Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
West Chester gets road win
Golden Rams recover after blowing 17-point lead
SHIPPENSBURG » West Chester coach Bill Zwaan has been coaching football for longer than he’d like to admit. And in the aftermath of a pulsating 37-27 road win against previously unbeaten Shippensburg on Saturday, he threw out plaudits that don’t come along every Saturday.
“I’ve never been much prouder of a team than I am today,” Zwaan said.
Decimated with injuries along both interior lines, WCU blew a 17-point second half lead to energize the 5,300 faithful at Seth Grove Stadium. But somehow, someway, the Golden Rams managed to overcome it all, scoring the final 10 points to put themselves in the driver’s seat as the PSAC East’s only unblemished squad.
“What a gut check,” Zwaan added. “The resiliency of this team is just tremendous.”
Now 3-0 in the division (5-1 overall), West Chester has dispatched a second straight key con-
“What a gut check. The resiliency of this team is just tremendous.” – West Chester coach Bill Zwaan
tender, but another looms next Saturday: Bloomsburg (2-1, 4-1). A week earlier, it was Kutztown (2-1, 4-2). The Red Raiders fall to 2-1, 5-1.
“We have Bloomsburg next, so we don’t have to look any further ahead,” Zwaan pointed out.
“We knew this game was going to be tough and that we were going to have to dig deep,” said running back Jarel Elder, who was a star in the game along with his younger brother Jarey. “We knew at some point it was going to come down to the fourth quarter.”
It’s difficult to convey just how much trouble West Chester was in after Shippensburg reeled off 17 points in a row to knot the score, 27-27, early in the final period. A sack had moved the Rams back to their own one yard line, but quarterback Paul Dooley found wideout Tyler Karpinski for 25 yards to convert a third-and-19.
Dooley later completed a 28-yarder to Rasheem James to set up what turned out to be the game-winner, a 41-yard field goal by former Unionville standout Andrew Chegia with just over six minutes on the clock.
A sack by freshman Omar Peterkin and a quarterback-hurry by junior college transfer Diquan Gilbert then forced the Raiders to punt, and on the very next play, Jarel Elder went 66-yards on a play that initially looked like a total bust. The senior was pinned in by four defenders near the sideline, but miraculously squeezed through and didn’t stop until he was in the end zone.
“That was an unbelievable touchdown. I saw that nobody blocked anybody and suddenly Jarel is running down the field,” Zwaan quipped.
“I was just being patient,” Elder added. “I watched Barry Sanders and LeVeon Bell highlights before the game and that’s when you learn that it’s not always going to be there at first. I waited it out and eventually
the blocks came and the sidelines opened up. I was a little bit surprised.”
On Shippensburg’s final two possession, WCU got a combined sack from Tyler Morrissey-Anthony Brown, and later another from George Shipp.
“(Shippensburg) had us on the run a bit and somehow we settled back in, made a stop, our offense had a big response and we finished,” said Rams’ defensive coordinator Mike Furlong.
Shippensburg rolled up 453 yards of offense, and gashed West Chester early and often until the Rams made some adjustments. It sure looked like a turning point midway through the second quarter when Jarey Elder picked off SU quarterback Ryan Zapoticky deep in Raiders’ territory, and Jarel Elder scored from the seven yard line on the next play.
It put WCU in front 17-10 and was part of 24 consecutive points by the Rams.
“That was a dream come true, but I really wish I could have taken that pick to the house,” Jarey admitted.
“Jarey and Jarey are great players who come from a great high school program (Parkland) that plays winning football and they know what to do when the game is on the line,” Zwaan added.
Chegia later kicked his second of three field goals in the final minute of the half, and the Rams opened the third quarter with a 41yard scoring strike from Dooley to Marcus Sydnor, to make it 27-10.
The Raiders, however, got back into it in a hurry with two quick touchdowns in the span of four minutes, and then tied it with a short field goal with 12:18 remaining. That set the stage for the finish.
“We had offensive linemen going down left and right and we had guys who never really played, and they just hung and hung,” Zwaan said. “And our D-line is completely decimated right now.
“We have a bunch of guys that wouldn’t give up. I can’t say enough about this team.
I feel pretty good about this team.”
West Chester finished with 450 yards of offense and scored 37 points against a Shippensburg defense that allowed just 46 combined in the first five games this season. Elder finished with 149 yards on the ground, Karpinski grabbed eight passes for 130 and Dooley was solid.
“We are a prolific offense and we have weapons all over the place,” Elder said. “I would take our 11 versus anybody else’s 11 any day.”
The Raiders cruised down the field on their first two possessions to take a 10-3 lead after one period. But the Rams battled back to tie it thanks to a short scoring pass from Dooley to Mike Class, which was set up by a heads up play from Rasheem James. When runner Mark Dukes fumbled at the goal line after a 33-yard reception from Dooley, the freshman wideout pounced on a loose ball at the twoyard line.
Dooley finished with 276 yards and two TDs. And Morrissey led the way with 10 tackles and two sacks.
NOTES: Chegia wound up going three-for-three on field goals of 28-, 19- and 41-yards in his first game as the placekicker. The sophomore from Kennett Square replaced redshirt freshman George Lambritsios. “We are bringing George (Lambritsios) along,” Zwaan explained. “He’s a freshman and he has a great leg. He is struggling right now with field goals so we put Andrew in because he is excellent technically.” … Three-year starting center Devan LaBau, who suffered a knee injury against Kutztown, practiced briefly during the week but experienced soreness and did not play. He was replaced in the lineup by junior Connor Walsh, who promptly moved over the guard when Vince Loscracco (ankle) went down in the first quarter. Junior Ben Smith then filled in. Tackle Evyn Stadulis had to the leave the game several times in the second half, which meant that down the stretch WCU’s offensive line consisted of five
players who were not the preseason starters.