The West Chester University football team earned two more victories to extend their win streak to four games, putting them in a tie with Bloomsburg University for the top spot in the PSAC East.
The Golden Rams traveled to Lock Haven University on October 3rd and sealed a 33-9 victory over the Bald Eagles. Sophomore quarterback Pat Moriarty improved on his young and impressive career, going 19 for 38 for 185 yards and three touchdowns. After stumbling out of the gates early in the season, Moriarty has gotten his feet under him and hit the ground running.
Brandon Monk started the party for the Golden Rams at Hubert Jack Stadium after Lock Haven struck first on their opening drive. Monk received the returning kick off, taking it 96 yards to tie the game at seven just over three minutes in.
Besides the explosive blow from Monk and a Brendan Paulison field goal, the Rams struggled to piece together good drives throughout the first 30 minutes. Out of their nine first half drives, West Chester punted five times and turned the ball over on downs twice.
Things changed quickly in the second half. The Golden Rams recovered a Lock Haven fumble on the third play from scrimmage in the second half, and never looked back.
Senior wide out Adam Dempsey caught Moriarty’s first touchdown pass of the game from 18 yards out. Dempsey is tied for third on the team with 16 receptions, but the dime from Moriarty did give Dempsey his first touchdown of the year.
West Chester didn’t stop there, continuing to rattle off 17 more unanswered points. Paulison added another field goal to give the Rams a 19-9 lead entering the fourth, and Moriarty added his final two-touchdown passes to receivers Shannon Mayer and tight end Tim Brown.
Nydair Rouse dominated on the defensive side of the ball for West Chester. Rouse totaled 7 tackles (6 solo, 1 assisted), broke up two passes, and picked off one of Lock Haven quarterback Caleb Walton three interceptions. Defensive backs Drew Formica and Pete Galliano were the other two Golden Rams with interceptions.
The West Chester defense put on a terrific performance as a whole. Walton finished the game with only 132 passing yards and was sacked three times. One of the three sacks came from Golden Ram standout defensive lineman Andrew Cohen, his seventh of the year. Zack Hockman and John Dubyk also added sacks for the WCU defensive unit.
The victory over Lock Haven came with ease once the offensive began to roll in the second half. The Golden Rams next challenge would come against a Kutztown team quite similar to Lock Haven. This time, the Golden Rams decided not to waste as much time starting the fun, scoring 27 in the first half and sealing a 44-14 victory.
Moriarty, who threw for a career high 437 yards on Saturday, turned up the heat early with a 60-yard touchdown pass to wide out Jim Hurley on a deflected screen pass. Moriarty went 30 for 40 in the air while also eclipsing his career high in touchdowns thrown in a single game with five.
Monk carried the largest workload this week in the constantly changing Golden Rams ground attack. Monk carried the ball 13 times for 70 yards and a touchdown on the day, followed by Eerin Young’s five carries for 60 yards.
On the outside, Tim Brown led all receivers with eight catches for 99 yards. Sophomore wide out Tyler Karpinski had an impressive day, scoring two touchdowns on four catches for 72 yards. Shannon Mayer and Bill Ford also added touchdowns for West Chester, who had nine separate receivers catch passes.
Defensively, the Golden Rams only allowed one offensive touchdown on the day. Ralph Reeves led West Chester with nine tackles (6 solo, 3 assisted), also adding a split sack with the help of defensive lineman John Ganzelli.
Cohen flexed his muscles and showed his dominance, finishing with five tackles, one sack and two and a half tackles for a loss. West Chester has continuously been able to dominate the battle in the trenches this season, largely in part to the preseason All-American’s consistent performances every week.
The Golden Rams will travel to Shippensburg University on Saturday for another PSAC match up. The following week, Bloomsburg University comes to town on homecoming weekend for the highly anticipated match up between two division II football powerhouses.
AJ Arcaini is a fourth-year student majoring in communication studies with a minor in journalism. He can be reached at AA788494@wcupa.edu