Box Score
West Chester Post-Game Quotes
American Int'l College Post-Game Quotes
WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Sr., RB
Rondell White broke the school's all-time rushing record and Jr., QB
Sean McCartney threw for 423 yards and four touchdowns as No. 15/16 West Chester defeated American International College, 38-7, in the first round of the NCAA Division II Football Tournament Saturday afternoon at John A. Farrell Stadium.
West Chester (11-1), which equaled the school's single-season record for wins in the victory, advances to the second round to play PSAC East rival Bloomsburg next Saturday at 12 p.m. at Redman Stadium. The Huskies handed the Golden Rams their lone defeat on the season, 31-28, back on Nov. 9 at Farrell Stadium. AIC (9-3) ends its season after making its first playoff appearance since 2008.
"I thought the difference in the game was (WCU defensive coordinator) Mike Furlong's defensive game plan," AIC head coach Art Wilkins commented afterwards. "He had great rhythm to his calls, and as the game went on, he kept us off balance."
With the Golden Rams clinging vicariously to a 14-7 lead late in the first half,
Erick Brundidge caught a 31-yard TD strike from McCartney with 19 seconds left to send the Golden Rams into the locker room with a 21-7 advantage. That capped just a 2-play drive that covered 55 yards in 12 seconds as the fifth-year junior engineered the two-minute drill to perfection.
Then, West Chester opened the second half with a three-and-out from its defense, and AIC punter, Daniel Backx, boomed a 62-yard kick that was downed at the Rams' 6-yard line. McCartney floated a deep ball down the sideline on the Rams' first play from scrimmage to a wide open
Tim Keyser, who took it to the house for a 94-yard score and a 28-7 lead, which took the wind out of AIC's sails. It was Keyser's lone catch of the day.
"I think that was kind of a dagger in the heart," WCU head coach Bill Zwaan said. "Once (McCartney) got comfortable and got going, he had a great day."
"Don't get caught from behind," was Keyser's response to his thoughts on the long pitch and catch.
Sr., NG
Anthony McCloskey and Jr., LB
Mike Labor each registered tackles for a loss on AIC's next two offensive plays that eventually forced the Yellow Jackets to punt, and the momentum had officially swung West Chester's way for good.
"Defensively, we really just kept it simple," junior LB Mike Labor said. "They ran a similar offense to Clarion's last week. So a lot of our calls overlapped, and we got after (AIC QB Kevin Arduino) and shut him down."
Sr., PK
Shawn Leo booted a 20-yard field goal with 1:33 remaining in the third quarter to put West Chester up, 31-7, then So., TE Shawn Driggins snared a 2-yard TD pass from McCartney with 5:26 to play in the game to close out the Yellow Jackets' season. Leo's extra point on Driggins' touchdown tied former WCU place-kicker Alex Walsh's school record of 179 career extra points made.
Both Labor and Jr., MLB
Ronell Williams led West Chester with nine tackles. Each also had a tackle for a loss while Williams was credited with a QB hurry on a bone-crushing hit of AIC QB Kevin Arduino just as he was letting go of the ball on an errant pass attempt in the first quarter.
Shawn Krautzel posted seven tackles, including one sack, and
Brandon Pepper intercepted a pass.
Eddie Elliott caught a 42-yard touchdown from McCartney in the second quarter that put West Chester on top, 14-7.
Sparked by a 54-yard kickoff return by
Brandon Monk to open the game, West Chester drove 44 yards on four plays with White plunging over the goal line from two yards out to put the Golden Rams on top, 7-0.
AIC answered with a 68-yard kickoff return by Evan Graham that gave the Yellow Jackets possession at West Chester's 11-yard line. Graham was eventually dragged out of bounds by Leo. But, Arduino bulled his way into the end zone from one yard out for his 21st rushing touchdown on the year for AIC's only score in the game.
Arduino was 17-for-28 for 167 yards for AIC while Stephan Davis caught five passes for 54 yards for the visitors. Maurice Easterling ran for 36 yards to lead the ground attack, which was limited to 51 yards rushing on the day.
"I thought all of (WCU's) wide receivers – and it is hard to differentiate – are at a very high level," Wilkins added. "You can only hold the water to the dike for so long."
"(WCU's) linebackers are big," Arduino commented afterwards. "Number 43 (Mike Labor) is a big kid, and 52 (Ronell Williams), obviously. They are also fast. They play a ton of man-to-man, but they are great at it. We don't see much of that in the Northeast-10. "
In other NCAA First Round action across the country, No. 9 Winston-Salem State defeated No. 20 Slippery Rock, 27-20, in a Super Region 1 matchup. The Rams advance to play top-seeded Shepherd University next Saturday in Shepherdstown, W.Va. That winner will get the winner of West Chester vs. Bloomsburg on Dec. 7 in the Super Region 1 final.
Carson-Newman defeated Newberry, 37-27; St. Cloud State defeated Henderson State, 40-35; West Texas A&M defeated Indianapolis, 27-14; North Alabama defeated Tuskegee, 30-27; Grand Valley State defeated Saginaw Valley State, 40-7; Minnesota-Duluth defeated Emporia State, 55-13.
NOTES: West Chester defeated American International College, 38-7, in the first round of the NCAA Division II Tournament, moving the Golden Rams' record to 6-9 overall in postseason play … the win was West Chester's 11th victory of the season, equaling the school record for wins in a single season set in 2004 … WCU is now 11-2 all-time against AIC … this was the first meeting between the two schools since 1991 and the first time they have met in the NCAA II Playoffs … Sr., RB Rondell White broke the school's all-time rushing record, which had stood for 23 years … White now has 4,062 yards rushing in his career … Derrick Price (1987-90) held the old record with 4,008 … White also tied the school's single-season record for touchdowns with 22 while also equaling the school's single-season record for points (132) … White becomes the first player in PSAC history to rush for over 4,000 yards, catch for more than 2,000 yards and return kickoffs for more than 1,000 yards in a career … his 7,243 career all-purpose yards is second in PSAC history behind Bloomsburg's Franklyn Quiteh … White now has 1,715 rushing yards on the season … White's 338 rushing attempts this season is the third-most in a year in PSAC history (Michael Mann (IUP) – 373 [1993]; Gerald Thompson (EU – 343 [1998]) … White is also tied for ninth in PSAC history with 53 touchdowns … Sr. WR Tim Keyser's 94-yard TD catch was the longest scoring play in a playoff game in school history … Jr., QB Sean McCartney threw for over 400 yards for the second time in his career … McCartney's 423 yards passing is the sixth-best single-game total in school history and the most in a playoff game … McCartney now has 5,188 career passing yards, which ranks seventh on WCU's all-time list … he becomes just the seventh player in school history to throw for more than 5,000 yards in a career … his 44 career TD passes ranks eighth all-time … McCartney has 2,906 passing yards this season, which is seventh on WCU's single-season list … next up on the list is his QB coach, Bill Zwaan, Jr., (2,973) … his 28 TD passes this season ranks tied for fifth on West Chester's single-season chart … Sr., PK Shawn Leo converted all five of his extra points, tying the school record with 179 career extra-points made … Bloomsburg's current PK, Dan Fisher, holds the all-time PSAC mark with 185 career extra-points made … Leo now has 326 career points, ranking him ninth all-time in PSAC history … Leo ranks third in WCU history in points scored … Jr., MLB Ronell Williams now has 287 career tackles, ranking eighth all-time at WCU … his 174 career assisted tackles ranks second all-time.
