Presented by
Games of Sept. 4-8, 2014
Offense
QB John Garcia, Jr., Hartwick
Garcia threw for a career-high 413 yards and four
touchdowns on 28-for-46 passing on Saturday and Sunday, helping the
Hawks overcome an 18-point second-half deficit in a 43-38 win at
Western Connecticut. He completed three of four passes for 10, 24,
and 17 yards on the Hawks' final 90-yard drive which ended with the
go-ahead score with 35 seconds left.
OL Wayne McGillicuddy, Tam Sarkisian,
John Bradway, Eddie Fallon, Kyle Seidnitzer,
Westfield State
The Owls' veteran offensive line, led by senior center Wayne
McGillicuddy, opened up plenty of holes, allowing Mike Mercadante
to run for a career-high 195 yards, and the Owls to score three
TD's
RB Cartel Brooks, Sr.,
Heidelberg
Brooks ran for 192 yards and three touchdowns on just nine
carries. He ran for scores of 88, 10 and 77 yards in the Student
Princes' win vs. Alma.
RB Ryan Ruffing, Jr., Washington and
Jefferson
Ruffing scored five touchdowns vs. Wooster, rushing 37 times for
150 yards. He scored on runs of 9, 1, 7, 2 and 5 yards to help
W&J rally from down 17-7 to a 51-17 season-opening win against
Wooster. He finished one touchdown shy of the school-record of six
set in 1905 by Roy Hupp against Ohio University.
WR Mike Doherty, Sr., Buffalo
State
Doherty led Buffalo State with 419 all-purpose yards, including
nine receptions for 229 yards and two touchdowns in a 51-48
overtime victory over Cortland. His touchdown receptions covered 67
and 20 yards.
WR Rasheed Bailey, Sr., Delaware
Valley
Going against All-American cornerback CJ Conway
most of the game, Bailey put up one of the best performances in
program history as he caught 11 passes for 216 yards and the
clinching score in a 30-20 win at Montclair State. His touchdown
was a 52-yard catch with 5:54 remaining to make it a two-score
game.
TE Dylan Jenney, Sr.,
Franklin
Jenney caught five passes for 98 yards and a touchdown in
Franklin's season opener at Illinois Wesleyan. Jenney led the team
with 98 receiving yards in the game. His touchdown was from 14
yards out in the first half.
Defense
DE Austin Prusha, Sr., St.
Norbert
Prusha led the St. Norbert defense in a 25-13 win over Carthage.
Of his team-high eight tackles, six went for losses. He also had
two and a half sacks. The Green Knights held Carthage to 15 yards
rushing and the Red Men did not score in the last three
quarters.
DT Tre Stewart, Sr., Austin
College
Stewart was a menace in the Rhodes backfield throughout the day on
Saturday, making nine total tackles including three for loss, and
two and a half sacks.
DE John Worley, Sr., Illinois
Wesleyan
Worley recorded five tackles, three of them for loss and all of
them sacks in a win vs. Franklin. Worley also intercepted a pass
and forced two fumbles.
LB Ethan Buresh, So., Wabash
Buresh sparked a 27-0 scoring run by Wabash with his
41-yard interception return against Hampden-Sydney in the
Gentlemen's Classic. Buresh finished with seven tackles, three
tackles for losses totaling 25 yards, and a sack and a
half.
LB Sean Preish, Sr., St. John
Fisher
Preish was credited with two sacks and a team-high 10 tackles. He
also forced and recovered a fumble on a third-and-goal play from
the Fisher 4-yard line.
LB Ryan Fleming, Jr.,
Macalester
Fleming made 15 total tackles in Macalester's 17-14 win over
Carleton. His final tackle came with 35 seconds to play in the game
when he tackled the Knights' Andy Gustafson for a 3-yard loss on a
third-and-1 at the Scots' 31-yard line. Carleton turned the ball
over on downs, which led to Macalester's game-winning drive.
LB Everett Dishong, Jr., Case Western
Reserve
Dishong racked up a career-high 13 tackles in a 30-0 win vs.
Carnegie Mellon. His four tackles for loss were a career best, and
he matched personal bests with two sacks and three pass
breakups.
CB Matt Ramirez, So.,
Hendrix
Ramirez led the Warriors with 15 tackles and an interception in
their 42-28 victory at Westminster (Mo.). He picked off a pass at
the goal line, setting up a 10-play, 95-yard drive for the
Warriors.
S Derrick Bender, Sr.,
Wesley
Making his first career start at safety after being a standout
corner as a junior, Bender made six tackles with five pass
breakups. Came up in the box and played a major role in limiting
Thomas More's Domonique Hayden to just 92 yards rushing, his lowest
rushing total since the 2011 playoffs.
S Joe Magosin, Sr.,
Albright
Magosin had three interceptions, forced a fumble, had 10 tackles
and one and a half tackles for loss in the Lions victory over Kean.
His three interceptions was just one shy of the school record of
four.
CB Maurice Young, Fr.,
Loras
Young put on a defensive showcase in his collegiate debut with
three interceptions in Loras' 39-17 win over Elmhurst. Young was a
part of the Loras defense that forced seven total turnovers on the
day. It was the first opening day victory for Loras since 2005.
Special teams
LS Troy Vanburen, Sr., St. John
Fisher
The St. John Fisher long snapper got down the field on a punt and
recovered a fumble midway through the second quarter while the
Cardinals' game with Otterbein was still in doubt.
K Marc Montana, Jr., Buffalo
State
Montana was 3-for-4 on field goals, including a
49-yarder as time expired in regulation to tie the game vs.
Cortland State and a 34-yarder in the extra session to lift the
Bengals to a 51-48 win vs. Cortland State. (The lone miss was from
43 yards.)
P Tyler Hunt, Jr.,
Guilford
Hunt averaged 49.3 yards per punt on three kicks to help the
Quakers defeat Greensboro. One of his three landed inside the 20
and the longest was 53 yards.
RET Elijah Fort, Fr., St.
Norbert
In his first collegiate game, Fort returned a punt 72 yards
for a touchdown early in the second half to get St. Norbert back
into the game with a 13-13 tie en route to a 25-13 win. The punt
return for a touchdown was St. Norbert's first since 2008. Fort,
who finished with 211 all-purpose yards, also had a long kickoff
return of 64 yards.