Game Preview - Millersville

Again this season, the Golden Rams (2-1) open PSAC East play by taking on the Millersville Marauders (2-1). Kickoff at Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium is scheduled for Saturday at noon.

Series History:
West Chester leads the overall series 72-17. Golden Ram head coach Bill Zwaan remains perfect against the Marauders in his 19 meeetings with Ville. J.C. Morgan (Bucknell '04) is currently in his sixth season as head coach of the Marauders with a 13-34 career record. These two teams have had similar schedules and results this season: a win over a Northeast-10 team, a one-touchdown win over Gannon, and a 20+ point loss to Slippery Rock.

Last 10 Meetings:

Year	H/A	W/L	Score	Year	H/A	W/L	Score
2012	Home	Win	56-14	2017	Away	Win	27-24
2013	Away	Win	48-3	2018	Home	Win	42-16
2014	Home	Win	62-7	2019	Away	Win	48-7
2015	Away	Win	48-3	2021	Away	Win	42-14
2016	Home	Win	52-0	2022	Home	Win	26-14

Last Meeting:

09/24/2022 West Chester 26 - Millersville 14

The Marauders took a 14-2 lead early in the second quarter, but the West Chester defense pitched a shutout the rest of the way, scored on a pick-six and managed another safety to give the Golden Rams a 26-14 win. Kicker Sean Henry added ten points including 3 of 3 on field goals.

The West Chester offense managed just 16 yards rushing, and only 127 total yards and six first downs. Ethan Kohler (5 of 17, 111 yards) tossed a 43-yard touchdown pass to tight end Thatcher Miller (2 catches, 73 yards) for the only offensive points of the day. Rahiem Bowens (1 catch, 17 yards) and D'Shaun Seals (1 catch, 15 yards) each had a catch. The defense was led by Khalib Slaughter (10 TKL, 1 TFL) and Kaleb Brown (6 TKL).

Scouting the Opponent:

Despite returning their entire offensive line from last year, the Marauders are struggling on offense. Quarterback Rob Footman Jr. (33 of 73, 378 yards, 5 TD's) is in the bottom half of the PSAC in passing efficiency. He's also amassed 110 yards and 2 touchdowns rushing on 37 carries. While running back Jaheim Morris (16 carries, 55 yards) was All-PSAC East last season, redshirt freshman Jaquan Howard (45 carries, 236 yards, 2 TD's) gets the bulk of the carries and ranks fourth in the PSAC with 79 yds/game. Howard (5 catches, 54 yards, 1 TD) is also Ville's second most productive receiver. The top two wideouts are both under 5'10 : Mekhi Alexander (11 catches, 136 yards, 1 TD) and Hakim Melvin (4 catches, 47 yards).

The Millersville 3-3-5 defense is interesting to say the least. They're third in the conference against the rush (83 yds/game), but 15th against the pass (283 yds/game). Linebacker Garrett Cox (20 TKL, 7.0 TFL) was All-PSAC East last year and is second in the conference in tackles this season. He and fellow linebacker Hez Faison (23 TKL, 7.0 TFL) are tied for second in the PSAC in tackles for loss. Reserve linebacker Ryan Aument (13 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 FF) is second in the PSAC in sacks.

The secondary is led by sophomore cornerback Gus Ross (13 TKL, 1 INT, 1 FF) and safety Steve Sweeney (22 TKL, 2 PBU). Punter P Zach Banta was All-PSAC East last season. Millersville has yet to convert a field goal on four attempts.

Analysis:

The Marauders finished last season with their best record since 2006 and, despite the loss at Slippery Rock last week, they're off to their best start since 2010. The bottom line is this is a vastly improved Millersville team. Millersville's offense may just be what West Chester's struggling defense needs. But then again, West Chester's defense may just be what Millersville's struggling offense needs. Either way, it's likely where this game will be decided. Sean Henry should continue to strive for touchbacks since Melvin returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown last week. And it appears that the adverse weather may play a factor.

