Golden Ram Football Club: Game Report - West Chester 31

Well it was a win.

The Golden Rams got out to a 21-3 lead early in the second quarter, thanks in large part to the running game. West Chester’s first touchdown drive spanned 55 yards, with all but two of those yards coming on the ground and finished by a Jarel Elder 22-yard run. An East Stroudsburg penalty on the PAT attempt gave West Chester the ball on the one, and Bill Zwaan elected to go for two and Elder made that decision pay off.

Jarel Elder walks in for the two-point conversion (Photo Ron Hockman)

West Chester’s second touchdown was capped by a Paul Dooley five-yard pass to Jordan Banks, but Elder gained 65 of the 93 yards of the drive on a dump pass and run. While the Golden Rams’ third possession resulted in a punt, East Stroudsburg fumbled the return which was recovered by Matt Magdelinskas. Three plays later, Dooley ran it in from 23 yards out. However, the PAT attempt was blocked, so the earlier two-point conversion made the score 21-0.

Jordan Banks made the TD catch with a defender draped on him
(Photo Ron Hockman)

Meanwhile, the West Chester defense held the Warriors to just three first downs in the first quarter, and East Stroudsburg converted a 50-yard field goal. The Golden Rams then executed the two-minute drill to perfection, navigating 64 yards in 1:48 with Dooley picking up the final 31 yards on the ground to extend the lead to 28-6.

Many fans will say that West Chester fell asleep in the second half, but in reality, the third quarter was quite productive. The combination of rushing and short passes consumed 82 yards and eight and a half minutes of game and added an Andrew Chegia 34-yard field goal. The Golden Rams would consume an additional two minutes when East Stroudsburg fumbled away the ensuing kickoff, recovered again by Magdelinskas. Up 31-6 heading into the fourth quarter, the final period is when the wheels fell off the cart.

Jarey Elder is held while pursuing the QB (Photo Ron Hockman)

East Stroudsburg’s momentum started when the usually sure-handed Tyler Karpinski lost a fumble. Karpinski, who had nine catches but for only 44 yards, may have been trying to make something out of a bad play. The Warriors quickly connected on a 28-yard pass play over the middle, which seemed to be open all game, for a touchdown.

Midway through the quarter, a lot of Golden Ram fans will remember a missed 20-yard field goal attempt, but West Chester had a first and goal from the nine and failed to get into the end zone. It was reminiscent of West Chester’s opening possession of the Bloomsburg game. While three points would have helped, a touchdown would have essentially ended the contest. Instead, with renewed life, the Warriors went 80 yards in less than four minutes for a touchdown. After recovering the onside kick, it only took a minute for them to go 47 yards and narrow the score to 31-26.

Paul Dooley had 166 yards and 2 TD's on the ground (Photo Ron Hockman)

After West Chester retained possession after another onside kick with less than two minutes to play, one Golden Ram first down would seem to seal the deal, but that was not to be. Brendan Paulison’s punt was downed at the East Stroudsburg 2-yard line. All of sudden, the Warriors got to midfield, but were faced with a fourth-and-three. Similar to the Bloomsburg game, a fourth-down stop would end the game, and it seemed to be the case when Anthony Brown intercepted an East Stroudsburg pass with no time left on the clock. But a pass interference penalty gave the Warriors one untimed down. This time, with three offensive lineman occupied with Diquan Gilbert, David Simmons tracked down the East Stroudsburg quarterback for a game-ending sack.

Nate Barnes makes the tackle as John Dubyk joins in (Photo Ron Hockman)

Elder finished with 266 all-purpose yards with 131 of them coming on the ground. Dooley was more effective with his legs than his arms, rushing for 106 and passing for 166. Besides Simmons’s sack, Morrisey teamed up with Nate Barnes for one sack and with Gilbert for another one. Morrissey led West Chester with 13 tackles while Jarey Elder made six stops.

John Dubyk, Vince Lostracco and Banks all returned to action after missing time due to injuries.

The 1967 West Chester team that played in the Tangerine Bowl was honored before the game (Photo Ron Hockman)