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Fierce competition defines PSAC as season draws near | TribLIVE.com
District College

Fierce competition defines PSAC as season draws near

Bill Beckner
Bill Beckner
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Cameron Horning | For IUP Athletics
Kiski Area grad Drew DiNunzio-Biss is a redshirt junior for IUP, which was picked No. 1 in the preseason PSAC West poll.

Coaches in one of the better NCAA Division II football conferences in the country can’t say enough about the competition in their league.

Practice began Monday, and teams in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference will kick up dust against each other this fall as they compete for division titles and national playoff berths.

During a virtual media day Thursday, coaches were competing for words of praise to describe the PSAC.

“Every week is going to be a grind,” Cal coach Gary Dunn said. “A lot of energy in the conference right now. I think it’s going to be a great year for the PSAC West, and we have to be ready to play each week.”

Edinboro coach Jake Nulph, an Apollo-Ridge graduate, said, “This league is extremely difficult because it’s a physical league. I’ve got a lot of respect for the way teams play football in the PSAC, especially in the PSAC West.”

Said Slippery Rock coach Shawn Lutz: “It’s a grind in the West.”

Coaches in the East Division tagged along.

“The brand of football that the PSAC puts out and promotes,” Bloomsburg coach Frank Sheptock said, “has created a great platform for the schools, the teams and the players to compete at the highest level of Division II.”

The bread winners from last year still are held in high regard.

Defending conference champion IUP is the No. 1 team in the PSAC West Preseason Poll. The Crimson Hawks return nine defensive starters.

“There are a lot of moving parts,” IUP coach Paul Tortorella said. “We lost a lot of players offensively. But we still have a lot of guys back. Some new offensive linemen, couple new receivers, new quarterback, new tight ends. It will be a work in progress.”

Returning national semifinalist Shepherd is the favorite to win the East Division.

IUP edged out No. 3 Shepherd, 24-21, in the PSAC title game at Indiana.

The Crimson Hawks, who averaged 410.8 yards, earned the top seed and had a bye into the Super Region One Playoffs, which also included Shepherd and Slippery Rock.

Shepherd then beat Slippery Rock, 37-27, in the second round, before facing IUP again in the quarterfinals and winning 48-13.

After falling to Colorado Mines in the semifinals, Shepherd finished with a record of 14-2.

The Rams, however, graduated six All-Americans.

“The work ahead of us is real,” Shepherd coach Ernie McCook said. “And it will define how our season comes out.”

West No. 2 Slippery Rock has four straight PSAC West titles and just as many consecutive trips to the national playoffs.

The Rock have won 28 of their last 30 against PSAC West competition.

“But we lost our goal,” Lutz said. “Our goal is always to compete and win a PSAC championship and compete for a national championship.”

Lutz said the Rock filled some key needs with the transfer portal. Those players join 19 returning starters, seven of whom received all-conference honors.

Cal (Pa.), No. 3 in the West, only gave up 57.2 rushing yards per game last season. The Vulcans will turn to a new quarterback for the first time since 2018 after the graduation of Noah Mitchell.

IUP, Slippery Rock and Gannon tied at the top of the West Division at 6-1.

Gannon, which finished one win away from a school record at 8-3, is No. 4 in the preseason poll.

“We have a lot of guys who have started 25, 30 games here,” Gannon coach Erik Raeburn said. “So we’re going to lean on their experience a lot.”

No. 5 Edinboro has 16 starters returning, including Reed Martin (Plum), an All-American punter.

The Fighting Scots forced 21 turnovers last season.

Seton Hill, ranked sixth, will return nine starters on offense and seven on defense. Replacing All-American linebacker Jaylen McDuffie will not be an easy ask.

“We lost some heavy hitters,” Griffins coach Dan Day said. “(But) we’re actually coming in pretty experienced.”

Seton Hill has a new offensive coordinator in Blaize Holzer, who has coached at Tiffin, Shorter (Ga.), Missouri Valley and Ohio Dominican.

