Series History:
West Chester leads the overall series 27-11-1. In his 14 years at West Chester, Bill Zwaan is 12-4 against the Raiders including winning this year's game at Shippensburg. Zwaan is currently 9-7 in the NCAA Division II playoffs. Shippensburg head coach Mark Maciejewski is in his 7th season and holds a 56-22 record and is 1-1 in the postseason, guiding the Raiders to the playoffs in 2012.
In the final regular season game of the 2004 season, Shippensburg knocked off the Golden Rams at Farrell Stadium in overtime. But two weeks later in the second round of the NCAA playoffs, West Chester avenged that loss in Shippensburg. West Chester took the next four contests during the Golden Rams' run of qualifying for the NCAA playoffs from 2005-2008. Shippensburg won in 2009 and went on to win the PSAC championship that season.
In one of the most memorable games in West Chester football history, Golden Ram quarterback Sean McCartney made his first collegiate start and threw for 444 yards and five touchdowns to lead West Chester to a 44-43 victory in two overtimes in a nationally televised Thursday night game in 2010. The following year, West Chester laid a 52-17 loss on the Raiders, but Shippensburg returned the favor in 2012, beating West Chester 42-24 on homecoming at Farrell Stadium and continued on to the PSAC championship game and the NCAA playoffs that year. In 2013, Shawn Leo booted a 26-yard field goal with one second left to give West Chester the thrilling victory.
Last 10 Meetings:
|
Year
|
H/A
|
W/L
|
Score
|
Year
|
H/A
|
W/L
|
Score
|
2008
|
Home
|
Win
|
25-7
|
2013
|
Away
|
Win
|
32-29
|
2009
|
Away
|
Loss
|
24-19
|
2014
|
Home
|
Win
|
55-28
|
2010
|
Home
|
Win
|
44-43 2OT
|
2015
|
Away
|
Loss
|
27-21
|
2011
|
Away
|
Win
|
52-17
|
2016
|
Home
|
Win
|
31-15
|
2012
|
Home
|
Loss
|
42-24
|
2017
|
Away
|
Win
|
37-27
|
Last Meeting:
10/07/2017 West Chester 37 - Shippensburg 27
The Golden Rams took a 27-10 lead early in the third quarter against the undefeated Raiders, only to see the lead evaporate early in the fourth period. Sophomore Andrew Chegia kicked a 41-yard field goal to give West Chester the lead and, after a defensive stop, running back Jarel Elder ripped off a 63-yard touchdown run to set the final score.
The game was knotted at ten midway through the second quarter when Jarey Elder picked off a pass and returned it to the Shippensburg 7-yard line. Brother Jarel ran it in on the next play to give West Chester the lead. Elder finished with 149 yards and two touchdowns rushing and quarterback Paul Dooley had one of the best games in his young career, completing 19 of 34 for 276 yards and two touchdowns. Senior Tyler Karpinski was the top receiver with 130 yards on eight catches while Marcus Sydnor had a 41-yard touchdown reception.
As was a usual occurrence this season, linebacker Tyler Morrissey had a game-high ten tackles including a sack. Defensive end George Shipp had two sacks and four total tackles while cornerback Shaquille James made seven tackles.
Scouting the Opponent:
Defensive ends Dakota Thompson (35 tackles, 6.0 sacks, 12 QB hurries) and Richard Nase (35 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 9 QB hurries) were both first team All-PSAC East selections as was linebacker Tyler Emge (53 tackles, 8.5 TFL). First-team All-PSAC East selections in the secondary were cornerback Kevin Taylor II (33 tackles, 5 int, 11 passes defended) and free safety Richard Sheler (48 tackles, 3 int, 11 passes defended). Reserve defensive back Eric Dzieniszewski (21 tackles, 4 int) has a pick-six this season and backup defensive lineman John Durkin (26 tackles, 5.0 sacks) also plays a key role on the Radiers' defense.
Kicker Billy Deane (49-55 PAT, 8 of 14 FG with a long of 40 yards) was all-conference last season, but has struggled scoring thus far this year. Deane also handles kickoffs and punts.
Analysis:
In the earlier meeting this season between these two teams, the statistics were very even. As cliche as it may be, this game will likely come down to turnovers, penalties and big plays. Regarding turnovers, in West Chester's three losses this season, the Golden Rams were -4 compared to their eight wins where they were +4. The Shippensburg contest is just one of two games this year (Millersville is the other), where West Chester didn't turn over the ball. The Raiders are +14 on the season with 18 interceptions, but in the game against West Chester, they were -1 with an interception setting up the Golden Rams' first touchdown.
In the area of penalties, Shippensburg is in the top third in the country in fewest penalties (6) and penalty yards (57) per game compared to a Golden Rams team which is in the lower third in the country in penalties (8) and penalty yards (71) per contest. And when it comes to penalties, timing is everything affecting first downs, field position and momentum.
Finally, in the first meeting, Winston Eubanks had the biggest day for an opposing receiver this season with 176 yards. And Zapoticky had many other opportunities in the passing game, but several of his passes missed the mark. Edinboro, Slippery Rock and most recently Millersville all had a lot of success in the passing game against the Golden Rams, so there's a lot of vulnerability there. The weather may become the twelfth defender in this contest.
Massey Ratings favors the Raiders 28-21.
Game Coverage:
West Chester Athletic Site - Football Heads to Shippensburg for First Round of NCAA II Playoffs
West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Travels To Shippensburg On Saturday For First Round Of NCAA II Playoffs
Shippensburg Athletic Site - ADVISORY: Fan Information For Saturday's Home Football Game at Noon
Shippensburg Athletic Site - NCAA PLAYOFFS: No. 19 Football Hosts West Chester at Noon Saturday
D2football - National Columnist - Bob Eblen - National Columnist
HERO Sports - Compare Stats: Shippensburg vs West Chester
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