Sturm peaks late for Bentley football
The future was now for Stephen Sturm.
Sturm, a 6-foot-3, 195-pound quarterback, started all 10 games as a sophomore for the Bentley football team, the Falcons finishing 4-6 but winning three of the last four including a big 28-20 victory over American International to wrap up the season on Nov. 9 in Springfield, Mass.
Sturm started slowly. He was 13-for-29 passes for 55 yards as the team started 1-1. But then he got it together and had five games with over 200 yards passing and had a season-high 331 yards in the AIC victory. He completed 22 of 40 passes with two touchdowns and just one interception.
On the season, Sturm connected on 136 of 256 passes for 1,681 yards and nine touchdowns.
“Stephen has the physical tools that allow him to make plays on the field,” coach William Kavanaugh said. “His best attribute is by far his poise in all situations on and off the field. He is calm, cool and collected. You would never tell by looking at him the result of the previous play.”
Despite being an underclassman, the coach was impressed at how Sturm has matured as a leader.
“Stephen is at the core of our program as we move forward,” Kavanaugh said. “He is an excellent student and role model. He keeps his mouth closed and grinds like an offensive lineman. That’s the reason he’s so well respected by the players and coaches in the program.”
ERIC RECKE (BOYERTOWN) >> The 6-foot, 155-pound sophomore had a solid season for the Washington & Lee men’s soccer team despite missing four games in the middle of the season. In 15 games and 13 starts he had two goals. The first defeated Roanoke 1-0 on Oct. 13 and the second came in a 3-0 victory over Bridgewater in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference title game on Nov. 4 in Lexington, Va. The Generals finished 14-3-2 overall and 9-0-1 in league play but saw the season end with a 4-2 penalty kick loss to Johns Hopkins in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Nov. 10 in Baltimore, Md.
MICHAEL ALLEN (FLEETWOOD) >> The 5-foot-10, 185-pound redshirt junior wide receiver earned All-PSAC East second team honors Nov. 14 for his play with the Bloomsburg football team, the Huskies finishing 6-5 overall and 4-2 in league play. Allen led the team with 45 receptions good for 532 yards (11.80 per reception) with seven touchdowns. He had two scores in a 28-24 victory over Shippensburg on Sept. 22 in Bloomsburg and two touchdowns in a 33-7 triumph over Lock Haven on Oct. 20. He has 78 receptions for 1,114 yards and nine touchdowns for his career. Allen also returned 21 punts for 209 yards and two kickoffs for 38 yards.
“Michael has been our ‘go to’ receiver since he arrived on campus,” coach Paul Darragh said. “He is also an extremely dependable returner and brings big-play capability to our special teams. He’s a tremendous young man with a great work ethic.”
TYLER EMGE (FLEETWOOD) >> The 6-foot-1, 225-pound senior linebacker was named to the PSAC East first team on Nov. 14 after a big season with the Shippensburg football team. Emge led the Raiders with 80 tackles including 41 unassisted. He had 10 tackles for losses of 40 yards and a sack. He also intercepted two passes and had three quarterback hits. Shippensburg finished 6-5 overall and 3-3 in league play after a 45-21 victory over Indiana on Nov. 10. Emge had nine tackles and returned an interception 20 yards for a score. He was named PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week on Nov. 12. MITCH BRADFORD (OWEN J. ROBERTS) >> The junior defensive back was named to the All-Centennial Conference second team for his play with the Ursinus football team which closed out its season 8-3 after defeating Misericordia 70-14 in the Centennial-MAC bowl series Saturday in Dallas. Bradford finished the season with 29 tackles, five interceptions and a blocked kick. Senior kicker Kirk Cherneskie, of Pottstown (The Hill School), was named the league’s All-Sportsmanship team. He hit four of eight field goals and 38 out of 41 extra points. SAMMI STEELE (METHACTON) >> The red-shirt junior had another solid season in goal for the Duke field hockey team, the Blue Devils finishing 16-6 after dropping a 1-0 double-overtime loss to Wake Forest in the NCAA second round on Nov. 11 in Durham, N.C. Steele had three saves in the game and finished giving up 33 goals (1.46 goals against average) with 66 saves and eight shutouts playing all but 27 minutes during the season. She was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference second team for the second straight season after leading the team to a 7-1 league record. For her career, Steele has a 48-14 record, giving up 88 goals (1.82 goals against average) with 213 saves with 18 shutouts starting in all 63 games for the team the past three seasons. MARK DUKES (POTTSGROVE) >> The 5-foot-7, 195-pound running back was the second leading scorer on the West Chester football team, the Golden Rams finishing 10-1 after losing their first game of the season 35-28 to New Haven in the first round of the NCAA Division II Tournament last Saturday in West Chester. On the season, Dukes carried the ball 127 times for 640 yards with six touchdowns. He also caught 16 passes for 186 yards and two scores. He finished his career with 1,160 yards rushing with 12 touchdowns in 42 games.
BAILEY QUINN (PHOENIVILLE) >> The 5-foot-4 senior midfielder was named to the PSAC first team for her play with the East Stroudsburg field hockey team. The Warriors saw their season end losing a 3-0 decision to Shippensburg in the PSAC semifinals last Friday in West Chester. Quinn started all 19 games for the 15-4 Warriors and was second on the team in scoring with 22 points on 10 goals and two assists. She finished her career with 31 goals and four assists for 66 points in 41 games. She was an All-PSAC second team pick as a junior.
JOSH EHST (DANIEL BOONE) >> The 6-foot, 185-pound true freshman wrapped up a spectacular season at quarterback for the Grove City football team. Ehst led the Wolverines to a 56-48 victory over Morrisville in the ECAC James Lynah Bowl last Saturday in Grove City. He hit on 10 of 13 passes for 212 yards and two touchdowns giving him 92 completing on 157 attempts for 1,495 yards and 17 touchdowns. Grove City finished 8-3 but was 7-1 with Ehst at quarterback.
DEVON FINK (POTTSGROVE) >> The senior earned honorable mention honors in the Middle Atlantic Conference for his play with the 5-5 Wilkes football team. The 5-foot-8, 170-pound defensive back had 27 tackles, 23 unassisted, with three interceptions. The Colonels also got big defensive efforts from two other area players. Senior linebacker Michael Murphy (Boyertown) had 49 tackles and an interception and sophomore linebacker Pat Ricci (Boyertown) finished with 33 tackles, a fumble and a recovery and 5.5 sacks.
ALLIE MOONEY (OWEN ROBERTS) >> The season came to a close for the redshirt senior goalkeeper and the Shippensburg field hockey team after a 3-1 loss to West Chester in the PSAC title game Sunday in West Chester, the Raiders finishing 16-4. Mooney had eight saves in the game. On the season, she gave up 25 goals and had 92 saves with five shutouts. For her career, Mooney played 81 games and gave up 75 goals with 336 saves and 22 shutouts. She compiled a 65-16 career record.