District college roundup: Cal (Pa.) rolls in opener; St. Francis (Pa.) puts scare into Akron

Serra Catholic grad JaQuae Jackson caught 10 passes for 113 yards and two touchdowns as Cal (Pa.) jumped out to a three touchdown lead in the first half and rolled to a 35-15 victory over Fairmont State on Thursday night.

Noah Mitchell was 18 for 25 for 212 yards and three scores for the Vulcans (1-0). With Mitchell out with an injury in the third quarter, Wyatt Hirt came in and completed the only pass he threw for a 50-yard score to Eric Willis, who finished with three catches for 93 yards and two scores.

Eric McKan III ran 24 times for 152 yards and a touchdown for Cal. The Vulcans defense held Fairmont State (0-1) to 194 yards of total offense.

Wheeling 25, Seton Hill 11 – The Wheeling defense intercepted four passes and recorded two safeties to pick up a 25-11 season-opening win over Seton Hill. Sy Alli ran 26 times for 110 yards and a touchdown for Wheeling (1-0). Jake Keenan caught four passes for 52 yards.

Alton Jones Jr. intercepted two passes for the Griffins (0-1). JaiQuawn McGriff ran 20 times for 57 yards and a touchdown. Eddie Scott was 6 for 19 for 122 yards and four interceptions. Ethan Fame caught three passes for 67 yards and Todd Phillips had three grabs for 55 yards.

The score was tied 2-2 after the first quarter when the teams traded safeties. Wheeling took the lead for good on a 13-yard TD pass from Javon Davis to Chris Canady with 47 seconds left in the first half.

Akron 30, St. Francis 23 — Cam Wiley had a 1-yard touchdown run in overtime and Akron held off FCS-member St. Francis (Pa.) in the debut of head coach Joe Moorhead.

Wiley scored on the first possession of overtime in the season opener for both teams. Hempfield grad Justin Sliwoski then drove the Red Flash to the Akron 6, including a 16-yard pass to Dawson Snyder on fourth-and-10. But Tyson Durant picked off a Sliwoski pass to end it.

DJ Irons threw two touchdown passes and was 23 of 38 for 270 yards passing for the Zips. Irons lofted a 41-yard pass to Shocky Jacques-Louis, who beat two defenders and made a two-handed, over-the-shoulder catch, that gave the Zips a 17-16 lead late in the third quarter. Irons connected with nine receivers that included six completions of 15 yards or more.

The Zips stretched their lead to 23-16 with 5:42 left on Wiley’s 7-yard touchdown run, but St. Francis blocked the PAT attempt. Sliwoski then tossed a 55-yard pass to Dawson Snyder that sparked a five-play, 81-yard drive, capped by Deondre Scott’s 7-yard touchdown run, to tie it 23-23 with 3:30 remaining.

Sliwoski was 11-of-17 passing for 162 yards. Damon Horton also had a touchdown run for St. Francis.

West Liberty 21, Clarion 14 – West Liberty (1-0) scored on a 48-yard pass from Jamie Diven to Rashawn Harvey and a 20-yard interception return by Shon Stephens in the last eight minutes of the second quarter to take control against Clarion. Khalil Owens ran 28 times for 120 yards and two touchdowns for the Golden Eagles (0-1).

Gannon 47, Charleston 13 – Kory Curtis threw for 164 yards and three touchdowns and ran for two more scores to lead Gannon (1-0) past Charleston (0-1). Melvin Blanks and Antonio Wright each ran for 100 yards. Blanks carried 18 times for 113 yards and a touchdown and Wright had 14 carries for 109 yards. Davis Black went 26 for 46 for 247 yards and a score for Charleston.