Bids still up for grabs
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The E8 is still undecided. St. John Fisher (8-1) has a 45-38 win over Ithaca (6-2) from Sept. 25. As long as St. John Fisher beats Hartwick (1-6) this week and Alfred (7-1) next week, the Cardinals will grab the title and a Pool A bid. Alfred needs to beat Ithaca this week and St. John Fisher next week, the Saxons will take the league title and the playoff bid. Finally Ithaca needs to beat Alfred and then have the Saxons beat St. John Fisher for the title and a playoff bid.
In the Liberty League, Hobart (6-1) plays Union (5-2) this Saturday for the league title and Pool A bid.
Let’s look at the potential East region bracket might look should the NCAA regional leaders win out. If New Jersey loses to Brockport State this week, the Lions will be out of the Pool C running. That will mean that a Pool C team like Moravian out of the MAC, or another South region team like Washington and Jefferson (PAC – Pool B), Salisbury (ACFC – Pool B), or maybe Bridgewater (ODAC – Pool A) will have to be moved in.
If both Rowan and TCNJ win out, I like this setup. I think the Centennial Conference from the South makes a better fit in filling out this region. The Centennial teams cluster nicely near Delaware Valley, New Jersey and Rowan for travel purposes.
1. Rowan – Pool A
2. Delaware Valley – Pool A
3. New Jersey – Pool C
4. St. John Fisher – Pool A
5. Hobart – Pool A
6. Centennial Champion – Pool A
7. NEFC Champion – Pool A
Salisbury clinches ACFC title
Junior quarterback Dustin Johnson rushed for 184 yards and two touchdowns and junior kicker Brock Boland added three field goals to help lead No. 17 Salisbury to a 35-18 victory at home over Wesley. With the win, Salisbury claims its first Atlantic Central Football Conference championship, improving to 8-0 overall and 4-0 in the ACFC. Wesley falls to 6-2 overall, 4-1 ACFC.
"You can't ask for a better script," sixth-year coach Sherman Wood said in the Salisbury Daily Times. "This is very rewarding. These kids deserve this more than anything, because they have worked extremely hard to finally get here. It was sort of one of those things, to finally get this monkey off our back and win this thing."
Boland accounted for the only scoring of the first quarter, converting a career-best 47-yarder and adding a 45-yarder to push SU ahead 6-0. Boland then tied the Salisbury single-game record with his third field goal, from 27-yards, at 10:42 of the second quarter to push the advantage to 9-0.
Sophomore Byron Westbrook’s 47-yard punt return touchdown, his second of the season, extended the Sea Gull lead to 16-0 with 4:24 left in the quarter. Wesley then closed the first half with its own big play on special teams, blocking a Salisbury punt with five seconds remaining before halftime and returning the block 20 yards for a touchdown. Freshman Jon Drummonds blocked the punt and senior Ken Busch recorded the return for the touchdown. The successful two-point conversion made the score 16-8 at halftime.
"Whenever we play Wesley you know it's going to be a good game," Johnson said in The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal. "They're a well-coached football team and they play hard every time they're out on the field."
Wesley head coach Mike Drass tried to keep the momentum rolling at the start of the third quarter. But an onside kick attempt went out of bounds, giving the Sea Gulls the ball at their own 49. Johnson scampered 51 yards for a touchdown on SU’s first play from scrimmage. The failed two-point conversion left the Gulls with a 22-8 lead.
"He's a big-time player," said Drass said of Johnson in The News Journal. "You've just got to try to keep him hemmed up. The thing is, you know he's going to get a couple of those, and you've just got to try to play against it."
Wesley answered with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Chris Warrick (19-for-43, 243 yards) to Busch at 8:50 and a 32-yard Chris Carlton field goal with 18 seconds left in the period to pull to within 22-18 heading into the fourth quarter.
Salisbury then sealed the victory and its first ACFC title with back-to-back touchdowns. Junior fullback Leroy Satchell (84 yards) capped a six-play, 50-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge at 7:26 to increase the lead to 28-18. After Salisbury stopped Wesley’s next possession on downs, Johnson added his second touchdown with a 60-yard run at 4:43 to cap the scoring.
Salisbury finished with 403 yards rushing and 424 yards in total offense. Supplementing Johnson’s and Satchel’s efforts, sophomore running back Darrell Walker had 54 yards on six carries. In addition to tying the single-game record, Boland also set a Salisbury season record with 12 field goals made.
