West Chester’s Balanced Attack Downs Shippensburg; Golden Rams Advance

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – West Chester kept its championship hopes alive this afternoon with an impressive 27-6 victory in the opening round of the NCAA DII Playoffs against Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division rival Shippensburg University. The Golden Rams (9-3) were clicking on all cylinders, despite the constant rain that fell inside Seth Grove Stadium. The victory marked West Chester's first nine-win season as well as its first NCAA Division II Tournament win since 2014. "They played lights out," said head coach Bill Zwaan. "Offensively, we did what we had to do. Kept the ball. Got a couple of big touchdowns early and got great play out of our quarterbacks. The offensive line played great. Defensively, just all over the place and did a great job." The Golden Rams dropped 300 yards of total offense and 21 unanswered points in the first half against host Shippensburg (10-2). West Chester entered today's game eighth in the PSAC with 421 yards of offense per contest. They were nearly spot on with that average as they finished the game with 427 yards. The balanced attack managed 220 rushing yards to go along with 207 through the air. West Chester's opening drive gave the Golden Rams an early 7-0 advantage. Junior tailback Mike Class (Souderton, Pa./Pennridge) ripped of a 27-yard rush down to the Shippensburg five-yard line. Two plays later, Paul Dooley (Philadelphia, Pa./Springside Chestnut Hill) called his own number from four yards out for the first score of the day. Dooley's rush capped off a 11 play, 67-yard drive to strike first. The third drive of the contest for the Golden Rams had A.J. Long (Bethlehem, Pa./Friendship Christian (Tenn.)) in the game at quarterback. Long provided a 32-yard dash, which setup the play-action pass. Long connected with Rasheem James (Philadelphia, Pa./Ben Franklin) from 37-yards out to give West Chester a 14-0 lead. West Chester kept that momentum going with Dooley finding senior Marcus Sydnor (Havertown, Pa. / Haverford) to push the lead to three scores in the second quarter. The 36-yard touchdown was Sydnor's only reception of the game as the Golden Rams went into the half with a 21-0 advantage. In the fourth quarter, Long threw his second touchdown of the day to increase the lead. This time he found senior Jarel Elder (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) for a 29-yard touchdown. West Chester utilized both Dooley and Long at quarterback. Dooley finished the game 10-19 for 121 yards with a touchdown on the ground and in the air. Long went 3-4 for 86 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He chipped in seven rushes for 70 yards as well. Meanwhile, Elder finished the contest with 29 carries for 110 yards in addition to a pair of receptions for 38 yards and that touchdown. He currently currently sits seventh all-time on the school's rushing list with 3,297 rushing yards and and fifth all-time on the school's all-purpose yards' list with 5,723 yards. QB, Ryan Zapoticky put the Raiders on the board after the Elder touchdown with 8:16 remaining in the fourth quarter. A 21-yard burst by Zapoticky made it a 27-6 ballgame. However, that would do it as West Chester's stout defense closed the door the rest of the way. Defensively, West Chester held Shippensburg's highflying offense in check with five sacks in the game. The Raiders came into the game averaging 38.4 points per game to go along with an average of 466 yards. They came away with 300 yards of total offense, but more importantly just six points on the scoreboard. Zapoticky was 16-42 for the Raiders with 162 yards. He was Shippensburg's leading rusher one the day as well with 102 yards on 18 carries. The six points allowed was the fewest surrendered in a playoff game since a 28-7 victory at Shepherd in 2013. LB, Tyler Morrissey (Springfield, Pa./Springfield-DELCO) played a key role in shutting down the Shippensburg offense. He provided a team-best 10 tackles as well as a one of the five sacks for the Golden Rams. Morrissey is now at 122 tackles this season. "Zapoticky is a great player," said Morrissey. "Their team has a very good offense. They run the spread and do a bunch of motions." When asked about the weather, Morrissey did say it played a role. "We were able to take advance of the rain. We knew if we were able to make them one sided that the game would play in our favor. That's exactly what happened. We capitalized on the run. Made them one dimensional and the game fell right into our hands." Both George Shipp (Harleysville, Pa./North Penn) and Diquan Gilbert (Philadelphia, Pa. / Comm Tech) made their presence felt on the defensive line. Each provided six tackles and a sack to bottle up the Shippensburg offense. Special teams played a role with the sloppy field conditions. Punter Brendan Paulison (Milford, Pa./Delaware Valley) was phenomenal for the Golden Rams, pinning Shippensburg inside the five twice to begin the second half. His first punt was downed at the one, while his second was stopped at the two. "He had been great all year and came up big when we needed him, especially in this weather," said Zwaan. Shippensburg's pair of losses this season were at the hands of the Golden Rams. West Chester now travels to Indiana University of Pa. on Saturday, Nov. 25 for a second-round matchup against the top-seeded IUP Crimson Hawks (11-0), who earned the top seed in the region and the subsequent bye into the second round. Historical Facts This marks the 12th overall appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament and first since 2014. The last first-round victory for the Golden Rams happened in 2014 with a 46-20 win over Slippery Rock at home. The Golden Rams are 10-11 in their playoff appearances. West Chester's 12 postseasons are the 11th-most among current NCAA Division II participants. This was just the second postseason meeting between West Chester and Shippensburg. The Golden Rams defeated the Red Raiders back in 2004 on the team's journey to the national semifinals under current head coach Bill Zwaan. The six points allowed was the fewest surrendered in a playoff game since a 28-7 victory at Shepherd in 2013.