A new NCAA rule made Scots coach Scott Browning change his strategy in last week's 24-14 home loss to No. 6-ranked California (Pa.)./Josh Barber/Erie Times-News

In preparing for last week’s home opener against No. 6-ranked California (Pa.), the Edinboro coaches made a decision to go for it on 4th-and-short if put in that situation against the Vulcans.

“We had decided on Wednesday that if we were 4th-and-2 or less, we  were going to go for it,” Edinboro coach Scott Browning said Monday. “That was a staff decision.”

He didn’t know at the time the NCAA’s new rule in which players must sit out a play if their helmets come off would make him go against he and his staff’s thinking.

Down 10-7 on its second offensive series of the second half, Edinboro had a 4th-and-2 situation at the Cal 29. Junior quarterback Cody Harris put the Scots in this position with a 5-yard run on third down.

Harris also lost his helmet.

So instead of bringing in a new quarterback or even calling a timeout to get Harris back in the game, Browning elected to try a 46-yard field goal that Sean Seefeldt missed.

Now Browning says Seefeldt, a freshman from Newfane,  N.Y., has made field goals from that distance in practice.

“He’s been hitting them left and right, now,” Browning said. “He’s had a lot of success hitting them. That was not a stretch by no means.”

However, Harris losing his helmet impacted the decision.

Read the rest of this entry »

Senior Bryan Kelly and the Gannon defense did the job in helping the Knights shock No. 14-ranked Slippery Rock, 33-27, at Gannon University Field./Photo by Jack Hanrahan/Erie Times-News

What a day of college football in the PSAC. Here are some highlights from the games.

Biggest upset: Gannon stuns No. 14-ranked Slippery Rock, 33-27. The Knights had just three wins, but got four touchdown passes from redshift freshman Daniel Tapscott and forced five turnovers to knock off the Rock (8-2, 6-1). The Rock will still play in next week’s PSAC title game, but Gannon sent them into it on negative momentum.

Biggest comeback: Mercyhurst College rallied from a 24-point, third-quarter deficit to win at Clarion, 42-38.  Anthony Vendemia picked up his first win as a starter to end Mercyhurst’s five-game losing skid. Richie Sanders’ 1-yard run with 32 seconds left put the Lakers up for good.

Two-minute rally: Down 20 points late in the fourth quarter, Edinboro scored two touchdowns and was an onside kick conversion away from having a chance to beat No. 22 California (Pa.).  Instead the Vulcans recovered the onside kick and edged Edinboro, 34-28.

Biggest beatdown: In a battle of Top 25 teams, No. 13 Kutztown destroyed No. 12 Bloomsburg, 52-14, to earn a spot in next week’s PSAC championship game. Kevin Morton threw three touchdowns, no interceptions and ran for another score to lead the Golden Bears to victory.

CALIFORNIA, Pa. – California (Pa.) scored all its first-half points in the second quarter to take a 24-7 halftime lead against Edinboro at Adamson Stadium.

Now on to more important matters.

The No. 22-ranked Vulcans changed their uniforms at halftime. They went from black shirts with white numbers to red uniforms with black numbers. They’re still wearing black pants.

Having both lost to Edinboro and California (Pa.), Mercyhurst College senior receiver Trevor Kennedy and Gannon coach Jim Kiernan have an idea of what the Scots (7-2, 4-2) and No. 22-ranked Vulcans (7-2, 5-1) can do.

The Lakers lost 30-20 to Edinboro at home Oct. 15 and fell 32-26 at Cal in overtime Oct. 22 . The Knights lost 27-0 at home to Edinboro on Sept. 24 and fell 33-6 at Cal on Oct. 8.

So this week, we asked Kennedy and Kiernan how they see this PSAC West showdown between the Scots and Vulcans going today at 3:30 p.m. at Cal.

Read the rest of this entry »

Left guard Rob Stoner has 45 career starts at Edinboro./Photo by Christopher Millette/Erie Times-News

In a continuing series of Q&As with local players who are playing area college football, Duane Rankin caught up with Edinboro senior left guard Rob Stoner to talk about several topics.

A General McLane graduate, Stoner has returned from a season-ending back injury in the 2010 opener to start every game this season. The 6-foot, 2-inch, 295-pound graduate student leads the Scots in career starts with 45.

A 2009 first-team All-PSAC West selection, Stoner will try to help the Scots (7-2, 4-2) end a six-game losing skid against No. 22-ranked California (Pa.) in Saturday’s PSAC West finale at Adamson Stadium. The Vulcans (7-2, 5-1) last lost to Edinboro in 2004.

Talking to Stoner this week at Edinboro, Rankin and him talked about last week’s Senior Day, being a veteran on the offensive line and facing Cal.

How has this season been for you coming back from the injury? “It’s been great. We’ve had our ups and downs as every team does, but overall, it’s a great group of guys. Every day, I come out and have fun and I think the team overall has fun, too. Couldn’t be happier.”

