The Fighting Scots scored rather easily on their opening drive, but Andrew Derr connected with Jordan Banks for the game tying touchdown midway through the opening period. It appeared to be a game, until West Chester’s demons appeared.
Were the penalties costly? Of Edinboro’s 18 first downs in the game, seven came via Golden Ram penalties. Were the interceptions big? Although the three first half picks only led to three Edinboro points, all three were in Edinboro territory. One was returned 21 yards with a 15-yard facemask penalty tacked on while another occurred in the end zone and was returned 69 yards. The third had no return since the defensive back was on the ground when he caught it.
Besides those, putting the Golden Ram defense on its heels, Edinboro had a 67-yard punt return when seven West Chester players surrounded the return man at the point of the catch. And the defense allowed a 59-yard touchdown pass. Big plays mean the opponent is never out of the game. And all that was just in the first half and left West Chester trailing 24-7 at intermission.
If all that wasn’t disastrous enough, wide receiver Tyler Karpinski, already suffering from a hard hit last week against Slippery Rock, took an illegal hit late in the second quarter that resulted in the Edinboro player being ejected from the game. The Golden Rams were already playing the game without senior receivers Shannon Mayer and Jim Hurley, and a 17-point deficit without the best receiver in uniform didn’t bode well for a comeback. Karpinski returned to the bench after halftime carrying his shoulder pads. He would remain on the sidelines until West Chester’s first two possessions of the second half yielded no points, at which point, his pads went back on.
Maybe it was Karpinski’s presence, maybe it was that West Chester’s defense forced two consecutive three-and-outs, maybe it was the shanked Edinboro punt that gave the Golden Rams the ball in Edinboro territory, but Jarel Elder went around the right side for a 44-yard touchdown run to breathe new life into West Chester. Edinboro led 24-14 entering the fourth quarter, and that’s when the fireworks really started.
Aided by a couple of pass interference penalties, Edinboro extended their lead to 14 points, but Elder came back with an 80-yard touchdown run to close the gap to seven points again. After the two teams exchanged field goals, Edinboro ripped off a 79-yard kickoff return to set up another easy score. Derr completed passes to Jordan Banks, Lex Rosario and Marcus Sydnor, the last one being a 27-yard touchdown.
Trailing 41-34 with a little over three minutes left, West Chester lined up for the onside kick. Kicker Brendan Paulison lined the ball off an Edinboro player and it ricocheted right back to him. It took just a 95 seconds for Derr to drive the Golden Rams into the end zone with a game-tying touchdown pass to Syndor. But there were still almost two minutes left.
The Golden Ram defense forced another three-and out, their seventh of the game. But things looked hopeless when Derr threw his fourth interception of the contest. However, three plays later, West Chester cornerback Ted Patton intercepted the ball right back. Derr hooked up with Karpinski twice and Rosario to get down to the Edinboro 8-yard line with just 12 seconds left. After positioning the ball in the middle of the field, head coach Bill Zwaan sent Paulison out for the potential game-winning field goal. Paulison had had a great game – perfect on his two field goal and five PAT attempts, averaged 42 yards on six punts including putting two inside the 20, and sending two of his eight kickoffs for touchbacks. And don’t forget about the successful onside kick. But he unfortunately failed to convert from 30 yards on his ultimate opportunity to be the hero.
The two teams exchanged touchdowns in the first overtime. However, West Chester had to settle for a field goal in the second frame. During Edinboro’s possession, the Fighting Scots threw two incomplete passes before picking up nine yards on the ground. In a gutsy fourth-down move, rather than attempt a tying 33-yard field goal, or plunge for one yard and another set of downs, Edinboro completed a pass to the back of the end zone for the game-winning touchdown. West Chester’s frantic comeback was for naught.
Elder, who had just 10 yards at halftime, finished with 193 on the ground. Derr threw a school record 70 times for a school record 559 yards and four touchdowns, but also four interceptions. Despite his injuries, Karpinski had a bigger second half than the first, finishing with nine catches for 178 yards and a score. Offensively, the Golden Rams rolled up 758 yards with 567 yards coming after halftime.
After giving up 54 points, it’s hard to say the defense played well. But they held Edinboro to 349 yards, just 18 first downs, and just 3 of 18 on third down conversions. Linebackers Ralph Reeves and Kevin Duggan each had eight tackles, with Reeves leaving the game early due to an injury. John Dubyk and Kavon Johnson each registered a sack in the game while Shaquille James had five tackles and two pass breakups with one coming in the end zone.
Notes - It’s the most points scored by West Chester in a loss since a 58-55 loss at Delaware in 1994. In 1990, Division II New Haven beat the Golden Rams at Farrell Stadium by a score of 58-57...also not in uniform due to an injury was senior safety and captain Kevin Malone...West Chester has now lost four of its last five games against the PSAC West
West Chester Athletic Site - Valiant Second-Half Comeback Thwarted By Edinboro in OT, 54-51
Edinboro Athletic Site - Fighting Scots Outlast West Chester in Two Overtimes, 54-51, to Improve to 3-0
ydr.com - Edinboro outlasts West Chester in OT
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