Hey there folks. I'm out of town this week, so there will be no edition of The Next Level today.
Don't fret though: I'll return next Monday with a double helping to catch you up on everything that went on this past weekend.
Thanks for reading.
Hard to believe we’re already through 10 weeks of the college football season. Seems like it has flown by. It won’t be long now until we’re checking out how some local players fare come bowl time.
One player who looks like he’s ready for anything is West Virginia freshman Tavon Austin. The former Dunbar star got only one touch in the Mountaineers’ 17-9 home victory over Louisville, but talk about capitalizing. Austin, who started at wide receiver, rushed 9 yards for a touchdown on second-and-goal in the third quarter. The score, Austin’s third of the season, extended West Virginia’s lead to 14-6. Austin’s former Dunbar teammate, Horace Miller, got his first start of the season at linebacker for the Cardinals. The freshman recorded two tackles (one solo, one assist).
Byes and injury combined to make for a lighter week than usual in terms of play by former area football standouts. There will still, however, some dynamic performances.
Redshirt freshman Joey Ehrmann got his second straight start (and the second of his career) at strong-side linebacker in Wake Forest’s 28-27 home loss to Miami. Though the Hurricanes rallied late for a dramatic victory, the Gilman alum made quite an impact – especially on Miami quarterback Jacory Harris. Ehrmann was credited with five tackles (four solo, one assist), including 2.5 sacks of Harris for total losses of 21 yards, and a forced fumble. On a first-and-10 play from the Hurricanes’ 20-yard line in the second quarter, Ehrmann brought down Harris for a loss of 8 yards, knocking the ball loose in the process (Harris was able to recover it). In the third quarter, Ehrmann combined with defensive tackle John Russell to sack Harris for a loss of 14 yards. Ehrmann also took down Harris on his own for a loss of 6 yards in the fourth quarter.
Week 8 was a big one for several former local high school football standouts, including a couple of true freshmen who found the end zone.
Three-time Baltimore Sun All-Metro Player of the Year Tavon Austin (Dunbar) wasted no time in scoring his second touchdown of the season for West Virginia. The freshman took the opening kickoff of the Mountaineers’ home game against Connecticut 98 yards to the house. It was West Virginia’s longest play of the season, and the Mountaineers went on to win, 28-24. Freshman defensive back Terence Garvin (Loyola) assisted on a tackle on kickoff coverage for West Virginia in the first quarter. Huskies starting safety Jerome Junior (Archbishop Curley) was playing in his first game since fellow defensive back Jasper Howard was stabbed to death early Oct. 18 on Connecticut’s campus in Storrs. The redshirt freshman made five tackles (three solo, two assists).
Let’s jump right into things:
A week after breaking up three passes in Buffalo’s 40-3 home victory over Gardner-Webb, starting free safety Mike Newton (Calvert Hall) was back making big plays in the Bulls’ 21-17 win over visiting Akron. The senior came up with two takeaways, recovering a fumble in the first quarter after Buffalo defensive lineman Anel Montanez forced Zips running back DeVoe Torrence to cough up the ball, and intercepting Akron quarterback Patrick Nicely in the second quarter. Newton also made eight tackles (two solo, six assists). Bulls senior Dane Robinson (Calvert Hall) started at defensive tackle, recording no statistics.
We’re nearing the halfway point of the college football season, and, as expected, some local players showed their stuff in Week 6.
West Virginia-Syracuse featured a reunion of sorts, as three of the game’s players were teammates in last year’s Crab Bowl, a high school all-star game that pits a team of Baltimore-area standouts against a squad of those from the Washington area. West Virginia’s Tavon Austin (Dunbar) and Terence Garvin (Loyola) and Syracuse’s Alec Lemon (Arundel) played for the Baltimore team in that game, which featured an 81-yard fourth-quarter touchdown pass from Lemon to Austin, who are good friends off the field.
Week 5 of the college football season has come and gone. By now you guys know the drill, so let's get down to it.
Maryland got a couple of strong defensive performances from players with local ties in its 24-21 upset victory over visiting Clemson on Saturday. Jamari McCollough (Randallstown) returned to his starting spot at strong safety and came up big, intercepting Tigers quarterback Kyle Parker in the end zone with 31 seconds left in the first half. Clemson had driven into the red zone, and McCollough's pick allowed the Terps to preserve a 17-13 halftime lead. The senior also assisted on a tackle.
Week 4 of the college football season featured some stunning upsets and shake-ups among the nation’s top teams – and of course some standout performances from local players.
