The West Chester University Golden Rams captured their first ever NCAA Division II playoff win in school history Saturday afternoon, beating the Pioneers of Long Iland University C.W. Post (NY) 35-3. It was also the Rams’ first postseason win since 1971, when they beat Edinboro 35- 14 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship. On the Ram’s second drive of the game, senior quarterback Bob Findora connected with junior wide receiver Brandon Simmons on a 67-yard touchdown pass giving the Rams a 7-0 advantage. The Pioneers’ next drive was cut short when junior quarterback Rob Blount’s fumble was recovered by West Chester defensive back Isaiah Harrison. Harrison finished the game with three tackles, one for a loss of two yards. The second quarter saw another score from the Findora- Simmons connection, this one a 17-yard pass with 3:22 left. “If I put the ball up for [Simmon’s] he’s going to make a play against anyone in Division II football. It seems like we have such a good chemistry going,” said Findora. Findora was 9 for 16 with 234 yards. He had two touchdown passes and one rushing touchdown. He also recorded his 23rd 200-yard game of his career.
Simmons finished with four catches with 131 yards and two touchdowns. He now has the fourth highest single-season yardage total in school history with 1,124 yards.
The Pioneers’ lone score came on a 27-yard field goal from freshman place kicker Joe Finger with 7:27 left in the third quarter. Pioneer quarterback Rob Blount was 12 for 26 with 173 yards. “We got down in the red zone and shot ourselves in the foot. If we completed a couple of those balls in the end zone, we’d be talking about a different thing right now,” he said.
The Pioneers came into the game averaging 357.5 total offensive yards. They finished the game with 301 and no touchdowns. “I though that we moved the ball well in the first half but didn’t capitalize in the red zone,” said Pioneer head coach Bryan Collins. Collins is now 55-12 in six seasons at C.W. Post. C.W. Post’s last playoff appearance came in 2002, when the Pioneers lost to eventual Division II National Champion Grand Valley State 62-13.
Runnimg back Osagie Osunde scored the final touchdown of the game with 6:35 left in the fourth on a four-yard run. Osunde had 70 yards on 23 carries with 93 return yards. Red-shirt freshman linebacker Lateef Ferguson led the Rams defensively with nine tackles. “We just had to do it to Post this week and we did it,” said Ferguson. This was West Chester’s first playoff game since 1994, when the Rams lost to Ferris State 43-40. It is also the Ram’s first win in three meetings with Post.
“I thought we could get ourselves in the playoffs last year. I don’t think it’s any accomplishment. It was our goal,” said head coach Bill Zwaan. “It’s a good first step in what’s going to be a lot of steps,” he said.
The Rams travel to Shippensburg Saturday for a rematch with the Red Raiders in the Northeast Regional semi-final. The Rams lost to the Raiders Nov. 6 with a score of 24-21 in overtime. Kickoff Saturday is at noon.