Falling out of favor
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These featured preseason contenders and dark horses have moved into AQ pole position: Hobart (3-1), Rowan (3-1) Salisbury (5-0), St. John Fisher (5-0).
Hobart is tied atop the Liberty League with Union at 2-0 within the conference. They face Union on Nov. 6 at Hobart.
Rowan holds a one-game lead in the NJAC. The Profs face title contenders Cortland (in Glassboro on Oct 16) and Montclair (in Montclair Nov 13)
Salisbury holds a half-game lead on Wesley in the ACFC. They’ll face Buffalo State in Buffalo this week and Wesley on Oct 30.
St. John Fisher is tied with Springfield for the lead in the E8. The Cardinals will visit the Pride on Oct. 23.
Red Dragons Slay Red Hawks
Cortland held Montclair State on five attempts from the 1-yard line in the final 1:08 as the
Red Dragons (3-2, 2-1 NJAC) held on to upset the nationally eighth-ranked Red Hawks 16-12 at Sprague Field. Freshman defensive tackle Steve Longinott made three tackles on the final goal-line stand, the last of which forced a fumble on the final play to preserve the win.
Montclair started its final drive on its own 41-yard line with 2:46 remaining. A 10-yard run from midfield by Eugene Vick on 4th-and-1 kept the drive alive. Later in the drive, Mike Passero completed a 25-yard pass to Eric Ferriol that initially appeared to go for a touchdown, but instead was spotted at the 1-yard line and Montclair called its final timeout with 1:08 left.
Passero tried rushes on the first two plays, but Longinott was credited with tackles on both plays. On third down, Vick was stopped by sophomore defensive tackle Adam Haas short of the goal line. A fourth down rush by Vick was also stopped, but Cortland was flagged for being offsides. On the Red Hawks' second fourth-down attempt, Longinott broke through the line and knocked the ball out of Passero's hands. The ball was batted all the way back to the Montclair 29-yard line before Passero fell on the ball with three seconds remaining. Cortland took a knee on the next play to end the game.
Cortland trailed 12-0 late in the third quarter before rallying to score the game's final 16 points. Senior kicker Ryan DeCamp nailed a career-best 46-yard field goal with 3:14 left in the quarter to put the Red Dragons on the board. Cortland's defense held on three plays during the next series and the Red Dragons' offense took over after a punt on its own 39-yard line. Freshman quarterback Alex Smith completed a six-play, 61-yard scoring drive that took only 1:10 when he ran 11 yards around right end on an option for a touchdown.
The Red Dragons' game-winning drive started on the Montclair 44-yard line with 4:21 left in the game after an 11-yard punt return by senior Jon Frechette. On the first play, Smith threw deep to Frechette for a 42-yard gain to the Montclair 2-yard line. A delay of game penalty moved the Red Dragons back to the 7-yard line, but a 5-yard Smith run advanced the ball back to the 2 and senior Steve Davis ran untouched off right tackle on the next play to give Cortland the lead. Smith's two-point conversion pass missed its mark, leaving the lead at 16-12 with 2:53 left.
Union drops Kings Point for homecoming
&&Kings Point&& fell victim to a big third quarter by Homecoming host Union Saturday afternoon at Frank Bailey Field, as the Dutchmen (2-2, 2-0) won their second straight Liberty League contest by defeating the Mariners (1-4, 1-1), 28-7.
After both teams struggled to move the ball in the opening quarter, the Mariners had the ball on their own 1-yard line at the start of the second quarter, courtesy of a 66-yard punt by Sean Losier. On the first play of the period, Union's Jesse Smith sacked freshman quarterback Chuck Kleinschnitz in the end zone for a safety, and putting the Dutchmen up by a 2-0 score.
Following Union's next offensive possession, Kings Point went on the offensive. On a seven-play, 66-yard drive, the Mariners were keyed by a 26-yard completion from Kleinschnitz to junior wide receiver Matt Wilkenson. Senior running back Frank Toner scored his first career touchdown three plays later, on a 22-yard run, putting the Blue and Gray up by a 7-2 count with 7 minutes remaining in the first half.
Unfortunately for the Mariners, after the ensuing kickoff Union then ripped off a season-high 18-play yard drive that took up most of the rest of the second quarter. The Dutchmen's second successful fourth-down play of the drive was on the final play of the drive, when Tom Arcidiancono (24 carries, 172 yards) plunged in from one-yard away, giving Union an 8-7 lead at halftime.
Midway through the third quarter, the Dutchmen then ran off 20 unanswered points within a 3:21 time span. Following a Matt Carter punt, Anthony Marotti went up top on the first play, finding Steve Angiletta on a 52-yard fly route to put the hosts up 15-7 with 6:54 left in the quarter.
Union's defensive end Ed Larkin then forced a fumble on USMMA's next play from scrimmage, and Dutchmen linebacker Jim Baron fell on the ball at the 30-yard line. Arcidiancono then scored his second touchdown of the day, breaking through the left side of the offensive line and racing 30 yards for the score, putting the hosts up 21-7.
Arcidiancono then ran in another score with 3:35 left in the quarter, racing in on a season-long, 54-yard run, and Union was up 28-7 after the point-after kick.
