West Chester Too Much For Edinboro, 62-28

WEST CHESTER, Pa. – Sr., RB Jarel Elder (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) amassed 167 total yards of offense and scored three touchdowns to lead host West Chester to a 62-28 victory over visiting Edinboro on a sun-splashed and humid afternoon at John A. Farrell Stadium Saturday.
 
West Chester (2-1) racked up 48 points in the first half on Edinboro (2-1), en route to the most points the Golden Rams have put on an opponent since a 62-7 win over Millersville in 2014.
 
R-So., QB Paul Dooley (Philadelphia, Pa./Springside-Chestnut Hill) went 12-for-19 for 164 yards and three TDs while Elder rushed for 85 yards and a pair of scores while also catching a screen pass from quarterback A.J. Long (Bethlehem, Pa./Friendship Christian [Tenn.]) and going 58 yards for another score.
 
The Golden Rams got off to a quick start by scoring a pair of touchdowns 34 seconds apart in the first quarter. Elder ran in from five yards out that capped a 14-play drive and ate up 7 minutes, 12 seconds. On the second play of Edinboro's ensuing drive, Jordan Burney (Philadelphia, Pa./Bishop Egan) force a fumble on a pass play, and Quintin Smith (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) jumped on the loose ball at the Fighting Scots' 29-yard line. The point-after attempt was blocked.
 
R-Fr., WR Rasheem James (Philadelphia, Pa./Ben Franklin) was wide open in the end zone, hooking up with Dooley on a 29-yard TD strike to give West Chester a 13-0 lead.
 
West Chester scored another pair of touchdowns before the quarter was out, and rung up a 27-0 lead in the process. Sr., LB Kevin Duggan (Chalfont, Pa./Central Bucks West) returned an interception 31 yards for a score, and Elder broke his 58-yard run on the screen with eight ticks left in the first.
 
Mike Class (Souderton, Pa./Pennridge) broke through and blocked a punt early in the second quarter, and teammate Justice Smith (King of Prussia, Pa./Upper Merion) scooped up the ball at the 12-yard line and waltzed into the end zone to make it a 34-0 game.
 
Edinboro finally got on the scoreboard when RB Walter Fletcher ran in from five yards out. His score was set up by an 88-yard kickoff return from Ta'Nauz Gregory following Smith's TD as West Chester's kick coverage continued to struggle.
 
However, Elder scampered 43 yards down the near sideline for a score, putting the hosts on top, 41-7.
 
The Scots' James Clark caught the first of his three TD passes from quarterback Jake Sisson to make it 41-14 with 8:11 to play in the half. But, Tyler Karpinski (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Twp.) hauled in a 36-yard pass from Dooley on a mis-direction play to make it 48-14 at the half.
 
The teams traded touchdowns in the second half with Clark catching two more scoring passes from Sisson, and Karpinski corralling a 13-yarder from Dooley, before Mark Dukes (Pottstown, Pa./Pottsgrove) closed out the scoring with a 44-yard run capped by a dive for the pylon with 8:37 to play in the game.
 
Defensively for West Chester, Burney recorded four tackles, but also registered three pass breakups, one tackle for a loss and one forced fumble. Tyler Morrissey (Springfield, Pa./Springfield-DELCO) led the Golden Rams with six tackles. He also recovered a fumble.
 
West Chester scored a touchdown on five of its first six drives in the first half, and 27 different players recorded a tackle.