The first week of football is in the books for the PSAC West.
There weren’t many surprises as the West has a 4-4 record heading into Week 2. The teams at the top of the conference (IUP, Cal, Slippery Rock, Gannon) all won their opening games while the other teams showed fight in Week 1.
Statistically, a number of players had solid weeks across the board but here’s some standouts:
– IUP QB Chase Haslett had 176 yards on 14-of-20 passing and 3 TDs with a lone interception in IUP’s win.
– Seton Hill QB Drew Jackson threw for 321 yards on 18-of-52 passing with 4 TDs albeit in a loss.
– Slippery Rock’s Shamar Greene ran for 195 yards on 19 carries and scored twice in a win.
– IUP’s Luigi Lista-Brinza had 116 yards and two scores on 21 carries in a win.
– Gannon’s Brock Jones had 153 yards on 24 touches in a win.
– Cal’s Kowann Short had 113 yards and a TD on six catches in a win.
– Gannon’s Luke Rankie had six tackles, a sack and an interception in a win. His sack was for a loss of seven and he returned the interception 26 yards.
– Slippery Rock’s Austin Miele had 12 tackles – two for a loss (1 sack) -, an interception and three pass breakups in a win.
Greene and Miele were named the PSAC West Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week, respectively.
The name of the game for the PSAC West this past week seemed to be an aerial assault. West starting QBs threw for 1,570 and 17 touchdowns in the first slate of games.
In the running game, only three backs went over 100 yards, one nearly hitting 200.
In terms of the conference, three of the top five rushers are from the West while only one of the top five passers hails from a West team. The West has two of the Top 5 offenses in Slipper Rock (493 yards per game) and Cal (398) but didn’t break the Top 3. Defensively, however, Gannon (236 yards allowed) and Clarion (275) sit atop the PSAC in defense. Altogether, three of the Top 5 defensive teams are in the West.
Moving forward, the even-keel PSAC West will look to move above the .500 mark as team’s schedules start to get even harder heading into Week 3.
Photo Credit: Slippery Rock
