West Chester University Football (7-3, 6-1 PSAC) extended their win streak to five games after a 52-0 trouncing of the Millersville Marauders (2-8, 1-6 PSAC) inside of John A. Farrell Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
WCU played four different quarterbacks in the contest, including Pat Moriarty, who started the contest, Shannon Mayer, Alec Warner and Andrew Derr, who has been pegged as the starter going into the season but had been relegated to the sidelines for the last several contests due to injury.
Statistically Derr had the strongest game out of the quintet, throwing for 276 yards and two touchdowns on 12-22. None of the other three participating quarterbacks threw a touchdown pass, but they all at least tossed for 30 yards. Tyler Karpinski snagged down two receptions for 98 yards and a touchdown, and the inflation in his metrics came via a 61-yard bomb. Jordan Banks also had a touchdown catch to pair with his three receptions and 76 yards.
Shannon Mayer (four receptions, 60 yards) and Lex Rosario (three receptions, 45 yards) also got into the receiving mix, with opportunities coming plentiful against a struggling Millersville defense.
The quarterbacks’ total combined yardage (405) eclipsed the 267 total yards Millersville put up in the loss. The Golden Rams’ ground game was vigorous as well, with Jarel Elder scampering 11 times for 89 yards and three touchdowns. Paul Dooley (34 yards), Mark Dukes (21 yards) and Mike Class (19 yards) also made contributions, helping WCU to accrue 172 total yards on the ground.
WCU had their way with the Marauders, amassing 577 yards of total offense, including two separate touchdown drives of 95 yards or longer. The Golden Rams averaged a staggering 8.6 yards per play, notching nearly a first down on each sequence.
The Golden Rams’ offense put up huge numbers, but they were also given a big boost defensively.
West Chester intercepted four Millersville passes from the three quarterbacks they used, and stymied their offense by putting an immense amount of pressure on the QBs, forcing them into multiple gaffes.
Tony Staffieri and Nlake Cahill each threw an interception and J.J. Paige threw a pair of picks. Ted Patton, Kevin Malone, Blaise Schieler and Nydair Rouse each got an invite to the pick party, with Rouse returning his interception 79 yards for a touchdown. That return marked his third pick-six of the season, and it sent WCU into intermission with a 24-0 lead.
With the win, West Chester finished second in the PSAC East, trailing only Kutztown University who went a perfect 7-0 in league play. West Chester has now won 14 straight against Millersville, and head coach Bill Zwaan is 14-0 against the Marauders. This was the Golden Rams’ first shutout of Millersville since 1970.
West Chester will conclude the 2016 campaign with a trip to Clarion University on Saturday, Nov. 12, squaring off against the 3-4 Golden Eagles inside of Memorial Stadium at 12 p.m.
WCU’s lopsided victory came on Senior Day, where senior members of the band, cheerleading squad and football team were honored for their tenures at West Chester. We want to extend our appreciations to senior footballers Matt Sharp, Doug Gilbert, Ralph Reeves, Pete Galiano, Ryan Boyd, Kyle Keyser, Jim Hurley, Kevin Malone, Shannon Mayer, Ted Patton and Blaise Schieler for their contributions to West Chester football, and we wish them the best in their future endeavors.
Will “B.J.” Boyer is a third-year student majoring in communication studies with a minor in journalism. He can be reached at WB806695@wcupa.edu.