Wesley finished with 344 total yards. Junior Kevin Nelson paced the Wolverine rushing attack with 51 yards on 23 carries. Busch added 44 yards on 13 attempts.
In addition to his punt return touchdown, Westbrook also led the Salisbury defense from his cornerback position with 13 tackles as well as an interception in the end zone. Wesley’s sophomore cornerback Marion Harris matched Westbrook with a team-high 13 tackles to pace the Wolverines.
New Jersey stays in playoff hunt
Freshman quarterback Jeff Struble rushed from 8 yards out and New Jersey defense came up with five turnovers as the Lions topped &&Montclair State, 10-3, in the 72nd meeting of the oldest active collegiate football rivalry in New Jersey at Sprague Field on Saturday evening.
"Our coaching staff put together some great schemes and the pressure we put on those guys really enabled us to get turnovers when we need them," TCNJ defensive tackle Bryan Mulholland said in The Trenton Times. "We like to free up our defensive backs and make the quarterback really uncomfortable."
Steve Andrews intercepted a pair of passes as the Lions (6-1, 4-1 NJAC) won their third in a row and defeated the Red Hawks (4-3, 2-3 NJAC) for the first time since in six tries. TCNJ’s last win came in a 10-0 blanking of MSU at Sprague Field in 1998.
"Our defense came out firing," Andrews told the paper, "and our offense didn't make any mistakes. We kept them out of the end zone and that's how you win. Their whole passing attack was geared around (wide receiver Steve Armstrong) and we just completely shut that down. Our defensive line got great pressure and even when we pulled back, their quarterbacks still thought we were blitzing."
The win kept the Lions hopes alive for a postseason berth. TCNJ has games remaining at Brockport next Saturday before finishing the year with a home contest vs. Kean on November 13.
Playing in a dense fog throughout most of the contest, TCNJ fell behind on the first possession as Montclair State moved to the Lions’ 15 yard line before settling for a Bill Christopher 33-yard field goal with 12:11 left in opening period.
TCNJ would get even with just under six minutes left in the quarter as Andrews intercepted the first of his two passes at the MSU 33 and returned it 11 yards. After moving to the MSU 7, the Lions also stalled and Blake Abbot booted a 24-yard field goal.
The Red Hawks squandered an opportunity to take back the lead with 1:25 left as it took the ensuing possession and drove to the TCNJ 13 thanks in part to Mike Passero’s 10-yard run on third down and a 19-yard rush by Eugene Vick. On third down Passero was picked off by Miles Shanklin ending the threat.
The College of New Jersey would capitalize on the third MSU turnover of the half as the Lions recovered a muffed punt and moved 40 yards in five plays. Strubble capped off the drive with a bootleg around the left side, diving for the end zone for the touchdown. The Lions would take the 10-3 lead into halftime and made it hold up.
Struble finished 9-for-24 for 136 yards with Gregg Silvestri pulling down four passes (27 yards) out of the backfield. Tony Sorrentino added three for 77. Silvestri led the Lions’ ground gainers with 54 yards on 18 carries while Cory Schoonover had nine carries for 46 yards. Maurice Carter had 11 tackles for the Lions.
Vick finished with 71 yards on 16 rushes for MSU, which entered the game with an NJAC-leading plus-12 in turnover margin. Passero was 7-of-22 for 89 yards. Eric Ferriol had five catches for 59 yards. Morgan Burklow and Darnell Webster each had 11 tackles for the Red Hawks.
TCNJ outgained Montclair State, 227-198.
Profs hang on in overtime
Rowan had a breakout game for almost the whole first half. A blocked punt late in the second quarter was recovered in the end zone by Brockport. The Golden Eagles went in at halftime only down 20-6, instead of being blanked 20-0.
Unlike many of the other playoff and Top 25 teams the Profs have been able to avoid being upset. Of their six wins, Rowan has won once in overtime (Brockport), once after being behind at halftime (TCNJ), and twice after being behind in the fourth quarter (Cortland, Kean). They’ve also been tied in the fourth quarter (CNU).
Perhaps the Cardiac Kids would be a better nickname for the Profs this year.
