Game Statistics
WEST LIBERTY, WV (Nov. 21, 2009) – Edinboro's season came to a crashing halt on Saturday afternoon as the Fighting Scots suffered an amazing 84-63 loss at West Liberty at Russek Field. The loss in the NCAA Division II Super Regional One ended Edinboro's season at 9-4, while West Liberty moves on to face California(Pa.) in the Super Regional One championship game next Saturday. The Hilltoppers, the top seed in the regional, improved to 11-1. Edinboro was the sixth seed.
The record book was rewritten in the contest, both in a positive and negative manner. The 147 points easily broke the combined point total previously set in a 66-53 win over Shippensburg 1986. The 84 points were also the most allowed by the Fighting Scots, shattering the previous record of 68 scored by Baldwin-Wallace in 1966.
Edinboro finished with a school-record 680 yards in total offense, but gave up 714 yards, also a school record. West Liberty's 540 passing yards were also a school record, as were the 630 compiled by Edinboro.
Trevor Harris capped a brilliant career by shattering most of his own school game records. He completed 50 of 76 passes for 630 yards, all school records. In fact, the 630 yards are a Division II playoff record, breaking the standard of 595 set by Keith Null of West Texas A&M in 2008. He threw for 5 TDs to tie his own school record, and finished with a school record 647 yards in total offense. He added tow touchdowns rushing to account for seven touchdowns in all.
Harris finished his career with 11,899 yards passing, good for second all-time in the PSAC and fifth all-time in Division II. In addition, his career total of 12,691 yards in total offense is also second all-time in the PSAC and sixth in Division II. With the 5 TDs passing, Harris totaled 100, second in the PSAC and 15th in Division II.
The showdown between Harris, a Harlon Hill Trophy finalist, and Zach Amedro of West Liberty, also one of eight finalists, lived up to its billing. Amedro completed 27 of 32 passes for 540 yards with 6 TDs, adding a seventh rushing. He threw for 405 yards in the first half alone, and may have had even more in the game if not for missing some time with an injury.
The Fighting Scots were blitzed in a first half which found them trailing 56-21. The 56 points was the most allowed in a half by an Edinboro team, and the 28 points allowed in each quarter broke the previous standards.
The game got off to an ominous start as Kashif Walls took the opening kickoff and retured it 80 yards for a touchdown. Just 12 seconds into the game the leading scoring team in Division II led 7-0.
Edinboro answered with a four-play, 31-yard touchdown drive after Kenny Pettis recovered a fumble at the WL 31. Harris hooked up with a wide-open David Bostic on an underneath route, and Bostic went in untouched for a 21-yard touchdown and a 7-7 tie with 9:49 remaining.
West Liberty ran off the next four touchdowns to go up 35-7 early in the second quarter, with none of the drives covering more than five plays. The first score was a 13-yard run by Amedro, as the Hilltopper quarterback avoided a blitz to cap a 5-play, 56-yard drive.
A turnover led to West Liberty's next score, as Harris' pass bounced through the arms of Nick Marino and was intercepted by Mike Kane. On the very next play Amedro threw the first of his xx touchdown passes, a 46-yarder to Walls.
A three-and-out, and Ryan Genco's 20-yard punt, resulted in West Liberty once again taking over in Edinboro territory at the 45. It took West Liberty five plays to cover that distance, with Kevon Calhoun scoring on a one-yard run making it 28-7 with 1:38 left in the first quarter.
Edinboro put together a 13-play drive on its next possession, but came up empty. A Harris 15-yard pass to D'mar Jeter gave Edinboro the ball at the WL 6. Harris ran for five yards to the one. On second down he was stopped short of the goal from the shotgun formation. After an incomplete pass, he again tried to run it up the middle in the shotgun and was stopped short on fourth down.
A pass interference call gave West Liberty a first down at the 15, and on the next play Amedro completed an underneath pattern to Calhoun, who did the rest. The junior running back broke several tackles, then outran the Fighting Scots to the end zone for a stunning 85-yard scoring play and a 35-7 lead with 11:32 remaining in the second quarter.
Back came the Boro, as Harris guided the Scots on a 7-play, 71-yard march. He completed 5 of 6 passes for 63 yards, and also had a 13-yard run. Harris' rollout to the left resulted in a 25-yard gain to Ilio DiPaolo to the WL 4. On the following play he rolled to his right and completed a four-yard touchdown pass to Josh Brown, cutting the margin to 35-14.
