Game Preview - Lock Haven

West Chester (7-2, 4-2) will travel to Lock Haven to play their last scheduled road game and last division game of 2019. They take on the Bald Eagles (1-8, 0-6) at 1:00pm Saturday in Hubert Jack Stadium.

Series History:
West Chester holds a 24-6-1 lead in the series. Current WCU head coach Bill Zwaan is undefeated in his previous eight meetings against the Bald Eagles. Lock Haven moved from the PSAC West to the PSAC East prior to the 2013 season when they replaced LIU Post in the division. Head coach Dave Taynor holds a record of 11-42 in his fifth 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
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
2009	Away	Win	43-0	2017	Away	Win	35-14
2013	Away	Win	34-13	2018	Home	Win	48-14

Last Meeting:

11/03/2018 West Chester 48 - Lock Haven 14

The Golden Rams dominated on both sides of the ball in easily handling the Bald Eagles on homecoming. West Chester had 564 yards of offense and held the ball for over 38 minutes. Meanwhile, Lock Haven mustered only 14 first downs and were held to under 300 yards of offense.

Quarterback Paul Dooley was 8 of 11 for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Receiver Lex Rosario had a big day with seven catches for 121 yards and a score, and Gabe Schappell had a 50-yard touchdown catch.

Defensively, Jarey Elder made six tackles and had an interception. Nyeem Jones and Omar Peterkin each had four tackles for West Chester.

On special teams, kicker Andrew Chegia was perfect on six PAT's and connected on field goals of 36 and 24 yards. West Chester did not punt the ball or turn the ball over in the contest.

Scouting the Opponent:

The Lock Haven offense returns three All-PSAC performers from last season and they are all producing again this year. Running back Chantz Swartz (141 carries, 801 yards, 6 TD's) is second in the PSAC, averaging 100 yards per game. Tight end Jalen Jackson (35 catches, 546 yards, 4 TD's) is among the conference leaders and receiver Bryan Greene (22 catches, 313 yards, 3 TD's) is having another solid season. Sophomore quarterback Kyle Knight (95 of 190, 1,387 yards, 8 TD's, 6 int's; 101 carries, 388 yards, 4 TD's) is a classic dual threat. When sophomore running back Dante Graham (88 carries, 401 yards, 6 TD's) is considered, Lock Haven is sporting the top rushing offense in the PSAC.

Last year, the Bald Eagles used one guy to do all of the kicking. This season there are three. Freshman Hunter Hess only has two touchbacks on 43 kickoffs. Backup quarterback Gage Ocker averages 32 yards per punt, but his dual role poses a threat for a trick play in punt situations. At 6'3, 220lbs, placekicker Charles Hayes is imposing. He's 4 of 6 on field goals with a long of 40 yards and has had two blocked.

Lock Haven is defensively challenged, but strong safety Kahari Whitfield (69 tackles, 1 int) and linebacker Alex Welch (62 tackles, 1 TFL) are among the conference leaders in tackles. Linebacker Chris Bournes (30 tackles, 3 sacks) leads his team in sacks. Freshman free safety Levi Engle (30 tackles,4 int) is tied for the PSAC lead with four interceptions and is also among the conference leaders in pass breakups.

Analysis:

Lock Haven is the perfect medicine for any ailing offense. They allow over 51 points per game. That's 51 points per game. Obviously that's last in the PSAC, but also 165 out of 166 Division II football schools in the nation. Their passing defense is last in the PSAC and their rushing defense is second to last in the conference. So the Golden Rams should have no problem scoring points. And they may need to, since Lock Haven's offense puts up 25 points a game.

Despite Lock Haven having the best rushing offense in the conference and the second-best third-down conversion rate in the PSAC, their time of possession is under 29 minutes a game, due in large part to a turnover margin of -10 this season.

Both Atomic Football and Massey Ratings project the Golden Rams winning by 30+ points.

Note: For those fans who haven't been to Lock Haven, the stadium has seating only on the home side.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats   Audio   Video

PSAC Site - PSAC Football Notes Week - 10

Lock Haven Athletic Site - Football returns home, set to host West Chester

Lock Haven Athletic Site - LHU Football: Game Day Parking & Transportation Advisory

KYW Newsradio - College Football Preview: West Chester vs. Lock Haven