Wide receiver Sakeen Wright had a 21-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Mike Orihel to win the game in overtime, 39-33 at host Brockport. Brockport had the first drive in overtime, a missed 41-yard field goal attempt. The Profs had two carries by Pat Thompson, one for no gain and one for four yards, before the winning touchdown pass.
Orihel ended the game with 372 yards passing with 27 completions (41 attempts) and four touchdowns. Wright led the receivers with six receptions for 63 yards. Thompson rushed for a game high 186 yards on 36 carries.
The Profs have won three in a row and have an overall record of 6-2. The Golden Eagles drop to 4-4.
For Brockport, backup quarterback A.J. Covella passed for 105 yards and two touchdowns after Bob Darnley went out with an injury. Mike Mahoney and Mike Bond each had three catches for 66 and 57 yards respectively. Mahoney had one touchdown catch of 53 yards. Dan Lopez totaled 146 yards rushing in 23 attempts. Linebacker Randy Tosh led the Profs’ defense with 12 tackles (6-6) followed by linebacker Mike McClain with 11 (6-5). Tosh also recovered a fumble.
The Golden Eagles were led by linebacker Chris Beh with 12 tackles (four solo) and linebacker Joe Toombs with 11(seven solo). Linebacker John Walther and cornerback Jimmy Robertson each totaled 10 tackles.
Rowan was ahead 20-6 at the half. Brockport tied the score with two touchdowns in the third quarter. Covella tossed a 13-yard TD pass to Mike Calderon and Jon Brown scored with a one yard run. The first touchdown drive was six plays, 84 yards. In the drive, Lopez had a 57-yard carry that put the Golden Eagles on the Rowan 14 yard line. The second TD drive covered 16 yards in four plays.
Less than a minute into the fourth quarter, Wright put Rowan ahead 26-20 with a 12-yard touchdown reception. Thompson carried the ball the first four plays for a total of 13 yards. The Eagles answered with a 5-yard touchdown run by Brian Wise at 8:44 which tied the score at 26.
Again the Profs took the lead on Phil Silva’s 53-yard touchdown reception from Orihel. The drive took seven plays and covered 78 yards. Pat Davitt took over the kicking duties and made the PAT. Brockport came back and scored on its next drive. Covella recorded a 53-yard touchdown pass to Mahoney and Adam Lanctot kicked the extra point.
Rowan got on the scoreboard first with a 4-yard TD run by Thompson (1:24) in the first quarter. Orihel completed a 34-yard touchdown pass to Dustin Katcher for a 12-0 lead in the second period. Rowan was ahead 20-0 after Orihel scored with a 2-yard carry (1:19). Brockport’s first points came on a blocked punt return by Matt Sowers and ended the first half scoring.
RPI takes Transit Trophy
RPI jumped out to a 35-6 lead behind four touchdown passes from sophomore quarterback Frank Catellier and held off Worcester Polytech 35-33 at ’86 Field. With the win, Rensselaer improves to 4-3 overall and 3-2 in the Liberty League and retains the Transit Trophy for the eighth consecutive season. WPI falls to 4-4 overall and 1-4 in the league.
Rensselaer jumped out to a 7-0 lead on its first possession when sophomore running back Jay Bernardo scored on a 2-yard plunge at 9:29 of the first quarter. Brett Kebea hit the extra point to finish the series, which covered eight plays and 61 yards. RPI doubled its lead less than two minutes later when Catellier hit Otis Williams from nine yards out with 7:46 left in the opening stanza. Senior Ramses Jimenez blocked punt and set up Rensselaer’s possession at the nine-yard line. Kebea’s extra point made it 14-0 in favor of the home team. WPI put together a solid drive to get on the board just before the first quarter ended. The 15-play, 84-yard drive, which featured 12 running plays, was capped by a one-yard run by Brian Farragher.
RPI increased its lead to 21-6 on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Catellier to senior Danny Stephens at 7:11 of the second quarter. The drive, which was highlighted by a 49-yard pass from Catellier to sophomore tight end Jon Branche, covered 99 yards in 11 plays in 4:28. Catellier then hooked up with freshman Brendan McGowan from ten yards out with just eight seconds remaining in the second quarter to make it 28-6 at halftime. RPI’s final scoring drive of the half covered 46 yards in one minute after the Engineers’ defense held on a fourth down play.