Struggling Maryland suffered another disheartening home loss, this one a 34-13 defeat at the hands of Rutgers on Saturday, but a couple of Terps from the Baltimore area did their part to try to keep the game close. Junior wide receiver LaQuan Williams (Poly) scored his first touchdown of the season – and Maryland’s only one of the game – catching a 24-yard pass from Chris Turner in the second quarter. The touchdown tied the score at 10. Starting nose tackle and Severn native A.J. Francis made three tackles (one solo, two assists). On one of Maryland’s biggest defensive plays of the game, the redshirt freshman sacked Scarlet Knights quarterback Domenic Natale for a loss of 8 yards on third-and-5 in the fourth quarter, forcing a fumble. Rutgers recovered but was forced to punt. Terps senior strong safety Jamari McCollough (Randallstown) returned from a foot injury, coming off the bench to make one tackle. Senior linebacker Hakeem Sule (McDonogh) played but did not record any statistics. Scarlet Knights senior wide receiver Andrew DePaola (Hereford) played in the win but didn’t make the stat sheet.
The Next Level rolls on with a recap of Week 3 action.
Former Archbishop Curley standout Jerome Junior showed his big-play capability in Connecticut’s 30-22 road win over Baylor. A week after recording seven tackles against North Carolina, the redshirt freshman safety intercepted a wide receiver pass from the Bears’ Kendall Wright in the third quarter and returned it 14 yards. Junior also made two tackles (one solo, one assist).
Severn native A.J. Francis had an eventful second quarter in Maryland’s stunning 32-31 loss to visiting Middle Tennessee State. The starting nose tackle, a redshirt freshman, blocked an extra-point attempt and stopped Blue Raiders quarterback Dwight Dasher for no gain on a first-and-goal run from the Terps’ 7-yard line, but he was also called for an offside penalty in the period. For the game, Francis recorded two tackles (one solo, one assist). Maryland senior linebacker Hakeem Sule (McDonogh) assisted on two tackles on kickoff coverage. Junior wide receiver LaQuan Williams (Poly) also had an assist on a special teams tackle. On offense, Chris Turner threw to Williams twice, but both passes were incomplete. Terps senior safety Jamari McCollough (Randallstown) missed the game while recovering from a foot injury he suffered against California in Week 1.
Starting free safety Mike Newton (Calvert Hall) led Buffalo in tackles for the second straight week. The senior made nine stops (six solo, three assists) in the Bulls’ 23-17 defeat at the hands of host Central Florida. In the first quarter, he stuffed a third-and-1 rush by Golden Knights running back Brynn Harvey for no gain. Newton was injured making a tackle in the fourth quarter, but he returned to the game. Fellow Calvert Hall product Dane Robinson made one solo tackle for Buffalo. The senior defensive lineman stopped Harvey for no gain on a second-and-1 rush.
Shaky Smithson (Douglass) made an impact as both a receiver and a returner in visiting Utah’s 31-24 loss to Oregon. The junior caught five passes for 33 yards, his longest an 11-yard reception on a second-and-2 play in the second quarter. Smithson also returned six kickoffs for 140 yards (a 23.3-yard average), with a long of 29.
Wake Forest linebacker Joey Ehrmann (Gilman) turned in a notable performance in the Demon Deacons’ 35-7 home rout of Elon. The redshirt freshman made seven tackles (two solo, five assists) and was credited with a half sack for a loss of 4 yards.
Starting weak-side linebacker Zach Brown (Wilde Lake), a sophomore, assisted on four tackles including two for losses as host North Carolina beat East Carolina, 31-17.
Junior wide receiver Sheldon Bell (City) caught two passes for 15 yards in visiting Duke’s 44-16 loss to No. 22 Kansas. His longest, a 13-yard reception, came on second-and-8 in the fourth quarter.
A week after scoring his first college touchdown, freshman Tavon Austin (Dunbar) was held to one reception for 5 yards as visiting West Virginia fell to Auburn, 41-30. Freshman defensive back Terence Garvin (Loyola) played but did not record any statistics.
Former local standouts Sean Boyle (Calvert Hall), a sophomore offensive lineman, and Kwame Johnson (Parkville), a freshman wide receiver, played for Temple in the Owls’ 31-6 loss to Penn State in State College, but neither recorded any statistics. Baltimore native Matt Brown, a freshman wide-out who played his high school ball at Peddie School in New Jersey before prepping at New York’s Milford Academy, was thrown to twice, but both passes were incomplete. Brown also called for a fair catch on the one punt he fielded.