Clarion, led by running back Khalil Owens, has a new coaching staff.

“We’re excited about our first recruiting class,” Clarion coach Raymond Monica said. “Now, we got to put together all the new faces with the guys returning and make a football team out of them.”

Yough alum Dustin Shoaf returns after leading Mercyhurst in touchdowns and carries.

Kutztown (2), West Chester (3), East Stroudsburg (4) and Millersville (5) round out the top five in the East.

PSAC Football West Division Poll

Team, Record, First-place votes

1. IUP, (10-2, 6-1), 6

2. Slippery Rock, (10-3, 6-1), 2

3. Cal (6-5, 4-3)

4. Gannon (8-3, 6-1)

5. Edinboro (6-5, 4-3)

6. Seton Hill (2-9, 2-5)

7. Clarion (3-8, 2-5)

8. Mercyhurst (2-9, 0-7)

Players to watch

Ke’John Batiste, R-Sr., WR, Gannon

Anthony Beitko, Jr., K, Cal (Pa.) (McKeesport)

Darius Bruce, Jr., DB/LB, IUP (Westinghouse)

Ky’Ron Craggette, R-So., RB, Seton Hill (Connellsville)

Clay Cunningham, R-Jr., LB, Edinboro

Jalen Dangerfield, R-Jr., DB, Slippery Rock

Drew DiNunzio-Biss, R-Jr., LB, IUP (Kiski Area)

Chris D’Or, Jr., RB, Slippery Rock

Chris Farnsworth, Jr., DB, Gannon

Tyrone Fowler, R-Jr., DL, IUP

Jawon Hall, Jr., WR, Slippery Rock

Kareem Hamdan, Sr., LB, Clarion

Jaheim Howard, R-Jr., DB/LB, IUP

Reed Martin, Jr., P, Edinboro (Plum)

Donell Mason, So., WR, Gannon

Montana Nietert, R-Sr., OL, Gannon

Khalil Owens, Sr., RB, Clarion

Jake Petit, Sr., OL, Gannon

Dustin Shoaf, Grad., RB, Mercyhurst (Yough)

Thaddeus Standfield, Jr., WR, Edinboro

Matt Tobey, Jr. LB, Cal (Pa.)

PSAC Football East Division Poll

Team, Record, First-place votes

1. Shepherd, (14-2, 7-0), 5

2. Kutztown, (8-3, 5-2), 2

3. West Chester, (7-4, 4-3), 1

4. East Stroudsburg, (4-7, 3-4)

5. Millersville, (5-6, 4-3)

6. Shippensburg, (5-6, 3-4)

7. Bloomsburg, (4-7, 2-5)

8. Lock Haven, (1-10, 0-7)

Players to watch

Devin Bartholomew, R-Sr., East Stroudsburg

Donny Blaine, R-Sr., QB, Kutztown

C.J. Brown, R-Sr., DB, Kutztown

Justin Cook, So., KR, East Stroudsburg

Garrett Cox, Jr., LB, Millersville

Redd Douglas, Jr., WR, Shippensburg

Matt Feeney, R-Jr., Shippensburg

Quentin Gaskill, Sr., DB, Bloomsburg

Dewayne Grantham, Sr., LB, Shepherd

Sean Henry, Sr., K, West Chester

Antaun Lloyd, Gr., DB, Kutztown

DeShawn McCarthy, Sr., DE, East Stroudsburg

Darryl Davis-McNeil, R-Sr., RB, Kutztown

Kaleb Monaco, Sr., RB, Bloomsburg

Jaheim Morris, R-Jr., RB, Millersville

Isaiah Onuschak, R-Sr., LB, Millersville

Wyatt Pellicano, R-Jr., OL, Shepherd

DeAndre Wakefield, Jr., RB, Lock Haven

Tyler Whary, Grad., LB, Kutztown

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

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