ACFC Week 1 Review
ATLANTIC CENTRAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
WEEK 1 REVIEW
September 5 scores
#9 Wesley 34, #20 Christopher Newport 0
Salisbury 34, Pace 14
Geneva 41, Frostburg State 28
NAIA #25 Malone 35, Apprentice 19
September 12 games
Wesley at North Greenville, 7 pm
Washington & Jefferson at Frostburg State, 7 pm
Apprentice School at UVA Wise, 1:30 pm
Salisbury at N.C. Wesleyan, 1 pm
WESLEY 34, CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT 0
Dover, Del. - Questions about the 2009 edition of the Wesley College Wolverines were answered today as junior quarterback Shane McSweeney (Bensalem, Pa.) tossed a pair of touchdown passes to new wide out Ellis Krout (Dallas, Tx.) and the Wesley defense pitched their first shutout in a decisive 34-0 victory over the visiting Captain of Christopher Newport University.
Wesley eagerly awaited the visit of the #20 ranked Captains after last year's meeting was canceled due to Hurrican Hanna. Before kickoff, the Wolverines showed a tremendous amount of respect for CNU's potent running game and the talents of pre-season all-american Tunde Ogun. After the kickoff it was a completely different story.
The Wolverine defense was down right rude to Ogun and the rest of the Captain offense. Time after time the Wesley defensive players fought through gaps, reaching Ogun and his mates in the backfield. Ogun finished the day gaining only 6 yards on 12 carries (0.7 yard per carry). Captain quarterback Matt Long was the rushing leader with 44 of the team's 69 yards on the day.
Wesley's returning starting safeties Marcus Wilson ( Pennsauken , N.J. ) and Aaron Benson ( Swarthmore , Pa. ) sliced through offensive blockers to take down the ball carrier before they could get started, accounting for 8 and 6 tackles a piece. Wilson, a transfer from the University of Iowa delivered numerous bone crunching tackles that will have offensive coordinators, and quarterbacks, taking notice in upcoming film sessions.
Benson, a second year captain as a junior, used his head in a different way, ball hawking his way to a 73-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. In the end, Wesley's defense held the Captains to only 241 total yards, and average of 3.8 per play.
Wesley's offense was not far behind. With the departure of star wide-out Larry Beavers to the NFL, the Wolverine faithful wondered who would fit into those fast shoes. In stepped 6-4 Ellis Krout, transfer receiver from Galivan ( Calif. ) College. Krout made his debut at Scott D. Miller Stadium by hauling in 3 passes, including 55 and 15 yard touchdowns.
Krout first score put Wesley up 6-0 on their second drive of the first quarter. Wolverine placekicker, Colin Blugis ( Odenton , Md. ), had his extra point attempt blocked by Markis Kelly of the Captains.
Wesley offense found its rhythm later in the fist quarter marching 95 yards down the field in 10 plays ending with a 13 yard scoot around the left side by senior running back Aaron Jackson ( New Brunswick , N.J. ). After sharing the backfield for two years with Mike Pennewell, Jackson showed that the Wesley running game is as strong as ever churning out 94 yards on 19 carries. Blugis nailed the extra point this time giving Wesley a 13-0 lead late in the first quarter.
The Captain's defense rallied in the second quarter forcing three consecutive Wolverine 3-and-outs, only allowing Wesley into their territory once to the 49. As the team went into the locker room, Wesley controlled the game at 13-0.
Wesley opened the scoring in the second half, with the second of Krout two recieving touchdowns. The catch finished off an 8-play, 64-yard drive, that also included 24 rushing yards from Jackson . The extra point sailed through the uprights with Wesley now firmly in control at 20-0 early in the third quarter.
Jackson increased the Wesley lead with his second touchdown of the day punching in a 1-yard dive off the left side culminating another 8-play drive. The dive followed a spectacular catch by starting tight end Sean McAndrew who went out of bounds right over the goal marker but was called down at the 1-yard line. Blugis again found the uprights and Wesley was cruising at 27-0.
The scoring was completed in the fourth quarter with Benson on the receiving end of Captain's Matt Long's pass, then galloping 73-yards for the score giving Wesley a decisive 34-0 opening weekend victory over a ranked opponent.