Syracuse quarterback Greg Paulus targeted freshman wide receiver Alec Lemon (Arundel) on a deep pass in the Orange’s 37-34 win over visiting Northwestern, but the throw wasn’t completed. Senior tight end Andrew Robinson (Calvert Hall) got onto the field for Syracuse, recording no stats.
Also playing but not recording any statistics in their team’s respective games were Army junior linebacker Jacob Bohn (Mount St. Joseph), Louisville freshman linebacker Horace Miller (Dunbar), Navy senior quarterback Greg Zingler (Severna Park) and Rutgers senior wide receiver Andrew DePaola (Hereford). Army beat visiting Ball State, 24-17; Louisville lost to host Kentucky, 31-27; Navy was defeated by host Pittsburgh, 27-14; and Rutgers beat visiting Florida International, 23-15.
Welcome back to The Next Level. It was another exciting week of college football, featuring some notable performances from former Baltimore-area standouts.
It didn’t take Tavon Austin long to make a big impact in the college game. The former Dunbar star, a true freshman, started at wide receiver for West Virginia against East Carolina on Saturday and made two catches for 59 yards, including a 58-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Jarrett Brown that extended the host Mountaineers’ lead to 28-20 in the third quarter. The touchdown was West Virginia’s longest scoring play of the game. The Mountaineers went on to add another touchdown, and ended up winning, 35-20.
Navy reserve quarterback Greg Zingler (Severna Park) also put points on the board Saturday. After Midshipmen starting quarterback Ricky Dobbs rushed for a 3-yard touchdown in the first quarter against Louisiana Tech, Zingler took the field for the point-after attempt, ostensibly as the holder. When the snap came however, the senior picked up the ball and ran it for a 2-point conversion, pushing Navy ahead 18-10 in the second quarter. The host Mids rolled on to 32-14 victory. Navy senior linebacker Jerry Hauburger (Eastern Tech) played in the game but did not record any statistics.
Maryland starting nose tackle A.J. Francis had a big game as the host Terps edged Football Championship Subdivision opponent James Madison, 38-35, in overtime. Though the Dukes rushed for 268 yards against Maryland, the redshirt freshman, a Severn native who attended Georgetown Prep in Washington, made five tackles (two solo, three assists). That included two stops for no gain and his being credited for a half-tackle that resulted in a loss of 2 yards for JMU. Terps junior wide receiver LaQuan Williams (Poly) recorded one catch for 7 yards in the game, and senior linebacker Hakeem Sule (McDonogh) played but did not record any statistics. Senior safety Jamari McCollough (Randallstown) missed the game because a foot injury. The Baltimore Sun’s Jeff Barker reported that coach Ralph Friedgen said he does not expect McCollough, a second-team All-Metro selection as a high school junior, to be ready to play when Maryland hosts Middle Tennessee State on Saturday.
Starting free safety Mike Newton (Calvert Hall) continues to be a factor on the back line of Buffalo’s defense. A week after making six tackles against Texas-El Paso, the senior led the Bulls with 11 tackles (six solo, five assists) in their 54-27 home loss to Pittsburgh. Newton, who was in on six consecutive tackles on the Panthers’ first drive, also broke up a pass.
A pair of defenders made their presence felt in visiting North Carolina’s wild win over Connecticut (the Tar Heels came back to prevail, 12-10, after Huskies offensive tackle Dan Ryan was called for holding in the end zone with 1:32 remaining, resulting in a safety). UNC sophomore linebacker Zach Brown (Wilde Lake) made five tackles (three solo, two assists), and UConn safety Jerome Junior (Archbishop Curley), a redshirt freshman, recorded seven stops (three solo, four assists).
Wide receiver Shaky Smith (Douglass) made one catch for 9 yards on a first-and-10 play in the third quarter of Utah’s 24-14 win at San Jose State. The junior also returned a pair of kickoffs for 26 and 25 yards.
Syracuse didn’t have many highlights in falling, 28-7, to Penn State in Happy Valley. Freshman wide receiver Alec Lemon (Arundel), however, did make two catches for 10 yards, including one for a gain of 11. Orange senior tight end Andrew Robinson (Calvert Hall) and Nittany Lions junior cornerback Shelton McCullough (Randallstown) both played, but neither recorded any statistics.
Wake Forest freshman linebacker Joey Ehrmann (Gilman) assisted on the tackle on the opening kickoff in the Demon Deacons’ 24-17 win over visiting Stanford.
Duke junior wide receiver Sheldon Bell (City) and Army junior linebacker Jacob Bohn (Mount St. Joseph) got onto the field in the Blue Devils’ 35-19 victory over the host Black Knights, but neither recorded any statistics.
