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BAY CITY, Mich. - Ferris State University junior runningback Skylar Stoker (Jackson, Mich./Grass Lake) was named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) "Offensive Player of the Week" for leading the Bulldogs to a 20-17 upset victory of No. 18 Hillsdale College in the team's season opener last Friday. Lake Erie College senior linebacker Kevin Chapman (Cincinnati, Ohio/Anderson) earned "Defensive Player of the Week Honors," while Northern Michigan University senior runningback/kick returner John Privitelli (Villa Park, Calif.) was tabbed "Special Teams Player of the Week."
Ashland - AU lost at ninth-ranked
Bloomsburg, 27-20 last Thursday night. Trailing 17-0 entering the
fourth quarter, the Eagles staged a furious rally to tie the game,
17-17 with 5:45 left in regulation. Bloomsburg fought back
for 10 points in the final 5:45 to hold off the Eagles. This was
the fourth consecutive year the teams met in the
opener…senior Gregg Berkshire (Ashland, Ohio) kicked two
field goals last week and has 120 in his career. That’s a
school record. Berkshire entered last week’s game tied with
Jeff Groza (1972-74) for the all-time record. Berkshire has
42 career field goals, the school record is 44…senior slot
back D.J. McCoy left last week’s game in the first half with
a leg injury. That stopped a string of eight consecutive
100-yard performances dating back to last season… AU got two
strong performances from a pair of true freshmen running
backs. Jordan McCune (Bellville, Ohio/Clear Fork), rushed for
a team-high 77 yards on 13 carries with two touchdowns and Anthony
Taylor (Arlington, Va./Washington-Lee) had 66 yards on 11
carries.
Ferris State - FSU kicked off its 2011 campaign
with a thrilling 20-17 non-conference home win over preseason
nationally-ranked Hillsdale on Friday (Sept. 2) evening at
FSU’s Top Taggart Field... The Bulldogs knocked off the
Chargers, who were ranked 18th in the D2football.com Preseason Top
25 Poll, by rallying back from a 17-7 third-quarter deficit before
a “Community Day” crowd of 3,453 fans in the first game
of the year for both squads... Ferris drove 70 yards in six plays
to cut the deficit to 17-13 with 7:04 left in the third quarter on
junior Skyler Stoker’s 11-yard TD run. Stoker
wasn’t finished as he scored the go-ahead touchdown from
nine-yards out with 13:07 remaining in the game to finish a 75-yard
jaunt that took 10 plays... Ferris State’s defense came up
with two critical turnovers in the second half and forced Hillsdale
to punt on each of its final two possessions to preserve the
victory... Stoker earned Babb Ford Bulldog Player of the Game
honors by running for a career-high 162 yards and two touchdowns on
16 carries. Senior QB Tom Schneider completed 10-of-21
passes for 84 yards with senior receiver Mike Ryan grabbing five
receptions for 49 yards.
Findlay - The Oilers began their season with a
14-10 loss at Northwood University in non-conference action.
Junior running back Monterae Williams recorded 144 yards on 26
carries while sophomore tight end Jaryd Brown had a career-high
eight receptions for 103 yards and a score. Defensively,
junior linebacker Brandon Butler registered ten tackles. The
Oilers piled up 382 yards of total offense. In comparison,
the Oilers only went over 350 yards in a game once last
season. Red-shirt freshman wide receiver Nathan Morris had
two kick returns for 68 yards.
Grand Valley State - Grand Valley State’s
44-20 victory over Western Oregon was the Lakers’ 10th
straight season-opening win… GVSU has won 34 consecutive
regular season games at Lubbers Stadium…Sophomore QB Heath
Parling (Plymouth, Mich./Salem) completed 15-of-27 passes for 205
yards and three TDs in three quarters of action in his first
collegiate start..Junior WR Charles Johnson (Elsmere, Kent.) caught
three passes for 63 yards and two TDs in his first game as a
Laker.
