After three PSAC West teams took the field Thursday night, the final five were in action Saturday. Four of the five teams, Cal U, IUP, Clarion, and Slippery Rock left with a victory, while Mercyhurst dropped their first game by one point.
Cal U 22, Hillsdale 19
After being held scoreless in the first half, the Vulcans rallied to pick up their first victory of the season over the Hillsdale Chargers.
Sophomore quarterback Cody Schroeder rallied his team by throwing three second-half touchdowns, including a game winner with just under a minute left. He finished 26 of 37 for 270 yards, a career high, and the three scores. 208 of those yards came in the second half. Trey Johnson led the Vulcans in receiving with eight catches for 73 yards and a score. Mike Williams added six catches for 48 yards and a score, also. Newcomer Dewey McDonald led the defense with 15 total tackles, tied for his career high. Nine of those were solo stops. He also had three pass break-ups.
Cal U will take on Kutztown next Saturday at home at 3:30 p.m.
#10 IUP 30, Southern Connecticut State 20
IUP, after getting word that running back De’Antwan Williams would be eligible this season, used two transfer running backs and a transfer wide receiver to bolster their offensive scoring en route to a 30-20 victory over Southern Connecticut State.
Williams started and set up the team’s first drive, one that was capped off with Miami(OH) transfer Erik Finklea’s 45-yard dash into the endzone. Williams would finish with 135 yards on 18 carries, but no scores. Quarterback Mike Box played well for the Crimson Hawks, balancing out their offense with 296 passing yards and two touchdown tosses. Terrill Barnes led all receivers with eight catches for 162 yards. Defensively, IUP’s All-American linebacker Carl Fleming led the way with a career-high 15 tackles. Alexander Berdahl added 13 stops.
IUP will take on Cheyney next Saturday at home at 4 p.m.
Clarion 39, Kutztown 38, OT
The Clarion Golden Eagles took down the Kutztown bears after freshman Phil Esposito drilled in the game-tying kick as time expired to lead the Eagles into overtime.
After a back-and-forth game, the Golden Eagles were able to come out on top, but it took more than regulation to do it. Quarterback Ben Fiscus scampered into the endzone in overtime from 10 yards out to carry his team to victory. He would finish the game with 287 yards and three touchdowns through the air and 92 yards on the ground with another two touchdowns. He spread the ball around evenly, as three receivers had over 50 yards each. Mike Deitrick had six catches for 57 yards and two of Fiscus’ three touchdowns. Defensively, Sam Dixon-Dougan led the way with 12 tackles, while Cody Kelso and English Peay added 11 each.
The Golden Eagles will take on Lock Haven at home next Saturday at 6 p.m.
Slippery Rock 51, Northwood 36
Quarterback Nigel Barksdale took the start and threw for 465 yards and school-record six touchdowns en route to a 51-36 opening day win for the Rock.
Barksdale got things started early in the game as he threw a 73-yard bomb on the first play of the game to put Ken Amos in the endzone and the Rock on the scoreboard. Shamar Greene led the team in rushing with 92 yards but no scores. Barksdale added 54 yards on the ground in the effort. Amos, John Schademan, and Jaimire Dutrieuille all had over 100 yards receiving. Schademan scored two touchdowns. Austin Miele led the defense with nine tackles and one for a loss.
The Rock will take on Shippensburg at home next Saturday at 6 p.m.
Bentley 17, Mercyhurst 16
The Lakers were on their way to a comeback victory after trailing by one point in the final seconds of the game but were stopped by turnover on downs.
Quarterback Anthony Vendemia threw for 207 yards and a touchdown but couldn’t lead his team to victory on the final drive of the game. After converting a third down through the air, Vendemia and the Lakers were faced with another third down. Vendemia completed an eight-yard pass but the next play, a run by running back Brandon Brown-Dukes came up short on fourth down. Brown-Dukes ran for a team high 80 yards and crossed the goal line once for the Lakers. Pat Behm led the defense with six tackles on the day. The Lakers were without their number two cornerback Rafiyq Cromwell, who was out with an injury but will be back next week.
The Lakers will take on Millersville next Saturday at 1 p.m.
Photo Credit: (top) Cal U Athletics