What was Senior Day like for you? (Last week, Edinboro had its Senior Day. The Scots won, 42-7, against Lock Haven) “It was different. Having mom and dad out there. Talking to them a little bit and told them I thought it was weird. It’s kind of winding down here with my career. It was a different feeling. Mixed emotions. It’s been great, but I’m going to miss it. It was something different.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Tapscott missed today's game with an injury./ETN file photo.

Gannon was without redshirt freshman Daniel Tapscott for today’s PSAC West game at No. 15-ranked California (Pa.). The Knights (2-4, 1-2) lost, 33-6, to the Vulcans (5-1, 3-0).

Tapscott was coming off a three-touchdown performance in last week’s 30-27 win at rival Mercyhurst College, but during that game, he took a hit on his right hand or arm.

After that game, Tapscott was asked about it, but brushed it off by saying he was alright.

Apparently he wasn’t.

In his place, redshirt freshman Ty Watson made his first career start and went 15-of-28 for 155 yards, no touchdowns, two interceptions and was sacked six times by the Vulcans.

The crazy thing about this is Gannon, Edinboro and Mercyhurst all started new quarterbacks today.

Edinboro started true freshman Ty Stoldt in today’s 24-23 loss to Slippery Rock for sophomore Cody Harris, who was out from a concussion he sustained last week at Indiana (Pa.).

Mercyhurst started third-year sophomore Anthony Vendemia in today’s 35-28 overtime loss to IUP for senior Travis Rearick, who had a season-ending knee injury last week against Gannon.

California (Pa.) senior receiver Thomas Mayo and Mercyhurst College senior receiver Trevor Kennedy are neck in neck atop the PSAC leader board in three major receiving categories.

Mayo, a transfer from Concord (W.Va.), leads the conference in receptions with 25. Kennedy is second with 23.

Kennedy leads the PSAC in receiving yards with 463 and Mayo is second with 461. Kennedy, the 2010 PSAC West Offensive Player of the Year, has a PSAC-best seven receiving touchdowns and Mayo has three, which ties him for third with East Stroudsburg sophomore Dusty Reed.

Below is one of Mayo’s scores that won game for California in its 22-19 victory last week against the Warriors.

Gannon is coming off a 47-0 win against Millersville, but will face tougher competition the next three weeks starting with No. 19-ranked Edinboro./ETN file photo.

It’s starts Saturday with Edinboro.

Gannon has an three-game stretch that will greatly determine whether it will still be in contention for a PSAC West title or not in mid-October.

The Knights (1-2) play the No. 19-ranked Scots (3-0) to open PSAC West play Saturday at noon at Gannon University Field. Edinboro has outscored its first three opponents this season by a 120-46 margin.

From there, Gannon plays at defending PSAC champion Mercyhurst College on Oct. 1 and at No. 17 California (Pa.) on Oct. 9.

The Lakers (2-1) rebounded from a 35-28 loss to No. 12 Kutztown to beat C.W. Post, 34-7, last week at home. The Vulcans (2-1) have won their last two games after opening the season with a 26-3 home loss to St. Cloud St. (Minn.)

Gannon is a combined 4-18-1 against Edinboro, Mercyhurst and Cal. The four wins and tie are against the city rival Lakers. Mercyhurst had won four straight against the Knights before losing 14-10 last season at Gannon.

The Knights are 0-5 against Edinboro and 0-3 against Cal.

Scott Browning has an overall record of 38-19 at Edinboro, but is only 14-13 at home./Photo by Rob Engelhardt of the Erie Times-News

Sox Harrison Stadium hasn’t been so kind to Scott Browning.

In his five seasons at Edinboro’s head coach, Browning, 52, has compiled a 38-19 record. Two of his teams have tied a school record for most wins in a season with nine. In 2009, he led the Scots to the NCAA Division II playoffs.

However, the Scots are 14-13 at home under Browning. In his first year, they lost four home games and last season, they were 2-3 at Sox Harrison Stadium.

On the flip side, Edinboro is a sparkling 24-6 on the road under Browning. In 2008, the Scots were a perfect 6-0 away from Sox Harrison Stadium and last season, they went 5-1 in road games.

A constant in this whole thing is California (Pa.) in the sense that Browning has yet to beat the Vulcans. Cal is the only PSAC team he hasn’t beaten.

Looking at this season’s schedule, Edinboro’s home games are against West Liberty (W.Va.), Merrimack, Cheyney, Slippery Rock (homecoming), Clarion and Lock Haven.

Last season, the Scots beat West Liberty, Cheyney, Clarion and Lock Haven, but lost to Slippery Rock. They didn’t play Merrimack.

And if history means anything, the Scots have a better chance of beating Cal at its place than at Sox Harrison Stadium. They play at Cal on Nov. 5.