Massey Ratings is expecting a 28-23 West Chester win while Versus Sports simulates a 29-28 Millersville victory.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats   Audio   Video

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Travels to Millersville for PSAC East Opener

Coach Zwaan Podcast - Inside the Huddle with Coach Bill Zwaan: Episode 3

PSAC Site - PSAC Week 4 Football Notes

Millersville Athletic Site - Marauders return home for PSAC East opener

D2football - PSAC Columnist - PSAC Week Four Preview

Game Report - West Chester 38 - Gannon 31

The Golden Rams survived another sluggish start, including losing two first quarter fumbles, and managed a 38-31 win in their home opener over the visiting Gannon Golden Knights (0-3).

West Chester received the opening kickoff, but quarterback Cooper Jordan lost a fumble on the first play from scrimmage and subsequently Gannon scored on a seven-yard run on their first offensive play. So even before the Incomparable Golden Rams Marching Band cleared the track, the football team found themselves down 7-0 with shaken confidence. After the teams traded three-and-outs, D'Shaun Seals gave West Chester great field position on a 40-yard punt return. Three plays later, however, on a first-and-goal, Jordan's pitch to Daquan Robinson went awry and Gannon recovered. Fortunately, the remainder of the first quarter remained fairly quiet.

Ayyub Dail fights his way through a hold (Photo Joan Gillen)

The second frame started with Jordan putting everything he had into a long pass that Rahiem Bowens hauled in and went 73 yards for the game-tying score. Late in the first half with the score tied at 10, running back Trey Blair, who didn't travel with the team in the first two weeks, raced around the right side for a 31-yard touchdown run. He would finish with 57 yards and two touchdowns on the day. The West Chester defense forced a three-and-out setting up the offense with the ball at the Gannon 45 with 25 seconds left, but Jordan's first-down pass attempt to Julian Jordan was intercepted at the seven.

The offensive line opens a hole for Trey Blair (Photo Joan Gillen)

With West Chester leading 17-10 entering the second half, both teams went-three-and-out on their first possession. It appeared that both defenses tightened. But that was the last stop that would be made. The two teams would trade touchdowns for the remainder of the game, with all six scores coming on drives of at least 65 yards. The ping pong scoring ended with the Golden Rams holding a 38-31 lead, leaving Gannon with only 1:22 and no timeouts left. West Chester safety Kaleb Brown put an end to things with a leaping interception.

Jaleel Davis-Shabazz joins Khalib Slaughter on a tackle (Photo Joan Gillen)

Bowens had a huge offensive day. He had five catches on five targets for an eye-popping 160 yards and two touchdowns. Bowens made a 35-yard reception in the third quarter despite being held by the Gannon defender, and 39-yard catch on the crucial final touchdown drive. Linebacker Connor Noble once again led the West Chester defense in tackles with 10. Fellow linebacker senior Khalib Slaughter had a big game with 7 tackles including 2.0 sacks for 27 yards.

Rahiem Bowens makes a leaping catch despite being held (Photo Joan Gillen)

With both teams amassing over 400 yards of offense, the difference in the game was special teams. Despite kicker Sean Henry missing a 38-yard field goal attempt, five of his seven kickoffs resulted in touchbacks and neither of his punts were returned. Besides Seals' 40-yard punt return, Dayshawn Jacobs had a 79-yard kickoff return which setup a field goal.

Dayshawn Jacobs had a 79-yard kickoff return (Photo Joan Gillen)

Other observations:

• Cornerback Obi Anyatonwu was dressed but did not play. He was replaced by Izaiah McPherson (1 solo tackle) who left the game in the third quarter with what appeared to be a hip injury.
• Tight end Thatcher Miller was not dressed for the game. True freshman Luke Cody took his place, but was only targeted once in the contest.
• After yielding time at safety to Shane Mosley (4 TKL, 1 PBU), Brody McAndrew saw time on offense and made a catch.
• For the third consecutive game, the Golden Rams successfully executed the tush push. A second attempt succeeded, but was called back due to an offensive "aiding the runner" penalty.
• Jordan had a mixed bag game. Besides the fumble and interception, two other passes almost got picked. But he led the Golden Rams in rushing with 64 yards and, after gaining a first down on the final touchdown drive, wisely slid to keep the clock running. Earlier in the fourth quarter, Jordan was rolling left and was prepared to run, but when he saw Julian Jordan open in the end zone, flipped it to him for the touchdown.