Wesley travels to North Greenville University , a NCAA Division II Independent. Wesley expects an 11-hour bus ride to take on the Crusaders in Tigerville, SC. Wesley will also keep an eye on the Captain's next opponent as they play host to the Salisbury University Seahawks at Pomoco Stadium in Newport News, Va.
SALISBURY 34, PACE 14
SALISBURY, Md. - The Salisbury University football team opened up its 2009 season with a 34-14 non-conference victory over Pace University on Saturday afternoon before a crowd of 1,382 at Sea Gull Stadium. SU gutted out 344 yards on the ground as the Sea Gulls amassed a total of 413 yards of offense on the day. The victory marked the ninth consecutive opening day win for SU, dating back to September 1, 2001.
"It's the home opener," said Salisbury head coach Sherman Wood. "It's very important for the psyche of our kids. Getting off to a good start, I think we've got a little momentum."
Salisbury (1-0) had four different players scramble for touchdowns with the bulk of the damage being derived from senior quarterback Bobby Sheahin (Brookeville, Md.), who rushed for a game-high 71 yards on 16 carries. Sheahin was also 5-for-8 passing on the day and threw for 60 yards, which proved to be the fifth most of his career.
Senior slotbacks William Midgette (Salisbury, Md.), who ran for one touchdown and Valdase Morris (Salisbury, Md.) scampered for 66 and 48 yards, respectively, while sophomore slot back Jonathon Briscoe (Waldorf, Md.) poured in 41 yards and a score.
The maroon and gold defense provided an equally impressive effort to begin the season as the Sea Gulls held Pace (0-1) to just 1 yard rushing and 194 total yards. The defense was propelled by the impressive performance of junior linebacker Justin Chura (Lothian, Md.), who made five tackles (three solo) and two sacks for 12 yards. Chura added to his big day with three tackles for losses that covered a total of 15 yards. Senior linebacker Eric Arndt (Waldwick, N.J.) notched a team-high six tackles (two solo) while senior defensive end Paul Cynewski (Moorestown, N.J.) had three tackles (two for loss) and two sacks.
The Sea Gulls found themselves trailing 7-0 to begin the game as Pace opened with a three-minute, 80-yard drive that was capped by a 10-yard touchdown rush by Kyle Curran. The lead did not last for long as SU scored 16 unanswered points over the next 26 minutes behind a 34-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Tommy Kowalick (Sterling, Va.), a 17-yard touchdown run from Sheahin, and an 18-yard end zone scamper by junior slot back Warren Anderson (Vienna, Va.).
Salisbury managed to keep the Setters off the board until the final minute of the first half when Nathaniel Ford broke free from 7yards out with to bring Pace within one score at halftime, 16-14. Two points was as close as Pace would get the rest of the way.
Junior dawg Marcus Randolph (Elkridge, Md.) continued SU's strong defensive showing on the Setters' first offensive drive of the second half when he sacked Pace quarterback Ray Gregg for a loss of 17 yards, forcing a fumble and recovering it.
Salilsbury would break a 17-minute, second-half scoreless streak by both teams when Kowalick hammered home his second field goal of the day, this time from 37 yards out, at the 13:29 mark in the fourth quarter. The game was put out of reach in the latter minutes of the final period when Salisbury put up 14 more points on rushing scores by Midgette and Briscoe, who scored from 9 and 28 yards, respectively.
Salisbury looks to continue its winning ways when the Sea Gulls hit the road for the first of two consecutive road contests with a bout against North Carolina Wesleyan College Saturday, Sept. 12, at 1 p.m.
MALONE 35, APPRENTICE 19
CANTON, OHIO - The Apprentice School opened its 2009 football season playing next door to the Pro Football Hall of Fame and fell to NAIA 25th-ranked Malone 35-19 at Fawcett Stadium on Saturday.
Junior Markus McFolling opened the scoring for the Pioneers closing out a 64-yard scoring drive with an 11-yard scamper at the 7:15 mark to give the hosts a 7-0 lead. Apprentice School tied the game late in the first quarter as senior Sam Arnold closed an 11-play, 68-yard drive with a 21-yard scoring run with 18 seconds left in the quarter.
The Pioneers' freshman quarterback Steve Brohl then pushed Malone up 21-7 on a pair of scoring passes. His first connection was to Ryan Murphy for a 19-yard touchdown with 13:23 left in the half. He then found Derrick McLean on a 24 yard scoring pass with 4:51 left for the 21-7 advantage.
