Week 1 Review
By: CSFL Staff | Collegiate Sprint Football League | September 19, 2017
The first week of the 2017 CSFL season saw the defending champions from Penn with a convincing win, Army West Point with a dominant effort, Navy with a hard fought road win and Franklin Pierce with a narrow victory over Mansfield in what proved to be the best game of the week.
WEEK 1 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offensive Player of the Week: Eddie Jenkins, QB, Penn (Pittsburgh, Pa.)
Jenkins led the defending league champions to a convincing 69-6 win on the road at Caldwell after accounting for four total touchdowns. He was nearly perfect in the passing game, completing 11-of-16 passes for 191 yards and three touchdowns. Jenkins also added 83 rushing yards and one touchdown on just 10 carries to finish with 274 yards of total offense.
Defensive Player of the Week: Demitri Moreno, LB, Franklin Pierce (Alhambra, Calif.)
Moreno led all players in the CSFL in week one with 14 total tackles, including nine solo stops and 1.0 tackle for loss. He also forced and recovered one fumble in helping to lead the Ravens to a 24-21 victory over Mansfield.
Special Teams Player of the Week: Owen King, PK, Franklin Pierce (Athol, Mass.)
King was perfect in the 24-21 win over Mansfield, accounting for 25 percent of his team’s points. He connected on a 30-yard field goal to open the scoring in the second quarter and later converted all three of his point-after attempts, which proved crucial in just a three-point game.
WEEK 1 REVIEW
Recaps from each of the four games played in week one of the CSFL season and a look at week two matchups can be found below. Cornell had a bye in the first week and will open its season this weekend.
Navy (27) at Chestnut Hill (17)
Navy kicked a field goal as time expired in the first half to take a 13-10 lead over Chestnut Hill and never relinquished the advantage, rattling off 17 unanswered points to post a 27-17 win on the road last Friday.
The Mids put up 299 yards of offense after rushing for 223 yards and passing for 76, while the Griffins threw for 183 yards and rushed for 51 yards for a total of 234 yards. Both teams turned the ball over twice, with Navy losing two fumbles and Chestnut Hill throwing two interceptions.
Navy was paced offensively by Brandon Coleman, who rushed for 74 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries and added 76 passing yards on five completions. Brian McLaughlin accounted for two rushing touchdowns and Jared Swenson tallied nine points after posting a perfect day in the kicking game with two made field goals (41 and 37 yards). Dean Rye led the defense for the Mids with eight solo tackles, while Patrick McMahon and Tommy Guinan each had one interception.
Chestnut Hill was paced by Michael Marino, who threw for 183 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Reggie Robinson, Jr. was his top target as the pair connected four times for 86 yards and one score. Raevon Floyd-Bennet finished with a team-high 96 all-purpose yards and Dante Fuchs booted a 26-yard field goal. Defensively, Josean Perez paced the Griffins with eight solo tackles, including two for loss and one sack. Brian Layden also had eight stops with one forced fumble and one fumble recovery and Kevin Meredith returned a fumble 44 yards for a touchdown.
Chestnut Hill will host crosstown rival Penn Friday night at 7 p.m. in week two, while Navy will travel to Mansfield Saturday for a noon kickoff.
-----
Penn (69) at Caldwell (6)
The defending league champions from Penn, which went undefeated last season, proved to be a tough test for Caldwell’s inaugural game. Penn jumped out to a 55-0 lead and cruised to a 69-6 victory in the opener.
Caldwell’s first ever points came in the third quarter when Nysir Smith etched his name in the Cougars’ record book with a 43-yard TD run.
Penn finished the game with 561 yards of offense after throwing for 191 yards and rushing for 370 yards. Caldwell managed 209 yards of offense with 140 on the ground and 69 through the air.
