FOOTBALL
CLARION – Senior strong safety Nick Sipes of Curwensville led the Clarion defense with seven total stops, but Fairmont (W.Va.) State returned an interception for a touchdown in the third quarter and went on to score the final 20 points and stun the Golden Eagles 27-16 Thursday night.
A crowd of 4,000 was on hand in Memorial Stadium for the season opener, and the Clarion defense was stout, surrendering only 217 yards. The Golden Eagles amassed 494 yards but couldn’t overcome their mistakes.
Sipes, who had three solo tackles, was involved in three stops behind the line of scrimmage for losses of four yards.
The 5-10, 215-pounder is beginning to wind down a standout career in which he started seven games on defense as a freshman, 11 at fullback on offense as a sophomore and 11 at strong safety as a junior.
With 52 solo tackles and 60 assists, he was the No. 1 tackler in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference last year, earning Football Gazette Region 1 and Daktronics East Region first-team honors and PSAC-West Division second-team accolades.
Sipes entered the season with 99 solo stops and 96 assists, 12 tackles for losses of 36 yards, six sacks for losses of 23 yards, one forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.
Two years ago, he rushed for 297 yards and three touchdowns and caught 12 passes for 104 yards.
In addition, he booted nine extra points and three field goals in his rookie season.
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KENYON, Ohio – Back in the position for which he was recruited, sophomore defensive back David Kalgren of Curwensville made seven solo tackles and intercepted one pass as Oberlin (Ohio) slipped past Kenyon 29-26 in front of 975 fans at McBride Field Saturday.
The 5-11, 180-pounder is one of 42 lettermen for the Yeomen, who last won a season opener in 1997.
Kalgren also assisted on one tackle and returned one kickoff for 18 yards. Three of his stops were on kickoffs.
Last year, Kalgren was moved to quarterback when fellow freshman Josh Mangel was sidelined because of an injury in preseason and claimed the signal-caller’s role when junior Joey Zebelian struggled in early games.
Kalgren started the second game, backed up Zebelian again the next two weeks and then commanded the spread offense for the last six games.
He carried 120 times for 504 yards and three touchdowns and completed 95 of 187 passes for 964 yards and nine TDs, tops for the 2-8 Yeomen in all of those categories.
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HUNTINGDON – Sophomore Isaiah Morgan of Clearfield started at safety for Juniata Saturday and helped the Eagle defense hold McDaniel to 243 total yards, but the visitors escaped Knox Stadium with a 3-0 victory via a second period field goal.
The 5-10, 200-pounder made one solo tackle and broke up one pass.
In his rookie season, Morgan played mostly special teams in nine games and had one solo stop and one assist.
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LEXINGTON, Va. – Redshirt freshman Jesse Hoover of Curwensville started at wide receiver and had one reception for four yards as Lock Haven fell 48-6 to Virginia Military Institute.
A Foster Stadium crowd of 6,865 saw the Bald Eagles suffer their 22nd loss in a row at the hands of the Division I Football Championship Subdivision opponent.
Hoover, a 6-1, 185-pounder, was targeted three times.
Freshman Sam Gardner of Curwensville is a defensive back for the Bald Eagles. He’s a 5-9, 165-pounder.
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GROVE CITY – Senior wingback Tyler Kirkwood of Frenchville made his first start for Grove City Saturday and was utilized mostly as a blocker for an attack unit that piled up 443 yards.
However, Carnegie Mellon made the most of its 260 yards to spoil the non-conference opener for the Wolverines 28-21, disappointing a crowd of 3,000 at Robert Thorn Field.
Kirkwood has appeared in 19 games as a lead blocker and on kicking units the last two seasons.
The 5-10, 220-pounder had one pass reception for 10 yards last fall.
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SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – With redshirt junior quarterback Andrew Janocko of Clearfield handling the snaps and spotting the ball, Pitt placekicker Dan Hutchins nailed three field goals against Utah Thursday night, including one as time ran out in the fourth quarter of the nationally-televised non-conference opener.
The 30-yarder that forced overtime was the third attempt in a wild sequence that saw Utes coach Kyle Wittingham signal for a timeout just before Hutchins hit the first one and then missed the second.
The 15th-ranked Panthers, who overcame a 24-13 deficit in the final quarter, wound up losing a 27-24 heartbreaker after having their overtime possession short-circuited by a first-down interception, much to the delight of the partisan crowd of 45,730 in Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Hutchins hooked a 42-yard field goal try in the first period but was true from 37 and 28 yards out in the second half before hitting the game-tying three-pointer.
Janocko is in his third year as Pitt’s holder, the second for Hutchins.
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WILLIAMSPORT – Junior David Ryan and sophomore Jarrin Campman of Clearfield are in the Lycoming wide receiver corps but did not play in the opening 24-17 non-conference loss to Rowan Saturday at Glassboro, N.J.
Campman, a 6-0, 180-pounder, is the backup to senior Josh Dixon at the ‘Z’ receiver.
He appeared in three games as a freshman.
Ryan played in four games last year, catching one pass for 10 yards.
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PITTSBURGH – Redshirt freshman Nick Redden of Clearfield is No. 2 at center and long snapper on the Duquesne depth chart.
The 6-1, 277-pounder did not play in Saturday’s opener, a 17-13 non-conference victory over Bucknell in front of 2,240 fans at Rooney Field.
