Colonials Corner

It could be worse.

We could be St. Francis.

The Red Flash fell to 0-10 today with the 35-20 loss to Robert Morris, and they have one game left against Bryant. RMU is done and finishes the season 5-6 (4-3 in the NEC).

Erik Cwalinski was 8 of 22 for 179 yards and 3TDs with 1 interception. Myles Russ had 20 carries for 82 yards, and James O’Quinn had 4 catches for 132 yards and 2TDs.

SFPA struck first with two field goals, but then Cwalinski hit O’Quinn on a 64-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-6. Of course, SFPA came right back. Remember, this is a rivlary, even if it’s not as heated as RMU-Duquesne. With the score 13-7 in favor of St. Francis, Cwalinski found Sherrod Evers in the endzone for a 6-yard touchdown.

But Cwalinski threw a pick-six before the end of the first half, giving RMU a 20-14 deficit.

It stayed that way until the fourth quarter, when Jeff Link capped a long drive with a 2-yard touchdown run to make it 21-20. Minutes later, O’Quinn caught a beautiful deep pass from Cwalinski for a 43-yard touchdown to make it 28-20.

James Snider capped off the scoring when the ball somehow popped loose on a St. Francis end-around and Snider returned the fumble 65-yards for the touchdown.

This was not pretty.

You can read the game story later tonight at timesonline.com or by picking up the Beaver County Times Sunday morning, but really, not much needs to be said.

Four turnovers. Five sacks. Not much of a running game, and a bruising Albany offense.

Couple things:
- Mike Burkett, John Jackson, Karey Murray, Sherrod Evers, and Eric Jewell are the seniors returning next year as 5th year players. Erik Cwalinski, Jesse Kastelic, Jacob DeGrava, Brian Nikinow, Ian Margerum, Shannon Smoot, Joe Setticase, Maurice Jones, Chris Kozak, and Regis Flowers were all recognized today.

- Alex DiMichele had 15 tackles today. The man is a beast. And he’s just a sophomore. He was also a class act after the game, talking extensively about planning for not only this week but the months and years ahead.

- Anthony Coleman, a freshman cornerback turned wide receiver, returned kickoffs today. James O’Quinn had the duty through last week and is perfectly healthy. Just a different look, I guess, but Coleman didn’t create anything extraordinary.

- Buzz in the press box was the need for lights. It was really dreary and dark throughout the day, and if Joe Walton Stadium had lights, they would have been on. Even if the team doesn’t want night games, they need lights, even for these late fall games. Then you could hold High School games there as well – all WPIAL Playoff games are at neutral sites on artificial turf. Better than dealing with the beautiful yet horrendously parking situation at Geneva’s Stadium.

- Bit surprised Camdin Crouse didn’t get some work once the game got out of hand. He was warming up but never went in. One last hurrah for Erik Cwalinski, leading to more Crouse this weekend at St. Francis? Or is Joe Walton preparing to wait til the offseason to start working on Cwalinski’s successor?

ALBANY-TD, D McCarty 26 YD RUN (H Glass KICK) 10:19 1stQtrALBANY-TD, V Esposito 1 YD RUN (H Glass KICK) 12:21 1stQtrROBERT MORRIS-TD, K Murray 1 YD RUN (G Clawson KICK) 4:44 2ndQtrALBANY-TD, D Bocanegra 16 YD PASS FROM V Esposito (HGlass KICK) 14:58 2nd QtrALBANY-FG, H Glass 27 YD  3:28 3rd QtrALBANY-TD, D Casale 23 YD INTERCEPTION RETURN (H GlassKICK) 8:45 3rd QtrALBANY-TD, J Gannon 40 YD RUN (H Glass KICK) 14:21 3rdQtrALBANY-FG, H Glass 25 YD  8:09 4th Qtr

                            ALBANY    ROBERT MORRISFirst downs                       25               14Rushed-yards                  49-274            34-59Passing yards                    212              156Sacked-yards lost                1-3             5-36Return yards                      61                0Passes                       17-25-0          12-27-3Punts                         2-31.5             6-35Fumbles-lost                     0-0              2-1Penalties-yards                 4-46             4-45Time of possession             31:15            28:45

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: ALBANY-David McCarty 25-129, Justin Gannon 3-53, ColinSimmons 5-43, Duane Harper 5-23, Frank Blasinsky 2-22, Dan DiLella1-3, Vinny Esposito 7-2, - Team 1-MINUS 1. ROBERT MORRIS-Myles Russ19-66, Jeff Link 2-9, Raphael Johnson 2-7, Jesse Kastelic 2-5, KareyMurray 2-1, Erik Cwalinski 7-MINUS 29.