Sortable Box Score    Coaches Box Score

West Chester Athletic Site - Late Touchdown Lifts West Chester over Gannon, 38-31

Gannon Athletic Site - Golden Knights Fall 38-31 at West Chester

Daily Local News - West Chester survives home opening shootout against Gannon

WCU Football Family - Photo Album - Gannon

Game Replay

Game Preview - Gannon

The Golden Rams (1-1) finally have a home game when they host the Gannon Golden Knights (0-2) on Saturday at noon in John A. Farrell Stadium.

Erik Raeburn is in his fourth season as head coach at Gannon with a 14-14 record. Gannon is coming off a 28-21 loss to Millersville. Gannon outgained Millersville by 100 yards, but were hurt by two lost fumbles.

Series History:

West Chester is 5-0 against the Golden Knights since Gannon joined the PSAC in 2008. In 2013, the two teams combined for 97 points and almost 1,100 yards with West Chester hanging on for a 56-41 win. The last home-and-home series, in 2018 and 2019, were much more comfortable victories for the Golden Rams.

Last Meeting:

09/17/2022 West Chester 29 - Gannon 23

Trailing 23-17 at halftime, the Golden Rams defense shutout Gannon in the second half and West Chester scored a touchdown and a field goal to take a 27-23 lead with five minutes left. To top off the second half defensive dominance, the Gannon quarterback was sacked in the end zone for a safety on the final play of the game.

Two of Gannon's three second quarter touchdowns came after WCU fumbles, giving the Golden Knights short fields for both scores. While Gannon's pro prospect quarterback threw for 362 yards and two touchdowns, he was also sacked six times. Leading the West Chester defense was Maurice Beverly who had eight tackles, including a sack, and a forced fumble. Cornerbacks Sterlen Barr, Jr. and Obi Anyatonwu each has two pass breakups. On the offensive side of the ball, Cooper Jordan was still working his way into the playing time and Rahiem Bowens had two catches for 68 yards.

Gannon would go on to finish 2022 with a record of 8-3, including knocking off then #11 Indiana.

Scouting the Golden Knights:

This Gannon team has a lot of similarities to the Golden Rams. After losing seven All-PSAC West performers from last season's squad, they are fairly young. They run a 3-3-5 defense. And although quarterback Nate Mikell (48 of 81, 471 yards, 4 TD's, 1 int) is 6'4, similar to West Chester, he is a dual threat and leads the Golden Knights in rushing (21 carries, 112 yards). Their other three ball carriers have a total of 102 yards, and 43 of those came on one play. Ball State transfer running back Donny Marcus (14 carries, 43 yards) is also a factor in the passing game (7 catches, 24 yards). Top receivers are All-PSAC West Ke'John Batiste (14 catches, 126 yards, 2 TD's) and Donell Mason (12 catches, 168 yards). Their two tight ends - 6'5 Jonathan Bowden and 6'4 Isaiah Pae - each have a touchdown catch. Left guard Jacob Petit was All-PSAC West a season ago.

Two-time All-PSAC West defensive back Chris Farnsworth (13 TKL) is on his way to a third annual honor as he leads the Golden Knights in tackles. Fellow defensive backs Kam Snell (9 TKL, 1 int) and Grand Valley State transfer Ty Tiggs (7 TKL, 4 PBU) patrol the secondary. Linebackers Hayden McDonald (12 TKL, 3 PBU, 1 sack) and Zharell Walker (11 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 int) are also active in the passing game. Up front, Obi Ezeigbo (10 TKL, 1.5 sacks) anchors the line.

Analysis:

There are several factors going West Chester's way: a home game - finally, a long road trip for the Golden Knights, Zwaan has never lost to Gannon, Golden Rams played better last week despite the final score. The WCU offense needs to be wary of Farnsworth and the Golden Ram defense, besides containing Mikell, needs to keep an eye on those big tight ends in the red zone. Reduce last week's mistakes - turnovers and inopportune penalties - and the game doesn't have to be close.

