WILLIAMSPORT — Lycoming freshman 157-pounder Nolan Barger (Clearfield) was named Empire Collegiate Wrestling Conference Rookie of the Week after winning five of six matches to claim third place in a 30-man bracket at the season-opening Monarch Invitational hosted by King’s College in Wilkes-Barre on Nov. 2.
Barger engineered two falls and a major decision among his victories, three of them against seeded opponents.
His lone loss was to the No. 1 seed who was in the top five of two NCAA Division III preseason rankings.
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ERIE — West Virginia freshman 141-pounder Christian Stone (Clearfield) got his first taste of collegiate competition in the Mercyhurst Laker Open Saturday, notching one win in three bouts at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.
After losing 13-9 to Cole Nace of West Liberty (W.Va.), Stone outclassed Josue Rodriguez of Ohio Valley (W.Va.) for a 19-4 technical fall in 5:47 and was ousted, 5-3, by Joey Miller of Mercyhurst in a consolation quarterfinal bout.
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MEN’S GOLF
DUBOIS — Sophomore John Gaylor (Clearfield) was one of four Penn State DuBois golfers named to the 2013 All-Penn State University Athletic Conference Team recently.
His 157 on rounds of 81 and 76 over the Penn State Blue Course led the first-year Lions to the PSUAC championship in early October.
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Joining him on the all-conference team are teammates John Kane (DuBois), Derek Buganza (Brockway) and Tighe Truman (Brookville).
Coach Pat Lewis, instrumental in adding golf to the Penn State DuBois athletic program, received PSUAC Coach of the Year laurels after guiding the Lions to two conference match wins and a 30-7 record before their surprising, come-from-behind title effort in the conference tourney.
Penn College’s Cory Teeple, who carded a 155, edged out Gaylor for the PSUAC Player of the Year Award.
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FOOTBALL
GREENSBURG — Redshirt sophomore Derek Morgan (Clearfield) intercepted a pass for the second week in a row as Slippery Rock (9-1) clinched the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division title in convincing fashion with a 55-21 romp over Seton Hill in front of 1,250 fans at Offutt Field Saturday afternoon.
Morgan returned his third pick of the season 35 yards, and a 15-yard late-hit penalty on the play moved the ball to the SH-31, setting up The Rock’s second touchdown in the first quarter.
The Rock, riding a seven-game winning streak, earned its first undisputed PSAC-West crown since 1999 with a 6-1 record and will seek the conference championship Saturday at Bloomsburg. The Rock shared the division title in 2010 and 2011.
Bloomsburg (9-1) tumbled previously-undefeated West Chester 31-28 Saturday to create a three-way tie with the Golden Rams and Shippensburg in the PSAC-East, claiming the title with the tie-breaker advantage.
Morgan leads The Rock in interceptions and has been involved in 30 tackles, including 19 solo stops. He also has broken up two passes.
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LOCK HAVEN — Grad student wide receiver Jesse Hoover (Curwensville) caught four passes for 22 yards while sophomore running back Beau Swales (Clearfield) gained 10 yards on two carries and returned one kickoff 35 yards for Lock Haven (3-7) in a 38-17 loss to Kutztown Saturday afternoon.
A crowd of 1,742 was on hand in Hubert Jack Stadium to see the Bald Eagles bring down the curtain on their first year in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East Division at 2-5.
Hoover leads the team in receptions (45) and is second in receiving yards (471). He shares the lead in touchdown catches with three.
Swales is tops in kickoff returns with 493 yards on 22 runbacks and third in all-purpose yards with 611. He has 26 rushes for 64 yards and one TD and seven pass receptions for 64 yards and one TD.
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FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Duquesne (5-4) center Nick Redden (Clearfield) recorded his first career tackle Saturday in a 10-0 loss to Sacred Heart (8-3) in front of 1,466 fans at Campus Field that bounced the Dukes out of the top spot in the Northeast Conference.
He made the stop on the return of the last of three red zone interceptions that cemented the shutout by the Sacred Heart defense, which withstood eight trips inside its 40 by the Duquesne offense.
Redden, a graduate student, made his 20th consecutive start in his 37th game for the Dukes, who are 3-2 and a half-game behind Robert Morris in the NEC.
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EDINBORO — Sophomore long snapper Eric White (Clearfield)Â logged 10 plays on Clarion special teams, seven on punts, in a defensive duel with Edinboro that came down to a missed field goal with 1:25 remaining that allowed the host Fighting Scots to prevail 9-7 Saturday.
The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division finale for the 4-5 teams fighting to avert a losing season drew 1,943 fans into Sox Harrison Stadium.
Clarion finished 2-5 in conference play.
White has assisted on six tackles for the Golden Eagle punt unit.
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INDIANA — Wide receiver Trey Campman (Clearfield) was one of 19 Indiana University of Pennsylvania seniors honored prior to kickoff and then made his third appearance of the season for the Crimson Hawks in a 55-20 rout of Gannon enjoyed by most of the 2,666 fans at George P. Miller Stadium Saturday.
IUP (8-2) finished runner-up to Slippery Rock in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division at 5-2. Gannon (5-5) wound up one game back in three-way tie for third place.
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BETHLEHEM — Freshman defensive back Jordan Russell (Curwensville) saw action as Juniata (6-3) clinched only its second winning season in 23 years by defeating host Moravian 27-14 to disappoint the majority of the 1,652 onlookers at Rocco Calvo Field Saturday afternoon.
The Eagles, who are 5-3 in the Centennial Conference, are assured of their best record since 1999.
Russell has 10 tackles, half of them solo stops, as well as one fumble recovery and one pass break-up in seven games.