- Shippensburg’s quarterback punted twice
- Both teams had wide receivers throw passes
- West Chester used four quarterbacks in the game
- The Golden Rams punted more in the game than against New Haven Millersville, California, and Lock Haven games combined
- The best kicker in West Chester history missed two field goals in one game for the first time in his career before booting the game winning 26-yarder with 1.1 second left
The contest started very ominously. With a strong wind in their faces, the Golden Rams needed to minimize the impact of the weather by establishing the run game and consume some of the clock. But on their first two possession, they only had three plays that went for positive yards and two of them were negated due to holding penalties. Meanwhile, Shippensburg was effective through the air and on the ground, scoring two touchdowns in the first five minutes. Even though West Chester got a first down on their next possession, they still only managed 12 yards and Rich Bruno punted for the third time. Aided by a personal foul penalty on the Shippensburg sideline, the Golden Ram defense held and after the Shippensburg punt, Rondell White broke a second down run 67 yards to put the Golden Rams on the scoreboard.
The inspired West Chester defense forced a three-and-out and the offense started to move the ball. Unfortunately, this included a 4-yard scramble by starting quarterback Sean McCartney who got hurt on the final play of the first quarter. He would not return. Drew Loughery came in and completed a couple of passes to Shannon Mayer and White finished off the drive with another touchdown run to tie the game at 14.
After the two teams traded two punts each, the Golden Rams got a break when Shippensburg fumbled the ball and Eric Edwers landed on it at the Shippensburg 39. West Chester made short work of it as Loughery connected with White for 22 yards on one play and White took it in on the next play. The only problem is they left Shippensburg’s offense with almost a minute left in the first half. The Raiders drove 75 yards in 28 seconds with the touchdown coming on a 53-yard catch and run. However, similar to East Stroudsburg, the final PAT of the first half failed. West Chester took a 21-20 lead into the locker room.
The Golden Rams took the wind in the third quarter, but without positive results. They were held to two three-and-outs and their only scoring chance was a 53-yard Shawn Leo field goal attempt that went wide left. Meanwhile the Raiders were moving the ball well into the wind, but the Golden Ram defense held their two 70-yard drives to just field goals. Shippensburg would tack on a 40-yard field goal to extend their lead to 29-21 with under 11 minutes to play. And that’s when West Chester made a key personnel change.
Redshirt freshman Andrew Derr entered the game and completed four passes for 59 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown strike to Adam Dempsey. After a timeout, a little trickery entered the game as Mayer completed a pass to Jared Bonacquisti for the tying two-point conversion.
On their ensuing possession, Shippensburg tried some trickery of their own as Shannon Mayer’s brother, Sheldon, a wide receiver for the Raiders, took a lateral and threw a long pass. However, it was picked off by Golden Ram safety Brandon Pepper who returned it 34 yards to the Shippensburg 31. The West Chester offense couldn’t move the ball and Leo’s 42-yard field goal attempt into the wind fell short.
The Golden Ram defense forced a three-and-out keyed by a quarterback hurry by Andrew Cohen and a sack by Kayo Bakare. But the Raiders’ high punt bounced off the chest of Brandon Monk and right into the arms of the Shippensburg coverage team. The Raider offense moved the ball to the West Chester 29, but a third-down holding penalty pushed them back to the 39. After an incomplete pass and a timeout, Shippensburg’s 56-yard wind-aided field goal attempt fell short.
With two and a half minutes left, West Chester took over at their own 39. After a couple of short White runs, Derr connected with White on a 25-yard pass. An 11-yard completion to Dempsey got the Golden Rams to the Shippensburg 21, still not close enough for a field goal attempt into the stiff wind. But White rushed the ball for another 12 yards setting up a 26-yard field goal attempt. Leo’s kick was good to put West Chester in front 32-29 with 1.1 second left. Ronell Williams got his 10th and final tackle on the ensuing kickoff to finish the game.
Notes- In the second quarter, Shippensburg ripped off a 56-yard run, but cornerback Al-Hajj Shabazz ran it down and made a touchdown saving tackle at the West Chester 17. The Raiders failed to score on that possession…Besides McCartney, West Chester also lost true freshman and special teams player Brandon Spatz, nickel back Byron Cooper, and starting right guard James Colivas to injuries. Mayer and Mike Labor both left the game due to injuries, but both returned…Chris DiValentino also logged a sack in the game…White finished with 173 yards rushing and 87 yards receiving…Derr finished 7 of 9 for 105 yards and a touchdown…After gashing the Golden Ram defense for 134 yards on 10 totes in the first half, Shippensburg running back Blair Brooks was held to just 25 yards on 10 carries in the second half.
West Chester Athletic Site - Leo's Last-Second Field Goal Lifts West Chester Over Shippensburg, 32-29
Daily Local News - WCU survives on Leo field goal
DelCo Times - WCU's Zwaan no stranger to comebacks
Public Opinion - West Chester edges Shippensburg on last-second FG
Bert Garbutt - Photo Collage WCU Football vs Shippensburg
Shippensburg Athletic Site - Red Raider Football Valiant on Homecoming But Falls to No. 13 West Chester, 32-29
WHAG - Your4State - Shippensburg Falls to West Chester, 32-29
D2football - PSAC Columnist - PSAC Week 8 Headlines
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