Versus Sports simulates a 29-25 West Chester win while Massey Ratings projects a 28-22 Golden Rams victory.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats   Audio   Video

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Lifts Lid on Home Slate Saturday Against Gannon at Noon

West Chester Athletic Site - Football Game Day Fan Information

West Chester Athletic Site - Game Day Program

Coach Zwaan Podcast - Inside the Huddle with Coach Bill Zwaan: Episode 2

PSAC Site - PSAC Week 3 Football Notes

Gannon Athletic Site - Gannon Game Notes (pdf)

D2football - PSAC Columnist - PSAC Week Three Preview

Game Report - #15/#16 Slippery Rock 49 - West Chester 24

Less then three minutes into the game, the two teams had combined for 170 yards of offense and 21 points. Unfortunately, #15/#16 Slippery Rock maintained the pace throughout the game and went on to defeat West Chester 49-24.

The Rock opened the game with a 65-yard kickoff return and three consecutive running plays to their right resulting in the opening touchdown. West Chester matched the big play when Cooper Jordan connected with Julian Jordan for 51 yards. The sophomore quarterback punctured the end zone two plays later to knot the score. Slippery Rock then launched a 74-yard touchdown pass on their next play from scrimmage to go up 14-7 and fans wondered if there were enough light bulbs on the Rock scoreboard to contain the final score.

Against a team that West Chester couldn't afford to make mistakes, they made far too many. Jordan threw three interceptions, two inside the Rock ten-yard line and two that resulted in Slippery Rock touchdowns. That's essentially a 28-point swing. Besides allowing the Rock's long opening kickoff return, special teams failed to field a punt which rolled to the WCU one-yard line. The Golden Ram's 3-3-5 defense, which is designed to minimize opponents' passing offense, allowed 317 yards and four touchdowns on 20 of 25 pass attempts. And penalties were a factor. Midway through the second quarter with the Rock up 28-14, the Golden Rams got a key third-down stop to setup an apparent three-and-out, but a personal foul gave the Rock a first down. A later facemask penalty gave Slippery Rock a first-and-goal.

Cooper Jordan eludes a tackle in the end zone (Photo Joan Gillen)

But in an odd conclusion, the game was rather encouraging. The Golden Rams played much better this week than in the season opener and this was against a much better opponent. Jordan completed passes to eight different receivers for 285 yards. D'Shaun Seals had five catches for a 101 yards and 58 yards on six carries. Besides Jordan and Seals, the Golden Rams running game got 32 yards and a touchdown from sophomore Jayden Williams and 24 yards and a score from classmate Daquan Robinson. Robinson also made a crushing tackle on punt coverage.

D'Shaun Seals makes a one-handed catch (Photo Joan Gillen)

Defensively, after a fairly quiet season opener, Maurice Beverly registered a game-high 12 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss. Shane Mosley made nine tackles and a forced fumble, while linebacker Connor Noble continued to impress with eight tackles including a 10-yard, third-down sack.

Other observations:

• With cornerback Obi Anyatonwu out with an injury incurred last week at Bentley, 5'9" Sterlen Barr, Jr. got the assignment of covering Slippery Rock's All-American wide receiver Kyle Sheets. While Sheets only had two catches in the game, they were 74-yard and 49-yard touchdowns.
• Redshirt freshman Robby Longo (3 catches, 14 yards) and true freshman Darrell Brown (1 catch, 19 yards) made their first collegiate catches. Brown added three kickoff returns for 64 yards.
• Kicker/punter Sean Henry continued to impress. He converted his only field goal attempt from 23 yards and all three PAT's. He only punted twice: a 42-yarder fair caught at the nine and a 41-yarder to the Rock 14. And after the opening kickoff return, Henry executed the pooch kickoff for the remainder of the game which resulted in only two more returns for a total of 12 yards.
• A couple of defensive backs registered their first collegiate tackles: redshirt sophomore Jimmy Wright made six tackles (four solo) and freshman Jaleel Davis-Shabazz had three tackles (one solo).
• Quarterback Ethan Kohler saw his first action of the season, going 2 for 2 for 26 yards in the fourth quarter.
• Defensive end Nate Desmond left the game early and receivers Rahiem Bowens and Jonathan Haynes may have also incurred injuries.