Rensselaer opened the second half with another Catellier touchdown pass, this time from 53 yards out to Williams. A running back, Williams made a one-handed catch before scampering down the center of the field and into the end zone. The visiting Engineers answered right back on a 6-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Ryan Jennette on their first possession of the third quarter. The touchdown was the first of four in a row by WPI, becoming a tale of two halves.
"That's about the way it was ... it felt that way," said RPI head coach Joe King in The Record. "We played well in the first half and ... but that's not good enough."
A 15-yard touchdown run by Preston Roberts just 34 seconds into the fourth quarter pulled WPI to within 15 points, making the score 35-20 in RPI’s favor. WPI then recovered an onsides-kick and took advantage when Farragher scored on a 7-yard run with 10:46 remaining in the fourth quarter. The extra point was missed and Rensselaer led, 35-26. After forcing a Rensselaer punt, WPI got a 1-yard run from Farragher, capping a ten-play, 80-yard drive, and an extra point from Jeremy Griffin to make the score 35-33 with 3:39 left in the fourth quarter. Following a Rensselaer punt, WPI regained the ball but could not get into field goal range before time expired.
Catellier completed 28 of 39 passes for 414 yards and four touchdowns. Branche led all receivers with 131 yards on six receptions while McGowan had seven catches for 69 yards. RPI finished with 483 yards of total offense. Junior Honorio Borba led all defenders with 13 tackles, including five unassisted. Senior Jimmy Motzkin (7 solos) and junior Tim Frame (5 solos) had ten tackles apiece.
WPI, which gained 464 yards of total offense, was led offensively by Jennette, who completed 18-of-34 yards for 277 yards and rushed for 31 yards on nine carries. Matt Guigli caught six passes for 86 yards. Defensive back Miguel Concepcion led the Engineers with ten tackles, including nine unassisted and one for lost yards (1) and a pass breakup.
Notes
10 minutes and hundreds of miles apart, at opposite ends of Around the East region, teams trailing with seconds left in the half blocked punts of ranked teams and recovered them for touchdowns. At about 2:10 EDT, Brockport blocked a Rowan punt and recovered it in the end zone for a touchdown to cut an apparent 20-0 lead to 20-6 on the final play of the half. Then at about 2:20 EDT, Wesley blocked a Salisbury punt and returned it for a touchdown to cut an apparent 16-0 lead to 16-8 on the final play of the half.
The ACFC snared two spots on the ECAC Players of the Week this week with Buffalo State's quarterback Mike Mikolaichik and Salisbury's Byron Westbrook earning an offensive and defensive award. Mikolaichik was 17-for-29 passing for 183 yards and two rushing touchdowns (5 and 51 yards). He rushed for a total of 94 yards on eight attempts. Westbrook returned a punt 47 yards for a touchdown, his second of the season. The touchdown put Salisbury up 16-0 at the time.
Junior linebacker Brenton Brady led Alfred to its second shutout of the season, 16-0 over Grove City, with seven tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack. He recovered two fumbles and intercepted a pass, which he returned 27 yards.
Brendan McGowan caught a game-high seven passes for 69 yards and a touchdown in Rensselaer's 35-33 win over WPI. His scoring strike came from 10 yards out as the Engineers retained the Transit Trophy.
Maurice Carter, a sophomore defensive back, earns NJAC Defensive honors after playing a key role in the Lions' 10-3 NJAC road victory at Montclair State. He collected 11 tackles in the win, including a team-high 11 solo stops. He also registered one tackle for a loss in the contest in which TCNJ improved to 6-1 overall while holding the Red Hawks to just three points and 198 yards of total offense on the evening. Carter has recorded a total of 31 tackles in seven games played for the Lions on the season.
Games of the Week
Ithaca (6-2) at Alfred (7-1), 1 p.m., Alfred, N.Y.: Alfred is two wins away from the E8 title. Ithaca needs to beat Alfred this week then have Saxons beat St. John Fisher on Nov. 14 to grab the E8 title and Pool A bid.
New Jersey (6-1) at Brockport (4-4), 1 p.m., Brockport, N.Y.: Brockport has lost three close games to good competition. Do the Golden Eagles have enough in the tank to ruin New Jersey’s Pool C aspirations?
Union (5-2) at Hobart (6-1), 1 p.m., Geneva, N.Y.: Winner grabs the Liberty League title and a Pool A.