Game Report - West Chester 44 - Bentley 6

The game started in hot and steamy conditions and ended in a cool summer breeze. Sandwiched in between was a whole lot of whoopass as the Golden Rams rolled to a 44-6 win over Bentley.

At halftime, it seemed ridiculous to see that the West Chester defense held the Falcons to just 38 yards of offense. But then they topped that by yielding just 25 yards in the second half. Dominating in every sense of the word. Granted Bentley was without All-American wide receiver Austin Ryan and lost fellow receiver Drew Mahoney at the start of the second quarter, but the Golden Rams registered 15 tackles for loss on Bentley's 49 offensive plays. And most impressive was when Bentley started a possession on the West Chester 10, the Golden Rams allowed just two yards and a field goal.

Shaquille James and Jaishan Thornton each had interceptions and Nate Barnes landed on a fumble forced by Ch'aim Smith. Thorton's interception was particularly impressive as his man was past him, but he timed his breakup perfectly and the ball popped up for him to snare the pick. Barnes led the team in tackles with seven, including 3.5 sacks.

Meanwhile, the Golden Ram offense was efficient. Quarterback A.J. Long was 10 of 14 for 184 yards and two touchdowns through the air, and picked up 54 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. An ill-advised throw - two receivers among six defenders - did result in an interception and a long return, but that was about the only blemish on his game. Running backs Mark Dukes (101 yards and a touchdown) and Mike Class (28 yards and a touchdown) were as expected, as was receiver Rasheem James (6 catches for 82 yards and two touchdowns).

Newcomers to the field for the Golden Rams made an impact on both sides of the ball. Redshirt freshmen Trael Seegers (7 carries for 46 yards), Darnell Ferrell (1 catch for 12 yards), Cole Zapf (six tackles including two for loss), and Bloomsburg transfer Ethan Price (1 catch for 54 yards) all saw significant time.

Notes - Dan Neuhaus did not dress which forced true freshman Zach Liggit into action. Liggit returned a kickoff for 11 yards...Brendan Paulison dropped two of his three punts inside the Bentley 20...West Chester committed only two penalties for a total of 20 yards...Tyler Morrissey and David Simmons each had a sack and Tyrone Barge had 2.5 tackles for loss...quarterbacks Zach Gilbert and Mike Piperno both made their first collegiate appearances.

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West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Opens Season Impressively With 44-6 Win At Bentley

Bentley Athletic Site - West Chester Erupts for 27 in 2nd during 44-6 Season-Opening Win over Bentley University

Game Preview - Bentley

The Golden Rams travel to Waltham, MA to open the 2018 season when they take on the Bentley Falcons on Thursday evening. This will mark the third year in a row that these two teams have faced each other to open the season. Kickoff in Bentley University Football Stadium is scheduled for 6:00 pm.

Series History:
West Chester holds a 2-0 lead in the series against the Falcons with the Golden Rams winning in Waltham in 2016 by a score of 31-24 before last season's 51-9 throttling at John A. Farrell Stadium. Bentley head coach Bill Kavanaugh enters his fifth season at the helm with a record of 21-22. Meanwhile, Golden Ram head coach Bill Zwaan starts his 16th season with an overall record of 125-58, including 9-2 against Northeast-10 opponents and 2-0 against Bentley.

Last Meeting:

08/31/2017 West Chester 51 - Bentley 9

The final score reflected exactly how the Golden Rams dominated in all facets of the game in the season opener. The West Chester defense kept the Falcons out of the endzone until the very last play of the game. Meanwhile, the Golden Ram offense scored on seven of its first nine possessions in rolling up almost 500 yards of offense.

Tyler Morrissey had two sacks among his four solo tackles while Jordan Burney led the team with five total tackles. Quarterback Paul Dooley paced the offense with 183 yards and three touchdowns passing, plus 42 yards rushing. Running back Mark Dukes had 82 yards and a score rushing, while Rasheem James had two catches including one for a touchdown.

Scouting the Opponent:

After falling to West Chester in the season opener last year, Bentley went 6-3 in the Northeast 10 finishing in third place in their conference. The Falcons were picked to finish third in their conference again this season.

Despite playing in only seven games last season, sophomore quarterback Stephen Sturm (95 of 130 for 1,375 yards, 12 TD's, 2 int's) led the team in almost all passing categories. His top target will likely be classmate Austin Ryan (49 catches, 1,237 yards, 16 TD's). Besides being named first team All-NE10 last season, Ryan was also named NE10 Rookie of the Year and Football Gazette Division II Freshman of the Year. Prior to this season, he has received multiple Division II All-American recognitions. All five of the Falcons' top receivers from a year ago return, including Drew Mahoney (51 catches, 485 yards, 6 TD's in 7 games), Jordan Zlogar (18 catches, 241 yards, 1 TD in 7 games), Michael Correia (19 catches, 228 yards), and Ryan McCarthy (17 catches, 158 yards). Sophomore Andrew Brazicki (99 carries, 481 yards, 6 TD's) returns as the team's leading rusher while Mahoney also chipped in 123 yards last year. Returning offensive linemen that received NE10 All-Rookie honors are Tim Leonard and Sean Mitchell.

