoche on Wednesday.
His season totals are three points and six shots.
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LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Mark Auman of Clearfield assisted on Lock Haven\’s lone goal in a double-overtime 1-1 tie with Seton Hill on Sept. 21.
The junior midfielder, who was making his fourth start, played the ball into the box for Colin Callaghan, who deflected it inside the near post just 5:34 into the non-conference game.
Auman saw action as a reserve in a 5-2 victory over New York Institute of Technology at Old Westbury, N.Y., Thursday but did not play in a 3-0 loss at Millersville Saturday.
Auman has two assists in eight games for the 4-4-2 Bald Eagles.
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NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. – Junior midfielder Alan Baldwin (Clearfield Area H.S.) of Olanta has one assist in seven games for Westminster.
The Titans dropped to 5-5 with home losses to Penn State-Behrend 1-0 on Sept. 22 and Baldwin-Wallace (Ohio) 3-2 on Saturday.
