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Saturday, October 31, 2015

Game Report - West Chester 41 - Cheyney 20

Despite not playing several starters, the Golden Rams rolled up over 500 yards of offense and held Cheyney to less than 150 yards, but the final score of 41-20 never really felt comfortable.

Unlike most games this season, West Chester got out to a fast start. Building off the success of Bloomsburg, the Golden Rams kicked off to start the game, and the defense rewarded that decision with a three-and-out thanks to a Dan Sherry sack. When Pat Moriarty completed a midrange pass to tight end Tim Brown, who rumbled over a few would be tacklers on his way to the end zone, West Chester had an early 7-0 lead.


Cheyney’s next three plays went for 0, -2 and -1 yards thanks to Tyler Morrissey, Andrew Cohen and Drew Formica forcing another punt. The Golden Ram offense quickly moved down the field, using the running of Eerin Young and Mike Class, but as has so many times this season, a first and goal from inside the five proved troublesome. Fortunately, kicker Brendan Paulison salvaged three points for the possession on a 21-yard field goal, but not getting into the end zone started that uneasy feeling.


That feeling swelled on Cheyney’s next possession, when the Wolves, aided by 40 yards in West Chester penalties (two offsides and two questionable pass interference calls) scored a touchdown on a 21-yard pass play. Leading just 10-7 early in the second quarter, Young returned the ensuing kickoff out to midfield. Moriarty then quickly led the West Chester offense the remaining 50 yards, including consecutive completions to Jim Hurley, the latter going for an 11-yard touchdown. But Cheyney used a kickoff return of their own, followed by two long runs by their quarterback, to close the gap to three points again.


Unfortunately, this time the Golden Ram offense was unable to answer. The drive stalled at the Cheyney 41, and a bad snap on the punt forced Paulison to scramble to corral the ball and squib the kick into the line for a -3 punt. The Golden Ram defense got the momentum back, sending Cheyney backwards on their next possession and forcing another punt. West Chester’s offense used a 46-yard run by Young and then a 23-yard touchdown pass to A.J. DePietro to extend the lead to double digits.


The score would remain that way at halftime, with West Chester failing to convert on two fourth-and-short opportunities in the red zone. The bigger story late in the second quarter, however, was Tim Brown. He caught an 8-yard pass and went down with an injury. Already nursing a pinky injury, this appeared to be an issue with his left ankle. Brown did not return and his status remains uncertain.


The Golden Rams opened the third quarter with the ball. Anthony Brown, who handled the kickoff return, capped the drive with a nine-yard touchdown run. Other key plays on the drive were a Cheyney facemask penalty and a 22-yard catch by Adam Dempsey. The West Chester defense continued to dominate on two possessions, and Tyler Karpinski returned a punt 70 yards for another touchdown. Despite West Chester now leading 38-14, the game got even more concerning.


After yet another Cheyney three-and-out, Moriarty threw an interception. It was immediately answered by Ted Patton who made his fourth interception of the year. But three plays later, Moriarty was intercepted again, as his overthrown ball was tipped by the receiver and fell into the safety’s hands. The football seemed to switch sides faster than a volleyball match.


The short field and a West Chester facemask penalty allowed Cheyney to quickly navigate 33 yards for the touchdown. Mike Catalano blocked the PAT attempt and the lead stood at 38-20.


It’s not clear if it was the two interceptions or the fact that the lead seemed to finally be comfortable, but Alec Werner came in on the next series. He placed a perfectly thrown pass to Dempsey, who would made a nice catch in traffic for 32 yards. This drive also stalled at the 19 and Paulison tacked on the final points of the game with a 36-yard field goal, which is his longest of the season.


After another three-and-out, Mark Dukes got a few carries for 26 hard yards and Werner completed a 17-yard pass to Jordan Banks who made his first career reception.


