On Campus
Lock Haven punter on track to set Division II record You are a college football player. Your coach tells you that what you do is the most important play in football. You think you are doing it “pretty well” and you are getting a ton of reps in game situations.
Then one day a nerdy, number-crunching sports writer from back home informs you that you lead the nation in what you do and at the current pace you will break an all-time record set back before you were born.
And this is all you have to say for yourself:
“Well, it’s not something to be proud of.”
You are Danny Hagerman, the busiest punter in America.
The junior kicker/punter at Lock Haven has punted an astonishing 36 times this year in just four games, a mark matched by only one other punter in all of college football this season (Freder Rollins from Minnesota-Crookston can sympathize).
Should Hagerman continue punting nine times per game, he would end up with 99 on the season setting an NCAA Division II record currently held by Lincoln’s John Tassi who punted 98 times in 1981.
Lock Haven (1-3), outscored 205-17 this year, really needed Hagerman’s services in its 56-0 loss to defending Division I-AA national champion James Madison and in a 70-0 whitewashing from another I-AA team, Towson.
It’s not likely that Hagerman will break the record as his team’s schedule softens following a brutal non-conference stretch for a Division II team.
Hagerman is taking things in stride. The Southmoreland graduate, who is tied for second on LHU’s all-time list for career field goals with 18 after making one this year, is just hoping to get more field goal attempts than punts.
“The team calls on me a lot,” Hagerman said. “You just gotta go out and do your job and relax and stay focused.
“I’d rather be kicking field goals, though.”
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David Show, a teammate of Hagerman’s at Lock Haven, is the Bald Eagles’ leading tackler this year. The redshirt sophomore defensive back from Connellsville led the team last year with 79 tackles. He looks to continue that this year with 37 stops after four games.
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While we are on the topic of special teams players, there are three other players either punting or kicking for college teams.
Belle Vernon’s Jon Fowler is punting for California (Pa.) with a 33.6-yard average on 13 attempts. Connellsville’s Ben Popson is 6-for-6 on PATs tries and 1-for-4 on field goals as Waynesburg’s place kicker.
The most successful of the bunch, however, is Laurel Highlands graduate Mike Elias, who is the starting punter and tight end for Bethany (W.Va.).
Elias leads the Presidents’ Athletic Conference in punting with a 40.5 average that also ranks 19th in the country. The 6-1, 214-pound junior was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week after the Bison upset Franklin & Marshall, 34-21, on Sept. 3.
Elias also leads Bethany (1-2) with 26.8 yards per reception having caught five passes for 134 yards and a touchdown after three games this year.
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California (2-1) remains among the country’s Division II leaders in total offense and scoring offense despite a 16-15 loss at Division I-AA Monmouth last Saturday. Cal U.’s offense rarely saw the field with Monmouth possessing the ball for 40:47, but the Vulcans managed to out-gain the Hawks in total yards, 349-330, to maintain their average of 501.3 yards per game, which ranks seventh in the nation.
Cal U. is also scoring 48.3 points per game and is giving up a scant 59 rushing yards per game, both of which rank fifth in the nation.
The Vulcans are home on Saturday as they open PSAC play against Clarion (2-1) at Adamson Stadium. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.
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Waynesburg (1-1) hosts non-conference foe Hanover (1-2) on Saturday at Wiley Stadium for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff. The Yellow Jackets are fresh off a 28-7 win over Manchester in last week’s home-opener. Hanover offensive coordinator Terry Peebles makes his return to Waynesburg after calling plays for the Yellow Jackets for one season in 2002.Cal U. freshman Sandra Paola Gonzalez became the first Vulcan women’s golfer to win an event. The Vulcans, in their first year of existence, placed third at the Gannon Invitational on Sept. 19, as Gonzalez carded a 76 (39-37) taking home medallist honors by one stroke.
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Looking at local men’s and women’s soccer teams, Waynesburg and Cal U. have some of the best goal scorers in their respective conferences. Michael Wilson leads the Waynesburg men’s team (3-5-1) and the PAC with seven goals, while Sheldon Graham’s five goals is tops for Cal U. (3-4) and the PSAC.
The Waynesburg women’s team (2-3-1) is led by Brittiny Bennett’s three goals, which are tied for the lead in the PAC, while Cal U. (2-5-1) has the PSAC’s second-leading goal scorer in Michelle Ewig with five goals.
Justin Zackal may be reached online at begin jzackal@hotmail.com jzackal@hotmail.com end