Golden Ram Football Club: Game Preview

The #15 Golden Rams (13-1) travel south to Hickory, NC to take on the champions of the South Atlantic Conference, the #13 Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (12-1) on Saturday in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II playoffs. Kickoff in Helen and Leonard Moretz Stadium (8,500) is set for noon. The winner of this game will play for the NCAA Division II National Championship next Saturday in Florence, AL against either Grand Valley State or Northwest Missouri State.

Series History:
Although West Chester holds a 2-0 lead in the series with the Bears, those two contests came as part of a home-and-home series in 1969 and 1970.

Scouting the Opponent:

If you thought that Bloomsburg ran the ball a lot (57 times in the first game, 41 times in the playoff contest), you haven't seen anything yet. Lenoir-Rhyne averages 61 rushing attempts per game. And consider Erick Brundidge has more receptions this season - 46 - than the entire Lenoir-Rhyne team - 43!!! And "Flav" isn't even the Golden Rams' leading receiver! In their 42-39 regional championship win over North Alabama, the Bears only threw twice and completed one for 19 yards.

So it's no surprise that the Bears have the number rushing offense in the country, posting 370 yards per game on the ground. The line is led by right tackle Joe Ray. Although only a sophomore, Ray was All-SAC and All-Super Region 2. Left tackle Zack Bunn was also an All-SAC first team selection. The unit allows the fewest tackles for loss in the country. Running the flex bone offense has been very productive for the Bears, but also very costly. Miles Freeman (175 carries, 968 yards, 11 TD's; 35-73, 632 yards, 6 TD's, 3 interceptions) started the season at quarterback but was lost to a torn leg muscle. Backup quarterback Teverrius Jones (56 carries, 404 yards, 3 TD's; 3-15 78 yards, 1 TD) suffered a neck injury in Lenoir-Rhyne's first meeting with Carson-Newman. He was expected to be ready for their regional championship game against North Alabama, but did not participate in the contest. But it does not seem to matter as third string signal caller Josh Justice (44 carries, 228 yards, 6 TD's; 5-6, 63 yards, 1 TD) brought the Bears back from a 20-10 deficit to win their second round playoff game over Carson-Newman 27-20 before guiding Lenoir-Rhyne to the regional championship this past Saturday.

While West Chester relies almost exclusively on Rondell White to carry the ball, Lenoir-Rhyne will hand it off to anybody. Running back Jarrod Spears (95 carries, 849 yards, 7 TD's) and fullback Isaiah Whitaker (187 carries, 818 yards, 8 TD's) were both All-SAC. But running backs Graham Duncan (74 carries, 683 yards, 3 TD's), Michael Patrick (55 carries, 335 yards, 4 TD's), Corron Boston (33 carries, 281 yards, 2 TD's), and Chris Robinson (49 carries, 212 yards, 3 TD's) have all made significant contributions in the running game. Greyson Wells (17 catches, 317 yards, 5 TD's) and Spears (10 catches, 184 yards, 2 TD's) are the top receivers.

Lenoir-Rhyne's 3-4 defense is 12th in rushing, yielding 100 yards per game, and 7th in scoring, allowing only 16 points per contest. Up front they're led by defensive end Blake Baker (48 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 5 QB hurries) and noseguard Jimmy Long (59 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 8 QB hurries) who were both All-SAC. Inside linebacker Tanner Botts (199 tackles, 8 TFL's, 1 interception, 9 Pass breakups, 3 forced fumbles) was also All-SAC and is the team's leading tackler while outside linebacker Rodney Singleton (60 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 3 pass breakups) was the SAC Defensive Freshman Of The Year. Cornerback O’neil Blake (61 tackles, 8.0 TFL's, 2 interceptions, 10 pass breakups) and strong safety Mylar Nolan (89 tackles, 4.0 TFL's, 4 pass breakups) were both All-SAC while free safety Michael Green (79 tackles, 6.5 TFL's, 8 interceptions, 5 pass breakups) has three pick-sixes and was SAC Defensive Player Of The Year. Baker, Botts, and Green were both also All-Super Region 2.