PASSING: ALBANY-Vinny Esposito 16-24-201- 0, Frank Blasinsky 1-1-11-0. ROBERT MORRIS-Erik Cwalinski 12-27-156- 3.

RECEIVING: ALBANY-Tim Bush 4-72, Justin Peterson 3-33, Jason Poore2-33, David McCarty 3-30, Dan Archer 2-19, Daniel Bocanegra 1-16, JohnLullen 1-8, Colin Simmons 1-1. ROBERT MORRIS-Sherrod Evers 6-89, T.J.Green 2-18, James O'Quinn 1-18, Anthony Coleman 1-13, Shadrea King1-12, Raphael Johnson 1-6.

Att: 1,021

Robert Morris is mathematically eliminated from winning the NEC title, but the football team has two things to focus on the next two weeks:

- Continue building for the future by finishing the season strong.
- Try and knock off Albany to celebrate Senior Day.

Even if RMU wins out, and Albany their final two games, RMU will not hold the tiebreakers over Sacred Heart and/or Monmouth. The Pioneers and Hawks play this weekend, so the worst one of SHU and Monmouth can finish is 5-2, while the other finishes 4-3. So, if Albany, RMU, and one of SHU/Monmouth all finish tied at 5-2 in the NEC, RMU loses out. Why? Because they lost earlier in the season to both SHU and Monmouth and head-to-head is the tiebreaker.

So, it’s pertinent for the Colonials to focus on the above tasks this weekend against Albany. One has to think that the seniors will be the focus this weekend, at least in the hearts of RMU players and coaches, since it is their last home game. Add on the fact that next week’s opponent – St. Francis – is a prime “Get-some-young-kids-some-PT-because-this-is-likely-a-blowout” game, and you have to believe that Coach Walton is going to try and do what he can to focus on his seniors while still trying to knock off the Great Danes.

At least 11 players are playing or have already played their final games in RMU uniforms. Those checking out:
- OL Joe Setticase. The stalwart LT hurt his leg a couple weeks ago and is done for the year. He had redshirted in the past, and this was supposed to be his final triumph. Shame it didn’t work out better for the big guy.
- DL Mike Burkett. He’s rotated in and out of the lineup on the line and he’s been a solid player. With Andy Walton battling back problems all year, Burkett’s been an underrated performer.
- QB Erik Cwalinski. No comment really needed, and while I’ve been quick to suggest alternatives at the quarterback position in the past, Cwalinski really does deserve more credit than he’s received. He’s had a revolving door in front of him on the line, plus some other issues on the field, and that can’t be the greatest thing to overcome as a QB.
- LB Jacob DaGrava. Another special teams ace, it looked like he was going to start this year until Robert Williams transfered in and Walton went to a 3-4. He’s hurt with an eye injury, so it’s unfortunate he won’t be able to play on Saturday.
- TE Regis Flowers. He came in as WR, moved to TE, and has done a decent job replacing one of the best sets of hands on the team in recent years in Jarvis Powers. With Chris Molnar out all year, Flowers has been the guy at TE, and I guarantee you that his disciplined route running is rubbing off on freshman sensation Shadrae King.
- DE Shannon Smoot. The dude’s a force on the line, and while his pass-rush numbers are down this year, there’s no question his motor is what drives the front line. Play of the year last year was the Pick-6 he had late in the season. One-handed catch, followed by the big man rumbling in for the TD.
- UT Karey Murray. Yeah, he’s listed as a RB, but Murray is Mr. Everything. Running back, fullback, tight end, halfback. The emergence of Myles Russ and Jeff Link in the backfield kept Murray away from a starting spot, but the local kid is beloved on the team.
- OL Ian Margerum. Sort of the UT of the line, Margerum has started every game this year and has shown versatility in being able to move to LT after Setticase hurt his leg. He played some games on the right side last year when the two freshmen struggled.
- OL Maurice Jones. He hasn’t played much, but it looks like his eligibility will be done. He may have a year squirreled away. Redshirts are tough to track unless it was an injury.
- FB Jesse Kastelic. Goalline back has been a special teams nut. Some of the best hits on kickoffs and punts have been courtesy of the fullback.
- WR Chris Kozak. He’s battled constantly for playing time at WR and KR, finally getting his chances this year. He pushed Tyjuan Massey and Mario Hines for time, but just couldn’t win those battles. He’s been reliable if less-than-flashy returning punts this year.

