Everyone that saw the game, and many West Chester fans were there in person, knows that midway through the fourth quarter cornerback Al-Hajj Shabazz had a pick six which was immediately followed by a pick six by Brandon Pepper to put the game out of reach. Those were certainly two memorable plays. But keep this in mind:
- Shepherd had the top rushing defense in the country yielding just 41 yards a game and the Golden Rams ground out 124 yards.
- Shepherd's opponents were converting on only 20% of third downs which was best in Division II and West Chester was 6 of 14 for a 42% conversion rate.
- Shepherd led the nation in time of possession this season, yet the Golden Rams held the ball for over half of the game.
- Shepherd's defense was among Division II's leaders in fewest first downs allowed and West Chester earned 19, including converting their only fourth down attempt.
- Coming into the contest, Shepherd was used to rushing for almost 200 yards per game, but was held to just 120.
- Prior to Saturday, Shepherd had only thrown five interceptions all season, mainly due to the success of their run game and always being on the winning side of the score. Being placed in a situation where they were forced to throw exposed the Shepherd passing game for what it truly is.
Now it certainly wasn't easy. The Shepherd defense spent a lot of time in the Golden Ram backfield as they registered nine tackles for loss including three sacks. And after halftime, quarterback Sean McCartney was only 4 of 10 for 12 yards. But those completions for little or no yards, and one for negative yards, kept the clock running which led to a speedy two and a half hour game.
Besides Shabazz's and Pepper's game ending interceptions, defensive standouts were Eric Edwers who had a team-high nine tackles including a sack, Anthony McCloskey who notched eight tackles, and cornerback Blaise Schieler who had two pass breakups to go along with his six tackles. And how about Drew Formica's crushing goal line pass breakup of the Shepherd tight end on third down in the second quarter which forced a Shepherd field goal attempt.
Did anyone gain more appreciation for West Chester's special teams when Shepherd mishandled the snap on their lone field goal attempt in the second quarter? While the Golden Rams didn't have the electric kick or punt returns that were witnessed last week, kicker Shawn Leo and punter Rich Bruno were solid as usual. Besides converting all four of his PAT attempts, Leo's variable kickoffs kept Shepherd's return team off balance as two kickoffs went deep, a pooch kickoff was fair caught and the final two were midrange. Bruno landed two of his seven punts inside the Shepherd 20 including his final kick which was spotted at the Shepherd one yard line. With Shepherd's previous six drives gaining a total of 54 yards, a 99-yard field might as well been a mile.
Offensively, McCartney was 11 of 15 for 168 yards and a touchdown in the first half. But his biggest play came on third and 12 on the Golden Rams' first drive when he ran for 41 yards. It was his largest ground gain of his career. Harlon Hill finalist Rondell White was given the punishing chore of running against Shepherd's front seven. His 24 carries netted 94 yards and his five receptions yielded only 15 yards with 11 coming on one catch. There's no doubt his efforts were key to West Chester's success. And while LaRonn Lee only had three catches, each of them went for 31 yards. The first came on third and 14 from West Chester's own four yard line, the second on West Chester's second drive and third being the go ahead touchdown early in the third quarter.
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Notes - The Golden Rams travel to Hickory, NC to take on Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday at noon for the right to play in the NCAA Division II national championship the following week...Yesterday's regional championship game is available for viewing here...For the first time all season, the Golden Rams deferred after winning the coin toss...No fewer than eight different players caught passes for West Chester for the third game in a row.
West Chester Athletic Site - Super Region 1 Champions!
Daily Local News - West Chester wins to advance to national semifinals
Daily Local News - Rams defense comes up golden when it counts
Philly.com - West Chester Reaches National Semifinals
The Journal - West Chester Knocks Off Shepherd
Bert Garbutt - Photo Collage WCU Football vs Shepherd
Shepherd Athletic Site - West Chester Pulls Away for Win over Shepherd
D2football - PSAC Columnist - West Chester Wins Super Region 1
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