Coming into week five, West Chester knew they had a great opportunity to put their name back on the Division II map if they could pull off an upset at #6 California. Few, including me, thought they could do it. Adamson Stadium hasn't been too kind to the Golden Rams in recent years and (oh, by the way) those Vulcans are pretty darned good too. No one in SR1 had a resume like Cal's. After comebacks against Kutztown and IUP, Cal had every reason to stay composed and believe they could pull out the victory, even when they trailed by 10 points with less than five minutes to play.

This week, however, the comeback didn't happen. The Vulcans never led in the game and they trailed by 14 points three different times. After bursting out to an early 14-0 lead, The Golden Rams were able to keep the Vulcans at arm's length for most of the afternoon. Both of Cal's first half touchdowns were immediately answered by the Golden Rams and it took the Vulcans until late in the third quarter to finally draw even. Despite giving up their lead, West Chester stuck with the running game that had been very productive all day and ground out 10 more points in the fourth quarter and held on for a 37-34 victory.

This was a win that West Chester really needed. It was probably their biggest victory since defeating highly ranked and unbeaten Bloomsburg on the road in 2008 to win the Eastern division. The Rams may have made a statement to the competition that they are "back" but more importantly, they made a statement to themselves and their supporters. This is no longer a losing football team. One losing season hurt this proud program. Two stunned it. But there will not be a third. This team looks much more like the teams that won three PSAC Eastern division titles over a five year stretch. The passing game has been very efficient and the running of Rondell White has been a huge lift. Last week I wrote that West Chester and Cal had a tendency to give up the running game. I believe I was proven wrong...Rondell White carried 36 (yes, thirty six) times for for an even 200 yards against Cal. The defense is also improved, and they are creating turnovers and turning them into points.

As great as the victory is for West Chester, we do have to keep things in perspective. The reality is that neither team is any closer to or further from achieving its goals. Cal can still win the West and have a chance at the PSAC title. This loss does not hurt that effort. Conversely, the win doesn't help West Chester in the division standings. The Rams can definitely use this as a confidence builder and a spring board to bigger things, but they still have a tough road ahead. The Vulcans just need to brush it off and go back to work. They have to find some answers in their rush defense, and they need to do so pretty quickly. Clarion is up next on the schedule, and the Golden Eagles are improving every week.

Here is the wrap on the rest of week five:


Shippensburg 49 Lock Haven 6

Normally a 49-6 victory makes a head coach feel pretty good, but Shippensburg's Mark Maciejewski was less than thrilled. The Raiders committed 11 penalties and turned the ball over three times against the winless Bald Eagles. Coach Mac knows they have to clean up those mistakes with some stiff competition ahead on the schedule. Despite the miscues, Zach Zulli put in his usual day's work in passing for over 400 yards. The rushing stats were not good for the Raiders, and hopefully that is a positive takeaway for Lock Haven's defense.


Mercyhurst 36 Cheyney 10

Some may have thought I was overselling the drama by stating its not easy to spend seven hours on a bus and then get fired up to play at Cheyney in front of 400 people. Well Mercyhurst is living proof. First of all, ony 296 people turned out for the game so I overestimated on that part. The Lakers led by only 6 points at halftime and had actually been outgained offensively. The Lakers took care of business in the second half and left town with a 26 point win, but Cheyney posted more than 200 yards on the ground and held Mercyhurst star tailback Brandon Brown-Dukes under 100 yards.

Edinboro 31 LIU Post 24

I said last week that I didn't have confidence in Edinboro's offense, but the Fighting Scots came through in a big way this pas Saturday. LIU Post executed a near perfect go-ahead scoring drive in the fourth quarter (10 plays, 70 yards in 1:13), but the 31 seconds they left on the clock would be just enough for Edinboro. A short kick off and decent return set the Edinboro offense up in plus territory. Cody Harris and company moved the ball into scoring position and scored the tying touchdown with only three ticks on the clock. The Scots found the end zone again in overtime and then stopped the Pioneers on downs to secure the victory. Cody Harris was an exceptional 27-34 for 381 yards and 3 touchdowns. I think I'll back off of criticizing Edinboro's offense for a couple of weeks!


Indiana 41 Millersville 7

Mike Box made his first start at quarterback for IUP and the result was a balanced offense that rolled up 552 yards. Box passed for 278 yards (a season high for an IUP quarterback) on 15 completions and Pat Smith chipped in 68 yards, completing 3 of 4 attempts. The IUP defense did its usual business in limiting Millersville to 142 yards of total offense. The Marauders have averaged just 8.5 points over the last four games.



Bloomsburg 43 Gannon 24

For the second straight week, Bloomsburg fell behind in the second half but quickly overcame the deficit and surged ahead to stay unbeaten. Gannon quarterback Liam Nadler showed the passing ability that has put him near the top of the PSAC passing charts, but once again, the rushing attack was unable to provide any balance. Bloomsburg dominated the line of scrimmage and the powerful running game wracked up 483 yards. The Huskies did suffer a major blow with the loss of standout receiver Kyle Fisher to a shoulder injury. The Huskies are now without their top two starting receivers.


Clarion 31 East Stroudsburg 27

Clarion overcame a 10 point fourth quarter deficit to deal a heartbreaking defeat to East Stroudsburg. This entertaining back and forth contest wasn't decided until Clarion's Travis Day scored from three yards out with just 27 seconds left. The good news for the Warriors was the performance of redshirt freshman quarterback Matt Soltes. In his first start, the young quarterback passed for 256 yards and ran for a net of 62 yards. ESU may have found its quarterback for the future. Clarion is somewhat quietly sitting at 3-2 and improving every week. They could be a team to watch in the second half of the season.


Kutztown 56 Slippery Rock 49

Apparently Kevin Morton and Josh Mastromatto make a bit of difference in Kutztown's offense. Both players returned to the lineup at Slippery Rock and the impact was immediate. The Golden Bears scored 35 points in the second quarter to leap out to a 42-21 lead at intermission. However, the Rock responded in a big way by going on a 28-0 run in the third and fourth quarters. But the Golden Bears, in desperate need of a win, re-tied the game with six minutes remaining and then scored the game winner just a few minutes later. Morton passed for over 300 yards in his return and Mastromatto had 8 catches for 91 yards.