Phil Caralla, Apprentice School's senior quarterback, brought the Builders to within 21-14 as he connected with junior Bryan Cain on a 24-yard scoring pass where Cain stretched out past the defender for the touchdown pass with 2:03 left.
Malone scored twice in a three minute span of the third quarter to get a working margin of 35-14, both scores coming on Brohl touchdown passes. The first was a two-yard pass to Jeff Perri with 9:35 left, while he threw his fourth of the game to Jason Malone on a 31-yard strike with 6:20 remaining.
The Builders took advantage of a strong punt from freshman Thomas Mason who pinned the Pioneers' on its one-yardline. Two plays later the defense forced Brohl to step out of the end zone for a safety to cut the deficit to 35-16.
Following the free kick, Apprentice School went on a four minute drive that ended as Mason hit a school-record tying 44-yard field goal with 13:37 left in the game for the final score of the day. He now shares that record with Richard Mancuso who hit a 44-yard field goal against Wingate on November 15, 1986.
Arnold was the leading rusher for the Builders with 79 yards on 28 carries and a touchdown. Caralla threw for 117 yards completing 7-of-18 for one touchdown. The defense did force two fumbles by Malone, which were the only turnovers in the game.
GENEVA 41, FROSTBURG STATE 28
FROSTBURG, Md. - Freshman quarterback Phoenix
Butler-Poole (Silver Spring, Md./Springbrook) and senior wideout
Makiha Cooper (Baltimore, Md./Forest Park) connected on two fourth
quarter touchdowns as the Frostburg State football team rallied
from a 20-point deficit and came within six points late in the game
before Geneva added a late score to seal a wild 41-28 victory in
the season opener for both teams, Saturday evening.
The Bobcats (0-1) trailed 34-14 heading into the final quarter, but
Butler-Poole found Cooper for a five-yard touchdown with 7:32 to
play and the duo hooked up again on a seven-yard scoring strike
with 5:18 showing to bring the Bobcats to within six points, 34-28.
The FSU defense then came up big, holding the Golden Tornadoes
(1-0) to five yards and a punt on their ensuing possession.
However, Geneva's punt pinned the Bobcats at their own two-yard
line and on the first play, FSU fumbled the ball and Geneva
recovered at the eight-yard line. Five plays later, GC quarterback
David Girardi scored from two yards out to seal the final score at
41-28.
FSU got on the board first in the opening quarter (12:25) when
senior return specialist Avery Willie (Aberdeen, Md./Aberdeen)
returned a punt 43 yards for a touchdown as the Bobcats moved ahead
7-0. Geneva tied the ballgame on its next possession when Gerard
Muschette scored from three yards out.
Willie scored again early in the second quarter (12:58) when
Butler-Poole found him for an 80-yard touchdown reception, the
eighth longest in school history, that capped a five-play 96-yard
drive that started on the Bobcats' own four-yard line.
Geneva then scored three-straight touchdowns over the next 5:30 to
take a 27-14 lead into halftime. Matt Dean found the endzone from
two yards out and the Golden Tornadoe defense scored twice, a
23-yard fumble recovery and a 97-yard interception return.
With 11:40 left in the third, AJ Delmonico caught a 10-yard scoring
pass from Girardi to give GC a 34-14 lead. Both teams struggled
over their next three possessions, until FSU scored with 7:32 left
in the fourth.
Butler-Poole finished his collegiate debut with 232 yards and three
touchdowns on 14-of-33 pass attempts. Cooper led all receivers with
seven receptions for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Wilie finished
with 164 all-purpose yards, including two receptions for 86 yards
and that 80-yard score in the second. He also finished with 46 punt
return yards, aided by the 43-yard touchdown to open the game's
scoring.
On defense, sophomore defensive back Jim Lohr (Bowie,
Md./Archbishop Spalding) led the team with nine tackles followed by
junior Michael Joseph (Hyattsville, Md./Northwest) and sophomore
Travis Blair (Upper Marlboro, Md./Oxon Hill) with eight stops
each.
Girardi led the Geneva offense with 200 yards passing (19-of-32), a
touchdown through the air and the two-yard scoring run late in the
fourth.
Frostburg State hosts Washington & Jefferson next Saturday at
Bobcat Stadium at 7:00 p.m
