Golden Ram Football Club: Game Report - Bentley 20

Although West Chester (0-1) got out to a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter, Bentley (1-0) took the long game approach which paid off when the Falcons converted a 38-yard field goal as time expired to capture a 20-17 win at John A. Farrell Stadium to open the 2024 season for both teams.

The Golden Rams opened the game with a 10-play, 79-yard drive that ended with a 10-yard Cooper Jordan to D'Shaun Seals touchdown pass over the middle. Jordan was four of five on the drive, completing two passes to sophomore Robby Longo. On Bentley's first possession, they gambled on a fourth-and-three from midfield which the WCU defense thwarted, but it was a sign of things to come in this game. West Chester responded with a three-play, 50-yard drive which was capped by a 33-yard touchdown run by sophomore Dayshawn Jacobs. When the Golden Ram defense forced a very quick three-and-out, fans on the home side were feeling pretty good about the day. But it was still early.

Dayshawn Jacobs slips past the last would-be tacklers (Photo Chuck Bitner)

West Chester's next drive went 44 yards and consumed more than five minutes, however it resulted in no points when a bad snap cost a field goal. And it got much worse for the offense - their next seven possessions resulted in a total of 31 yards. The only points the Golden Rams would score in the remainder of the contest was a Sean Henry 24-yard field goal.

Connor Noble and Seamus McCain team up for a stop (Photo Chuck Bitner)

Defensively, things seemed to go okay for West Chester. Safety Shane Mosley had an interception to go along with three pass breakups. Defensive end Nate Desmond recovered a Bentley fumble at the Falcon 7 yard line giving the WCU offense great field position. Overall, the Golden Ram defense held the Falcons to a paltry 2 of 17 on third down. However, as was said earlier, Bentley played the long game and converted on 4 of 7 fourth down attempts which led to the Falcons having a six minute advantage in time of possession.

Shane Mosley with the first interception of the year (Photo Chuck Bitner)

There were four costly plays for West Chester:

Leading 17-10 with four minutes left in the game, the Golden Rams had the ball on their own 19. Needing to run some clock, the absolute worst possible thing happened when Jordan fumbled and Bentley recovered leading to their game-tying score.
Leading 14-0 just ten minutes into the game after Bentley had a quick three-and-out, Jordan had a wide open Rahiem Bowens deep over the middle. It appeared that Bowens was looking to the end zone instead of securing the catch. Rather than a demoralizing 21-0 West Chester lead, it instead became the last best chance that the Golden Rams had of scoring a touchdown.
With the game tied at 17 with a little over a minute left in the game, the Golden Rams faced a fourth-and-one on the Bentley 33. Going for it wasn't a bad idea, but attempting a "tush push" into the Falcon's best defensive player was. West Chester turned the ball over on downs and Bentley went on to kick the game-ending field goal.
Leading 14-0 early in the second quarter, West Chester's drive stalled at the Bentley 14. Henry came out to attempt a 32-yard field goal, but Luke Vereb's snap bounced to holder Zack Liberatore who was unable to set the ball in time and the three points went awry.

Rahiem Bowens appears to possess this catch which was eventually ruled incomplete (Photo Chuck Bitner)

Other observations:

Captains were D'Shaun Seals, Connor Noble, Shane Mosley, and Patrick Methlie.
Maurice Beverly was not dressed for the game but was on the sidelines.
Although not listed on the published depth chart, Johnny Pergine saw a lot of time at linebacker and had a key fourth down pass breakup.
The Bentley offense often executed their plays quickly which caught the Golden Ram defense not being ready or unable to substitute.
Connor Noble had a game high 14 tackles while redshirt freshman Jamir Reyes posted nine stops.