Game Preview - Lock Haven

The Golden Rams (2-1) open PSAC East play when they travel to Lock Haven to take on the Bald Eagles (0-3). Kickoff on Lock Haven's homecoming is scheduled for 2:00pm Saturday at Hubert Jack Stadium.

Series History:
West Chester holds a 23-6-1 lead in the series. Current WCU head coach Bill Zwaan is undefeated in his previous six meetings with the Bald Eagles. Lock Haven moved from the PSAC West to the PSAC East prior to the 2013 season when they replaced LIU Post. Head coach Dave Taynor holds a record of 6-16 in his third season at Lock Haven. After opening 2016 with five straight losses, they finished by winning four of their last six games including knocking off Bloomsburg and East Stroudsburg.

Last 10 Meetings:

Year	H/A	W/L	Score	Year	H/A	W/L	Score
1954	Home	Win	32-0	2009	Away	Win	43-0
1955	Away	Win	20-0	2013	Away	Win	34-13
1990	Away	Win	28-27	2014	Home	Win	41-6
1991	Home	Loss	13-7	2015	Away	Win	33-9
2008	Home	Win	37-6	2016	Home	Win	37-7

Last Meeting:

09/24/2016 West Chester 37 - Lock Haven 7

The Golden Ram offense took a little while to get going on the scoreboard, but West Chester dominated on both sides of the ball throughout the game. For a quick comparison, West Chester had 503 yards of offense, held the ball for over 37 minutes and converted 16 of 20 third down tries. Meanwhile, the Bald Eagles were held to just 242 yards of offense, less than 22 minutes of possession and were successful on just 4 of 12 third down attempts.

Receiver Jordan Banks (5 catches for 113 yards and 2 TD's) and Tyler Karpinski (8 catches for 75 yards) had big days receiving while Jarel Elder (87 yards rushing, 23 yards receiving, 59 yards in kickoff returns) had 169 all-purpose yards.

The defense was paced by tackle Josh Ganzelli (5 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble) while defensive back Jarey Elder and linebacker Kevin Duggan each had four tackles.

Scouting the Opponent:

The Bald Eagles' offense returns two All-PSAC East players from last year's squad in center Trent Fielding and tight end Del’Vaughn Dennis (7 catches, 69 yards), but Dennis did not appear in their game last week. Lock Haven started quarterback Cameron Tobias (43 of 75, 434 yards, 0 TD's, 7 ints), in their first two games and he saw some time last week against Slippery Rock, but East Stroudsburg transfer Jimmy Strickland (8 of 18, 63 yards) started against the Rock and Kyle Knight (3 of 7, 23 yards) also saw action. Besides Dennis, top targets in the passing game include wide receiver Bryan Greene (15 catches, 137 yards), wide receiver Kyeef Williams (9 catches, 100 yards), and running back Corey Blakely (6 catches, 70 yards). Running back John Ford (46 carries, 139 yards, 1 TD) is their top ground gainer while Knight (104 yards) also contributes.

Free safety Isaiah Flamer (35 tackles, 1 int) was All-PSAC East last season and is fourth in the PSAC in tackles this year. Defensive back Daniel Strawbridge (12 tackles, 2 ints) is also in the secondary of the Lock Haven 3-3-5 defense. Linebackers Fernando Flores (27 tackles, 1 sack, 1 int) and Neil Satterwhite (15 tackles, 1 blocked kick) clog up the middle. Defensive end EJ Umoh (7 tackles) and lineman Terrell Mitchell (3 tackles) are the top tacklers up front for the Bald Eagles.

Penn State transfer Nick Boumerhi is 2 of 4 on field goals with a long of 39 and has made his only PAT attempt. Boumerhi and Tobias have both punted this year.

Analysis:

Let this statistic soak in - after three games this season, Lock Haven has scored a total of 13 points while West Chester averages 13 points per quarter.

All of the numbers - rushing and passing, offense and defense - are equally lopsided. The biggest concern is that the Bald Eagles are fourth in the conference in interceptions, so the West Chester quarterbacks can't get careless with the ball. But with a Lock Haven secondary loaded with athletes, Saturday might be a day for the running game to get going. After three games, Lock Haven has scored just one touchdown, so expect every Golden Ram defender that goes to the game should participate.

Massey Ratings has the Golden Rams as a 17.5 point favorite while Atomic Football favors West Chester by 28.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats   Audio  

PSAC Site - PSAC Football Notes Week - 4

Lock Haven Athletic Site - Homecoming Week 2017 is here

Lock Haven Athletic Site - Football to host West Chester in Saturday’s Homecoming game

The Express - Eagles host West Chester in home opener

KYW Newsradio - West Chester Readies For Road Match-Up With Lock Haven

Delaware County Daily Times - Springfield’s Morrissey finds his focus for West Chester University