Golden Ram Football Club: Game Preview

The Golden Rams (1-1) host the Edinboro Fighting Scots (2-0) on Saturday. Kickoff in John A. Farrell Stadium is scheduled for noon. West Chester will be celebrating Family Day and Hall of Fame Day during the game.

Series History:
The series between these two teams is knotted at five each after Edinboro's double overtime victory last season. Although these two teams play infrequently, Edinboro has a habit of spoiling significant events for the Golden Rams. In 2006 on the first game played on Farrell Stadium's new FieldTurf, the Fighting Scots prevailed 28-14. And then in the 2010 home opener, on Michael Horrocks Day, when the statue of the former Golden Ram quarterback and United Airlines pilot was unveiled, Edinboro tipped West Chester 16-14.

The Fighting Scots had one of the best turnarounds in college football history last season. In 2015, they went winless in eleven games and last season they finished 9-2. They would have made their first trip to the NCAA playoffs since 2009, but they got bumped by Winston-Salem St as the CIAA's lone representative in the postseason.

Their head coach Justin Lustig parlayed that season into an assistant coaching position at Syracuse University. Edinboro is now led by interim head coach and longtime defensive coordinator Wayne Bradford.

Edinboro's two wins this season came against Lake Erie and Lock Haven which went a combined 4-18 last season.

Their most famous recent football alumnus is Trevor Harris who, after spending four seasons with the Toronto Argonauts, is now the starting quarterback of the Ottawa Redblacks. He currently leads the Canadian Football League in both passing yards and passing touchdowns.

Last 10 Meetings:

Year	H/A	W/L	Score	Year	H/A	W/L	Score
1970	Away	Loss	14-6	2001	Away	Win	30-26
1971	Home	Win	35-14	2006	Home	Loss	24-18
1986	Home	Win	37-9	2007	Away	Win	32-16
1987	Away	Win	49-28	2010	Home	Loss	16-14
2000	Home	Loss	13-6	2016	Away	Loss	54-51 2OT

Last Meeting:

9/18/2016 Edinboro 54 - West Chester 51 2OT

The Golden Rams overcame a 14 point deficit with less than five minutes remaining to force overtime, but when West Chester settled for a 25-yard Brendan Paulison field goal in the second overtime, the Fighting Scots scored the game-winning touchdown on a fourth-and-one from the 16 yard line. West Chester had to overcome four interceptions and 126 penalty yards in the contest, so their 758 yards of offense was not enough.

Running back Jarel Elder picked up 193 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Receivers Tyler Karpinski (9 catches, 178 yards, 1 TD despite an injury), Marcus Sydnor (4 catches, 84 yards, 2 TD's), Jordan Banks (6 catches, 84 yards, 1 TD) and Lex Rosario (4 catches, 69 yards) all had big games receiving.

Linebacker Kevin Duggan led the defense with eight tackles and Josh Ganzelli register six stops while Kavon Johnson and John Dubyk each had a sack.

Scouting the Opponent:

Quarterback Jake Sisson did not receive PSAC West honors last season despite leading the entire conference in pass attempts (531), pass completions (294), passing yards (3,710) and passing touchdowns (41). He got six of those touchdowns in their win over the Golden Rams. Sisson (49 of 55, 581 yards, 4 TD's, 5 ints) will look to receivers James Clark (14 catches for 187 yards and 1 TD) and reigning PSAC West Freshman of the Year Ta'Nauz Gregory (15 catches for 205 yards and 2 TD's). Sophomore running back Walter Fletcher (37 carries, 239 yards, 2 TD's, 10 catches for 71 yards and 1 TD) was All-PSAC West last year and will need to be watched as a receiver coming out of the backfield.

While the Fighting Scots don't return either of their two all-conference defenders, free safety DeVon Groves (18 tackles, 4 pass breakups) returns. Last year against West Chester, Groves had a game-high 13 tackles and two interceptions for 69 yards. Also returning are strong safety Brandon Anderson (29 tackles, 1 interception, 2 pass breakups) who is the reigning PSAC West Defensive Player of the Week. Cornerback Zuril Hendrick (10 tackles) already has four interceptions this season.

The front of their 4-2-5 is led by tackle Derek Dorr (3 tackles) and end Jon Girvin (13 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss). Gregory is also Edinboro's kick returner while Hendrick returns punts. Redshirt freshman Mike Cushma has made his only field goal attempt from 26 yards and has converted on 5 of 7 PAT's.

Analysis:

The thing that pops out right away is that Edinboro leads the nation in scoring defense after allowing its first two opponents to each only score a field goal. However, that might be more a product of the opponents' offense than the Fighting Scots' defense. West Chester's balanced and prolific offense should have no problem moving the ball and scoring if they play like they're capable. The Golden Rams must be efficient in the passing game as they are last in the conference in sacks allowed and Edinboro leads the PSAC in interceptions.

Edinboro throws the ball. A lot. The Fighting Scots throw twice as much as they run. Although they lead the PSAC in pass attempts, they are near the bottom in pass efficiency. West Chester also has to mitigate the penalty issue which has leaned in favor of their opponents this season. And after the Rock game and facing Gregory this week, special teams coverage will keep fans on edge.

Massey Ratings favors the Golden Rams by 4 while Atomic Football predicts an 8-point margin.

Game Coverage:

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