Robby Longo sets a block for a Robinson TD (Photo Joan Gillen)

Sortable Box Score    Coaches Box Score

West Chester Athletic Site - No. 15 Slippery Rock Topples West Chester, 49-24

Slippery Rock Athletic Site - No. 15 Rock rolls by West Chester, 49-24

WCU Football Family - Photo Album - Slippery Rock

Game Replay

Game Preview - #15/#16 Slippery Rock

The Golden Rams (1-0) endure another long trip as they travel to the western edge of the state to take on Slippery Rock (1-0) on Saturday at 6:00pm at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium. Last season, the Rock finished 10-3 with a second-round playoff loss to eventual Super Region champion Shepherd. Slippery Rock is coming off a 28-17 win over Wayne State.

Series History:
The Rock leads the series between the two schools, 11-9. Head coach Bill Zwaan is 4-5 against Slippery Rock while his counterpart Shawn Lutz is 58-17 after six seasons as head coach there. Slippery Rock has qualified for the NCAA Division II playoffs in each of the last four seasons.

In the final game of the regular season in 2006, with both teams owning a 7-3 record and the winner destined for the NCAA playoffs, West Chester won by a score of 21-20 when the Rock's 48-yard field goal attempt drifted wide left in the pouring rain in Slippery Rock. In 2010 also in Slippery Rock, Shawn Leo kicked a field goal to put the Golden Rams up 27-24 with two and a half minutes left. But the Rock converted a 47-yard field goal of their own with 31 seconds left to send the game into overtime. The Rock quickly scored a touchdown in overtime, but Nick Garcia blocked the point after giving West Chester hope. Although the Golden Rams picked up a first down, they were unable to get into the end zone and fell 33-27.

West Chester crushed the Rock in the first round of the 2014 NCAA playoffs at Farrell Stadium. The 2015 PSAC championship game pitted these two schools against each other, and Slippery Rock humiliated the Golden Rams in that game. The Rock had also won the next two games as these two teams faced each other in the early season crossover matchup in 2016 and 2017. Then in the 2018 PSAC Championship game, the Golden Rams scored touchdowns on their first four posessions to take a 27-3 lead, before they coasted to a 33-10 victory for West Chester's first conference crown since 1971.

Last 10 Meetings:

Year	H/A	W/L	Score	Year	H/A	W/L	Score
1997	Away	Loss	27-14	2015	Home	Loss	61-12
2006	Away	Win	21-20	2016	Home	Loss	36-28
2010	Away	Loss	33-27 OT	2017	Away	Loss	49-42
2011	Home	Win	20-13	2018	Away	Win	33-10
2014	Home	Win	46-20	2022	Home	Loss	35-14

Last Meeting:

09/10/2022 Slippery Rock 35 - West Chester 14

The Golden Rams entered halftime trailing only 14-7, but the Rock scored three touchdowns to expand the lead to 35-7. Quaterback Cooper Jordan entered with less than three minutes left in the game and connected with D'Shaun Seals on a six-yard touchdown pass in the closing seconds to set the final score. The Slippery Rock offense racked up over 400 yards and their defense made four sacks and had two interceptions.

Seals and Rahiem Bowens each had three catches. Maurice Beverly paced the Golden Ram defense with six tackles and a pass breakup while Sterlen Barr, Jr. had three tackles, an interception and a blocked field goal.

Scouting the Opponent:

The Rock lost a handful of all-conference performers on defense, with only All-PSAC defensive back Jalen Dangerfield returning. So they did what they usually do and brought in transfers to immediately replace those losses, including defensive end Andrew Vince (Rutgers), linebacker Kyle Kudla (Hillsdale), linebacker Jake Miller (Akron) and defensive end Munchie Johnson (Wesley). Safety Selvin Haynes was the Rock's top tackler last Saturday.

