Westmoreland County campus clippings: Southmoreland grad Zach Cernuto scores 3 TDs for W&J

Zach Cernuto knew he was not going to play quarterback when he left Southmoreland and joined the football team at Washington & Jefferson.

But the thought of playing tight end or H-back intrigued him because he knew he could still have an impact on offense, be it by blocking people or doing damage in the red zone.

It has worked out for the junior.

Cernuto had a three-touchdown game Saturday as the Presidents took care of visiting Westminster, 48-3.

The three scores came consecutively and staked the Presidents (3-0, 3-0 PAC) to a 21-0 lead. A 5-yard pass from Jacob Pugh was book-ended by a pair of 1-yard runs.

W&J rushed for 255 yards.

Senior linebacker Justin Johns (Franklin Regional) continued to be active on defense for W&J. He tied a game high with nine tackles.

Cernuto was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week.

Football

Duquesne: Junior linebacker Gianni Rizzo (Norwin) tied a game high with seven tackles in a 66-7 loss to Coastal Carolina.

Grove City: Sophomore linebacker Jack Jollie (Penn-Trafford) had a team-high 11 tackles, while senior cornerback Gabe Dunlap (Penn-Trafford) made six stops as the Wolverines eked out a 27-24 win over Case Western in overtime to move to 3-0.

IUP: Sophomore defensive end Cole Weightman (Belle Vernon) was named the PSAC West Defensive Player of the Week. He had six tackles, a sack and two quarterback hurries in a 49-14 win over Shippensburg.

N.C. State: Grad safety Robert Kennedy (Jeannette) continues to make his presence known in the Wolfpack secondary. He returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown and had 1 1/2 sacks and four tackles in a 45-7 win over VMI.

TIP DRILL!!! @Poogie2x finds the endzone!#1Pack1Goal pic.twitter.com/ZZRx0INUXC

— NC State Football (@PackFootball) September 16, 2023

Saint Vincent: The Bearcats delivered their first win of the season, 23-19, over visiting Allegheny as senior fullback Max Pisula (Greensburg Central Catholic), who also is listed as a defensive lineman, scored a pair of rushing touchdowns at Chuck Noll Field.

SVC (1-2, 1-2 PAC) held the Gators to 194 yards and possessed the ball for almost 40 minutes.

Freshman Ty Martin ran for 96 yards on 15 carries. Another freshman, Gino Caesar (Hempfield), added 43 yards rushing on nine carries. Grad defensive lineman Dwight Collins led SVC with 10 tackles and one of the team’s four sacks.

Strangely, the first two scores of the game were on special teams. Allegheny’s David Babb returned a blocked field goal 68 yards, then, on the ensuing play, Ethan Facey of Saint Vincent blocked the extra point and took it back 97 yards for a score to make it 6-2.

Allegheny senior receiver Declan O’Brien (Norwin), the nation’s leading pass catcher, was held to six receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown.

O’Brien made last week’s D3football.com Team of the Week.

Saint Vincent sophomore punter Kyle Murray was named the PAC Special Teams Player of the Week. He averaged 35 yards on four punts against Allegheny.

Seton Hill: Hayden Teska (Greensburg Salem) threw for 221 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, and Mark Bails Jr. had nine receptions for 150 yards and two scores but the Griffins fell to East Stroudsburg, 55-21.

William & Mary: Senior safety Marcus Barnes (Jeannette) had four tackles an an interception — the fourth of his career — as the Tribe defeated Charleston Southern, 15-7.

Men’s soccer

Cal (Pa.): Sophomore AJ Visco (Penn-Trafford) had four saves in goal, but the Trojans fell to West Liberty, 3-0.

The Vulcans have a distinct Westmoreland County flavor to their roster. Other local players are junior Wyatt Ramer (Greensburg Salem), freshman Maddox Anderson (Kiski), sophomore Riley Zimmerman (Norwin), freshman Jake Gretz (Greensburg Central Catholic), senior Zach Vanek (Hempfield) and senior Jake Nebinski (Norwin).

