West Chester Hangs On For 31-26 Homecoming Win Over ESU

WEST CHESTER, Pa. - Jarel Elder (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown and finished with 255 all-purpose yards at host West Chester (7-2, 5-1 PSAC East) defeated visiting East Stroudsburg on Homecoming Weekend in a conference football game inside Farrell Stadium Saturday.

West Chester (7-2, 5-1 PSAC East) remains in a tie for first place in the Eastern Division of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference as a result of the win. Bloomsburg, which was also part of a four-way log-jam at the top of the standings, was upset by Lock Haven Saturday. Shippensburg's victory over Kutztown leaves the Red Raiders and the Golden Rams atop the division with just one loss in conference play by each school.

East Stroudsburg (2-7, 1-5) scored 20 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to stage a valiant comeback. However, David Simmons (Easton, Pa./Easton) sacked ESU quarterback Ben Moser at the WCU 40-yard line on the final play of the game to seal the victory. Trailing, 28-6 at the half, ESU outscored West Chester, 20-3, in the second half to make a game of it.

The Warriors amassed 192 yards of total offense in the fourth quarter – as compared to 219 yards combined in the first three.

Elder's banner day put him over 5,000 all-purpose yards in his career, becoming just the seventh player in school history to hit that plateau. He caught a pair of passes for 82 yards and had 53 return yards to go along with his 131 rushing yards.

WCU quarterback, Paul Dooley (Philadelphia, Pa./Springside-Chestnut Hill), rushed for a career-high 106 yards and scored two touchdowns. Dooley and Elder became the first tandem to each rush for over 100 yards in a game since Brandon Monk and Eddie Elliott in an NCAA Tournament game at Concord in 2014. Dooley also was 14-for-24 for 166 yards and one touchdown through the air.

West Chester rolled out to a 15-0 lead in the opening quarter. Elder busted off a 22-yard scoring run down the far sideline, and Jordan Banks (Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Twp.), playing in his first game since the Week 2, caught a 5-yard pass. WCU tacked on a two-point conversion on Elder's run when ESU was whistled for a penalty on the extra-point attempt.

Dooley ran in from 23 yards out and two yards out in the second quarter while ESU place-kicker, Jordan Walters booted a 50-yard field goal and a 20-yard field goal that made it 28-6 at the break.

Andrew Chegia (Kennett Square, Pa./Unionville) kicked a 34-yard field goal for the only scoring in the third quarter. That gave West Chester a seemingly insurmountable 31-6 advantage with just 15 minutes left to play.

Moser was 3-for-11 for 30 yards at halftime, but went on an 11-for-15 spurt in the second half to get the comeback jump started for the visitors. He was 13-for-22 for 210 yards and three TDs in the second half.

Defensively for West Chester, LB Tyler Morrissey (Springfield, Pa./Springfield-DELCO) led the way with 13 tackles – 10 in the first half. He now has 101 tackles in his career for the Golden Rams. Fellow LB Kevin Duggan (Chalfont, Pa./Central Bucks West) picked up four tackles on the afternoon. He is the team's active leader in career tackles with 138.

Punter Brendan Paulison (Milford, Pa./Delaware Valley) averaged 44 yards on five punts, including a 41-yarder downed at the 2-yard line with 40 seconds left in the game that pinned the Warriors up against its own goal line with no timeouts left.

West Chester travels to Millersville next Saturday afternoon. A win over the Marauders will give the Golden Rams at least a share of the PSAC East title and send them to the State Game on Nov. 11 as the Eastern Division representative. Kickoff next Saturday at Biemesderfer Stadium is 1 p.m.