West Chester Handles Lock Haven On The Road, 35-14

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – R-So., QB A.J. Long (Bethlehem, Pa./Friendship Christian [Tenn.]) rushed for 181 yards and two touchdowns while throwing for 198 yards and two more scores, and Sr., DB Shaquille James (Philadelphia, Pa./West Catholic) returned a blocked field goal attempt 64 yards for a score as visiting West Chester defeated host Lock Haven, 35-14, inside Hubert Jack Stadium Saturday afternoon.
 
West Chester (3-1, 1-0 PSAC East) opened up conference play with the convincing win while Lock Haven (0-4, 0-1) is still in search of its first victory on the season.
 
Long, making his first start of the season, carried the ball 15 times for 181 yards on the day. He scored on a 2-yard run in the first quarter and a 25-yard scamper in the third. He also finished 12-for-26 for 198 yards and two TDs through the air. He did throw a pair of interceptions.
 
West Chester punted on its first possession of the game, and Lock Haven took the ball on its 25-yard line following a touchback and marched to the Golden Rams' 31-yard line. Faced with a 4th-and-15, the Bald Eagles attempted a 48-yard field goal. However, Nydair Rouse (Philadelphia, Pa./Simon Gratz) blocked the kick, and James scooped up the ball at the Rams' 36 and took it to the house to give the visitors a 7-0 lead.
 
Lock Haven punted on its next possession, and West Chester went 74 yards in seven plays to take a 14-0 advantage. Long completed a 38-yard pass to R-Fr., WR Rasheem James (Philadelphia, Pa./Ben Franklin) and two plays later ran 23 yards himself down to the 2-yard line. There, he ran over for the score with 2:36 to play in the first.
 
R-Fr., TE Dan Neuhaus (Downingtown, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) caught a 44-yard touchdown pass from Long late in the fourth quarter. It was the first of two TD receptions for the young tight end and put WCU in front, 21-0.
 
Lock Haven finally got on the board with a touchdown with 4:16 left in the half. However, Long ran in from 25 yards out late in the third quarter and then threw a 6-yard scoring strike to Neuhaus with five minutes left in the third.
 
Lock Haven added a late TD in the fourth quarter, but it was a little too late for the hosts on Homecoming.
 
Defensively, Tyler Morrissey (Springfield, Pa./Springfield-DELCO) had a monster day with 16 tackles, including two for a loss. He was the only Golden Rams defensive player with more than five stops on the afternoon.
 
Shane Griffin (Jenkintown, Pa./Abington), Geoff Philippe (Philadelphia, Pa./Frankford) and Diquan Gilbert (Philadelphia, Pa./Comm Tech) all recorded a sack.