Eddie Jenkins led the attack for Penn with four total touchdowns, including three passing scores and one rushing TD. He finished with 274 yards of total offense after throwing for 191 yards and rushing for 83. Penn had three players with at least 80 rushing yards in the game. Jake Klaus ran for 98 yards and two scores on nine carries and Ryan Leone added 95 yards and one TD on 14 carries. Klaus also caught four passes for 110 yards and one score to finish the game with 208 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns. Matt Gorman paced the defense with 13 total tackles, the second most in the league in week one.
Smith led Caldwell with 45 rushing yards and the lone score of the game. He also caught three passes for 44 yards to finish with a team-high 89 yards of total offense. Carl Watson finished with 136 all-purpose yards after recording 98 yards on five kickoff returns. Quintin Quartararo matched Gorman for game-high honors with 13 total tackles.
Penn will travel to Chestnut Hill Friday night and Caldwell will visit Cornell Friday night in week two.
-----
Post (0) at Army West Point (70)
Army was dominant from start to finish in posting a 70-0 win in the opener. The Black Knights put up 447 yards of total offense with a balanced attack that featured 249 rushing yards and 198 passing yards. Post struggled offensively, finishing with 32 total yards of offense.
Quay Gilmore led the ground game for Army with 13 carries for 117 yards and four touchdowns. Jake Gigliotti added 66 rushing yards and two scores. Keegan West completed 5-of-8 passes for 129 yards with two touchdowns. Tom Williamson caught three passes for 96 yards and one score. Curtis Jerzeric led the Army defense with eight total tackles, including three sacks.
Post’s most productive player on offense was Luis Medina, who rushed for 37 yards on 11 carries. He also added 52 kick return yards to finish with a team-high 81 all-purpose yards. Hansley Dalambert paced the Post defense with five total tackles, including one for loss, and one forced fumble.
Post will have a bye in week two, while Army will travel to Franklin Pierce Saturday for a noon kickoff.
-----
Mansfield (21) at Franklin Pierce (24)
In what proved to be the game of the week in the league, Franklin Pierce held off a late charge from Mansfield to secure a 24-21 home victory in the closest game of week one.
The Mountaineers jumped out to a 13-3 lead before the Ravens reeled off 21 unanswered points to take command of the game. With Franklin Pierce leading 24-13 late in the fourth quarter, Mansfield rallied with a 61-yard drive and a successful two-point conversion to cut it to 24-21 with 2:41 to play, but Franklin Pierce was able to run out the clock with a pair of first downs on the final possession.
The Ravens posted a 347-313 edge in total offense after rushing for 201 yards and passing for 146. Mansfield threw for 207 yards and ran for 106.
Franklin Pierce was paced offensively by Kobie Smith with 133 rushing yards and one touchdown on 22 carries. Jared Lubas added a rushing score and 38 yards on the ground to go along with a 7-fo-14 passing effort that resulted in 146 yards with one TD and one interception. Tionne Brown caught three passes for 75 yards and one score. Demitri Moreno led the defense with a league-high 14 total tackles, including nine solo. He also forced and recovered one fumble in the game. Ryan Becerra was second on the team with seven tackles. Owen King made a 30-yard field goal in the second quarter and all three of his PATs.
Mansfield was led by quarterback Nick Cherasaro, who went 18-of-31 for 207 yards with one TD and no interceptions. D.J. McLean was his top target as the pair connected six times for 141 yards and one score, which came from 72 yards out. David Butler rushed for 89 yards and two TDs on 18 carries and finished with a team-high 172 all-purpose yards after adding 83 kick return yards. Evan Shumway led the defense with nine total tackles, including 2.5 for loss.
Both teams will be home in week two with Franklin Pierce hosting Army West Point and Mansfield hosting Navy. Both games are set for noon Saturday.
-----
WEEK 2 GAMES
9/22 – Caldwell at Cornell (7 p.m.)
9/22 – Penn at Chestnut Hill (7 p.m.)
9/23 – Navy at Mansfield (Noon)
9/23 – Army West Point at Franklin Pierce (Noon)
