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EDINBORO, PA – The Edinboro University
football team was denied its third straight NCAA Division II
Playoff berth on Sunday afternoon. Despite an 8-2 record and
winning its third straight PSAC West crown, Edinboro was not one
of six teams chosen for the Northeast Region field.
Edinboro entered the final weekend of the
season ranked sixth in the Northeast Region, and following
Saturday’s 41-3 win at Lock Haven it was believed that the
Fighting Scots would hold on to that position. However, Southern
Connecticut State’s 77-35 win over Bryant, a team which had
beaten Bentley the week before and finished with a 7-3 record,
helped vault them from eighth to the sixth position.
“I was really shocked,”
admitted head coach Lou Tepper. “I thought if we had a
decisive win over Lock Haven it was a done deal.
“I felt that we had as good a
chance to be regional champions as anyone,” Tepper continued.
“Very few people are aware of how hampered Justin (Bouch) was
through injury, including a fractured finger. He had his finest
game on Saturday, and I think he was ready to explode. I’m
not sure statistically this wasn’t the best defense I’ve
been around. And the special teams, were they fun to watch.”
Shepherd is seeded first in the Northeast
Region and will play the winner of next Saturday’s game
between West Chester and C.W. Post. The other quarterfinal finds
East Stroudsburg hosting Southern Connecticut State, with the
winner playing at second-seeded Bloomsburg.
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