Golden Ram Football Club: Game Preview

The #8 West Chester University Golden Rams host the New Haven Chargers of the Northeast-10 Conference in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Division II playoffs.

Series History:
Overall, New Haven leads the series 8-6-1, including the last tie in West Chester history in 1995. Head coach Bill Zwaan is 3-1 against New Haven having defeated the Chargers 28-17 in West Haven, CT in his first game at the helm of the Golden Rams in 2003. The 2014 season opener against West Chester marked the first game as head coach for New Haven's Chris Pincince who is now 34-19 overall.

New Haven last appeared in the playoffs in 2012 where as the second seed, they lost to IUP in the second round. West Chester and New Haven faced each other in the playoffs in 1992 with the Chargers leaving John A. Farrell Stadium with a 38-26 victory on their way to the Division II semi-finals.

Last 10 Meetings:

Year	H/A	W/L	Score	Year	H/A	W/L	Score
1996	Away	Win	24-17	2002	Home	Loss	28-19
1997	Home	Loss	32-26	2003	Away	Win	28-17
1998	Away	Win	33-27 (OT)	2011	Away	Loss	35-32 (OT)
2000	Home	Loss	7-0	2013	Home	Win	45-14
2001	Away	Loss	32-28	2014	Away	Win	35-30

Last Meeting:

09/06/2014 West Chester 35 - New Haven 30

The Golden Rams scored a touchdown on a 44-yard pass play late in the third quarter to go up 35-30 just prior to a long weather delay. It turned out to be the final score in the contest and West Chester left Connecticut with the victory. West Chester's special teams play was superior and a critical factor in the outcome as they blocked two punts, recovering one of them for a touchdown. New Haven had almost twice as many first downs as West Chester, although Golden Ram penalties led to six first downs for the Chargers.

Scouting the Chargers:

After finishing 2017 with a record of 6-4, the Chargers were picked to finish fourth in the Northeast-10 behind Bentley. Their two losses this year came in the first week of the season at FCS Bryant and the last week of the season at LIU Post. In between, the Chargers rattled off eight straight wins. West Chester and New Haven share a common opponent this season in Bentley. The Golden Rams hammered the Falcons by a score of 44-6 in the season opener while New Haven had to hold off Bentley 31-27.

The Chargers have a balanced offense, but the passing game will be the best West Chester has faced this season. Senior quarterback Ajee Patterson (180 of 281, 64%, 2,342 yards, 26 TD's, 8 int's) can also move the ball on the ground (44 carries, 268 yards, 3 TD's). Six receivers have double-digit receptions, led by graduate student Ju'An Williams (56 catches, 976 yards, 14 TD's), AJ Greene (28 catches, 433 yards, 1 TD), and Damon Rodgers (21 catches, 276 yards, 2 TD's). Tight end Joe Caico (4 catches, 41 yards, 4 TD's) is their most productive pass catcher as he only had four catches but all have gone for touchdowns.

The running game is split between Ryan McCarthy (129 carries, 674 yards, 5 TD's) and Chris Liggio (135 carries, 494 yards, 2 TD's).

Running a 3-4 defense, the linebackers lead the Chargers in tackles and each has an interception: Jordan Francklin (75 tackles, 6.0 TFL), Mcprecia Remy (66 tackles, 5.0 TFL), and C.J. Fitzpatrick (54 tackles). Francklin was All-Northeast10 last year and Remy was on the All-NE10 Rookie Team. Scott Lavelle (53 tackles, 11.0 TFL) was an All-Northeast10 linebacker a season ago, but has moved to defensive end this season. He's joined on the line by tackle Christian Sullivan (26 tackles, 4.0 TFL) who was All-Northeast10 last year.

Cornerback Mark Clements (38 tackles, 9 PBU's), defensive back Josiah Shumaker (31 tackles, 3 PBU's), and strong safety Miles Pease (30 tackles, 5 PBU's) lead the secondary.

Sophomore Michael Stalenyj (27 of 31 on PAT's, 7 of 7 on FG's, long of 36 yards) takes care of the place kicking while Francis Palmer (40 yd avg, 7 inside 20) handles the punting and kickoffs.

Analysis:

One of the keys will be the Golden Ram defense getting pressure on Patterson. New Haven has only surrendered three sacks the entire season. And it's not like they're a running team - they have 281 pass attempts - or Patterson just heaves up the ball to avoid a sack - he's completed 64% of his throws. But the Golden Rams lead the country with 4.6 sacks per game, so one team has to give in this area.

The defense will have to focus for all four downs on every possession. New Haven has converted almost half of their third down plays and 70% of 17 fourth down plays.

And much like the Lock Haven game and the first half of last week's game at Slippery Rock, the West Chester offense needs to maximize every possession by scoring, consuming clock or ideally, both. New Haven has lost only ten turnovers this season which is good for seventh in the country, so the Golden Rams can't expect bonus possessions.

Both Massey Ratings and Atomic Football favor the Golden Rams by 17 points.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats Audio Video

West Chester Athletic Site - No. 8/10 West Chester Set To Host New Haven In First Round Of NCAA II Playoffs

New Haven Athletic Site - Football Opens NCAA Tournament Play Saturday at No. 8 West Chester

philly.com - The best football coach in Pennsylvania this year? Give it to this man.

KYW Newsradio - Champs of the PSAC, West Chester now focusing on playoffs

New Haven Register - New Haven football team earns D-II tournament berth

The Atlantic - ‘He’s still one of us’: Playoff-bound West Chester seniors find healing, purpose after teammate’s suicide

NCAA - Let's pick a winner and sleeper in each Super Region

wtnh.com - UNH football prepares for tournament game against West Chester

Daily Local News - West Chester University ready to defend Farrell turf vs. New Haven

D2football - PSAC Columnist - SR1 Playoff Opening Weekend

D2football - NE10 Columnist - Week 12 in the NE-10