Fourth down. No big deal. If the offense is close to the other team’s end zone, the field goal unit tries to put some points on the board. If they’re too close to their own end zone, the punting team trots on and tries to sway the field position. But in this game, there were six first-half fourth down plays that gave a glimpse into the guts of each team and would prove instrumental in the outcome.
The first came on West Chester’s opening drive of the game. It was fourth and four from the New Haven 34. Okay, this is in that “tweener” area – too far for a field goal attempt, too close for a punt – so going for it is not uncalled for. But an 11-yard completion from Sean McCartney to Erick Brundidge kept the drive alive which resulted in a ten-yard Rondell White touchdown run four plays later.
Perhaps feeling the pressure to match West Chester, but more likely from also being in the tweener zone, New Haven was faced with fourth and four at the West Chester 30 yard line on their first possession. Although quarterback Ronnie Nelson completed the pass to his running back Mike DeCaro, rover Drew Formica kept the play in front of him and stopped DeCaro short of the first down, giving possession to the Golden Rams.
The third possession of the game saw another fourth down decision. West Chester had first and goal from the five, but managed only four yards after three plays. Rather than attempt an almost sure field goal, Bill Zwaan elected to go for the touchdown. However, the New Haven defense stuffed McCartney for no gain. It was difficult for Golden Rams fans to see points being left on the field.
Kayo Bakare drags down a Charger running back (Photo Geoff Ruth)
Early in the second quarter, New Haven was faced with another fourth down. This time, the Chargers only needed one yard, but the ball was on the West Chester 45. Although a punt would typically be warranted, New Haven only had 50 yards of offense to that point and may have felt this opportunity was too good to let slip away. After a timeout, Nelson picked up two yards for the first down and the Chargers would continue the drive into the end zone, bringing the score to 10-7 in favor of West Chester.
On West Chester’s ensuing possession, their drive stalled at the New Haven 18, just one yard short of the first down. Although within field goal range, the three additional points would still leave New Haven within one score. White would make the gamble payoff as he picked up the first down and two plays later caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from McCartney.
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And the final fourth down of the first half was the most pivotal. Shawn Krautzel, who played both strong safety and rover throughout the game, made a leaping interception and Brundidge made a great catch despite being mugged for the one-play touchdown to put the Golden Rams up 24-7. With two minutes left in the half, New Haven looked to be running out the clock to get to the locker room. But on third and five, West Chester called a timeout. This was clearly a shot over the bow, as West Chester signaled that they planned on trying to score yet again, and New Haven didn’t take it too kindly. On third down, Charger receiver Roshawn Wilson got behind the West Chester secondary and was streaking down the middle of the field, but Nelson’s pass failed to connect. Which brought up….fourth down. This time, New Haven made the right choice to punt. But West Chester’s Byron Cooper came around the left end and blocked it. Al-Hajj Shabazz recovered the ball at the two and White punched it to put the Golden Rams up 31-7 at the half.
Remarkably the third quarter remained scoreless, although the Golden Rams had another big fourth down play. With New Haven needing just three yards from the West Chester 16, Chris DiValentino came in untouched for the only sack of the game.
The fourth quarter was a clock running exercise as on their final three possessions, West Chester rushed the ball 17 times of 20 plays.
Justin Bathurst clears a lane for Rondell White (Photo Geoff Ruth)
Notes – Coming into the game, this looked to be a battle between two of the best all-purpose backs in the nation. After DeCaro returned West Chester’s first kickoff 57 yards, the Golden Rams did a nice job of containing him on offense and keeping the ball away from him on special teams. Punter Rich Bruno’s two punts were 35 and 34 yards, but one was fair caught at the 12 and the other was downed at the three. Meanwhile, White had one of his trademark stat packers: 96 yards and two touchdowns rushing, 94 yards and one touchdown receiving and 87 yards on two kickoff returns….In an effort to get Eddie Elliott more touches, he was lined up as a receiver and caught a 19-yard pass. Later in the game he had a sideline-to-sideline 50-yard touchdown run…West Chester's last punt block was by Camille Max last year against LIU Post…Besides the interception, Krautzel had eight total tackles…Mike Labor led the defense with ten total tackles…Shawn Leo missed his second field goal attempt when he banged the 48-yarder high off the right upright…McCartney, better known for being in the pocket, scrambled six times for 27 yards and two first downs…Excluding New Haven, West Chester's 2013 opponents went 6-4 in Week 1. Besides Cheyney and Millersville losing, Kutztown and Clarion played each other, but the team that caused the biggest surprise/disappointment in the loss column was Shippensburg which was blanked by Shepherd 33-0... It's the first time West Chester has started the season 1-0 since 2009...The Golden Rams return to action against Gannon in Erie at noon on Saturday.
West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Upsets No. 12 New Haven, 45-14
New Haven Athletic Site - No. 12/19 Chargers Suffer Season-Opening Loss at West Chester
Daily Local News - West Chester impressive in season-opening triumph
New Haven Register - New Haven routed by West Chester (Pa.) in opener for football
Bert Garbutt - Photo Collage WCU Football vs UNH - 1st Half
Bert Garbutt - Photo Collage WCU Football vs UNH - 2nd Half
D2football - PSAC Columnist - PSAC Week One Headlines
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