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Edinboro rallied from a ten point deficit in
the second quarter and eventually pulled away from East Stroudsburg to post a 31
to 16 victory in week one of the NCAA playoffs. East Stroudsburg had plenty of
opportunities early to bury Edinboro, but made several costly mistakes. On their
third offensive possession of the game, ESU fumbled away the ball and ESU
quarterback Matt Marshall threw an interception in Edinboro territory on the
next possession. The Warriors missed field goal attempts on each of its last two
drives of the first half, the second of which was blocked and returned for a
touchdown. In the second half, Edinboro awakened and put away ESU.
California easily defeated Fayetteville State
in the only other playoff game involving a PSAC team. California built a 42
point lead before Fayetteville scored the final thirteen points to make the
score appear slightly closer than the game actually was.
2009 Academic All-America Team
The College Sports Information Directors of
America (CoSIDA) released their 2009 Academic All-America Team last week and the
PSAC was well represented. Congratulations to the following:
First Team
QB - Dan Latorre, Bloomsburg
TE - Josh Szelgua, Mercyhurst
OL - Dan Jordan, California
K - Alex Romanias, Edinboro
LB - Bryan Boyce, Mercyhurst
LB - Matt Freed, East Stroudsburg
Second Team
QB - Trevor Harris, Edinboro
OL - Zach Sarginger, East Stroudsburg
DB - Anthony Weaver, Gannon
DB - Ian Wild, Mercyhurst
DB - Branden Williams, Edinboro
LB - Andy Casale, Shippensburg
DL - Gabe Hernandez, California
DL - Dan Skelton, Edinboro
P - Derek Fiorenza, California
Football by Numbers
1013 - Total yards gained in the week one
contest between Edinboro and West Liberty.
77 - Total points scored in the State Game
between Shippensburg and California, most in the history of the championship.
1 - Total appearances by West Liberty in the
NCAA playoffs, following its game this week against Edinboro.
NCAA Playoffs - Round 2
Saturday, November 21st
Edinboro at West Liberty
Edinboro and West Liberty met in Edinboro way
back in week one of the 2009 season and Edinboro emerged victorious from an
offensive shootout. Edinboro's Harlon Hill candidate, Trevor Harris, passed for
423 yards and two touchdowns, while West Liberty's Harlon Hill candidate, Zach
Amedro, tossed for 317 yards and a touchdown. That was the last game West
Liberty would lose in its 2009 campaign. As evident in the first game, both
teams have plenty of offensive firepower, but not much defense. WLU has a more
balanced offensive attack with Kevon Calhoun at running back, while the Scots
are more dependent on the arm of Trevor Harris. The difference in this game will
be which team can force a turnover at a critical moment, such as Edinboro's
blocked field goal returned for a touchdown last week against East Stroudsburg.
Both teams will give up the yardage on defense, so the team that makes the big
plays will likely win. In that regard, Edinboro's defense and special teams
appear to have the advantage.
My pick: Edinboro wins the rematch
California at Shippensburg
It will be just two weeks between the State
Game and this rematch of the top two teams in the PSAC. In the first game,
Shippensburg jumped out to a surprising 28 point lead. California fought back in
the fourth quarter, but still lost by a touchdown despite a brilliant comeback.
Another high scoring affair should be expected from these two teams. If Cal
wants to avenge its State Game loss, the Vulcans must do a much better job of
stopping the run. Cal gave up 5.3 yards per attempt in the State Game and nearly
200 total yards on the ground. If Shippensburg wants to pull out another
victory, it must do a better job of finishing off an opponent. Ship gave up four
touchdowns to Cal on their last five possessions and the Ship offense went three
and out on two consecutive possessions when they could have iced the game. This
should be a classic rematch amongst two very good teams.
My pick: Shippensburg will not sneak up on Cal
again?Vulcans win rematch
If you have any questions, comments or
information that you would like me to post, feel free to email me at  .
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