Offensively, the Rock has strength in the running game. They return first team All-PSAC West running back Chris D'Or and added transfer Khalid Dorsey (Shippensburg). The offensive line sports All-PSAC West representatives Yuriy Hryckowian at left tackle, Colton Rossi at left guard, and Jeff Burkhart at center. They balance the right side with Pittsburgh transfer Nick Stazer at right guard and 6'7 sophomore Joe Cooper at right tackle. Adding to the run option is the fact that preseason D2football.com Elite 100 Watch List wide receiver Kyle Sheets got hurt on the first play of last week's game and did not return.

Analysis:

The Golden Rams are young, so can they ride the mommentum that they gained last week at Bentley? It's another long road trip, and the Rock is a tough environment, especially at night.

Versus Sports simulates a 36-18 win for Slippery Rock and Massey Ratings projects a 31-17 Rock victory.

If you can, avoid the lines and buy your tickets online.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats   Audio   Video

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Heads West to Take on No. 15 Slippery Rock Saturday

Coach Zwaan Podcast - Inside the Huddle with Coach Zwaan: Episode 1

PSAC Site - PSAC Week 2 Football Notes

Slippery Rock Athletic Site - No. 15 Rock welcomes West Chester Saturday night

D2football - PSAC Columnist - PSAC Week Two Preview

D2football - National Columnist - Chuck Bitner - National Columnist

Player News - Cooper Jordan Named PSAC East Offensive POW

For his efforts in West Chester's come-from-behind 20-19 win at Bentley, sophomore quarterback Cooper Jordan has been named PSAC East Offensive Athlete of the Week.

Jordan accounted for 376 yards (292 passing, 84 rushing) which was eighth best in Division II this past week. It was a tale of two halves for Jordan. In the first 30 minutes, he ran 10 times for 76 yards and five first downs while only throwing for 47 yards. In the second half, Jordan ran for just 8 yards, but threw for 245 yards, including six passes of at least 20 yards.

Trailing 19-10 early in the fourth quarter, Cooper led the Golden Rams on a 7-play, 74-yard drive the ended in a field goal to pull West Chester to within one score. On the ensuing possession, with a minute and a half remaining, Cooper completed consecutive passes of 45 yards to D'Shaun Seals and 24 yards to Jonathan Haynes which led to the game-wining touchdown. In the first half, he completed an 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Thatcher Miller.

Cooper Jordan picks up some of his 84 yards rushing (Photo Joan Gillen)

PSAC Site - PSAC Football Athletes of the Week - 1

West Chester Athletic Site - Cooper Jordan Named PSAC East Offensive Athlete of the Week

Game Report - West Chester 20 - Bentley 19

The Golden Rams had to shake off a sluggish start and a 14-0 deficit, but they overcame mistakes on both sides of the ball and outscored Bentley 13-5 in the second half en route to a stunning come from behind 20-19 victory in Waltham, MA.

Daniel Hicks jars the ball loose from the Falcon QB (Photo Joan Gillen)

When West Chester sent redshirt freshman Dayshawn Jacobs, redshirt sophomore Daquan Robinson, and true freshman Darrell Brown to return the opening kickoff, the gravity of how young this team is could be felt. The Golden Ram defense allowed two 80-yard, 6-minute drives that gave the Falcons a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter. Meanwhile the West Chester offense primarily consisted of Cooper Jordan scampers. The Golden Rams got into the end zone on a 8-yard shovel pass from Cooper to tight end Thatcher Miller to narrow the score to 14-7 at halftime.

Thatcher Miller takes the shovel pass for the first score of 2023 (Photo Joan Gillen)

A Sterlen Barr interception thwarted Bentley's first possession of the second half and the Golden Ram offense took advantage of the favorable field position. Jordan connected with Rahiem Bowens for a 45-yard pickup that moved West Chester into the red zone. Unfortunatley, this only resulted in three points on Sean Henry's 29-yard field goal.

