District college roundup: IUP beats Clarion in shootout to clinch PSAC West title

Matthew Rueve threw for 355 yards and six touchdowns to lead IUP to a 45-42 victory over Clarion on Saturday, clinching the PSAC West title.

Devin Whitlock caught 11 passes for 143 yards for IUP (7-2, 5-1) while teammate Connor Shamany caught six passes for 98 yards and three touchdowns. Anthony Guercio threw for 282 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 103 yards and two TDs for Clarion (6-4, 2-4). Davon Jones caught six passes for 147 yards and a touchdown in the loss.

IUP will face Kutztown in the PSAC championship game.

Cal (Pa.) 41, Gannon 21 — Kendrick Agenor ran for 153 yards and three touchdowns as Cal (Pa.) (6-3, 3-3) closed its PSAC schedule by beating Gannon (1-9, 1-5). Keith Spell had two sacks and a forced fumble for Cal, which sacked Gannon’s Ty Hurst seven times overall. Hurst threw for 324 yards and all three Gannon touchdowns.

Edinboro 38, Slippery Rock 8 — Caron Robinson rushed for 273 yards and two touchdowns to lead Edinboro (6-4, 5-1) to the PSAC win against Slippery Rock (6-3, 3-3). Bo Swartz added a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs for Edinboro while Nico Marchitelli threw for 70 yards and a touchdown and ran for 69 yards. Slippery Rock’s DaOne Owens threw for 234 yards and John Sabo caught six passes for 126 yards.

Division III

Bethany 17, Thiel 12 — Brett Phillips threw for 137 yards and two touchdowns as Bethany (1-8, 1-6) edged out Thiel (1-8, 1-6) in PAC play. Monti Phillips had two of Bethany’s four interceptions. Deon Logan ran for 133 yards and a touchdown for Thiel.

Franklin & Marshall 31, Carnegie Mellon 24 — Ty Tremba threw for 244 yards and a touchdown and added a rushing touchdown as Franklin & Marshall (8-1, 6-0) posted a Centennial Conference win at Carnegie Mellon (5-4, 3-3). Kyle Checchio had 10 tackles and 1 ½ sacks for Franklin & Marshall, which had four sacks and forced four turnovers. Joey McGinnis IV threw for 223 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 73 yards and a 47-yard score for the Tartans.

Grove City 28, Case Western 14 — Caleb Brubaker had 15 tackles, two sacks and an interception as Grove City (6-2, 5-1) defeated Case Western (4-4, 4-3) in a PAC matchup. Ethan Wiley threw for 128 yards and two touchdowns for Grove City. Sam DeTillio threw for 209 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 71 yards for Case Western.

Washington & Jefferson 49, Geneva 7 — Kellan Stahl threw for 384 yards and six touchdowns to lead Washington & Jefferson (7-2, 7-0) over Geneva (5-4, 5-2), clinching a share of the PAC title. Jacob Macosko and John Peduzzi each caught eight passes and three touchdowns. Macosko had 165 yards and Peduzzi had 163 yards. Sam Coleman had two interceptions for the Presidents’ defense. Caleb Romano threw for 271 yards and a touchdown to Luke Crumbacher, who had seven receptions for 148 yards.

Waynesburg 35, Saint Vincent 24 — In PAC play, Carson Shriver ran for 119 yards and three touchdowns as Waynesburg (4-6, 4-4) beat Saint Vincent (2-6, 1-5). Luke Hudson completed 18 of 21 passes for 205 yards and a touchdown for Waynesburg. Jake Phillips threw for 322 yards and two touchdowns — both to Chris Downs — for Saint Vincent. Downs caught 10 passes for 177 yards while teammate Matthew Davis ran for 126 yards and a touchdown.

Westminster 76, Hiram 0 — Westminster scored 34 points in the first half and three defensive touchdowns in its PAC shutout over Hiram (3-6, 2-5). Lawrence Kasanzale II and Jack Bible scored on fumble returns and Lamont Austin on a 25-yard interception return. Brite Cannon caught six passes for 107 yards and a touchdown for Westminster while Clayton Cannon Jr. ran for three touchdowns.

Division I FCS

Mercyhurst 16, Saint Francis 15 — Adam Urena found Dylan Evans for a 15-yard touchdown with 20 seconds left in the fourth quarter and Mercyhurst (4-6, 3-2) kept Saint Francis (0-9, 0-5) winless in the Northeast Conference. The Lakers’ 2-point conversion attempt failed before Saint Francis ended the game on a lateral play.

Mac Plummer scored the opening nine points of the game for Saint Francis on field goals of 28, 34 and 26 yards. He added two field goals, from 20 and 25 yards, in the final two minutes to take a 15-10 lead with 1:07 left.

Mercyhurst’s game-winning drive went 65 yards in six plays. Urena completed his first four passes of the drive, including completions of 7, 13 and 20 yards to Evans, who finished with nine catches for 138 yards.

Nick Whitfield Jr. was 21-of-36 passing for 193 yards for Saint Francis, which has lost 10 straight dating to last season.