Pitt-Greensburg: Junior Vinny Treonze had two goals to lead the Bobcats to their first win of the season, 3-1 over Waynesburg.

Westminster: Junior Lucas Toohey (Mt. Pleasant) scored back-to-back goals, the first brace of his career, in a 5-0 win over Pitt-Bradford.

Women’s soccer

Clarion: Redshirt sophomore Sam Felder (Greensburg Central Catholic) had a goal against her former team, IUP, in a 3-2 win.

Freshman Alyssa Aquilio (Norwin) had the assist.

Robert Morris: Sophomore forward Malia Kearns (Penn-Trafford) scored two goals to power the Colonials (7-1-2, 1-1) past Green Bay, 5-1, for their first Horizon League win of the season.

Saint Vincent: Seven SVC players scored in a 7-0 win over La Roche, including sophomore forward Madisen Geesaman, who had a goal and two assists.

Seton Hill: Senior Emma Rain (Penn-Trafford), sophomore Jessica Molitoris and junior Sam Hallo scored goals as the Griffins blanked Pitt-Johnstown, 3-0.

Westminster: Junior Brooke Horvath (Franklin Regional) had three goals, while junior Natalie Vilchek (Yough) notched a goal and an assist, and sophomore Taylor Jones (Penn-Trafford) had a goal in a 9-1 win over Pitt-Bradford.

It was the first hat trick for Horvath in her college career.

Women’s volleyball

DePaul: In 18 sets played, junior middle blocker Aly Kindelberger (Franklin Regional) has 23 kills, six digs and 32 points.

Seton Hill: The Griffins (6-6) downed West Virginia Wesleyan, 3-1, for their fifth straight victory. Junior Paige Cole had 16 kills, sophomore Payton Rodberg added 12, freshman Kate Eden registered 23 assists and freshman Kendyl Wagner had 12 digs.

Waynesburg: Junior Jordan Stein (Norwin) had a match-high 24 digs in a 3-2 victory over Carlow.

Men’s golf

Fairmont State: Junior Alex Turowski (Penn-Trafford) finished at 4-over-par to take 11th place at the UC Invite at Berry Hills Country Club in Charleston, W.Va.

He carded rounds of 73, 71 and 70.

Grove City: Junior Luke Kimmich (Franklin Regional) tied for 17th at the Grove City Invitational, shooting an 89 at Grove City Country Club. Kimmich also plays for the soccer team.

Men’s cross country

Saint Vincent: Senior Tim Patterson was named the PAC Runner of the Week after he finished second at the Bethany Invitational in 25 minutes, 54 seconds.

Cal (Pa.): Senior Mason Jobe (Greensburg Salem) finished 12th in a time of 26:29.36 at the Osprey Open in Galloway, N.J.

Women’ cross country

Cal (Pa.): Junior Malia Anderson (Greensburg Salem) ran to a second-place finish at the Osprey Open, completing the 6K race in a time of 23:6.77.

Women’s tennis

Saint Vincent: Junior Lydia Lieb was named the PAC Player of the Week. She went 5-0 as the Bearcats opened the season with a 3-0 mark.

Honors

Grove City: A former Latrobe baseball standout will be inducted into the Grove City Athletic Hall of Fame.

Mike Kashurba, a 2002 Wolverines graduate, will join the Hall of Fame Class of 2024 on Saturday during a home football game against Carnegie Mellon.

Kashurba, a former shortstop, was a two-sport athlete in college, helping the Wolverines to PAC titles in baseball and football.

He ended his college career at the program leader in runs (108) and games played (126). He also had 143 hits and 93 RBIs.

In football, he had six interceptions in 1998 as a free safety. He also was one of the top punt returners in the PAC.

He played quarterback as a senior and started all 10 games.

He later served as the defensive coordinator at Allegheny. He currently coaches defensive backs at Lehigh.