Saturday, November 13, 2010

College Preview

Washington & Jefferson at Waynesburg


When: 1:30 p.m., Saturday
Where: Wiley Stadium
Series: W&J leads W&J leads 34-3
Radio: WJPA (1450-AM), WCYJ (99.5-FM)
Internet: http://www.wjpa.com/sports.htm

The series: Washington & Jefferson and Waynesburg renew their local rivalry, the PAC Backyard Brawl, on Saturday for the 38th time. The Presidents lead the series 34-3 and have claimed 18 of the 19 meetings since the Yellow Jackets joined the PAC in 1990. The Yellow Jackets last beat W&J in 2003, a 27-17 victory at Wiley Stadium. In the six games since that loss, Washington & Jefferson's average margin of victory is 16.7 points.

The coaches: Mike Sirianni is in his eighth season as the head coach at Washington & Jefferson with a 76-14 (.844) overall record. Rick Shepas is in his sixth season as the Yellow Jackets' head coach with a 34-26 (.567) record.

Notes: W&J senior wide receiver Jordan Roycroft upped his consecutive game reception streak to 13 after his second-straight, eight-catch performance last week. All eight of the catches at Thiel came in the first half. In 28 career games, Roycroft has produced 92 receptions for 1,043 yards and 13 touchdowns. … W&J senior free safety Craig Sedunov, the fourth-leading tackler in Washington & Jefferson history, enters Saturday's game one tackle shy of 300 for his career. He is also 19 stops shy from tying David Gitlitz '08 and Jim Meyer '87 for second place on the all-time list. Eric Field '04 owns the W&J record with 348 stops. … Waynesburg junior defensive tackle Darryl Moore, Jr. is tied for 36th in all of Division III when it comes to tackles for loss per game with 1.50 per contest. He has 13.5 stops in the backfield on the season. W&J’s Frank Gigler is tied with Moore at 1.50 stops in the backfield per game. … With 231 yards today, Brad Dawson would become just the second quarterback in Waynesburg history to pass for at least 6,500 yards.

Cheyney at California

When: 1 p.m. Saturday
Where: California
Radio: WCAL (91.9-FM)
Television: WPCW

The Series: California leads the series 13-1.

The coaches: Cal's John Luckhardt is in his eighth season with the Vulcans and has a 77-29 record. He has a career record of 214-66-2. Jeff Braxton is in his third season at Cheyney and has a 1-31 record.

Notes: A win by California will no doubt give the Vulcans a spot in the NCAA Division II playoffs. … Cal has won 61 of 72 games dating back to the 2005 season. … The Vulcans average 33.4 points per game, Cheyney 14.5. … Cal has won or shared six straight PSAC divison titles since 2005. Only West Chester has a streak that long (1969-74).

Friday, November 5, 2010

College Preview

Washington & Jefferson at Thiel

When: 1 p.m., Saturday
Where: Alumni Stadium (1,400)
Series: W&J leads 39-22-2
Radio: WJPA (1450-AM)
Internet: http://www.wjpa.com/sports.htm

The series: W&J and Thiel will meet for the 64th time in history on Saturday with the Presidents holding a 39-22-2 edge. W&J has claimed 27 of the last 28 games in the series, including four in a row. Thiel ended a 22-game losing streak to W&J with a 38-35 overtime, upset victory on Oct. 1, 2005 at Cameron Stadium. However, the Presidents have won 12 consecutive games on Thiel's home turf.

The coaches: Mike Sirianni is in his eighth season as the head coach at Washington & Jefferson with a 75-14 (.843) overall record. The three-time PAC Coach of the Year and 2004 South Region Coach of the Year is second among all active NCAA head coaches in winning percentage (minimum five years of experience). Kurt Reiser is in his second season as the Tomcats' head coach. He spent eight seasons an assistant coach for the Tomcats before taking over for Jack Leipheimer. Reiser owns a 3-15 record

Notes: Washington & Jefferson's 2010 roster features 24 senior players and six senior student coaches. The senior group owns a 36-7 career record, including a 20-2 mark at Cameron Stadium . . . W&J leads the conference in one team statistical category, kickoff returns (22.9 ypr). Individually, sophomore defensive end Andy McGill leads in sacks (8), while senior Jordan Roycroft averages a PAC-high 6.1 receptions per game. Sophomore Ben Hoffer's 28.2 yard kickoff return average leads the league, while senior Joe Kelly tops the PAC punters with a 40.1 yard average. Kelly also is 17th nationally. Junior safety Matthew Gal is also tied for the conference lead with two forced fumbles.

Thomas More at Waynesburg

When: Saturday, 1:30 p.m.
Where: Waynesburg
Radio: 99.5-FM WCYJ
Webcasts: www.waynesburgsports.com

The Series: Thomas More leads 6-2 and has won the last two meetings.

The Coaches: Rick Shepas is in his sixth season at Waynesburg and has a record of 34-26. Jim Hilvert is in his fourth season with the Saints and has a 23-10 record.

Notes: Waynesburg junior defensive back Sean Hunt’s eight interceptions not only lead the Presidents’ Athletic Conference, but also are tied for third overall in Division III of the NCAA. Junior defensive tackle Darryl Moore, Jr. is tied for 24th in Division III in tackles for loss per game with 1.63. He has 13 stops in the backfield this season ... Waynesburg and Thomas More come into Saturday’s game as two of just three teams with positive turnover margins in the PAC. The Saints lead the conference and are tied for eighth in Division III with a plus-14 differential. The Yellow Jackets boast a plus-eight advantage in turnovers, which is the second-highest mark in the conference and puts them in a tie for 28th in Division III. The only other team in the conference with a positive difference in turnovers is Washington & Jefferson (plus-one).

California at Edinboro

When: 1 p.m., Saturday
Where: Sam Harrison Stadium, Edinboro
Radio: WCAL-FM 91.9

The Series: California leads the series 39-35-2 and Cal won last year’s meeting, 38-14.

The coaches
: Scott Browning is in his fifth season at Edinboro and has a 37-18 record. Cal's John Luckhardt is in his eighth season with the Vulcans and has a 75-29 record. He has a career record of 213-66-2.

Notes: California has won 10 of its last 11 games in November since the 2007 season. Cal has won 60 of its last 71 games dating back to the 2005 season. … The Vulcans have won 25 consecutive PSAC games. … Cal has not lost back-to-back road games since 2006. … Tailback Lamont Smith became the fourth different runner to gain 1,000 yards in a season in the last seven years.