Due to an injured shoulder suffered two weeks ago against Clarion, Osagie Osunde was reduced to the role of being a decoy against Shippensburg last Saturday night. Osunde endured a personal hell carrying the ball just 17 times for 18 yards and taking punishing hit after punishing hit throughout the course of the evening. Through it all, he managed to score a touchdown in the game against the Raiders earning praise from his coach for giving it a “game effort” in the process. What a difference a week makes.
It was quite obvious early on in the game against Cheyney on Saturday afternoon that Osunde would not only be a factor in this game, but his performance would be the definitive focal point in a statement game for the Golden Rams. Coming off of an average offensive performance a week ago, West Chester not only wanted to put on a show for returning alumni for homecoming, but also strike fear in the hearts of the Bloomsburg Huskies who loom large on the schedule a week ago. Bloomsburg defenders must be shaking.
On its first possession of the game, the Golden Rams engineered an 80 yard scoring drive, most of which can be attributed to the strong running of Osunde. On that drive he touched the ball twice, once for 15 yards and the second for an emphatic 11 yard touchdown run through the heart of Cheyney’s defense. Two drives later, Osunde would carry the ball four times for a total of 39 yards and once again reach pay dirt for his second score of the game. The Golden Rams led 13-0 and the rout was on.
Osunde cannot take all of the credit for his record breaking performance in this game, “they did a great job, that’s what they do. All the accolades usually go to me, but they should go to them,” said Osunde, they of course being the members of the offensive line who did a masterful job of opening holes for Osunde all afternoon. On his third rushing touchdown of the game Osunde sprinted off right tackle headed for the endzone with one Cheyney linebacker to beat along the sidelines. Out of nowhere Matt McNally lowered his shoulder and cleared the way for not only the running back’s third touchdown, but the exclamation point on a game that was, for the most part, decided by halftime.
When the bell finally tolled on the Cheyney Wolves, Osunde amassed a total of 205 yards and four touchdowns on 18 carries. Think about that for just a second. In just over a half of action, Osunde notched career highs in yards and touchdowns scored in a single game. “He had a great game” said Zwaan “We decided to get him his career high, and then he was getting close to 200 [yards] and we said, ok we’ll get him his 200 and that was it” he continued. It is worth noting that the last time Osunde set a career high in rushing, he would suffer a season ending injury in a game against IUP last season. This week however, simply showcased the abilities of one of the top halfbacks in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.
With uncertainty surrounding the health of fellow back Brent Steinmetz going into next week’s showdown against the Huskies, this game proved to all in attendance that the Rams can indeed run the football, and that once and for all, Osunde is ‘back’ following an injury riddled 2005 campaign.
Matt Lombardo hosts a weekly sports talk radio show on 91.7 WCUR and is simulcast on www.wcur.fm on Saturday’s from 12:00-2:00 PM.