Jeff Vella stories, Page 3

Every Monday, the Tribune-Review will highlight 10 top area college performances from the weekend: 1. Turnovers fuel Robert Morris’ win over rival Duquesne Mason Gray returned two interceptions for touchdowns in the second half, helping the Colonials extend their winning streak to five with a 41-21 victory in a matchup...

This is new territory for the Robert Morris football team: a November home game against rival Duquesne with first place in the Northeast Conference on the line. Both teams enter Saturday’s 1 p.m. matchup with 4-0 league records. The Colonials (5-4 overall) went 2-9 each of the past three seasons...

The 1988 Orange Bowl pitting No. 2 Miami against No. 1 Oklahoma featured countless future pros, including eventual first-rounders such as Michael Irvin, Keith Jackson, Steve Walsh and Bennie Blades. However, it was Hurricanes sophomore middle linebacker Bernard Clark Jr. — making his first collegiate start — who earned MVP...

Every Monday, the Tribune-Review will highlight 10 top area college performances from the weekend: 1. Schmitt becomes Dukes’ all-time winningest coach Daniel Parr had three total touchdowns as Duquesne defeated St. Francis (Pa.), 30-21, on Saturday to give Jerry Schmitt his 98th win with the Dukes. He passed Greg Gattuso...

D-III teams to watch Saint Vincent: Coach Terrance Smith replaces D.P. Harris after 16 years. … Bearcats won regular-season PAC title before losing in the conference semifinals. Finished 22-5 overall and 14-2 in the league. … Led league with 79.1 points per game. … Must replace PAC Player of the...

D-II teams to watch IUP: Reigning PSAC champions went 30-3 last winter and enter season ranked No. 11 in the NABC Coaches’ poll. … Team must replace two of its top players in recent history: All-American forward Jacobo Diaz and four-time all-conference point guard Dante Lombardi. … First-team all-conference guard...

Every Monday, the Tribune-Review will highlight 10 top area college performances from the weekend: 1. Hines breaks TD record as Duquesne wins 3rd straight A.J. Hines ran for 113 yards and his 42nd career touchdown — eclipsing Pedro Bowman’s 35-year-old school record — to lead the Dukes over Wagner, 28-24,...

Every Monday, the Tribune-Review will highlight 10 top area college performances from the weekend: 1. Pitt men’s soccer shocks No. 1 Virginia Johan Penaranda made four saves, and the Panthers upset the host Cavaliers, 2-0, on Friday for the team’s first win over a No. 1-ranked team in program history....

Every Monday, the Tribune-Review will highlight 10 top area college performances from the weekend: 1. Slippery Rock football edges IUP in matchup of unbeatens No. 9 Slippery Rock built a big lead and held off No. 16 IUP, 45-42, in the PSAC on Saturday. The Rock, who led 17-0 in...

Nate Leopold might play safety, but he is getting used to the end zone. The John Carroll sophomore and Franklin Regional graduate scored his second touchdown in four games Saturday, returning a fumble 34 yards for a touchdown. “It’s pretty special because when you score a touchdown as a defensive...

Every Monday, the Tribune-Review will highlight 10 top area college performances from the weekend: 1. Grove City football edges previously unbeaten CMU in 2OT Josh Ehst scored on a 1-yard keeper in double overtime as the Wolverines prevailed 29-26 in a PAC game Saturday. Here is @GCC_FB game-winning drive in...

Every Monday, the Tribune-Review will highlight 10 top area college performances from the weekend: ••• 1. Brown’s big day propels IUP Duane Brown (Apollo-Ridge) scored four touchdowns, leading the No. 21 Crimson Hawks past host Mercyhurst, 56-25, in a PSAC game Saturday. Brown caught seven passes for 153 yards and...

Ask Bram Miller to name his preferred sport, and it’s like a parent trying to pick a favorite child. The Carnegie Mellon junior, who starts at left tackle for the football team and is an NCAA Division III qualifier in the shot put and discus, can’t do it. “They’re both...

Every Monday, the Tribune-Review will highlight 10 top area college performances from the weekend: 1. Pitt, Penn State volleyball split home-and-home series The No. 6 Panthers and No. 4 Nittany Lions each won on the road in their top-10 matchup over the weekend. Penn State prevailed 28-26, 21-25, 25-21, 20-25,...

Every Monday, the Tribune-Review will highlight 10 top area college performances from the weekend: 1. No. 21 W&J football edges No. 18 Wittenberg Mike Williams (Langley) forced a fumble that Nick Getz returned 52 yards for a touchdown with 9 minutes, 53 seconds left to help the Presidents win their...

Duquesne All-American running back A.J. Hines wants to enjoy his senior season, but he also is in a hurry. “I want to show scouts that I am fast, and that once I break away, I won’t get caught,” said Hines, who rushed for 1,520 yards and 15 touchdowns last season...

A look at five players to watch in Division II this season: Jake Chapla, Sr., K, Slippery Rock Plum graduate hit 66 of 67 extra points and made 17 of 26 field goals last season. … First-team All-PSAC West as kicker and second-team all-conference as punter. ••• Justice Evans, Jr.,...

The Slippery Rock football team isn’t sneaking up on anyone this year. Not after reaching the NCAA Division II quarterfinals last season, and not with 6-foot-3, 235-pound quarterback Roland Rivers III. “Going into this season, we know we have targets on our back,” said Rivers, whose team is ranked No....

The Washington & Jefferson baseball team needed the cold of Western Pa. to finally heat up this season. The Presidents went 1-6 during a March visit to Kissimmee, Fla. Through 11 games, W&J was 4-7 with a .195 team batting average. Then the Presidents rattled off 28 wins in their...

Every Monday, the Tribune-Review will highlight 10 top area college performances from the weekend: 1. W&J baseball dominates en route to PAC championship Santino Platt (Our Lady of the Sacred Heart) allowed one run in seven innings, and Joey Bolick (Pine-Richland) finished 3 for 5 as the top-seeded Presidents toppled...

Every Monday, the Tribune-Review will highlight 10 top area college performances from the weekend: 1. No. 1 Penn State men’s lacrosse earns first Big Ten title Mac O’Keefe took a pass from TJ Malone and scored 25 seconds into overtime, lifting the Nittany Lions past No. 15 Johns Hopkins, 18-17,...

Every Monday, the Tribune-Review will highlight 10 top area college performances from the weekend: 1. W&J men’s tennis claims first PAC title since 1969 The Presidents defeated Grove City, 5-1, on Saturday in the conference championship, helping W&J earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III championships, which start...

Every Monday, the Tribune-Review will highlight 10 top area college performances from the weekend: 1. Pitt softball wins 1st ACC series of season Sarah Dawson threw a two-hitter, and Walker Barbee homered, tripled and finished with three RBIs as the Panthers defeated Syracuse, 6-1, in the decisive game of their...

Every Monday, the Tribune-Review will highlight 10 top area college performances from the weekend: 1. Thiel men’s volleyball earns 1st conference championship The Tomcats rallied from a first-set loss to defeat Wittenberg, 22-25, 25-18, 25-21, 25-20, in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference title match Saturday. Jacobe DeRue led Thiel (17-12)...

Every Monday, the Tribune-Review will highlight 10 top area college performances from the weekend: 1. Saint Vincent senior breaks HR record First baseman Bobby Finn (Peters Township) homered twice in a doubleheader sweep of Geneva on Saturday, becoming the school’s all-time leader with 20. He hit his 10th homer of...