The weekend’s top-10 performances by local college football players
Gerald Dixon, South Carolina- Dixon - the former South Pointe Stallion - made six tackles, with two for a loss, a quarterback sack, broke up a pass and intercepted another during the Gamecocks’ 24-14 loss to Florida.
Lee Wright, Youngstown State- York’s Wright made 14 tackles, including one for a loss, during Youngstown State’s 27-24 loss to North Dakota State. Wright leads the Penguins with 70 tackles and is second on the team with nine tackles-for-loss.
Dijuan Ussery, Missouri Western- Nation Ford product finished the season with a bang, catching five passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Ussery caught scoring passes of 24 and 57 yards either side of halftime. He finished the season with 23 catches for 402 yards and four touchdowns.
Devin Pearson, Charlotte- South Pointe’s Pearson made six tackles and intercepted a pass in the first quarter, but couldn’t prevent Charlotte from losing 30-27 in overtime to Texas-San Antonio. Pearson has two interceptions in 10 games for the 49ers.
Jatavius Stewart, William Penn (Iowa)- Rock Hill’s Stewart caught a pair of touchdown passes during William Penn University’s season-ending 26-14 loss to NAIA No. 3-ranked school, Grand View (Iowa). Stewart caught seven passes for 139 yards and the two scores, and finished the season with 13 touchdowns - nine catches and four runs. Stewart, a senior, scored 20 touchdowns in his two years at William Penn. See Stewart’s final college touchdown here:
Tay Hicklin, Georgia Southern- former South Pointe standout made a tackle, broke up a pass and recovered a fumble during the Eagles’ 45-10 win over Troy. Georgia Southern faces Georgia next.
Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State- Northwestern’s Rudolph completed 24-of-36 passes for 327 yards and a touchdown as the Cowboys rallied from a 24-7 deficit to beat Iowa State and remain undefeated at 10-0. Rudolph helped guide his team 84 yards in 11 plays for the game-winning score, with backup quarterback J.W. Walsh completing the possession with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Carr.
No. 4 Oklahoma State faces No. 10 Baylor on Saturday. Rudolph got his first college start a year ago in a loss to the Bears.
Jeremy Massey, North Greenville- Massey made three tackles, broke up a pass and intercepted another in his final college football game, a 35-17 North Greenville win over Livingstone last Friday night. Massey returned his second quarter interception to near midfield; he finished the year with three picks, tied for team-best.
Tony Godbolt, North Greenville- Fort Mill product made six tackles, with 1.5 for a loss, and broke up a pass during the Crusaders’ season-ending win over Livingstone.
Xavier McFadden, Carson-Newman- Rock Hill High’s McFadden made six tackles as Carson-Newman blew out Tusculum 65-32. The Eagles - winners of six straight games - open the Division II playoffs this coming weekend against Valdosta State.
Other notable performances
Abri Tate, Bryant- former Nation Ford Falcon made five tackles with one for a loss during Bryant’s 28-19 loss to Sacred Heart.
Nick Raszeja, LaGrange (Ga.)- Fort Mill’s Raszeja made three tackles in his final college football game, a 47-12 loss to Methodist. Raszeja led the Panthers in tackles this season, and plans to remain at the school to become a graduate assistant coach.
Arthur Williams, Pikeville (Ky.)- Lancaster Bruins grad Williams made eight tackles during Pikeville’s 22-0 loss to Georgetown (Ky.), Williams’ final game in college.
Zeek Rodney, Wake Forest- South Pointe’s Rodney made three tackles, shared a tackle-for-loss and also recorded a quarterback hurry during the Demon Deacons’ 28-7 loss to Notre Dame.
Rylan Wells, Jacksonville- former Fort Mill QB was sacked six times and threw an interception in his first college start, but still managed to lead the Dolphins to a 20-14 win over Campbell. Wells completed 11-of-20 passes for 115 yards and had a 35-yard touchdown run nullified by a holding penalty.
Mitchell Jeter, The Citadel- Rock Hill High grad was held to two tackles during the Bulldogs’ 31-23 loss to Chattanooga on Saturday. Despite the loss, The Citadel still earned a share of the Southern Conference championship.
Quan Caldwell, South Carolina State- Chester’s Caldwell made three catches for 37 yards during the Bulldogs’ 17-10 win over Norfolk State. Caldwell, a redshirt freshman, has 21 catches in 10 games.
Jerome Pettiway, South Carolina State- former York Cougar punted seven times for a 31-yard average during S.C. State’s win over Norfolk State. One of Pettiway’s kicks was downed inside the 20-yard line.
Markell Castle, Newberry- York’s Castle caught three passes for 15 yards and returned a kickoff 14 yards during Newberry’s 26-0 win over Wingate.
Gerald Dixon, Jr., South Carolina- Northwestern Trojan made two tackles during South Carolina’s loss to Florida.
Neil Williams, N.C. Central- N.C. Central blasted Howard 41-6 and former Chester Cyclone Williams made three tackles from his linebacker spot during the win.
Andrew Komornik, Gardner-Webb- Nation Ford’s Komornik hit four punts for an average of 39 yards during the Runnin’ Bulldogs’ 28-3 win over East Tennessee State.
Tyrell Curry, Eastern Kentucky- Curry - from Rock Hill High - made two tackles during the Colonels’ 41-34 overtime win against Murray State.
Alstevis Squirewell, Newberry- Great Falls grad made two tackles during Newberry’s win over Wingate. The Wolves open the Division II playoffs this weekend on the road at North Alabama.
Corey Dover, Newberry- York’s Dover made two tackles in Newberry’s win over Wingate.
Chris Bouyer, East Tennesssee State- former Northwestern Trojan defensive lineman made four stops during the Bucs’ 28-3 loss to Gardner-Webb.
This story was originally published November 16, 2015 at 2:04 PM with the headline "The weekend’s top-10 performances by local college football players."