Prior to the game, it was expected that the outcome was going to come down to the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, and that was truly the case. The West Chester offense had no answer for the continuous onslaught of Warrior blitzers as Golden Ram quarterbacks were sacked six times in the contest including two strip sacks. Even Cooper Jordan's interception on WCU's second possession of the game was due to pressure up the middle and the defensive lineman batting the ball high into the air. Due to duress, one of Jordans' passes was a dangerous, albeit entertaining, backhand flip to Khalil Owens and another was slung to tight end Luke van Brill. Even the Golden Ram's first touchdown, a 52-yard run which accounted for half of WCU's rushing yards in the contest, was due to Jordan escaping the blitz and shaking off East Stroudsburg tacklers.
Conversely, the West Chester defense managed just one quarterback hurry and not a single sack or tackle for loss. While the Warriors punted on two of their first three possessions and turned the ball over thrice in the game, they rolled up 511 yards of offense, including 267 yards on the ground, for almost nine yards/play. Some other observations:
One of several tackles Cooper Jordan broke on his TD run (Photo Chuck Greco)- Matthew Iuvara redeemed himself from an earlier lost fumble when he caught a short pass over the middle and bounced off multiple tacklers to get into the end zone for WCU's final score of the game. He finished with five catches for 39 yards.
Matthew Iuvara made several tough catches (Photo Chuck Greco)- Safety Jamir Reyes made a leaping interception, his third in the past two games, which led to a WCU touchdown. Maurice Beverly had the QB hurry that led to the errant throw.
Maurice Beverly pressures the ESU QB into an interception (Photo Chuck Greco)- Senior defensive end Nate Desmond left last week's game with an injury and was not dressed for this contest. He was replaced by Khalif Kemp who finished with three tackles.
Khalif Kemp drags down a ball carrier (Photo Chuck Greco)- Senior free safety Jimmy Wright was also not dressed. There was a rotation of redshirt freshman Miles Goodwin (4 tackles) and true freshman Peaky Roseborough (2 solo tackles) who made his first collegiate interception.
Peaky Roseborough returns his pick ten yards (Photo Chuck Greco)- Early in the second quarter, an East Stroudsburg running back was ruled down after a short game, but the WCU defenders believed the ball was fumbled and recovered by the Golden Rams. Coach Duke Greco challenged the ruling on the field, but the play was upheld as previously called. It's not to say that the ball wasn't fumbled, but it's not as if there are multiple camera angles at John A. Farrell Stadium to give officials a better look.
Connor Noble with one of his game-high 16 tackles (Photo Chuck Greco)- Entering the game, it seemed that penalties could be a differentiator. While WCU did very well in this regard, flagged only once for six yards compared to 80 penalty yards for East Stroudsburg, they did not factor into the outcome.
- Jordan (12 of 17, 98 yards, 1 TD, 1 int) was injured on a sack late in the third quarter and did not return. Ethan Kohler (6 of 11, 40 yards) finished the game. While Kohler makes fast reads and gets rid of the ball quickly, he didn't fare well against the Warrior pass rush as he was sacked three times and forced to throw the ball away on several occasions.
Ethan Kohler saw his most action since 2023 (Photo Chuck Greco)- Late in the game, left tackle Jake Phipps was replaced by Tucker Valoczki.
Redshirt freshman Tucker Valoczki saw his first college action (Photo Chuck Greco)- East Stroudsburg attempted an onside kick after the first touchdown in the third quarter. While the Warriors recovered it, i.e. West Chester wasn't ready for it, the ball failed to travel the minimum ten yards and the Golden Rams retained possession.
West Chester Athletic Site - East Stroudsburg’s Second Half Does In West Chester, 45-14
East Stroudsburg Athletic Site - ESU Football Shuts Out West Chester in 2nd Half, Scores 35 Unanswered in 45-14 Victory
Daily Local News - E. Stroudsburg scores final 38 points to pummel host WCU
Golden Rams Review - Photo Album - East Stroudsburg
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