Notes - Cheyney managed only ten first downs in the game, with four of them coming due to West Chester penalties…The Wolves failed to convert on any of their nine third downs and managed only 73 yards rushing…West Chester was nagged by 12 penalties for 111 yards and was only 4 of 7 in the red zone…Young was the leading ground gainer in the game, picking up 131 yards before leaving due to an apparent hamstring injury…Although only playing the first half, Brown led all receivers with four catches for 82 yards and a touchdown…Dempsey, Karpinski and Hurley had three catches each…Cohen and Corey Kelley each had a team-high four tackles with Cohen notching 1.5 sacks as well…West Chester’s top three running backs this season - Brandon Monk, Jarel Elder and Eddie Elliott did not dress…Center Devan LaBau was in uniform but did not play.

Thursday, October 29, 2015

Game Preview - Cheyney

The West Chester Golden Rams (5-3, 4-1) play their final road game of the season when they drive eight miles to take on the Cheyney Wolves (0-8, 0-5). Kickoff on Halloween is scheduled for noon.

Series History:

West Chester leads the series with Cheyney 46-2-1 with Cheyney's last win coming in 1979 by a score of 36-34. The Wolves scored 34 against the Golden Rams in 2010, but have scored only 33 points in the past four meetings combined. Cheyney is under the direction of interim head coach Chris Roulhac who previously served as the team's head coach from 1993-1995, winning PSAC Coach of the Year in 1995.

Last 10 Meetings:

Year
H/A
W/L
Score
Year
H/A
W/L
Score
2005
Home
Win
64-0
2010
Home
Win
48-34
2006
Home
Win
53-12
2011
Away
Win
23-7
2007
Away
Win
35-13
2012
Home
Win
59-14
2008
Home
Win
60-6
2013
Away
Win
66-14
2009
Home
Win
59-0
2014
Home
Win
58-0

Last Meeting:


11/01/2014 West Chester 58 - Cheyney 0

West Chester dominated the game from start to finish on both sides of the ball in routing neighboring Cheyney. West Chester racked up 301 yards rushing led by Jarel Elder (107 yards, 1 TD), Brandon Monk (89 yards, 2 TD's), and Anthony Brown (77 yards). Tight end Tim Brown had five catches for 43 yards and a touchdown.

The defensive performance was probably more amazing as the Wolves were limited to just three first downs, nine yards rushing and 38 yards passing for 47 total yards. Pete Galiano had six total tackles and one of four fumble recoveries. Drew Formica had three solo tackles and Kevin Duggan had a fumble recovery.

Scouting the Opponent:
The Wolves still haven't won a PSAC game in five years since they defeated winless Millersville in October of 2010. Although their offense stuggles, when it does go, it goes through sophomore quarterback Dominick Trautz (66-152, 755 yards, 5 TD's, 8 interceptions, 28 sacks). Passes have been completed to a dozen different receivers, but his top targets are running back Jowan Lewis Kearse (11 catches, 200 yards), tight end Christian Sanchez (12 catches, 177 yards, 1 TD), and running back Deshawn Freeland (10 catches, 160 yards, 1 TD). Brandon French (91 carries, 392 yards, 1 TD) and Marice Tillman (34 carries, 105 yards) are Cheyney's leading ground gainers.

Cornerback Marvin Easter (42 tackles), linebacker Keyson Dingle (40 tackles), and defensive tackle Terrick Carson (40 tackles) are the team's top tacklers. Carson, lineman Julian Feggins and linebacker Rashod Knight each have seven tackles for loss. Linebacker Daryll Ellison and defensive back Shaquille Benjamin have two interceptions each.

Brendyn Van Demark handles all of the kicking duties, averaging 32 yards per punt, with four over 50 yards and seven inside the 20. He is 4 of 7 on PAT's and has yet to attempt a field goal.

Analysis:
Cheyney ranks last in the PSAC in scoring offense, rushing offense, passing offense, total offense, first downs, sacks allowed, scoring defense, passing efficiency defense, interceptions, opponent third down conversions, kickoff coverage, punting, and PAT kicking. Atomic football gives Cheyney a 0.1% chance of winning this game.

