Box Score Box Score
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - Joe Wright threw for 186 yards and one touchdown, and West Chester University’s defense posted the team’s first shutout on the road since 2006 as the 20th-ranked Golden Rams downed host Lock Haven University, 43-0, in the 2009 football opener for both schools.
West Chester’s defense held Lock Haven to seven yards of total offense in the second half as it increased its 16-0 lead at the break to 36-0 by the end of the third quarter. The Golden Rams outgained the Bald Eagles by a whopping 460-52 for the entire game.
With the loss, Lock Haven’s losing streak hit 12 games. West Chester last shut out an opponent on Sept. 26, 2006 at Shippensburg (24-0) - a span covering 18 road games.
Jackson Fagan scored on a 61-yard run at the 7:10 mark of the third quarter, and junior transfer Cordero Newkirk returned an interception 61 yards for a score in the final minute of the frame to open up that 36-0 advantage.
Dan DePalma ran in from the 5-yard line for his second touchdown of the day in between Fagan’s and Newkirk’s scores. Brian McDermott closed out the scoring with a 24-yard scamper with 42 seconds left in the game.
West Chester did not look sharp, committing 11 penalties for 122 yards that cost the Golden Rams countless scoring opportunities and put the offense in long-yardage situations.
“We have been practicing with so many different guys, and with so many players missing practices, I expected us to be a little dis-jointed,” Zwaan said. “I didn’t expect us to be this dis-jointed though.
“I was really disappointed in our approach – the personal fouls, the penalties – that’s just not the way we play. We are going to have fumbles, we are going to make mistakes. But, the other things we will clean up.”
Wright connected with DePalma on a 12-yard pass play for the first touchdown of the opening half. That put West Chester up 9-0. Lock Haven’s center snapped the ball over the head of punter Paul Causey in the first half for a safety, putting the Golden Rams up, 2-0.
Red-shirt freshman fullback Matt McLaughlin plowed in from the 3-yard line with 1:52 left in the first half for his first career touchdown. That gave West Chester a 16-0 advantage at the break. McLaughlin’s run came on a 4th-and-2 play.
Mike Dell and Mike Holland each finished with a game-high nine tackles on the evening. Dell posted three tackles for a loss, including two sacks. Holland registered 1.5 tackles for a loss and was credited with one-half a sack.
Sam Scott and Abe Brooks each blocked a punt in the contest as well. Mike Lonergan scooped up the loose ball off of Brooks’ block in the fourth quarter and rambled 32 yards for a touchdown. However, a holding penalty on the return negated the score.
“We were playing well defensively,” Zwaan added. “But, we made some adjustments offensively in the second half. When it was 16-0 at halftime, I think it woke our kids up.
“We should have had some more scoring opportunities in the first quarter, but we kept shooting ourselves in the foot and credit Lock Haven for some of that. They were handling us up front for the most part. We did not do a good job blocking them.”
West Chester will have a week to clean up the mistakes and penalties that plagued them Thursday night as the Golden Rams prepare for their annual battle with Delaware next Friday night at 7 p.m.