Seniors who could return (we’ll find out when they are or are not announced on Saturday):
- LB John Jackson. The special teams ace has missed the entire season. If he earned a redshirt, he’ll be back.
- WR Sherrod Evers. He started as a Prop 48 before becoming a secondary option behind the lines of Alvin Hill, Mario Hines, and Julian Ellison. He missed all of last year with a hand injury, so he should have one more year of eligibility available.
- DE Eric Jewell. More well-known as the long-snapper, Jewell sat out this year because of academics, so there’s a question as to whether he’d have any playing eligibility left.
- PK Brian Nikinow. He hasn’t played this year since joining the team from the soccer program, so he may or may not have eligibility remaining.

Robert Morris won today. They did that last week. That meant a very quiet week here at Colonials Corner in the comment section.

Will it happen again?

Before you pick up the Beaver County Times on Sunday or pop over to timesonline.com to read the game story later Saturday night, here’s some stuff to tide you over.

Well, chew on the facts of a tremendous 27-14 win over Central Connecticut State. Robert Morris is now 4-5 (3-2 NEC) and in sole possession of 4th place in the NEC. They’ll have Albany next week, and while it’s unlikely RMU will win the NEC, it’s still a mathematical possibility. Amazing, considering how this team looked two weeks ago. Albany is 5-0 in the NEC, 6-3 overall.

Some highlights:
- James O’Quinn started the scoring with a 58-yard touchdown catch following a Rolf Bathold interception. Sherrod Evers added an 8-yard catch, Shadrae King a 23-yard catch, and Myles Russ a 29-yard touchdown run.

- King’s touchdown was his fifth on the season, and we’re beginning to see Erik Cwalinski take advantage of his taller receivers. He lobbed up several passes to King, Evers, and Green, who all stand 6’3+. Green made a spectacular leaping grab for a first down after Cwalinski rolled to his right, got decked, but put the ball up as a jump ball. Green cradled it in perfectly.

- Bathold’s interception was one of three forced turnovers by the Colonials. Mike Landers had another pick while Andy Walton picked up a fumble recovery. That’s Landers’ fifth interception, second in the nation. Landers broke up 3 other passes and he also had several gigantic hits.

- Robert Morris stuffed CCSU on the 1-yard line twice. That was the turning point of the game in the 4th quarter. RMU rolled 99-yards to score a crucial touchdown following that score, as CCSU returned the kick for a touchdown to answer right back.

- Russ had 20 carries for 163 yards and the touchdown. That gives him 1,109 yards on the season. It is the first 1,000 yard season by an RMU running back since Sam Dorsett in 2003, places him fifth on the single-season rushing yards list with two games to go (Tim Hall’s 1,572 might be out of reach this season, but not outside the realm of possibility). And it means that Russ is already 5th all-time on the RMU career rushing list, just behind Devin Wilson.

BOXSCORE:

ROBERT MORRIS-TD, J O'Quinn 58 YD PASS FROM E Cwalinski (GClawson KICK) 7:29 1st QtrCENTRAL CONN-TD, H Wanket 6 YD RUN (J Izzo KICK) 0:27 2nd QtrROBERT MORRIS-TD, S King 23 YD PASS FROM E Cwalinski (G ClawsonKICK) 12:18 2nd QtrROBERT MORRIS-TD, S Evers 8 YD PASS FROM E Cwalinski (G ClawsonKICK) 1:49 4th QtrROBERT MORRIS-TD, M Russ 29 YD RUN (TWO-POINT CONVERSIONFAILED) 12:49 4th QtrCENTRAL CONN-TD, J Paul 86 YD KICKOFF RETURN (J Izzo KICK)13:06 4th Qtr

                     CENTRAL CONN    ROBERT MORRISFirst downs                       17               20Rushed-yards                  48-171           31-179Passing yards                     84              249Sacked-yards lost                1-5             2-14Return yards                       4                3Passes                       10-21-2          15-30-1Punts                           3-36             5-39Fumbles-lost                     1-1              2-0Penalties-yards                 5-45             7-50Time of possession             32:58            27:02

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: CENTRAL CONN-James Mallory 19-95, Hunter Wanket 17-49, JoshVargas 4-14, Aubrey Norris 3-14, Anthony McCoy 2-9, NicholasColagiovanni 1-4, - Team 2-MINUS 14. ROBERT MORRIS-Myles Russ 20-163,Erik Cwalinski 4-11, Jeff Link 4-7, Raphael Johnson 1-0, - Team2-MINUS 2.