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INDIANA – After missing most of preseason practice because of a head injury, freshman wide receiver Trey Campman of Clearfield watched his Indiana teammates hold off Southern Connecticut State 16-6 in their non-conference opener that attracted 1,680 fans to Miller Stadium Saturday.
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NEW WILMINGTON – Clearfield Area High School grad Brady Dixon of Frenchville is a member of the Westminster squad.
The Titans went on the road for their opener Saturday and defeated Hiram (Ohio) 23-6.
Dixon is a 5-11, 235-pounder being groomed for a position on the offensive line.
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MEN’S SOCCER
WASHINGTON – Two-year letterman John Lhota of Clearfield is a starting midfielder for Washington & Jefferson with one assist and four shots in the first two games.
The President senior’s point came when Jean-Loup Autret converted his pass in the 40th minute for 4-0 lead in Saturday’s 8-0 romp at Penn State-Beaver.
Lhota had one shot on goal in Wednesday’s 3-0 loss at Carnegie Mellon, ranked No. 17 in NCAA Division III.
In his first three seasons, Lhota played in 48 games with 18 starts and scored seven points. He started 15 of 18 games last year.
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NEW WILMINGTON – Clearfield Area High School grad Alan Baldwin of Olanta started in Westminster’s opener Wednesday and subbed in two games at the Marietta (Ohio) Soccer Classic Saturday and Sunday.
The Titans defeated LaRoche 4-0 at Pittsburgh and then tied Marietta 1-1 and lost to Wooster (Ohio) 3-2 in the tourney, with both games going to overtime.
Baldwin, a senior midfielder, has attempted two shots.
His three-year career totals show four starts in 26 games with one goal and one assist.
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ALTOONA – Freshman Kurtis Graham of Clearfield made an auspicious debut for Penn State-Altoona with an assist on the lone goal as the Lions opened the 2010 season by defeating host Baptist Bible College at Clark’s Summit Wednesday.
His through ball set up fellow reserve Storm Garrett in the 44th minute.
Graham managed three shots, two on goal.
The Lions were blanked twice in the Johns Hopkins Tournament at Baltimore, Graham getting his first collegiate start in Sunday’s 2-0 loss to Buffalo (N.Y.) State after subbing in Saturday’s 4-0 setback by Catholic.
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WOMEN’S SOCCER
NEW WILMINGTON – Senior forward Danielle Struble of Curwensville broke into the scoring column with a goal and an assist as Westminster improved to 3-0 by shutting out visiting Pitt-Johnstown 4-0 Sunday afternoon.
She earned an assist on Sarah Nee’s game-winning goal at the 19:18 mark and then found the net a minute later on an assist by Brittany Grabski to make it 2-0.
Struble registered four shots, matching the totals she had in the Lady Titans’ 3-0 wins over LaRoche at Pittsburgh Wednesday and visiting Oberlin (Ohio) Saturday.
Her career statistics for one season at Pitt-Greensburg and two years at Westminster were 59 starts in 63 games with 14 goals and 14 assists for 42 points.
She received honorable mention on the 2009 All-Presidents’ Athletic Conference Team.
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GREENSBURG – Forward Juliana Howell of Clearfield picked up the first point of her senior season at Slippery Rock Sunday, assisting on Ashley Paganie’s insurance goal in the 47th minute of The Rock’s 2-0 road win over Seton Hill.
She attempted three shots, with one on goal.
Howell, who also saw action in a reserve role in Thursday’s opener, a 2-0 victory over West Virginia Wesleyan at Buckhannon, W.Va., is a three-year letterwinner who netted nine goals and had 21 total points in 57 games, 27 as a starter.
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SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – Jenny Williams of Clearfield is a starting midfielder for Lock Haven and got off one shot on goal in Thursday’s 4-0 opening victory over Shepherd (W.Va.).
The 5-2 senior played in 18 games with 11 starts last season after appearing in 11 games as a reserve in 2008.
She scored three goals, one a game-winner, as a junior.
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LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – After missing the first five games because of a preseason injury, freshman Brooke Mohney of Bigler got her first taste of collegiate action for St. Francis in a double-overtime, scoreless tie with host Rider Sunday.
The former Clearfield Area High School standout is listed as a forward and a midfielder for the Red Flash, who are off to a 3-2-1 start.
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DUBOIS – Sophomore Jilissa Keller of Grampian (Curwensville Area H.S.) is a starting midfielder for Penn State-DuBois.
She was credited with one shot in a 6-1 loss at Pitt-Greensburg Friday.
The Lady Lions evened their record at 1-1 with a 2-1 squeaker over visiting Chatham Saturday.
Keller started all 11 games last fall, posting one goal and one assist.
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WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
LOCK HAVEN – Freshman Gwenn Porter of Clearfield placed 20th among 44 runners as defending Big 10 Conference champion Penn State opened the season with a 15-50 victory over Lock Haven in the annual Dolan Duals Friday afternoon.
Her time was 16:24.60 for the 4,000-meter race over the West Branch Cross Country Course. She was the 16th Nittany Lion to cross the finish line.
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WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
DUBOIS – Sophomore Sophia Reed of Clearfield and freshmen Lindsay Barrett and Stephanie Neeper of Curwensville are members of the Penn State-DuBois team.
Reed, a returnee, is an opposite hitter, Barrett is an outside hitter and Neeper is a middle hitter and outside hitter for the Lady Lions, who open their season this week.