WEST CHESTER, Pa.,- West Chester dropped to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in PSAC league action in the "Battle of the Rams" on Saturday afternoon at John A. Farrell Stadium. The Shepherd Rams, now 8-0 and ranked third in Division II, pulled away from the Golden Rams in the second half to stay undefeated and atop the PSAC Eastern Division standings.
West Chester scored the first points of the game when
Cooper Jordan (Downingtown, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) capped off a six-play, 55-yard drive with a touchdown pass to
D'Shaun Seals (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) with a 15-yard touchdown pass, giving West Chester a 7-0 lead and the only points of the first quarter. Shepherd countered quickly to open the second quarter and scored twice more before the break as the halftime score stood at 20-7. West Chester's defense played well against the top offensive unit in the nation and limited Shepherd to 46 net rushing yards and 189 yards of total offense. But the Golden Rams failed to take advantage of excellent field position opportunities and came away with just 7 points and 119 yards of offense in the first half.
"It could have been a different game if we capitalized on our chances better in the first half," said West Chester defensive coordinator
Mike Furlong. "Could have been a tighter game as we were down just 14-7 until the end of the first half. Then they scored near the end of the half and their confidence went up. They (Shepherd) are a very good team that really wants to go somewhere."
Reigning Harlon Hill award winner Tyson Bagent led the offense for Shepherd as he piloted six TD drives of 65 yards of more. He finished the game with impressive statistics (29 of 34 passing for 296 yards and 3 TD's) and got help from junior running back Ronnie Brown (16 carries for 98 yards and 1 TD).
Furlong was complimentary of the reigning Harlon Hill award winner while also acknowledging the work ahead for the Golden Ram defense saying, :He's special. He's a really good player. Defensively, we are still figuring out our identity and working to improve week by week."
Freshman quarterback
Cooper Jordan (Downingtown, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) led the Golden Rams offense with 73 yards rushing and 84 yards passing, with one touchdown through the air.
D'Shaun Seals (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) had 6 catches for West Chester for 91 yards, with one TD. He had a long catch and run play from Jordan that went for 42 yards in the first half.
"We're good and we're getting better," said Seals after the game. "We're still young and improving. I wasn't even playing much offense last year. They are a very tough team but we competed with them."
In the third quarter, the Golden Rams closed the gap to 27-14 on a 7-yard touchdown pass rom freshman
Ethan Kohler (Schwenksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) to wide receiver
Mari Wright (Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township), which capped off a seven-play, 25-yard drive for the Golden Rams
. Following this score, Shepherd got its running game rolling and scored the next 20 points to pull away at 47-14 with 7:53 left in the game. West Chester's defense was kept on the field by Shepherd's long drives and impressive running back plays.
"We got worn down in the second half," commented WCU head coach
Bill Zwaan. "We were in the game in the first half but that drive to make it 20-7 hurt us and gave them positive momentum."
Shepherd compiled 514 yards of total offense in the game compared to 211 for the Golden Rams. West Chester had just 106 yards through the air with 10 completions in 22 attempts.
For West Chester on defense,
Sterlen Barr (Hatboro, Pa./Upper Moreland) had 14 total tackles and
Jackson Taylor (Glenside, Pa./Abington) had another good game with 13 total tackles and a sack.
Khalib Slaughter (Flemington, NJ/Hunterdon Central) had 6 unassisted tackles and defensive back
Zach DeMarchis (Levittown, Pa./Pennsbury) had 7 total tackles.
Up Next:
Next up for the Golden Rams is a home game vs. Lock Haven next Saturday, with a 12 noon kick-off at John A. Farrell Stadium.