Cornerbacks Nick Athy (76 tackles, 3 interceptions) and Pete Thorbahn (52 tackles, 3 interceptions) were the Falcons' top two tacklers and both received All-NE10 honors. Linebackers Andrew Carmichael (34 tackles, 4 tackles for loss) and Travis McGee (19 tackles) return in the middle while Frank Damata (15 tackles, 1 sack) and Matt Yanes (10 tackles) are part of the Falcon three-man front.

Junior kicker Grant Buchanan connected on 7 of his 12 field goal attempts with a long of 39, but converted 37 of 39 PAT's.

Analysis:

The Bentley offense is young, but the skill players are all very talented. The Golden Ram front six needs to get some pressure to disrupt the Falcon passing game. Meanwhile, Bentley's defense was 106th in the country in sacks and 130th in rushing in 2017, so West Chester should use the running game and attacking underneath which should open the downfield passing game. This is likely to be a tougher game than last year's whitewashing at Farrell Stadium.

Atomic Football is predicting a ten-point win for West Chester while Massey Ratings projects a five-point margin.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats   Audio   Video  

West Chester Athletic Site - Depth Chart - West Chester vs. Bentley

West Chester Athletic Site - Football Kicks Off 97th Season Thursday Night At Bentley

PSAC Site - PSAC Football Notes: Week 1

Bentley Athletic Site - Bentley Football Returns to Campus Sunday for Preseason Camp

Bentley Athletic Site - Bentley Set to Kick Off the 2018 Season under the Thursday Night Lights

Bentley Athletic Site - Bentley Football Parking Information

KYW Newsradio - College football preview: West Chester University Golden Rams

Wicked Local Waltham - Bentley University football team returns to the field

The Sun Chronicle - Foxboro's Ryan earns preseason honors

D2football - PSAC Columnist - PSAC Preseason Story Lines / Power Rankings

D2football - PSAC Columnist - PSAC Week 1 Preview

D2football - Northeast-10 Columnist - Week 1 in the NE-10

Team News - West Chester-Kutztown Part of NCAA Showcase Schedule

The NCAA has announced that the Golden Rams' October 27 game at Kutztown will be part of their showcase schedule. The game is one of only 19 regular season games and the only PSAC contest that will be featured on ESPN3 or NCAA social media as part of a new media agreement intended to promote the division on several platforms throughout the academic year.

NCAA - Division II announces football showcase schedule

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Featured In NCAA Showcase Football Schedule This Fall

Alumni News - O'Donnell Takes New Coaching Role

John O'Donnell

Former Golden Ram defensive back John O'Donnell '13 has taken an assistant coaching position with Franklin & Marshall College. O'Donnell spent the last four seasons with Widener. While at West Chester, he was a four-year letterwinner, a second team All-PSAC selection and Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area selection. For the Diplomats, he will focus on coaching the defensive backs with fellow Golden Ram alumnus and defensive coordinator Mark Fetterman '88.

Team News - Schedule Update

West Chester's final scrimmage of the summer, originally scheduled for Friday, August 24 at 6:30 pm, has been moved to Wednesday August 22 at 6:30 pm.

Player News - Four Golden Rams Receive D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award

Four West Chester Golden Ram players have received honors for their performance in the classroom for the 2017-18 academic year. Wide receiver Tyler Karpinski, offensive lineman Alex Host, defensive end John Dubyk, and offensive lineman Brian Ross were all named recipients of the Division 2 Athletics Directors Association Academic Achievement Award. Both Karpinski and Host are repeat honorees.

In order to be recognized, each player must have completed a minimum of four semesters of college work, have been an active member of an intercollegiate team during the past academic year, and have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5.

Overall, 100 women and 29 men from West Chester University received recognition. Once again, the PSAC was one of the most represented conferences in the country with 931 student-athletes honored.

National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics - D2 ADA Announces 2017-18 Academic Achievement Recipients

PSAC Site - 931 PSAC Student-Athletes Receive 2017-18 D2ADA Achievement Award

Team News - 2018 First Scrimmage Report

The first scrimmage of the 2018 season showed a lot of signs of the first scrimmage of the 2018 season - coaches making sure players are in the right place at the right time. Some notable observations from game action:

• With quarterback Paul Dooley out for the first five games of the season, A.J. Long ran the first team offense and redshirt freshman Zach Gilbert led the second team. Dooley participated with the third team and as did redshirt freshman Mike Piperno. Keeping Long healthy through the first half of the season will be a top priority for the Golden Rams.
  
• Long did a much better job of picking his spots to run and as a result, his ground game was very effective. Piperno threw some ill-advised passes and Nydair Rouse intercepted two of them.
  