Hillsdale - For the first time since 2005, the
Hillsdale College football team lost a season-opening game, 20-17
at Ferris State…It was the Bulldogs’ first win over
the Chargers since 2007 and second victory over Hillsdale since
2004…Junior QB Anthony Mifsud (Dearborn, Mich.) made his
first career start, and went 15-for-20 for 144 yards…Junior
Cam White (Grand Rapids, Mich.) led the team in receptions and
receiving yards for the first time in his career, catching six
passes for 72 yards…White also had a rushing touchdown
…Junior RB Joe Glendening (East Grand Rapids, Mich.) moved
into 10th place on Hillsdale’s all-time rushing list after
his 153-yard effort against Ferris State…He now has 1,804
rushing yards for his career and needs 118 yards to move into ninth
place on the team’s career list, passing 1982 graduate Jerry
Cifor.
Indianapolis - The shutout was UIndy’s
first since Sep.15, 2007 – a 35-0 win versus
then-GLIAC-member Gannon…The Greyhounds committed zero
turnovers in the game…UIndy’s 221 net rushing yards
marked the team’s highest total since compiling 274 yards on
the ground in the ’08 season finale versus Northern Michigan
(11/8/08)…Sophomore running back Klay Fiechter (Bluffton,
Ind.) set a career-best with 96 rushing yards, while junior RB
Joumeel McLaurine (Columbus, Ind.) racked-up 86 yards on just 11
carries (7.8 ypr)…Sophomore QB Chris Mills (Lafayette, Ind.)
set a career high with three TD passes, good for his fourth
multi-TD game in just eight career starts…Jerrett Ban
(Roachdale, Ind.) collected his first collegiate interception with
a first-quarter pick of KWC quarterback Chris Owen.
Lake Erie - The Storm won its varsity season opener for the first time, having lost the pervious three season-opening meetings with Gannon by a combined total of nine points... the 228 yards allowed by the Storm defense were the second fewest ever surrendered in a game (207 vs. Salisbury, 2009)... Kevin Chapman led the way with a career-high 14 tackles, 3.5 TFL and 1.5 sacks. He also broke up a pass and forced and recovered a fourth quarter fumble... Gus Armbruster and Cameron Bryant each had seven tackles. Armbruster had the game clinching interception and returned it 43 yards. Bryant had 1.5 sacks... offensively, redshirt sophomore Brendan Gallagher completed 20-of-28 passes for 199 yards and a touchdown with one interception in his first career start. His 9-yard TD pass to Cole Gordon with 6:24 remaining proved to be the game winner... that touchdown grab was Gordon’s first career reception.
Michigan Tech - Michigan Tech’s defense
picked up where it left off last season. The Huskies held Winona
State to just 162 yards of total offense and six points. They led
the GLIAC in scoring defense and were second in total defense in
2010 … Michigan Tech has won five consecutive games dating
back to last season … Tech has allowed just six points in
its last two games … Freshman quarterback Tyler Scarlett
(Clarkston, Mich.) went 21-for-28 in his collegiate debut …
Todd Storm (Calumet, Mich.) posted 2.5 sacks at Winona State. The
senior captain, who led the GLIAC in sacks last year, moved into
fourth place on the Tech’s all-time sacks list during the
game. He now has 13.5 …Head coach Tom Kearly improved to 2-1
vs. his alma mater, Winona State, last Saturday. His overall career
record now stands at 31-22 (.585).
Northern Michigan - NMU opened the season in the
Superior Dome with a 31-24 win over Minnesota State-Mankato on
Thursday (Sept. 1)…The ‘Cats scored a touchdown on a
fourth and one late in the fourth quarter to lead by
seven…The Mavericks marched down the field but were
intercepted by defensive back Jacob Lehman in the
endzone…Carter Kopach completed 13-of-19 passes for 147
yards and two touchdowns…Kopach also led the team with 80
yards rushing … John Privitelli scored the first touchdown
of the season for NMU with a 67-yard punt return early in the first
quarter… Christian Jessie had four receptions for 63 yards
and a touchdown… Christian Marble-King four receptions for
29 yards and a rushing touchdown…Rockne Belmonte made a
43-yard field goal and four extra points…Garrett Peck had
three punts for 133 yards (44.3 yard average)…Eddie Knoblock
led the ‘Cats with nine tackles (2 solo and 7 assisted).
