The Warriors scored on seven of their ten possessions in the game. Of the three drives that resulted in no points, one was the end of the game, and Abdul Stewart was instrumental in the other two. On the game's opening possession, East Stroudsburg swiftly moved down the field, but Stewart intercepted a Warrior pass in the end zone and returned it 42 yards, which led to a Sean Henry 32-yard field goal. In the third quarter, Stewart made a tackle for a six-yard loss which led to an ESU three-and-out, and an eventual Golden Ram touchdown that tied the game at 31.
Other than that, the porous WCU defense allowed 478 yards, of which 273 yards were on the ground. East Stroudsburg's two running backs averaged an eye-popping 9.5 yards/carry. However, West Chester's red zone defense didn't suffer too badly, as four of the Warriors' touchdowns came on runs of 48, 37, and 32 yards plus a 21-yard pass.
Abdul Stewart's touchdown saving interception (Photo Chuck Greco)What was most devastating was the timing of the lax defensive play. The first came when West Chester scored late in the first half to close their deficit to 21-17. With the Golden Rams due to receive the second half kickoff, it appeared to be a perfect two-for-one scenario. But the Warriors had 30 seconds to work with and took only three plays (plus a clock-stopping spike) to navigate the 68 yards and score a deflating touchdown to expand their lead to 28-17. Alas the Golden Rams eventually knotted the score at 31 on a fourth-down Cooper Jordan to Dayshawn Jacobs 11-yard touchdown pass. This time, the Warriors answered with a four-minute, 69-yard touchdown drive to reclaim the lead 38-31. The Golden Ram offense was no longer up to the challenge, as Jordan threw an interception which resulted in another four-minute, 68-yards touchdown drive for East Stroudsburg. The ball was with the Warriors for 12 minutes of the fourth quarter.
Everyone was in on this defensive stop (Photo Chuck Greco)Offensively, the Golden Rams did very well against a defense that was rated among the PSAC leaders in points and yardage allowed. The running back tandem of Jacobs (11 carries, 54 yards, 1 TD; 5 catches, 22 yards, 1 TD) and freshman Anthony Leonardi (5 carries, 26 yards) had a respectable 5 yards/carry average. Jordan had 82 yards rushing and 204 yards passing, including a 50-yards TD pass to Rahiem Bowens (4 catches, 110 yards, 1 TD). And West Chester opened up the play book with wide receiver D'Shaun Seals (5 catches, 65 yards) completing a 22-yard pass to Jordan.
Dayshawn Jacobs with a game-tying touchdown catch (Photo Chuck Greco)Other notes:
Rahiem Bowens had catches of 50 and 41 yards (Photo Chuck Greco)- Linebacker Connor Noble led the defense with ten tackles while safety Shane Mosley made nine stops.
- Sophomore receiver Troy Corson still does not have a catch, but he scored his first collegiate touchdown on a two-yard run early in the third quarter.
- Kicker Sean Henry contines to be steady, converting all four PAT attempts, a 32-yard field goal, and knocking two of his six kickoff into the end zone for touchbacks.
- Of East Stroudsburg's eight kickoffs, only one went for a touchback. Only one of the other seven was returned beyond the 25-yard line which would be the starting field postion if the remaining six were merely fair caught. Early in the second quarter, Darrell Brown had the ball ripped out of his arms at the 23 and it was ruled a fumble on the field, but was fortunately overturned on replay review. The potential reward doesn't seem to be equal to the risk involved in returning kickoffs.
Freshman Ryan Shannon with a special teams tackle (Photo Chuck Greco)West Chester Athletic Site - East Stroudsburg Wins Offensive Shootout, 45-31
East Stroudsburg Athletic Site - Warriors Rush Past West Chester in 45-31 Homecoming Triumph
Golden Rams Review - Photo Album - East Stroudsburg
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