WEST CHESTER, Pa.- Shane Mosley (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) intercepted a Jackson Ostrowski pass and raced 68 yards for the score late in the fourth quarter to halt a Lock Haven (3-6, 1-3) comeback bid and lift the West Chester University football team (4-5, 4-2) to a thrilling 27-16 Senior Day victory over the Bald Eagles in Farrell Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Searching for its first win over West Chester in 12 years and first win in John A. Farrell Stadium since October 1991, Lock Haven battled throughout the day on Saturday, held a lead going into the second quarter, and appeared to be putting together a potentially game-winning drive with under two minutes to play until Mosley stepped in and turned an Ostrowski pass into six crucial points for the Golden Rams late in the fourth quarter to lift the hosts to their fourth win in the last five games.
Mosley's pick-six was the Golden Rams first interception returned for a touchdown since Stanley Bryant took an interception 29 yards for a score in a win against Lock Haven in October 2022 (10/29/22).
Cooper Jordan (Downingtown, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) was 12-of-21 through the air for 161 yards and rushed for another 104 on the group on 18 carries, including a 23-yard scamper late in the first half, which helped West Chester carry a 17-10 lead into the halftime break. In contrast to last week, when Jordan accounted for five of the six Golden Ram scores, the junior did not score a touchdown on Saturday afternoon as
Juke Peaker (Philadelphia, Pa./Northeast) was the lone Golden Ram to find the endzone, doing so twice in the second quarter of the 11-point victory.
D'Shaun Seals (Philadephia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) caught a team-high six passes for 92 yards, and fellow seniors
Raheim Bowens (Lansdowne, Pa./Penn Wood) and
Brody McAndrew (Penndel, Pa./Neshaminy) caught two each for 27 and six yards, respectively. With his six receptions today, Seals set a new career-high for catches, increasing his season total to 50, one higher than his previous high of 49 from a year ago.
Defensively, Mosley will be the story for the Golden Rams, thanks to his game-saving pick-six. Still, Connor
Noble (Chester Springs, Pa./Downingtown East) and
Johnny Pergine (Norristown, Pa./Archbishop Wood) also turned in excellent days, registering 16 and 11 tackles, respectively. Noble went over 100 tackles on the season on Saturday afternoon, marking the second season in which he has accomplished this feat.
West Chester opened the scoring with a long drive to start the game. Methodically marching its way down the field on an 11-play, 52-yard drive,
Sean Henry (Reading, Pa./Exeter) made a 34-yard field goal to give West Chester the early 3-0 lead.
This lead was short-lived as Lock Haven raced down the field, needing just over three minutes and eight plays to march 75 yards for a score, as Damir Green punched it in from three yards out to put the visitors in front.
Leading 7-3, Lock Haven maintained this lead into the second quarter and stretched it to 10-3 early in the frame when Tony NiCassio hit a 31-yard field goal of his own to make it a seven-point game with just under 12 minutes to play until halftime.
West Chester countered quickly, responding to this score with an eight-play, 86-yard drive, which included three completions by Jordan, a 12-yard rush by Jordan, and a catch of his own on a double pass from McAndrew. Peaker finished the nearly five-minute drive for West Chester with a touchdown as he surged in from a yard out, which, following a made extra point by Henry, evened the score at 10-10.
After the Golden Eam and Bald Eagle defenses dueled three-and-outs, Tony NiCassio unleashed an excellent punt, which, after strong work by his coverage team, was downed at the one-yard line.
Starting at the one with just under three minutes to play, West Chester put together its longest drive of the season as the Golden Rams went 99 yards on 10 plays in just under three minutes, including a pair of runs by Jordan to start the drive, which saw the junior quarterback scramble for nearly 30 yards on his own. With the ball quickly at the 30-yard line, Jordan swung a pass out to Bowens, who picked up eight yards after the catch to put the ball on the 43-yard line with just under two minutes to play in the first half. Jordan ripped off another 23-yard gainer out of the two-minute timeout, and five plays later, handed the ball to Peaker for his second score of the day, this time getting around the edge to score from seven yards out with 33 seconds to play until halftime.
This 99-yard scoring drive was the final lengthy scoring drive of the day for the Golden Ram offense as after a scoreless third quarter, which included West Chester blocking a field goal, Lock Haven scored the lone offensive touchdown of the second half as Chris Hicks made a spectacular leaping catch on a throw to the corner from Ostrowski to make the score 17-16 with 6:18 to play. The bald Eagles thought that score might have been enough to tie the game, but the extra-point attempt sailed wide left to keep it a one-score game.
The Golden Rams' blocked field goal was the Golden Rams' first blocked field-goal attempt since Sterlen Barr blocked a Slippery Rock attempt in September 2022 (9/10/22).
West Chester's ensuing drive was stopped by the Lock Haven defense, giving the visitors the ball back with 5:08 to play, trailing by just one.
Lock Haven began moving the ball well again, crossing midfield and getting down to the West Chester 39 with just over two minutes to play. On third-and-nine, Ostrowski looked across the middle to try for a first down to keep the drive alive but instead found the waiting arms of Mosley, who picked up his second interception of the year at the perfect time and returned It 68 yards for a touchdown, giving West Chester a 24-16 lead late.
Now desperate for a score, Lock Haven turned the ball over on downs on the next possession, and West Chester got the ball back at the Lock Haven 15 with 1:14 to play. Lock Haven had all three timeouts remaining, and the Bald Eagles allowed West Chester to waste only 17 seconds. Still, the Golden Rams did not lose any yardage, leaving themselves in a good position for another Henry field goal from 31 yards out to ice a 27-16 victory over an upset-minded Lock Haven squad.
Up Next:
West Chester will be back in action next Saturday afternoon at Kutztown beginning at noon.