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D2football - PSAC Columnist - Previewing Week 9 in the PSAC

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Club News - October 29 Meeting

The Golden Ram Football Club will be meeting on Thursday at 7:45pm at Timothy's in the Parkway Shopping Center in West Chester. The meeting will begin immediately following the Bill Zwaan Football Show which is also held at Timothy's starting at 7:00pm. Golden Ram fans unable to attend the show can listen to it live on WCHE1520AM.COM. The meeting will not be broadcast.

According to the Bill Zwaan Football Show, senior tight end Tim Brown and sophomore defensive end George Shipp will be the special guests on Coach Zwaan's show. In West Chester's 33-22 win over Bloomsburg on homecoming, Brown led all receivers with six catches for 84 yards and a touchdown despite a splinted pinky finger. In six games this season, Brown has 29 catches for 362 yards and four touchdowns. In his three years at West Chester, Brown has accumulated 102 catches for 1,850 yards and 26 touchdowns. His 26 career touchdown receptions ranks seventh on the all-time West Chester list and his 18.1 yards per catch is good fourth on the career list. Shipp is the current PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week after registering two sacks, a forced fumble and a safety against Bloomsburg. So far this season, the young defensive end has 24 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss for 26 yards, a quarterback hurry, a forced fumble and a safety.

Come out to Timothy's at 7:00pm to participate in the show live.

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Player News - Shipp Named PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week

Sophomore defensive end George Shipp has been named PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week after West Chester's 33-22 victory over Bloomsburg. Shipp registered six total tackles including two solo sacks for a total of 19 yards.

Shipp's first tackle came early in the game when he sacked the Bloomsburg quarterback in the end zone for a safety. He next tackled once of the top rushers in the PSAC for no gain. He then teamed up with linebacker Kevin Duggan to throw down a scrambling quarterback for a five-yard loss. In the third quarter, Shipp registered a solo sack for a loss of 11 yards and also forced a fumble on the play. It marked the first two sacks of the season for Shipp after logging two last year at Kutztown.


Saturday, October 24, 2015

Game Report - West Chester 33 - Bloomsburg 22

In a game riddled with mistakes and dominated by defenses, the Golden Rams claimed a 33-22 victory over Bloomsburg in front of a huge homecoming crowd at Farrell Stadium. It all started with some luck and then some carefully employed strategy. The luck? West Chester won the opening coin toss. The strategy? The Golden Rams elected to defer their choice to the second half, with the Huskies electing to receive the opening kickoff. With the Golden Ram offense scuffling this season, especially on their opening possession of the game, the worst expected result of this approach would be positive field position. But the actual outcome would be oh so much more.

It started with kicker Connor Foley whose kickoffs reached the end zone all day long. With Bloomsburg starting at their own 25, the defense quickly forced the Huskies into what they fear most – throwing the ball in throwing situations. On third and eight, safety Kevin Malone picked off a pass and returned it 31 yards to the Bloomsburg 8. Unfortunately, first and goal is an area where the Golden Ram offense has struggled this season and they settled for a Brendan Paulison 20-yard field goal for an early 3-0 lead.

Bloomsburg’s next possession went even better for the Golden Rams when defensive end George Shipp ran a stunt and registered a sack in the end zone for a safety. Trailing 5-0, the Husky offense fared only slightly better on their third possession when they made it to fourth down and punted. Starting at midfield, the Golden Rams quickly made their way to the end zone. It started with a Pat Moriarty to Tim Brown completion to move the chains, three runs by Brandon Monk for another first down, an iffy pass interference penalty against Bloomsburg and finally a ten-yard Moriarty to Brown touchdown pass.


Trailing 12-0, Bloomsburg got their first first down of the game before a pass was picked by cornerback Ted Patton and returned 41 yards to the Husky three-yard line. This time, West Chester converted in the “goal to go” situation and Monk broke a tackle in the backfield, then slipped through the right side for the score. With West Chester leading 19-0 and the Bloomsburg offense not getting any traction, fears of 2011 started to enter the stadium. But the Golden Ram defense looked to spell those concerns when they forced another three-and-out.