• Even though punting drills take place at the very start of the scrimmage, Brendan Paulison showed why he's an All-American. His punt from the back of the end zone had plenty of hang time and made it out to midfield. But then going the other way, his punt from midfield, which also had plenty of hang time, rolled down to a stop near the sideline inside the one.
  
• A couple of transitions seem to be going very well. First Bloomsburg transfer wide receiver Ethan Price was an active part of the offense in his first appearance as a Golden Ram. Secondly, former quarterback Mike Alley made a couple of catches from his new tight end position.
  
• In the "no surprise" category, when defensive end Diquan Gilbert wasn't pressuring the quarterback, he was batting down passes at the line of scrimmage. And running back Mark Dukes took a handoff and exploded for a long touchdown run.
  
• Notable players who did not dress were running back Mike Class and defensive back Jarey Elder.
  
• Former Golden Ram pass rusher Sam Scott appears to have an active role with the team.
  

West Chester's final scrimmage of the summer is tentatively scheduled for Friday, August 24 at 6:30 pm.

A.J. Long found a big hole for a big gain (Photo Ron Hockman)

Linebacker Nate Barnes drags down a ball carrier (Photo Ron Hockman)

Mark Dukes speeds into the end zone (Photo Ron Hockman)

Shaq Ryder gets ready to envelope a rusher (Photo Ron Hockman)

The Golden Rams debuted their new helmets (Photo Ron Hockman)

Player News - Morrissey, Paulison Preseason All-Americans

Senior linebacker Tyler Morrissey and senior punter Brendan Paulison have both been named to the D2football.com Preseason All-American Team. Morrisey was a first team selection while Paulison garnered second team recognition. Ealier this year, both were named to Street and Smith's Division II Preseason All-American Team. The Golden Rams were the only Super Region One team with more than one player cited.

Last season, Morrisey was named first team All-PSAC East, first team All-ECAC, first team CCA All-Super Region 1, second team CCA All-American, second team AP All-American and honorable mention All-American by the Don Hansen Football Gazette. He was also named PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year, ECAC Defensive Player of the Year and was a finalist for the Cliff Harris Award. He finished the season with 137 tackles which was the most in the nation, including 14.0 tackles for loss (sixth in the PSAC), five quarterback hurries and two forced fumbles (both in the playoffs).

Tyler Morrissey was involved in 137 tackles last season (Photo Ron Hockman)

After the 2017 campaign, Paulison was named first team ALL-PSAC East, first team CCA All-Super Region 1, first team All-ECAC, second team CCA All-American and honorable mention All-American by the Don Hansen Football Gazette. He averaged 44.1 yards per punt (third in the country), booming 17 of his 61 punts for more than 50 yards while dropping 23 of them inside the opponent's 20-yard line. The Golden Rams were second in the nation in net punting, as Paulison limited opponents to only 25 returns for 142 yards on the season.

Brendan Paulison is one of the top punters in the country (Photo Ron Hockman)

After finishing 9-4 and advancing to the second round of the NCAA playoffs, the Golden Rams are not ranked in D2football.com's Preseason Top 25 Poll. Indiana is the only Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference team that appears in the poll at #4.

West Chester opens the 2018 season at Bentley on August 30.

D2Football.com - 2018 D2Football.com Preseason All-America Team

Player News - Dooley Suspended for First Five Games

Junior quarterback Paul Dooley has reportedly been suspended by the NCAA for the first five games of the 2018 season. This resolves the situation of Dooley rotating at the position with junior A.J. Long. The incident reportedly occurred this past spring and the NCAA's decision to Dooley's appeal was recently finalized. Recall that Dooley missed the spring of 2017 due to an off the field incident as well.

Long will become the starter with redshirt freshmen Mike Piperno or Zach Gilbert serving as the backup.

West Chester opens the 2018 season at Bentley on August 30.

Daily Local News - WCU QB Dooley suspended 5 games by NCAA for failed drug test

Team News - Golden Rams Receiving Votes in AFCA Preseason Poll

West Chester is among teams receiving votes in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II preseason poll. The Golden Rams return 16 starters from last year's playoff team that finished 9-4.

West Chester opens the 2018 season at Bentley on August 30.

American Football Coaches Association - Division II Coaches’ Poll – August 13, 2018

Team News - Golden Rams Picked To Finish First Again

The West Chester University Golden Rams were picked to finish first in the division by the conference coaches at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference annual Football Media Day. West Chester received six of seven first place votes among the division's coaches. This is third consecutive year that the Golden Rams were chosen to win the division.

Predicted order with first place votes in parentheses:

Eastern Division
1. West Chester (6)
2. Shippensburg
3. Kutztown (1)
4. Bloomsburg
5. East Stroudsburg
6. Millersville
7. Lock Haven

PSAC Site - West Chester Tabbed Favorite in PSAC Football Eastern Division

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Picked As The Favorite In PSAC East Preseason Poll