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Complete
Box Score
WEST CHESTER, PA – It was an hour after
Edinboro’s 28-14 win at West Chester. With the Fighting Scots
boarding the bus to head back to northwestern Pennsylvania, head
coach Scott Browning and defensive coordinator Wayne Bradford
smiled and gave each other a hug. It was the start of a new era in
Edinboro football.
Thanks to an outstanding game plan and
execution by Bradford and his defense, and the guts of a riverboat
gambler, Browning made his debut as Edinboro’s 13th head
coach a successful one. In fact, Edinboro’s previous four
head coaches had tried and failed to win their first game. The
last Fighting Scot mentor to come up with a win was Bill McDonald
in 1969.
The game was a battle between two teams picked
to finish second in their respective divisions of the PSAC.
Behind redshirt freshman quarterback Trevor
Harris (Waldo, OH/Marion Pleasant), the offense controlled the
ball for 35:49 while piling up 340 yards. They converted three of
four fourth down plays to keep plays alive, and Harris threw a
pair of touchdown passes to Ryan Valasek (Vatrona Heights,
PA/Highlands).
But it was the defense that truly shined. That’s
no surprise since seven starters returned to a unit that led the
country in scoring defense, total defense and rushing defense a
year ago. The Fighting Scots were going up against a high-powered
West Chester offense, however. The Edinboro defense held the
Golden Rams to 279 total yards, and just 49 yards on the ground.
More important, Edinboro forced six turnovers, four on fumbles in
the second half.
It all added up to an impressive win for the
Fighting Scots in their first game under Browning, an assistant at
Edinboro for twenty years.
“Our defense is phenomenal,”
boasted Browning. “They really came through. I think a win
like this really picks up our confidence level. Even the good
years, how many times were we 1-0? But we have to get better. We
have to take one game at a time.”
The Fighting Scots dominated play in the first
half despite West Chester enjoying outstanding field position, yet
trailed 7-3 at intermission. The Fighting Scots were also guilty
of a pair of turnovers, one leading to the Golden Rams’
score.
West Chester had the ball six times in the
half, and with the exception of taking the ball over in the final
seconds at their 20, had the ball at no worse than their own 36.
The Golden Rams drove into Edinboro territory three times, but
were stopped on fourth down at the Fighting Scot 28 and 33.
Edinboro got on the scoreboard first thanks to
a 27-yard field goal by Kody Robertson (Columbus, OH/Hilliard
Davidson). After a WCU punt, the Fighting Scots drove 71 yards
on 11 plays, with backup tailback Chaz Cobbs (Pittsburgh,
PA/Carrick) providing a spark. The sophomore picked up 19
yards on his first career carry, and proceeded to carry seven
times for 41 yards. Harris, making his first career start,
completed a pair of third-down passes to keep the march alive.
West Chester grabbed the lead following a
Harris interception. Taking over at their own 38 with 3:05 left in
the half, the Golden Rams drove 62 yards in four plays, capped by
a 36-yard scoring pass from Matt Burdalski to standout wide
receiver Michael Washington.
Up until that point the Fighting Scot defense
had kept the WCU attack in check. Edinboro ended with 160 total
yards in the half, while WCU had 124, with half of it coming in
the scoring drive.
Edinboro had a chance to score following the
West Chester touchdown after Rich Cerro (Franklin,
PA/Franklin) took the ensuing kickoff and returned it 73 yards
to the WCU 21. Harris hit Cerro on the next play for six yards,
but a pair of incompletions led to a 32-yard field goal attempt by
Robertson. The kick went wide left.
Incredibly, West Chester fumbled the first
three times it had the ball in the second half, and four of its
first five possessions. Edinboro scored twice in the third quarter
on touchdown passes from Harris to Valasek to take the lead for
good. The first came on a 15-yard pass on a 3rd-and-8 play, as
Harris scrambled away from a blitz and hit Valasek over the middle
at the ten, with the diminutive wideout covering the remaining
yards for six points at the 10:51 mark. The score was set up by a
fumble recovery by Taurean Valentine (Allentown, PA/ Dieruff).
The extra point was blocked, leaving Edinboro with a 9-7
advantage.
The Harris-Valasek combination clicked again
late in the period, as Edinboro put together its longest drive of
the day. Starting at its own 13 following a WCU punt, the Boro
needed just four plays to reach paydirt. On a 3rd-and-9 play,
Cobbs broke loose for a 57-yard run down to the WCU 29. On the
very next play, Harris parlayed a beautiful play fake into a
29-yard touchdown pass to Valasek on a flag pattern. The extra
point was once again blocked, making the score 15-7 with 59
seconds left in the third period.
West Chester drove to midfield on its next
possession, but another fumble killed the drive. Damion Malott
(Akron, OH/Akron North) forced the fumble, with freshman
Houston Brown (Westerville, OH/Westerville Central) recovering and
returning to the WCU 40. It took nine plays to cover the 40 yards,
with Ulysee “Spud” Davis (Bryans Road, MD/Bishop
McNamara) covering the final seven yards for his first
touchdown in 2006. The Fighting Scots converted on a pair of
fourth down plays. While Robertson’s kick was deflected, it
went through the uprights to give the Fighting Scots a 22-7 lead
with 9:37 to play.
West Chester closed the gap to 22-14 with an
impressive 12-play, 70-yard drive. On a 4th-and-goal play, backup
quarterback Bill Zwaan Jr. completed a four-yard scoring pass to
Washington with 5:52 left in the contest.
The Golden Rams got the ball back at their own
eight with 1:28 to play in an attempt to tie the game. They drove
to their own 30, but on a 4th-and-5 play, Zwaan’s pass was
intercepted by Brown and returned it 40 yards for his first career
touchdown. The Golden Rams did block another extra point to make
the final score 28-14.
In his first game, Cobbs came up with his first
100-yard effort, finishing with 121 yards on 17 carries. Davis
added 64 yards on 20 rushes as Edinboro finished the day with 198
yards on the ground. Harris enjoyed a solid afternoon in his first
start, completing 16 of 26 passes for 142 yards with 2 TDs and an
INT. Valasek caught a career-high 7 passes for 83 yards and 2 TDs.
Junior tight end Kyle Witucki (Tarentum, PA/Highlands)
added 4 catches for 34 yards.
The defense had plenty of heroes. Brown came
off the bench to recover a pair of fumbles to go with his
interception. Malott had 8 tackles and forced a pair of fumbles.
Ben Stroup (Columbus, OH/Hilliard Davidson) was seemingly
everywhere, ending with 7 tackles and sever quarterback pressures.
Edinboro will make its home debut next
Saturday, September 9, hosting St. Anselm. Kickoff at Sox Harrison
Stadium is 1:00 p.m. |