However, Monk bobbled and lost the ensuing punt, giving Bloomsburg their first offensive play beyond their own 30-yard line. Neither team could do much offensively for most of the second quarter and on another Bloomsburg punt, Monk touched, but failed to control the bounding ball. This time the Huskies would not squander the great field position and went 30 yards in eight plays to make the halftime score 19-7 in favor of West Chester. Prior to that final drive, Bloomsburg had a total of nine yards of offense and one first down. Although West Chester managed only 99 yards and five first downs, the field position clearly led to West Chester’s points.

The third quarter was much of the same as neither team scored. After an 11-yard sack by Shipp and a 12-yard sack by Andrew Cohen, Bloomsburg netted a total of -5 yards in the period. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Huskies got going, aided by some Golden Ram penalties.


With Bloomsburg facing third and long pinned back at their own seven-yard line, West Chester was called for their own iffy pass interference penalty (same official as the previous one that went against the Huskies in the first quarter, by the way). A short run was then aided by another fifteen yard penalty against West Chester for unnecessary roughness. Then a 48-yard bomb set up a one-yard touchdown plunge and all of a sudden, Bloomsburg was back in the game, trailing just 19-14.

Needing to settle things down and consume some clock, West Chester did none of that. A kick return only to the 19 was further dampened by a holding penalty. It was a tough couple of minutes for Kyle Keyser who was called for the unnecessary roughness penalty, beaten on the long pass, and then committed the hold on the kick return. And bad went to worse when Jarel Elder lost a fumble on the first play from scrimmage. It took Bloomsburg three plays, but they managed to move the ball eight yards for the touchdown and took a 22-19 lead after the two-point conversion.

With the momentum totally in favor of Bloomsburg with under four minutes left, West Chester got good field position after a 25-yard kick return by Elder coupled with a personal foul against Bloomsburg. Completions to Adam Dempsey and Brown put the ball at the Bloomsburg 32. Facing a third-and-six, Moriarty found Brown who bowled over Bloomsburg defenders for a 24-yard pickup. Eerin Young finished the drive with a four-yard touchdown run that restored West Chester’s lead, 26-22.

With Bloomsburg needing a touchdown in 93 seconds, they managed to get down to the West Chester 25-yard line, converting a fourth-and-one along the way. But Shaquil James made West Chester’s third interception of the game and returned it 92 yards for the score to start the homecoming celebration.

Bloomsburg completed eight passes to Huskies for 106 yards and no touchdowns, but three to Golden Rams for 164 yards and one touchdown….Brown, despite an obviously splinted right pinky finger, led the way with six catches for 84 yards and a touchdown…Paulison was perfect on place kicks – four PAT’s and one field goal for seven points – and dropped two of his six punts inside the Bloomsburg 20….Bloomsburg ran 69 offensive plays, but ten of them resulted in negative yards and three in turnovers…The Golden Ram defensive front four dominated the Bloomsburg offensive line which features several All-PSAC East players. Shipp (6 tackles, 2.0 sacks), Kavon Johnson (6 tackles, 1.0 TFL), Josh Ganzelli (6 tackles) and Cohen (4 tackles, 2.0 sacks, 4 QB hurries) were in the Husky backfield all day…Shannon Mayer and Blaise Schieler were not dressed, and West Chester incurred several injuries during the contest. Monk was later seen in a boot, Eddie Elliott did not return, Devan LaBau continues to be hobbled, Kavon Johnson left the field on crutches and after playing early, Sean Boylan was in street clothes at the end of the game...The game will be rebroadcast by The Comcast Network on Tuesday, October 27 at 6:00 pm.

Sunbury Daily Item - Bloomsburg's rally falls short

Thursday, October 22, 2015

Game Preview - Bloomsburg

The Golden Rams (4-3, 3-1) welcome the Bloomsburg Huskies (5-2, 4-0) to Farrell Stadium on Saturday. Kickoff for homecoming is scheduled for 2:00 pm and the game will be televised live on ESPN3 and PHL17.