In a key first half play, the Scots forced West liberty into a 3rd-and-29, byt Amedro hooked up with Walls for a 42-yard gain down to the Bopro 15. Three plays later he threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Kevon Calhoun, and it was 42-14 with 5:44 remaining.
The teams would combine for three more scores before the end of the half. Harris led Edinboro on a 5-play, 62-yard march that saw Bostic score on a two-yard run with 3:45 left. That made it 42-21, and Edinboro looked to have a chance to cut it to two touchdowns when Branden Williams intercepted an Amedro pass. But the Scots were called for roughing the passer, giving them a first down at the EU 33. On the next play Eddie Hills caught a 33-yard TD pass for a 49-21 lead.
Edinboro turned it over on downs, and the Hilltoppers got the ball back with 1:29 left in the half, more than enough time to go 70 yards in just five plays. Amedro connected with Hills for 27 yards and Ryan Travis for 33 yards, and Calhoun scored his fourth touchdown of the half on a one-yard run.
The second half began the same as the first, with the kickoff going for a touchdown. Gary Nolen took the kickoff at the 12 and returned it 88 yards for the first kickoff return for a touchdown by Edinboro since 1999.
Unfortunately, the Hilltoppers answered with the longest sustained drive of the game. The 8-play, 69-yard march saw West Liberty actually score three times. A pair of scores were called back by penalties, but Amedro finally found Willie Walker for an 11-yard TD pass. That made it 63-28.
Edinboro failed to score on its next possession, and West Liberty took its largest lead at 70-28, needing just four plays to go 59 yards. Amedro and walls combined on a four-yard pass for the touchdown.
The Fighting Scots would score twice to close the gap to 70-42. Williams 31-yard kickoff return gave the Boro the ball at the WL 49. Three plays later the Scots were back in the end zone, thanks to a 33-yard TD pass from Harris to Marino. On the next series Amedro was sacked by Donnie Marsteller, who forced a fumble that was recovered by Matt Caternolo at the WL 48. It took the Scots eight plays, but when Harris dove in from two yards out on a 3rd-and-goal play Edinboro had closed the gap to 28 points with 3:28 remaining in the third quarter.
With Amedro on the sideline, Edinboro had a chance after pinning the Hilltoppers back at their own eight. They turned to Calhoun, who carried three times for 93 yards. After going 68 yards on the second play, he capped another short scoring drive with a 20-yard run.
Edinboro would score on its final three drives, but the Scots never had an answer for the Hilltopper offense. Harris guided the Scots on a 5-play, 59-yard drive that was aided by a pair of West Liberty penalties. D'mar Jeter's nine-yard TD catch as time expired in the third period made it 77-49.
The Boro defense forced the first West Liberty punt of the day on the next series. Edinboro then drove 76 yards in 11 plays, with Harris breaking his won school record for yards passing in a game in the process. A 25-yard hookup with Gary Nolen gave Edinboro the ball at the WL 6, and on the next play Marcus Johnson made a diving grab for a six-yard TD catch. With 10:34 left, the score was now 77-56.
Unfortunately, the defense couldn't get another stop. Calhoun would score his sixth touchdown of the day, and fourth rushing, bolting in from 12 yards out with 6:10 left.
Edinboro put together one last scoring drive, this time using 14 plays to go 68 yards. Harris accounted for the final yard for a touchdown with 3:01 left.
Some other numbers on the day included 40 first downs for Edinboro and 30 for West Liberty. The Fighting Scots never got the ground game going, as Bostic was the leading rusher with 30 yards on six carries. Calhoun, meanwhile, had another bug game after burning the Scots for 153 yards in the first meeting between the two. He finished with 173 yards on 18 carries with 4 TDs.
Six different receivers finished with 100-or-more yards receiving, four on the West Liberty side. Nolen and Johnson fell one catch shy of the school record for receptions in a game with 11 catches each. Nolen accounted for 136 yards and Johnson 126. Bostic added 6 catches for 72 yards, as seven Boro receivers caught five-or-more passes.
Travis led West Liberty with 8 catches for 110 yards. Walls had 6 catches for 137 yards, Hills 5 for 116, and Calhoun 3 for 116.