Raynard Horne (Overlea) played in Virginia’s 30-14 home loss to Texas Christian, but the junior running back recorded no statistics.
Senior wide receiver Andrew DePaola (Hereford) saw action in Rutgers’ 45-7 romp over visiting Howard, recording no statistics.
First things first, I’m Steve Gould, an assistant sports editor for The Baltimore Sun. Welcome to The Next Level, a weekly feature on Varsity Letters where you can find out how former standouts from local high schools who now play for NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision teams fared in their games. Check back each Monday for a recap of their statistics and standout plays. (The list of players I’m working off isn’t comprehensive, so if I’m leaving someone out please leave a comment below or e-mail me, and I’ll make sure to include him.)
Well, with that stuff out of the way, let’s get down to it:
Three-time Baltimore Sun All-Metro Player of the Year Tavon Austin made his college debut in West Virginia’s 33-20 home win over Liberty. Austin, who starred at Dunbar, came off the bench to rush once for 4 yards and catch one pass for 3 yards. He also returned a kickoff for 14 yards. Freshman defensive back Terence Garvin, who also played running back while at Loyola, made one solo tackle for the Mountaineers.
There wasn’t much for Maryland fans to cheer as California rolled over the visiting Terps, 52-13, but a pair of former local standouts started on defense for UM. A.J. Francis, a redshirt freshman, lined up at nose tackle and recorded three total tackles (one solo and two assists). Francis played his high school ball at Gonzaga Prep in Washington, D.C., but is from Severn. Senior Jamari McCollough (Randallstown) started at cornerback and logged one tackle for a loss of 2 yards. His contributions, however, were overshadowed by his leaving with a foot injury. Sun reporter Jeff Barker reported that McCollough was seen on crutches on the Maryland sideline. Terps junior wide receiver LaQuan Williams (Poly) also played in the game but did not record any statistics.
Connecticut redshirt freshman strong safety Jerome Junior (Archbishop Curley) got the start in his first college game and turned in a notable performance, making five tackles (two solo, three assists) in the Huskies’ 23-16 win over host Ohio.
Former Arundel standout Alec Lemon was a favorite target of quarterback Greg Paulus in host Syracuse’s 23-20 overtime loss to Minnesota. The wide receiver, a true freshman, caught five passes — the second most for the Orange — for 17 yards, his longest a 10-yard reception. Senior tight end Andrew Robinson (Calvert Hall), who threw for 2,192 yards and 13 touchdown passes while playing quarterback for Syracuse in 2007, did not play.
Starting senior free safety Mike Newton (Calvert Hall) made six tackles (four solo, two assists) in visiting Buffalo’s 23-17 win over Texas-El Paso.
Freshman defensive back Kwame Johnson (Parkville) came off the bench to make three solo tackles as Temple fell to Villanova, 27-24, at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field.
Virginia’s Raynard Horne (Overlea), a junior running back, caught one pass for 13 yards in the Cavaliers’ 26-14 home loss to Football Championship Subdivision opponent William and Mary.
Junior wide receiver Shaky Smithson, who played at Douglass in high school before attending East Los Angeles Community College and transferring to Utah, returned one kickoff for 21 yards in the Utes’ 35-17 victory over visiting Utah State.
Freshman linebacker Joey Ehrmann (Gilman) got some playing time for Wake Forest in the host Demon Deacons’ 24-21 loss to Baylor, but his only tackle was negated by a holding penalty on the Bears. Wake freshman running back Michael Campanaro, The Sun’s 2008 Howard County Player of the Year after rushing for 1,848 yards and 29 touchdowns for River Hill, did not play.
Junior linebacker Jacob Bohn (Mount St. Joseph) made one tackle on special teams in Army’s 27-14 road win over Eastern Michigan.
Senior quarterback Greg Zingler (Severna Park) and senior linebacker Jerry Hauburger (Eastern Tech) saw the field as visiting Navy gave No. 6 Ohio State a scare before falling, 31-27, but neither player recorded any statistics.
Louisville’s Horace Miller (Dunbar), a freshman linebacker, played in the host Cardinals’ 30-10 rout of Indiana State but did not record any statistics.
I’m not listing some of the numerous players — many of them freshmen — who didn’t see game time this week, but if you have a question about a specific player who wasn’t mentioned, please comment below and I’ll respond.
Thanks for stopping by, and keep checking in Mondays for more updates. If all goes well, we’ll look to have a similar feature when basketball season comes around.
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