Toner carried 17 times for 78 yards and his touchdown. Matt Fuhrman finished with a game-high 15 tackles and recorded his first career interception, while senior Cole Patterson and junior Matt Swank each had an interception. Twelve of senior co-captain Rich Martucci's 13 tackles were of the solo variety, while senior co-captain Josh Hansen also had double-digit tackles (9-2--11) on the day.
For the Dutchman, defensive back Chris Wood and linebacker Jesse Smith were each in on six tackles with Larkin, Alex Smith and Manocchio contributing five tackles each.
Special teams take Rowan to top of NJAC
The Lions took a 20-14 lead into the locker room at halftime. In the first quarter, New Jersey (3-1) and Rowan (3-1) exchanged touchdowns. On the Profs’ first drive, John Sher had an interception on the Lions’ goal line and a return of 74 yards. TCNJ only needed one play, a 26-yard pass from Gregg Silvesti to Bergondo for the first TD at 11:20. Orihel threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Phil Silva with 3:35 left. The drive was 10 plays for 44 yards, Orihel had 23 of the yards with four completions.
TCNJ answered with a touchdown and a field goal for a 17-7 advantage in the second quarter. Struble ended an 11 play, 69-yard drive with a 1-yard TD carry. Bergondo had two catches, 34 and 13 yards, to put the Lions on the Profs’ 33-yard line in the drive. Cory Schoonover recorded a 53-yard reception that led to TCNJ’s field goal. Blake Abbot’s 23-yard field goal capped a 56-yard drive in six plays. It was his second field goal of the season.
Midway through the second half Orihel hit wide receiver Sakeen Wright for a 28-yard touchdown pass. Abbot kicked a 43-yard field goal to cap the scoring for TCNJ in the first half.
In the third stanza, the Profs went up 21-20 after linebacker Aaron McCord returned a blocked punt 10 yards for a touchdown at 10:30. Brian Jenkins blocked the Bergondo punt. Rowan recovered a muffed fair catch to start the drive of Wright’s second touchdown catch of eight yards at 11:43 in the final quarter.
“The two big plays in the second half, we had a punt blocked for a touchdown and another turnover on a punt, that was the difference,” said New Jersey coach Eric Hamilton.
With 3:53 left, quarterback Mike Orihel found running back Pat Thompson with a nine yard toss to seal the conference win 35-20 for the Profs.
Orihel finished the game with 351 passing yards with 29 completions out of 50 attempts with four touchdown passes. Wide receiver Sakeen Wright had six catches for 88 yards and two TDs of 28 and 8 yards. Damian Shaddow kicked five extra points.
TCNJ’s rookie quarterback Jeff Struble had a career best performance with 224 yards on 13-of-25 attempts.
For Rowan, linebacker Randy Tosh recorded 12 tackles, including 10 solo stops. Linebacker Mike Seidenberg had eight tackles while end Brian Bond added seven stops with three sacks (minus-12 yards).
On defense, TCNJ’s Michael Sykes totaled 11 tackles while forcing a fumble. Linebacker Josh Baker contributed with 10 tackles and a fumble recovery.
RPI beats Coast Guard, retains Shot Glass
Sophomore running back Jay Bernardo rushed for 220 yards and three touchdowns and senior Otis Williams added 111 yards on the ground to lead RPI to a 28-17 victory over Coast Guard at ’86 Field. With the win, the Engineers improve to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the Liberty League and retain the Shot Glass Trophy. The Bears fall to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the league.
Rensselaer, which snapped a two-game losing streak, outgained Coast Guard 493 to 341, including a 333-67 yard advantage on the ground. Chad Wysocki completed 15-of-25 passes for 160 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, senior linebacker Sean Doran had seven tackles, including two unassisted, with two pass breakups and an interception.
For the Bears, quarterback Cory Anderson finished with 274 yards and two touchdowns on 28-of-46 passing. He was intercepted once. Tight end Brian Steuerwald had eight receptions for 94 yards – both game-highs – and a touchdown. Linebacker Rich Nines led the defense with 15 tackles, including four solos and one for lost yard.
Notes
St. John Fisher running back Mark Robinson leads the NCAA in rushing with 176.6 yards per game. … Rowan quarterback Mike Orihel and Western Connecticut quarterback Joe Dimeglio are ranked No. 7 and No. 10 respectively with 314.0 and 305.6 in passing yards per game. …
Salisbury defensive back Byron Westbrook is ranked No. 7 with 16.6 yards per punt return. … Ithaca wide receiver Kelley Gordon is ranked No .7 with 30.6 yards per kickoff return.
Games of the Week
No. 5 Springfield (3-0) at Western Connecticut (4-1), 1 p.m., Danbury, Conn.: Last year Springfield beat Western Connecticut 21-7. The Pride is second ranked rushing team in the nation with 392.3 yards per game. The Colonials are the sixth-ranked passing team in the nation with 320.8 yards per game. This might be Springfield’s first serious test. Are they worth a No. 5 ranking?
No. 17 St. John Fisher (5-0) at Brockport State (3-1), 2 p.m., Brockport, N.Y.: Last year Brockport kicked a field goal seven seconds left to win 38-35. This is the Golden Eagles next big game since stumbling at Salisbury in Week 2. Can Brockport move back into the Top 25?