No. 12/19 West Chester Escapes With 28-21 Win Over Shippensburg

WEST CHESTER, Pa. – R-Jr., QB A.J. Long (Bethlehem, Pa./Friendship Christian [Tenn.]) threw for 356 yards and three touchdowns while Jr., WR Lex Rosario (Matamoras, Pa./Delaware Valley) caught 13 passes for 193 yards and a score to lead No. 12/19 West Chester to a 28-21 victory over visiting Shippensburg before 5,883 fans at John A. Farrell Stadium Saturday afternoon.
 
West Chester (5-0, 2-0 PSAC East) remains unbeaten on the season, but not before FS Jarey Elder (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) intercepted a pass at midfield with 1:53 to play that squashed Shippensburg's (2-3, 0-2) final comeback bid.
 
The Golden Rams racked up 473 yards of total offense. However, 13 penalties for 118 yards hampered their efforts all day – taking a pair of touchdowns off the board and another interception by Elder, who finished with two in the game.
 
Long was 27-for-36 for 356 yards. He threw TD passes to Rosario, Dan Neuhaus (Downingtown, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) and Rasheem James (Philadelphia, Pa./Ben Franklin). Neuhaus' TD catch was his first reception of the year as he returned from an injury that caused him to miss the first four games of the season. Rosario's 13 catches is the fourth-best single-game effort in school history and the most since Kevin Ingram caught 14 passes in a game in 1999. His 193 yards put him in the Top 10 single-game totals in school history as well.
 
Neuhaus' 17-yard TD on the first play of the second quarter broke a scoreless tie. Shippensburg answered back on its next possession when Kyle Haines caught a 22-yard strike from QB Brycen Mussina almost three minutes later.
 
Mark Dukes (Pottstown, Pa./Pottsgrove) busted in from six yards out with just over eight minutes remaining before halftime to give the hosts a 14-7 lead at the break.
 
James' finished off a 7-play, 60-yard drive to open the second half with a 26-yard touchdown pitch-and-catch from Long to give West Chester some breathing room. However, Shippensburg dove over for a 1-yard score midway through the third to pull the guests within a touchdown.
 
That is the way the game stayed until almost 15 minutes later on the game clock when Long found a wide open Rosario streaking down the middle of the field. The two hooked up on a 47-yard touchdown to push the home team's advantage back to 14.
 
Shippensburg backup QB, Chase Yocum ran in from two yards out with 3:30 to play to get the deficit back to one score. The Red Raiders forced a 3-and-out by West Chester and got the ball back with 3:03 on the clock. That is when Mussina threw an interception on 3rd-and-3 with 1:53 to play that ended any hopes of a comeback.
 
Long led all rushers with 87 yards on 16 carries. He had a 70-yard TD run called back on a hold. James finished with 55 yards receiving on five catches. Rosario's big day overshadowed Shippensburg's Josh Gontarek, who caught 10 balls from Mussina for 151 yards.
 
Sr., All-America LB Tyler Morrissey (Springfield, Pa./Springfield-DELCO) led West Chester with 10 tackles, including one sack and QB hurry. The Golden Rams sacked Mussina twice, but were also credited with 10 QB hurries on the day, which was a big reason the Red Raiders' QB threw four interceptions in the game. Fellow LB Nate Barnes (Carlisle, Pa./Carlisle) registered nine tackles, intercepted a pass and was credited with a QB hurry.
 
West Chester travels to Bloomsburg next Saturday for a 2:05 p.m. kickoff at Redman Stadium for a game that will also be televised live by SportsFever TV.