PASSING: CENTRAL CONN-Hunter Wanket 10-20-84- 1, Aubrey Norris 0-1-0-1. ROBERT MORRIS-Erik Cwalinski 15-30-249- 1.

RECEIVING: CENTRAL CONN-Josue Paul 3-33, James Mallory 3-24, JermaineRoberts 3-22, Josh Vargas 1-5. ROBERT MORRIS-T.J. Green 4-90, JamesO'Quinn 3-76, Sherrod Evers 5-42, Shadrea King 3-41.

Att: 1,078

Once again, no changes to the depth chart for Saturday’s game versus Central Connecticut State. It worked last week versus Wagner, but the Blue Devils are a more potent offense and a very talented team. The one benefit is that CCSU is like RMU – very talented, but very young and very inexperienced.

The usual suspects remain out – Argenta, Molnar, Setticase, McElhinny, and DeGrava. Ryan Nearhoof is also out with a knee injury. Chris Roberts, injured two weeks ago on the defensive line, looks about ready to go with a sore ankle. And Garrett Clawson kicked last week with a bad hamstring, but Matt Catanzarite took over on kickoffs. That may continue this week.

I’ll be at the game for the Times, so look here for a full report following the festivities.

Michael Landers and Shadrae King are adding some extra hardware to their respective trophy cases.

Landers was named Northeast Conference Defensive Player of the Week while King was named Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week for their performances against Wagner.

Landers had two fumble recovers, one for a touchdown and the other a near miss, while King scored two touchdowns on passes from Erik Cwalinski.

The junior safety might have picked up the most yards of any individual Colonial with his 59 yard touchdown and 50 yard return. Sounded like he ran out of gas on the last run. He’s been a turnover machine since getting full playing time last year, as he leads the Colonials with four interceptions.

King’s fellow freshman, James O’Quinn, earned the ROTW honor earlier in the year, and the two are going to be dangerous targets for the next three years in the RMU receiving corps. We’ve been excited about King since seeing him in training camp, and this is likely just the first of many awards to come. He’s still learning the tight end position – he was a receiver in the run-orineted McKeesport offense – but his athleticism is outstanding.

Good week for Bobby Mo football. You can tell we’re in Western PA, too. They lose last week, and we have a host of comments. They win, and it’s like pulling teeth. Just like the Steelers. Heh.

Maybe we should talk about changes every week here at Colonials Corner. Talk about a response.

Actually, the Colonials defense became suddenly opportunistic and they helped put a whipping on the Wagner Seahawks. Six turnovers forced by Robert Morris, two interceptions and four fumbles. 14 points scored by the defense, two additional touchdowns set-up by turnovers.

All of this done in a driving, swirling downpour. Ugly weather, ugly game for Wagner. We’re just going to go chronologically here…

Rolf Bathold kicks it off with a 64-yard interception return with about 5 minutes left in the 1st quarter. Wagner was able to get a field goal in the second, but the Colonials forced two Wagner fumbles. Michael Landers popped one loose and Adam Lawrence recovered. Shannon Smoot did one all by himself.

Shadrae King caught the first of his two touchdowns from 19 yards out on a nice individual effort, and then just two minutes later caught his second touchdown from 7 yards out.

21-3 was the score at the half.

Landers struck again early in the third. Troy Cree forced another fumble, Landers picked it up and zigged and zagged his way for a 59 yard touchdown to make it 28-3. Then, just four plays later, Landers picked up another fumble forced by Rolf Bathold and returned it 50 yards before running out of gas at the Wagner 14. Myles Russ dove into the endzone three plays later to make it 35-3.

In the beginning of the 4th quarter, Joe Walton started subbing in reserves in various positions round the field, including on defense. That gave freshman safety David Pittman a chance for his first career interception, and he nearly returned it to the house. Wagner’s offense might want to work on tackling on turnovers or something this week. Pittman returned the pick 56 yards to the Wagner 14, but the Colonials didn’t punch it in and turned it over on downs.

Reserves played most of the final ten minutes of the game for the Colonials.

With so many turnovers and such a short field, RMU had under 200 yards of offense and just 23 minutes of possession, but they were efficient. Ten pass breakups for the defense, as well, to go with their 6 turnovers.