Rahiem Bowens makes a leaping catch and turns upfield (Photo Joan Gillen)

Bentley answered with a field goal of their own to return the Falcons' lead to seven points, 17-10. And then the biggest gaffe of the game was made. Bentley's ensuing kickoff went just into the end zone where Robinson made the catch. After a brief pause, he stepped out, then thought better of it, stepped back into the end zone and took a knee. The resulting safety would extend Bentley's lead to 19-10, meaning WCU would need two scores. Fortunately, those would be the last points the Falcons would score on the afternoon.

Khalib Slaughter applies pressure to the Bentley QB (Photo Joan Gillen)

The Golden Ram passing game got going. Jordan connected with Julian Jordan for 14 yards, Jonathan Haynes for 9, and Jordan again for 25 yards. Although the drive stalled at the Falcon 32, it showed that the Golden Rams could move the ball, and quickly, if given another chance. And the Golden Ram defense did just that, forcing a three-and-out to start the fourth quarter.

Starting at their own 21, Jordan connected with Miller for 30 yards, and 36 and 14 yards to D'Shaun Seals to get to the Bentley 5. But two running plays didn't advance the ball any further. Needing two scores, the Golden Rams elected for the 23-yard field goal which Henry delivered.

Julian Jordan had a game-high five catches (Photo Joan Gillen)

Nursing a 19-13 lead, Bentley drained nearly eight minutes off the clock, but their 46-yard field goal attempt failed. So the Golden Ram offense, which scuffled most of the game but started finding their footing recently, had the ball at their own 29 with 1:37 remaining. Of course, the first thing West Chester did was commit a false start to push the ball back to the 24-yard line and followed that with a Jordan keeper for no gain. On second-and-15, Jordan scrambled to buy time and launched a 45-yard strike to Seals to the Bentley 31.

D'Shaun Seals hauls in a 45-yard bomb (Photo Joan Gillen)

That was followed by a 24-yard pass to Haynes, who redeemed himself from a couple of drops earlier in the game. Then with just 58 second remaining, Jayden Williams went untouched around the right side from 7 yards for the game tying touchdown. Henry's PAT would give West Chester its first lead of 2023, 20-19.

Jayden Williams waltzes into the end zone for the game tying touchdown

On Bentley's final desperation drive, Shane Mosley had two pass breakups and Izaiah McPherson had one to end any of Bentley's hopes.


Other observations:

• WCU newcomers made an impact on defense. Linebacker Connor Noble made a game-high 14 tackles while Mosley made 13 tackles on top of his two pass breakups.
• Captains were Ayyub Dail, Sterlen Barr, Jr., Obi Anyatonwu, Khalib Slaughter and Mason Griffiths.
• It was announced that the only senior on the offensive line, Quinton Derr, is out for the season. He was replaced at right tackle by Trey Wells who did a fine job. In fact, the offense had no holding penalties and Jordan was sacked only twice in the game. The only downside was a couple of false start penalties.
• Brody McAndrew (4 solo tackles) got the start at the one safety position, but DeJuan Dandridge (4 total tackles) saw time there as well.
• Daniel Hicks forced a fumble that was recovered by Kaleb Brown and Sterlen Barr, Jr. ripped the ball out of the tight end's hands for an interception.
• WCU faced a fourth and one from their own 45 on their first possession of the second half and employed the "tush push" to get the first down.
• Obi Anyatonwu left the game right before halftime and did not return to the game, although he was on the sidelines. He was replaced by Izaiah McPherson and Victor Pena.
• Our first look at the Golden Rams 3-3-5 showed that it worked as expected. It held Bentley to just 136 yards passing, but Bentley's big quarterback picked up 98 yards on the ground.
• Third down efficiency heavily favored Bentley - West Chester was just 2 of 8 while the Falcons were 10 of 16. This led to the time of possession to be heavily skewed in favor of Bentley as well.
• With Bentley leading for 59 minutes, some of their players expressed their confidence vocally. This boiled over in a mild mele near the post-game handshake line.

Sortable Box Score   

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Escapes Bentley With Last-Minute Touchdown, 20-19

Bentley Athletic Site - Late TD Gives West Chester 20-19 Win over Bentley

WCU Football Family - Photo Album - Bentley

Game Replay