Green averages 8.1 yards on punt returns while Spears averages 24 yards on kick returns and has returned one 98 yards for a touchdown this season. Kicker Zach Neumann is 55 of 58 on PAT's and 14 of 19 on field goals with a long of 47 on the season. In Lenoir-Rhyne's 42-39 win over North Carolina, Neumann failed on his only attempts of the game from 46 and 27 yards. He was named All-SAC and All-Super Region 2. Freshman Austin Barker averages 39 yards on his 40 punts with 11 fair catches and pinning 10 inside the 20. Justin Powell has 11 touchbacks on 80 kickoffs, but he's also put four out of bounds.

SAC Coach of the Year Mike Houston is in his third season at Lenoir-Rhyne and carries a 28-7 record into the game.

Analysis:

Defensively, everything will be geared to slow down the Lenoir-Rhyne running game. So expect to see the Golden Ram corners play one-on-one all day. And the defense might play more three linebacker sets than normal. It's no secret that the West Chester linebackers are better suited to stop the run than the pass, so that should help. The safeties can't creep up too far though since they are going to have to first find the ball in the backfield before pursuing the runner. The closest offensive system to Lenoir-Rhyne that West Chester faced this season was Cheyney and it's a safe bet that the Bears run it a bit better than the Wolves. Since their season opening 18-10 loss to Concord, the Bears have scored fewer than 34 points only three times.

Opponents have shown that they can move the ball against Lenoir-Rhyne. Carson-Newman rushed for 258 yards against them in the second round of the playoffs. And Mars Hill's running back had 213 yards with an impressive 7 yards per carry average even after removing an 81-yard touchdown run. Winless Davidson threw for 374 yards against Lenoir-Rhyne, but they did so by totally abandoning the run, gaining only 18 yards on the ground. Last week, North Alabama generated an effective balanced offense, but three turnovers cost them dearly as all three led to Lenoir-Rhyne touchdowns, including a pick-six on the second play of the game. And earlier this season, Tusculum had 288 yards passing to nine different receivers and 114 yards rushing prior to suffering seven sacks for 48 yards. All those teams - Mars Hill, Davidson, North Alabama, Tusculum and Carson-Newman twice - have one thing in common: they came out on the short end of the scoreboard. Although Lenoir-Rhyne is seventh in the country in scoring defense, North Alabama posted 39 points against them last week. West Chester and North Alabama both average 39 points per game. West Chester will be the best passing team that Lenoir-Rhyne will have faced this season.

Against Shepherd, West Chester demonstrated a commitment to the running game despite averaging only 3.3 yards per carry. A similar type of effort will be necessary against the Bears. One of West Chester's strengths is having eight or more guys who can catch the ball in every single game. Removing the Bears' ability to key on one guy is only helpful if the offensive line provides Sean McCartney time to find the open receiver. While Lenoir-Rhyne's passing efficiency and passing yards allowed per game (217) is tops in the SAC, they rank only 75th and 66th in those categories in the country.

Notes:
Hickory is about one hour north of Charlotte. Directions can be found here and hotel and dining information can be found here. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased in advance here starting noon on Monday. Lenoir-Rhyne, a school of only 1,900 students, is making their second NCAA Division II playoff appearance having advanced to the second round last year...West Chester has defeated the NE10 champions, the PSAC champions and the MEC champions in successive weeks...Lenoir-Rhyne starting cornerback Blake was ejected for targeting in the Bears' victory over North Alabama, but the NCAA has overruled that ejection and Blake will be eligible on Saturday... A replay of the game will be on ESPNU at 1 p.m. on Monday.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats Audio Video ESPN3 Bracket

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Prepares For Semifinal Saturday

Lenoir-Rhyne Athletic Site - Lenoir-Rhyne Football To Host West Chester On Saturday In The NCAA Division II National Semifinals

Lenoir-Rhyne Athletic Site - Game Notes - December 14 vs. West Chester

Lenoir-Rhyne Athletic Site - Lenoir-Rhyne Football To Take On West Chester For A Trip To The National Championship

Philadelphia Daily News - Birds' kindness bubbles over

Philadelphia Inquirer - West Chester's Zwaan cherishes playoff run

Philadelphia Inquirer - Opportunity for West Chester, RB White

Philadelphia Daily News - West Chester in Division II football semifinals

KYW Newsradio - West Chester University Charging Into Division II Final Four

KYW Newsradio - Pepper A Key Ingredient In West Chester Secondary

Hickory Record - Lenoir-Rhyne to play semifinal at home against West Chester