Erik Cwalinski finished 11-22 for 126 yards and 2 TDs, with no mistakes. Myles Russ carried 13 times for 39 yards. Sherrod Evers returned to catch 3 balls for 72 yards, King finished with 3 catches for 32 yards and 2 Tds.

No major injuries in the rain.

Rolf Bathold and Shadrae King have the Colonials up at the half on Staten Island.

Bathold returned an early interception 65 yards for a touchdown, the 2nd interception by Bathold on the year and the 7th overall by the team. The Colonials have also forced two fumbles, one forced by Michael Landers and recovered by Adam Lawrence and the other a solo effort by Shannon Smoot.

King, meanwhile, has been a force inside the twenty with 3 overall catches for 32 yrds and two touchdowns. His first was apparently a spectacular effort where he sprinted past Wagner’s defensive back – just plain beat him – to a spot between the pylons where he made a jumping, twisting catch and landed inbounds on a nice throw from Cwalinski.

Couple other notes:

Matt Catanzarite, a sophomore, is handling kickoffs for the Colonials today. Garrett Clawson is still handling anything involving points, but Catanzarite is being used as a specialist.

More importantly, Sherrod Evers has returned to the lineup AND has made an impact. He has 3 catches for 72 yards.

Despite our active discussion here at Colonials Corner, there are no planned changes outside of replacing the injured Joe Setticase for the Robert Morris football team.

Setticase is out and will continue to be replaced by Ian Margerum. The senior moved from guard to tackle follow Setticase’s injury last week versus Bryant. Freshman Logan Miles will earn his first start at left guard after filling in for Margerum last week.

Chris Setticase will back up Margerum at LT with freshman Brad Rodgers serving as Miles’ backup.

Sherrod Evers is still doubtful. I’m speculating here, but it seems his ankle injury has the characteristics of the dreaded high ankle sprain. Never sure when it’s healed, unlike a broken bone, and it can last a long time. Pittsburgh fans should be familiar with the details, considering the Pittsburgh Penguins lost Sidney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury to the same injury for long stretches last year.

Also, LB Jacob Dagrava may not play with an eye injury and DL Chris Roberts – who left last week’s game – may not play either.

A couple of Bryant fans on various message boards mentioned that the Colonials definitely looked sluggish last week and raised questions about the long bus trip. It’s another one here as they head to Wagner. We’ll see how RMU handles it.

Barring some extremely fortunate losses, upsets, and general ineptitude, it seems pretty clear that Robert Morris will not be able to snag their 6th NEC championship this year. While today’s loss is only a non-conference loss, it pushes the overall record to 2-5 and seems to indicate that last week’s amazing win versus Duquesne is the outlier in a season full of disappointments.

Coupled with the fact that Albany and Monmouth remain undefeated in conference play, while Sacred Heart (!) and Central Connecticut State each have two wins and impressive overall records, and it would seemingly take a miracle for Robert Morris to rebound.

The coaches acknowledged prior to this year that this would likely be a “rebuilding” year. Yes, they thought they could contend, but they also admitted to having youth and inexperience, and that they would only go as far as the young players would take them.

So, what now? Do you embrace the youth movement and make a few changes? Do you keep things the same and hope that continued teaching and impact of seniors like Erik Cwalinski will help the younger guys? Do you go half-and-half, perhaps rotating at QB like some teams do in college, or substituting more along the lines or wherever else there might be some youngsters ready to take over for next year?

I want to hear from you. What would you do? Some positions and players to facilitate an argument:

QB – Erik Cwalinski is a senior. Camdin Crouse appears ready and is a junior. Desmond Brentley is also a junior, while Aaron Smetanka is a sophomore.

RB/FB – Pretty young. Russ and Link are both sophomores.

WR – Still pretty young, but seniors Chris Kozak and the injured Sherrod Evers still get snaps. Rotate more young guys in, like sophomore Michael Blanchard, freshman Paul Evans, and others?

TE – Regis Flowers has been a rock, including today. He’s a senior. Do you do more with freshman Shadrae King? What about little used freshmen Cody Godding and Erron Farrow?

OL – Joe Setticase and Ian Margerum are seniors. Would you change anything? Potential underclassmen that have been active – Logan Miles (freshman), Brad Rodgers (freshman), Chris Setticase (sophomoer)

DL – Mike Burkett and Shannon Smoot get lots of playing time and are seniors. Plenty of young guys available, but not many have been active at all this year.

LB – All the linebackers come back next year.

DB – All of the defensive backs are back next year.

Have at it.