In this day of on-field celebrations for making a tackle or recording a sack, Alex DiMichele is old school.

He doesn't do any fist pumping, foot stomping or chest thumping when he knocks down an opposing running back or quarterback, of which he does quite often.

"I just get up, look to the sideline for the call and get ready for the next play," said the junior linebacker at Robert Morris University, and a Sto-Rox High School graduate. "Even if it's a big hit, I don't like to celebrate."

It might be a good thing he doesn't jump around after making a tackle. If he did, he would be physically spent by the middle of the third quarter.

At 6-2 and 240 pounds, DiMichele is a tackling machine. He was in on seven tackles in the Colonials' 9-7 victory against Sacred Heart last Saturday. That pushed his career total at Robert Morris to 201. He is the 15th player in team history to reach 200 tackles with one distinction. DiMichele reached the milestone faster than any other Colonials player.

He recorded his 200th tackle in his 18th game. Linebacker James Noel, who played for Robert Morris from 2002-05 and holds the school mark of 437 tackles, reached 200 in 19.

DiMichele is sure to add to his numbers at 1 p.m. today when Robert Morris (2-6, 2-3) plays at Albany (6-3, 5-1) in a Northeast Conference game.

A transfer from Temple, where he played fullback and was on the same squad as his older brother, Adam, who was the Owls' quarterback, DiMichele is averaging 10.6 tackles a game. That's second-best in the NEC. Twice this season -- against VMI and Bryant -- he had 15 tackles in a game.

He has recorded double-digit tackles in 13 of the 18 games he has played at Robert Morris and has a career average of 11.2 stops per contest.

"Yeah, but I couldn't do that without the help of the defensive linemen in front of me," DiMichele said. "They do a great job and keep me clean and the other linebackers, Adam Lawrence, Elias Navarro and Ian Milanak, do a great job. It's not just me."

DiMichele, who played in 12 games at Temple as a freshman and had one start at fullback, has a knack for being around the football. He credits the Robert Morris defensive coaches for putting him in the right position to make hits, but he also watches a lot of game film.

Although he admits the tackle total and accolades that come with it are nice, DiMichele would trade the 200 stops for a few more wins.

"I'd rather be in on just five tackles a game if it meant we had four or five more wins this season," he said. "But we've got a pretty young team and we've started to get things together the past couple of games."

The Colonials have won their past two contests and have just seven seniors in the starting lineup.

It's unlikely DiMichele, who had 116 tackles last season, will break Noel's mark. But DiMichele is 15th on the all-time list with three games remaining this year, including today's, and probably 11 next season.

• California at Shippensburg, 1 p.m., Seth Grove Stadium: The Vulcans (8-2) take on Shippensburg (8-2) in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championship game. It is the second consecutive year California, which is ranked No. 12 by D2football.com and No. 18 by the American Football Coaches Association, has played in the PSAC title game. California defeated West Chester, 47-36, last year. ... Shippensburg is led by quarterback Chad DiFebbo (1,987 yards passing). The Red Raiders come in averaging 33 points and 378 yards of total offense per game. ... The Vulcans' defense has limited opponents to 94.4 yards rushing and 267.3 total yards per game. ... California has won nine of its past 10 November matches dating to the 2005 season.

• Case Western Reserve at Carnegie Mellon, 2 p.m., Gesling Stadium: This University Athletic Association game is the 24th Academic Bowl; the winning school receives the Academic Bowl Trophy. ... Case Western (8-0, 1-0) is No. 9 in NCAA Division III by D3Football.com and has the eighth-ranked offense in Division III at 476.7 yards per game. ... The Tartans (5-3, 1-0) have allowed 22 touchdowns this season, 19 passing. ... Carnegie Mellon leads the all-time series, 26-12.

• Geneva at Thomas More, 1:30 p.m., The Bank of Kentucky Field, Crestview Hills, Ky.: As provisional members in the Presidents' Athletic Conference, the Golden Tornadoes (7-1) are not eligible for the conference title but can once again make a statement. Geneva upset Thomas More, 17-13, last year and defeated the Saints, 10-9, in 2007. ... Thomas More (8-0) clinched the PAC title last week and its defense has allowed opponents an average of just 57 yards rushing per game. ... Geneva back Gerard Muschette leads the PAC with 111.8 yards rushing per game.

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