Wiggins, Edwards step up defensively in West Chester’s 29-0 shutout
WEST GOSHEN – Saturday was a ‘TCB’ kind of day for West Chester football – as in Takin’ Care of Business.
The defense was terrific throughout and the offense merely adequate, as the Golden Rams had little trouble blanking Seton Hill, 29-0, in a largely workmanlike effort in PSAC crossover action.
“Unfortunately, games like this come up once in a while,” said WCU head coach Bill Zwaan. “I feel we probably approached it that way a bit as a team. There wasn’t a whole lot of excitement on the sideline, so it was kind of the idea of ‘let’s win this game and move on,’ but we’re not good enough to do that.”
On a sun-splashed day at Farrell Stadium, WCU won its 13th straight regular season game, dating all the way back to early November of 2017. And this one was never really all that competitive, even though the offensive performance was a bit uneven.
When asked if he recalled the last time his team dropped a regular season game, Zwaan said: “I don’t remember, but that’s a good thing.”
Ranked 18th nationally, the Rams scored 19 first half points, including the initial college TDs by freshmen wideouts Seth Degree and Kenny Edelin. And in keeping with the trend, it was also a nice introduction for true freshman safety Shamar Edwards North Penn), who picked off a pass to thwart SHU’s only real scoring threat.
“We are bringing (the younger players) along, but they are getting better and better each game,” Zwaan said. “That’s what we need to happen.”
It was West Chester’s first shutout since early November of 2016. The Griffins managed just 127 yards of total offense, and just 19 on the ground.
“It was a good day,” said longtime defensive coordinator Mike Furlong. “Shutouts are hard to come by. I’ve been around here a long time and we’ve had some very good efforts where you still give up a mop-up score at the end.”
West Chester (4-0 overall) will open the PSAC East slate next Saturday at Millersville before getting into the heart of schedule against three straight division contenders: Shippensburg, Bloomsburg and Shepherd (WV). Seton Hill falls to 0-2.
“Good teams cover for each other when one side isn’t playing as well as the other,” Furlong said. “Our defense did a nice job of picking it up. We are starting to come. We have a lot of youngsters who still make mistakes, but they are also making plays.”
Oddly enough, a first quarter punt by George Lambritsios not only pinned the Griffins at about the one-foot line, it also seemed to kick-start WCU. On the next play, sophomores Rashon Wiggins (Norristown) and Connor Munnelly (Downingtown East) combined to tackle an SHU runner in the end zone for a safety. The Rams then turned the ensuing possession into seven more points when quarterback Paul Dooley hit Degree for a 14-yard scoring toss early in the second quarter.
After a short field goal by Andrew Chegia, West Chester made it 19-0 at the half with another perfect Dooley throw to Edelin covering 35 yards.
“It feels good to finally get into the end zone after a couple weeks of not getting there,” said Edelin, who led the way with six catches for 104 yards. “We just have to keep working and keep growing.”
In the third quarter, Dooley converted a pair of third-and-long passes to Dan Neuhaus and Lex Rosario to keep a drive alive and set up a short TD run by freshman Ja’Den McKenzie. Chegia added another late field goal (29 yards), so the only intrigue down the stretch was whether WCU could get the shutout.
Two pass interference penalties helped SHU move inside the West Chester 35 late in the third, but Edwards came up with the pick.
“We did a really nice job defensively, especially when some penalties started adding up giving (Seton Hill) good field position,” Zwaan said. “We had to play great defense today because we just didn’t keep them off the field much with the way our offense played.
“We are just not where we need to be (offensively). (Seton Hill) did a good job of taking away our run game, and we just are not sharp enough in the passing game right now. We have some big games coming up and we have to get it straightened out.”
Dooley was 10 of 41 for 291 yards, but he was also the Rams’ leading runner (32 yards). The West Chester defense forced Seton Hill into five three-and-outs.
“We were locked in. We paid attention to detail and got the job done,” said Wiggins, who had three tackles for loss, five total. This kind of game gives us a lot of confidence.”
Edelin added: “We were the better team and we enforced our will. But to our standard on offense, it was very uneven on offense.
“But the donut was nice. Keeping teams off the board makes it easier for us on offense.”
