Game Preview - Indiana

The Golden Rams (9-1, 8-1) close the regular season when they travel to Indiana to take on the Crimson Hawks (6-4, 5-4) on Saturday. Kickoff in Miller Stadium is set for 1:00 pm.

Series History:
Indiana leads the overall series 11-5. The teams faced each other twice in 1987 with both games being played at Farrell Stadium. West Chester won the season opener by a convincing 31-7 score, but in the PSAC championship game, Indiana won in an equally convincing manner, 21-9.

Head coach Bill Zwaan endeared himself to Golden Ram fans when he broke West Chester's five-game losing streak to Indiana and led West Chester to a 30-20 win in his first game against them in 2005. However, he has since lost three straight to the Crimson Hawks, including a 45-35 home loss in the first round of the 2007 playoffs.

Indiana is currently under the direction of fourth year head coach Curt Cignetti who took the position after coaching wide receivers at Alabama. He won PSAC West Coach of the Year honors in 2012 after he guided the Crimson Hawks to a PSAC championship and two wins in the NCAA playoffs prior to losing in the Super Region 1 finals. His father, Frank Cignetti, was head coach at Indiana for 20 seasons, leading the team to 14 PSAC West titles and 13 NCAA playoff appearances.

Last 10 Meetings:

Year	H/A	W/L	Score	Year	H/A	W/L	Score
1987	Home	Win	31-7	1999	Away	Loss	12-9
1987	Home	Loss	21-9	2005	Home	Win	30-20
1993	Home	Loss	37-26	2007	Home	Loss	45-35
1995	Away	Loss	50-7	2010	Away	Loss	27-10
1998	Home	Loss	19-10	2011	Home	Loss	34-7

Last Meeting:

11/12/2011 Indiana 34 - West Chester 7

The uninspired Golden Rams failed to secure a winning record in the 2011 season when they were dominated from start to finish. Indiana won the rushing yardage battle 249-34 and had possession of the ball for over 40 minutes of the contest. Quarterback Sean McCartney was 10 of 19 for 151 yards and a touchdown, including a fourth quarter 43-yard completion to Erick Brundidge. However two second quarter interceptions gave the Crimson Hawks great field position and led to ten Indiana points.

Linebacker Ronell Williams had a game-high 12 tackles in the game while fellow linebacker Mike Labor registered 8 stops.

Scouting the Opponent:

Indiana is defintely a ball control offense as they average five minutes of possession more than their opponents. This is mainly done by their running game. Freshman Luigi Lista-Brinza (179 carries, 810 yards, 10 TD's) is their top running back and started every game before last week, when classmate Chris Temple (76 carries, 351 yards, 2 TD's) got his first collegiate start and most playing time this year. Sophomore Darian Bradley (56 carries, 255 yards, 4 TD's) has also seen plenty of time. All are big backs with Temple weighing 225 lbs, Bradley going 210 and Lista-Brinza being the smallest at 185 lbs. And their blocking fullbacks are bigger still.

The quarterback position has been an issue this season. Illinois transfer Chase Haslett (158-266, 2,031 yards, 15 TD's, 14 interceptions) has started every game this season, but earlier this week, Cignetti announced that redshirt freshman Eddie Stockett (6-19, 93 yards, 1 TD, 2 interceptions) will get the nod on Saturday. Haslett has thrown five of his 14 interceptions (second most in the PSAC) in the past two games. Indiana's top receivers are Pitt transfer Drew Carswell (54 catches, 777 yards, 9 TD's), Wisconsin transfer and tight end Brock DeCicco (29 catches, 347 yards, 1 TD), and freshman speedster Walt Pegues (40 catches, 556 yards, 4 TD's).

Pegues also serves as their punt and kick returner and has a 96-yard punt return for touchdown to his credit. All-PSAC kicker Brett Ullman is 32 of 34 on PAT's and 7 of 10 on field goals with a long of 37 yards. He has 13 touchbacks on his 52 kickoffs. On his 59 punts, Matt Spegal has boomed seven of 50 yards or more and has dropped ten of them inside opponents' 20-yard line.

Linebacker Kevin Clarke (110 tackles, 10.0 TFL's) leads the entire PSAC in tackles. Delaware transfer Karon Gibson (49 tackles, 6.0 sacks) leads the team in sacks from his nose guard position. Cornerback Jerell McFadden (56 tackles, 13 pass breakups) is among the leaders in the PSAC in passes defended while Akron transfer Steve Franco (44 tackles) provides support from his strong safety position. Redshirt freshman defensive end Matthew Mohad (39 tackles, 9.5 TFL's) supplies the pressure from the end.

Analysis:

There's no doubt that the Crimson Hawks are an enigma. Selected before the season by the PSAC coaches to win the Western Division, this is the team that lost to Kutztown 44-7. Haslett's been a turnover machine at quarterback this season, but Stockett didn't exactly light it up when he's played. Is it possible for Indiana to run the ball more than their 40 times per game average? Maybe. So the Golden Ram front seven will have to step up. One would expect a lot of blitzing to pressure whoever's at quarterback before he can complete passes to Carswell.

Yards are going to be hard to come by for the Golden Ram offense. First off, with their successful running game, Indiana doesn't allow opponents to have the ball very much. And the Crimson Hawks' defense allows a PSAC low 75 yards per game on the ground, however they are 1-3 when allowing 100 yards rushing in a game this season. Since they are last in the league with only five interceptions, it appears that an aerial attack may be best, but the cold temperatures may be an issue for McCartney and company. Surely the Indiana defense will be tracking Brown and Doty closely, so it might time for a different receiver to emerge.

The West Chester senior captains will be key and two things should be in the forefront of their minds. First, they need to recall how they got manhandled by Indiana in 2011, although the game one year earlier in Indiana was worse. What Indiana lacks in talent and experience, they make up for in brawn (more penalties and yards than West Chester this year). Second, they need to think back to last year and what it took to get past the physical teams of Bloomsburg and Shepherd in the playoffs. Then they need to instill that determination into the entire squad if they don't want this to be their last game.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats   Audio   Video

PSAC Site - Football - Week 11 Notes

Indiana Athletic Site - Football Hosts No. 17 West Chester on Senior Day

KYW Newsradio - West Chester Wraps Up Regular Season Saturday At IUP

Indiana Gazette - Clarke focuses on the team, not tackles

Indiana Gazette - Hawks make change at QB

Indiana Gazette - Crimson Hawks aim to go out winners

Daily Local News - High stakes for West Chester at IUP

D2football - PSAC Columnist - Bloomsburg and Slippery Rock meet for PSAC Championship