Northwood - Northwood opened their 2011 season
with a 14-10 win over Findlay in a non-GLIAC contest ... the game
was delayed by over an hour due to poor weather in the Midland area
... the Oilers had more first downs (20-14) and total yards
(382-285) in the game, but Northwood came up with a critical
interception inside the NU five yard line with Findlay driving in
the fourth quarter to take the lead ... the interception was by
junior Joe Bitterman (Chesaning, Mich.), who was playing in his
first career game at safety ... Bitterman has also played
quarterback and running back in his time at Northwood ... redshirt
freshman Tim Zabawa (Warren, Mich./De La Salle) had a strong debut
for the Timberwolves, scoring a both of NU’s touchdowns ...
he had a one-yard scoring run in the first quarter and a 55-yard
dash in the third ... the defensive effort was led by Curtis
Hutchins (Kokomo, Ind.), who finished the game with 10 tackles.
Ohio Dominican - A balanced offensive attack and
superb special teams play helped lead ODU past Saint Joseph’s
(Ind.) College in its opener, 32-20…The Panthers threw for
193 yards and ran for 254 yards, the second-highest total in school
history…Mike Noffsinger ran for 117 yards to set the
school’s all-time rushing record, giving him 1,589 yards in
his career…It was also his seventh 100 yard rushing
performance…Jeremy Fudge finished with 260 yards of offense,
second-most in the GLIAC…Chris Vortkamp excelled in his
kicking and punting duties, averaging 52.5 yards on his four punts,
with three of the four longer than 50 yards and the fourth being
downed at the SJC one yard line…Vortkamp also hit all three
field goal attempts…The defense limited SJC to 72 yards
rushing on 26 carries (2.8 average)… Eisen Hardy finished
with 11 stops and an interception, Ricardo Thompson had 10 tackles
in his first game as a Panther, and Tyrone Patel made eight stops
in his first action as well…ODU protected its fourth quarter
lead by controlling the ball for 10:01 in the final
period…The Panthers had two 92 yard touchdown drives and an
87 yard field goal drive.
Saginaw Valley State - The Cardinals were idle
last week.
Tiffin - Tiffin lost a hard fought 40-34 double
overtime game at Fawcett Stadium against Malone University despite
outgaining Malone 469-418, with 300 of those yards coming through
the air. However, the Dragons defense gave up 272 yards rushing to
the Pioneers and converted only 2 of 15 third down opportunities
… QB James Capello finished 37 for 55 for 300 yards with 4
interceptions, 3 touchdowns, and 4 sacks. James Hall led the ground
game with 58 yards on 13 rushes, while David McKnight also had 52
yards on 6 carries. Darrion Brown led the receivers with 70 yards
on 8 catches, while Marcus Beaurem had 61 yards on 6
receptions… Kody David had a solid game defensively,
totaling 15 tackles with 10 solo stops, while Mike Virgin had 11
tackles and a forced fumble. Phil Morris and Hausaan Burton added 7
tackles apiece, while Logan Kaminski had 2 sacks in the
game…Brown totaled 107 all-purpose yards, adding 37 kick
return yards to his 70 receiving yards.
Wayne State - The 69 points by the Warriors
surpassed the previous school record of 65 set by Wayne University
in the 1937 season finale (Nov. 20) 65-0 triumph over
Hillsdale … senior safety Jeremy Jones (Grand Rapids,
Mich. / Rockford) moved into third place in the WSU all-time
interception return yards chart with his 35-yard return in the
second quarter. Jones has 245 career interception return
yards and trails Stan Thornton (346 yards) and Chuck Aldrich (373
yards) … senior running back Josh Renel (Rochester Hills,
Mich. / Rochester Adams) had his fifth consecutive 100-yard game
despite playing only one play in the second half. He is
tied-for-eighth in career rushing touchdowns with 16. Renel
also passed Pierre Brown (1998-2001) for seventh place on the
career all-purpose yards list. He has 3,390 entering the
Tiffin contest … redshirt freshman RB Desmond Martin’s
89-yard TD run in the game’s waning minutes was one-yard shy
of the school record for longest TD run set by A.J. Vaughn (Sept.
30, 1967 vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee) and equaled by New Orleans Saints
running back Joique Bell (Oct. 20, 2007 at Indianapolis) …
junior quarterback Mickey Mohner (Painesville, Ohio / Harvey) moved
past Paul Kroll (1989-91) for seventh place on the all-time
completion list with 242.