It was another tough start for the Golden Rams and they never did seem to find their rhythm. Once again, the offense opened the game with a three-and-out. After a short 29-yard punt and an interference penalty, Shippensburg started their drive from the Golden Ram 40. The West Chester defense appeared to force a three-and-out of their own, but an offside penalty gifted the Raiders a first down. It would be one of three first downs for Shippensburg via the penalty flag, which isn’t bad until you consider that they only had a total of 12 first downs in the entire game. On a third-and-7, what started out as the quarterback running for his life evolved into him running into the end zone for a 27-yard touchdown scamper.
West Chester’s second possession was far more productive, thanks in large part to Eddie Elliott who had a 17-yard run and a 24-yard catch and run. But when that latter play only got to the two and not into the end zone, Golden Rams fans got rightfully nervous. Scoring from inside the five has been tough for West Chester this season and Saturday was no different as Pat Moriarty’s pass off play action to Tim Brown in the back of the end zone got picked off. Nine plays, 62 yards, four and a half minutes, no points.
The two teams traded field goals and punts for the remainder of the first half. Despite West Chester leading in passing and total offensive yards, they trailed on the scoreboard 10-3 as the teams went to the locker room.
West Chester seemed to gain some momentum on Shippensburg’s opening possession of the second half when Ralph Reeves forced a fumble and Kevin Duggan landed on it at midfield. After a couple of Brandon Monk carries got the Golden Rams down to the 25 yard line, Moriarty heaved another ball that was picked off and returned to the West Chester 25. Shippensburg only took one play to complete a 41-yard touchdown despite tight coverage by Ted Patton.
Shippensbug TD catch despite Ted Patton's coverage (Photo Ron Hockman)Trailing 17-3 and needing some offense, but maybe a little too afraid to throw the ball, West Chester handed off to Jarel Elder three straight times, but it wasn’t enough to pick up the first down. Another short punt and good return set up the Raiders in good field position again. This time Shippensburg needed two plays to find a wide open receiver on an obvious missed defensive assignment which resulted in a 38-yard touchdown pass.
With the deficit now at 21 points, the first play from scrimmage was another pass that sailed on Moriarty right into a Shippensburg defender’s arms. However the West Chester defense forced another three-and-out. Then for the first time this season, West Chester saw a change on offense. Alec Werner came in to quarterback and Eerin Young the feature running back. Young picked up 12 yards on the ground and Werner hit Tyler Karpinski for a 15-yard gain. But that offensive spark was short lived as West Chester punted once again.
Ralph Reeves with the solo tackle (Photo Ron Hockman)The Golden Ram defense, inspired by another sack by Andrew Cohen forced another three-and-out. Werner guided the offense into the red zone, but the results were similar as a dropped pass halted the drive on fourth down. After Shippensburg tacked on a field goal to extend their lead to 27-3, Moriarty returned under center with under seven minutes remaining. In just under two minutes, he guided West Chester 71 yards for West Chester’s only touchdown of the game. Along the way, he completed passes to Jim Hurley, Tim Brown, Adam Dempsey, Karpinski, and A.J. DePietro before finishing the drive with an 8-yard fade to Hurley. The two-point conversion made the score 27-11.
After a failed onside kick attempt, the West Chester defense forced yet another three-and-out. But Shippensburg's punt pinned West Chester at their own 8-yard line. Moriarty opened it up with a 41-yard completion to Elliott who made a great one-handed catch along the sidelines. But this drive would be like a few others on this day – 12 plays, 85 yards, no points.
Eddie Elliott makes a one-handed catch (Photo Ron Hockman)The West Chester defense held Shippensburg to 275 total yards and 106 of those yards came on three scoring plays. All three of the Raiders’ touchdown drives started inside Golden Ram territory. Pete Galiano led the team with eight total tackles while Reeves and Cohen each notched seven solo stops and a sack. Ch'aim Smith also had a sack. While Moriarty had 244 yards passing, his three picks and one lost fumble were very costly, especially since the team couldn’t get the running game going. Monk had 174 all-purpose yards while Elliott had 25 rushing and 79 receiving.
West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Falls To Shippensburg, 27-11
Shippensburg Athletic Site - Football Rides Strong Defense to Homecoming Win Over West Chester, 27-11
The Sentinel - Shippensburg U's defense steps up against West Chester
Public Opinion - Shippensburg University uses early lead to propel past West Chester
Shippensburg - Photo Gallery
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