Watson’s big game leads Penn to milestone win
The University of Pennsylvania football team is coming off a landmark victory and sophomore wide receiver Justin Watson had much to do with the Quakers’ memorable Saturday night.
A Bridgeville native and former standout at South Fayette High School, Watson led Penn to the program’s first win over a top-5-ranked Football Championship Series team when it upset fourth-ranked Villanova, 24-13, last Thursday night. The win snapped Penn’s 14-game losing streak in the series between the Philadelphia schools. It was the Quakers’ first victory over the Wildcats since 1911.
Watson scored the game’s first two touchdowns, on 12- and 33-yard pass receptions. He played just one half before leaving with an injury, yet racked up 87 receiving yards on five receptions. Four of his five catches went for first downs.
Watson, who was named the Ivy league Player of the Week on Monday, had a big game in Penn’s season opener Sept. 19 against Lehigh. Watson took a screen pass 74 yards for a touchdown and was the Quaker’s leading receiver with 10 catches for 143 yards, both career highs.
Joshua Urso, a senior at Oberlin, recently placed sixth in a field of 243 runners at the Yellowjacket invitational hosted by the University of Rochester. A Trinity graduate, Urso covered the 8K course in 26:20.2 and was only 15 seconds out of second place.
Kyra Murphy had an outstanding career as a goalkeeper at Canon-McMillan, helping the Big Macs to the WPIAL and PIAA Class AAA championship games last year.
This fall, Murphy has become the starting goalkeeper for Duquesne women’s team. The Canonsburg native has started seven of the Dukes’ nine matches and has a 4-3 record with a 1.58 goals-against average. Murphy has made 32 saves. She has a pair of four-save shutouts, against St. Francis (Pa.) and Bucknell.
Malea Fabean, a sophomore from Donora, is the second-leading scorer for the Duquesne women’s team. She has scored three goals on only eight shots.
Fabean led Duquesne to a 3-2 victory over Princeton by scoring two goals, including one on a shot across the box and the other on a header.
Fabean played her high school soccer for Greensburg Central Catholic and helped the Centurions to two PIAA championships.
Mario Mastrangelo is the second-leading scorer for the St. Francis (Pa,) men’s team through nine games.
Mastrangelo, a freshman from Venetia, has scored two goals and assisted on another score for five points. Mastrangelo’s goals came on consecutive days and in 2-0 victories for the Red Flash over Niagara and George Washington.
Mastrangelo and his brother, Nicco Mastrangelo, are freshman forwards for St. Francis. They helped Peters Township win the WPIAL and PIAA championships last year as seniors.
Josh Kruczek, a freshman forward from Canonsburg, scored a goal for Lafayette in the Leopards’ 3-0 victory over Farleigh Dickinson on Sept. 1. A Canon-McMillan graduate, Kruczek scored on a one-timer off a cross for his first collegiate goal, which gave Lafayette a 1-0 lead.
Kruczek scored 38 career goals for Canon-McMillan and was named all-state last season.
Junior linebacker Jaylin Kelly is the leading tackler for Youngstown State through three games.
A Washington graduate, Kelly plays inside linebacker for the Penguins and has made 19 tackles, including 13 solo stops. He had nine tackles in YSU’s overtime win over Robert Morris and made a team-high six stops in the Penguins’ 48-3 thumping of St. Francis (Pa.).
Dylan Bongiorni, a senior wide receiver from Burgettstown, is the fourth-leading receiver for Mercyhurst.
Bongiorni has caught eight passes for 126 yards and a touchdown. He caught a 44-yard touchdown pass in the Lakers’ 37-35 win Sept. 12 over West Chester.
Alex Campbell, a junior from Canonsburg, has worked his way into the starting lineup at nose tackle at Colgate. After playing as a reserve in the Raiders’ season opener at Navy, Campbell has started each of the last three games. He has made 11 tackles (eight solo) with two for losses and one sack.
A Canon-McMillan graduate, Campbell played in eight games last season.
Cooper Schroeder, continues to have a big season as a tight end at Alderson-Broaddus.
The junior from Canonsburg is the Battlers’ leading receiver with 12 catches for 181 yards and two touchdowns. Both scores came in a 28-24 win over Lincoln on Sept. 18. Schroeder caught a 19-yard TD pass in the first quarter and added a 22-yard scoring catch on the first play of the second quarter.
Corey Hunsberger, a junior defensive back from Washington, is the second-leading tackler for Marietta. A Trinity graduate, Hunsberger has made 24 tackles (nine solo) in three games. Last week, in a loss to No. 2-ranked Mount Union, Hunsberger had a team-leading 15 tackles, which tied the career high he set in 2013 against Wilmington.
Kelsey Tyler, a junior middle hitter at Penn State-Fayette, is one of the top players at the net in the Pennsylvania State University Athletic Conference.
A Daisytown native and California graduate, Tyler ranks third in the PSUAC in kills, averaging 2.85 per game, and is fourth in total kills with 74. Her hitting percentage of .381 ranks second in the conference.
Penn State-Fayette has a 4-1 record in the conference and an 8-7 overall mark.