Series History:

West Chester leads the overall series 47-26 and these two schools always seem to play big games. Last year was no exception as both teams were nationally ranked and undefeated when they met. Bloomsburg head coach Paul Darragh entered his third season with a record of 21-4. The reigning PSAC East Coach of the Year is 2-1 against the Golden Rams.

Last 10 Meetings:

Year
H/A
W/L
Score
Year
H/A
W/L
Score
2007
Home
Win
44-28
2011
Home
Loss
55-42
2008
Away
Win
24-21
2012
Away
Loss
24-23
2008
Away
Loss
28-21
2013
Home
Loss
31-28
2009
Home
Win
30-14
2013
Away
Win
40-38
2010
Away
Loss
45-21
2014
Away
Loss
41-10

Last Meeting:


10/26/2014 Bloomsburg 41 - West Chester 10

The Huskies did what they do - ran the ball 47 times for 454 yards - and controlled the game from start to finish in front of 7,300 fans in Redman Stadium. Eddie Elliott rushed for 64 yards and Brandon Monk gained 62 yards on the ground. Tight end Tim Brown had four catches for 53 yards and West Chester's only touchdown of the game. Bloomsburg's defense had four interceptions and five sacks in the contest. The Golden Ram defense was led by Brandon Pepper who had seven tackles and Andrew Cohen who registered six tackles including a sack.

Scouting the Opponent:
The Husky story is really no different year in and year out. A top overall defense to keep opponents off the scoreboard and a strong rushing offense to control the clock and score enough points to win. When it comes to that rushing offense, sure Lawrence Elliott Jr. (133 carries, 879 yards, 6 TD’s) is second in the PSAC in rushing and Joe Parsnik (95 carries, 274 yards, 8 TD’s) makes a significant contribution, but they have a lot of help. Four of Bloomsburg’s offensive lineman were All-PSAC East last season including guards Christian Whiteside, John Garland, center Ryan Geiger and tackle Dakota Hoagland. Quarterback Tim Kelly (91 of 177 for 998 yards, 4 TD’s, 6 INT’s) is asked to manage the offense and is quite effective at that task. Receivers Chad Hoffman (23 catches, 296 yards, 1 TD) and Connor Gades (16 catches, 152 yards, 2 TD’s) provide an outlet for Kelly’s passes.

The Bloomsburg defense is led by linebacker Tyrik Clary (26 tackles, 5.5 TFL’s) and safety Jerrin Toomey (34 tackles, 2 interceptions). Defensive lineman Joe Wetty has six of the Husky’s 22 sacks. Cornerback Gary Postell (19 tackles, 5 pass breakups) and tackle Jeremiah Lowery (17 tackles, 4.5 TFL’s) were both All-PSAC East last year as was strong safety Donovan Morris (29 tackles, 2 interceptions).

Kicker Tyler Smith is 6 of 10 on field goals with a long of 47 yards. He has missed only one PAT on 24 attempts. Will Wagner is third in the PSAC in punting, averaging 41.4 yards/punt. Elliott handles the punt and kick return duties to make him second in the PSAC in all-purpose yards.

Analysis:
As mentioned in the scouting report, Bloomsburg usually has a good defense and this season is no exception. Their defense leads the PSAC in scoring (15 points/game) and total yards (307 yards/game), and held Shippensburg to just two field goals. They only give up 108 yards rushing and 198 yards passing and have already amassed 22 sacks. So the Golden Ram offensive line will need to be at the top of their game to move the ball and put up points.

On the flip side, Bloomsburg has actually struggled somewhat offensively. Although they’re third in the PSAC in rushing yards (240 yards/game), they’re only 12th in total yards and 11th in scoring (27 points/game). But since they run the ball, they keep it away from their opponents and are among the leaders in time of possession. If West Chester can somehow stop the Husky running game and force them to throw, it should lead to shorter possessions and more opportunities for the West Chester offense.

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D2football - PSAC Columnist - Week 8 Full of Critical Games in the PSAC