MOUNTAINEER FOOTBALL

2005

Game 7

 

Mansfield

at

West Chester

 


The Game

The Mountaineers will travel to West Chester University to take on the Golden Rams in a PSAC East matchup Saturday afternoon. The kickoff is slated for 2:00 pm at John A. Farrell Stadium in West Chester. It marks the third straight week the Mountaineers have appeared in a Homecoming game.

 

The Broadcast

The game will be broadcast live on the Mountaineer Sports Network by WNTE 89.5 FM. The broadcast will also be carried live on the internet on both the Mansfield University sports homepage (sports.mansfield.edu, or www.mansfield.edu and go to sports) and MSA Sports Network (www.msasportsnetwork.com). Pregame coverage will start at 1:30 pm with Darrin Denman providing the play-by-play and color by Jonathan Schwab. Daniel Ryan will be on the sideline.

 

Last Week

Mansfield is 1-5 on the season overall and 1-1 in the PSAC East after defeating the Wolves of Cheyney University by a score of 38-17 last Saturday. West Chester brings a 5-2 overall and a conference leading 3-0 PSAC East mark into this weekend after a 27-7 victory over Millersville last weekend.

The Mountaineer offense had a season high 526 yards in total offense including 352 passing yards by freshman quarterback John Hengehold, who set a freshman record for passing yards in a game, threw 5 touchdown, the second most in school history. He was named PSAC East Offensive Player of the Week for his outstanding effort. Junior Poohbear McNeal had 173 yards rushing and became just the second player in school history to surpass the 3,200 yard milestone in career rushing yards while recording his 17th career 100 yard rushing game. Rodney Davis had seven catches for 106 yards and a touchdown with Jeff Tanner pulled in five passes for 89 yards and a touchdown. Tyrone Robinson and Ozzie Mathis and McNeal all caught touchdown passes as well.

Senior Ryan Kassak had an outstanding game, recording a game high 11 tackles. Junior linebacker Andre Turner had 10 tackles with Marc Hunsberger credited with 9 stops. Jon Mattis and Taylor Ruddy each had interceptions on the day.

West Chester won its 12 consecutive PSAC East game dating back to the 2003 season. The Golden Rams defense recovered five fumbles in the contest with Millersville. Running back Brent Steinmetz rushed for 202 yards in the game.

 

The Series

The game marks the 34th time the two programs have met on the gridiron with West Chester winning the first 33 meetings. The Golden Rams defeated Mansfield 49-0 last year at Karl Van Norman Field. The Mountaineers came closest to victory in 2002 and 2001 losing 9-7 in the last seconds and 14-7 in overtime.

 

The Coaches

 

Jim Shiffer is in his second season as head coach at his alma mater where he has posted a 2-14 record over that span. He is 0-1 against West Chester. Shiffer was a standout lineman for the Mountaineers in the late 1980s where he was a recipient of the Frank Butsko Award. Bill Zwaan is in his third season as head coach of the Golden Rams where he has posted 24-9 overall record in his first two seasons.

 

 

 About the Mountaineers

Current PSAC Rankings   

 

Offense -- Scoring (7th, 20.8 ppg), Total Offense (6th, 392.7 ypg), Passing Offense (2nd, 255.0 ypg), Rushing Offense (8th, 137.7ypg) 

 

Defense -- Scoring (13th, 38.3 ppg), Total Defense (14th, 515.8 ypg), Passing Defense (13th, 241.3 ypg), Rushing Defense (14th, 274.5 ypg)

 

Despite their record, the Mountaineers have the sixth best offense in the PSAC averaging 392.7 yards per game in total offense. Mansfield ranks second in the conference in passing yards per game (255.0) and eighth in rushing yards per game (137.7). However the Mounties have struggled defensively in four of the first six games, ranking 14th in the PSAC in total defense allowing an average of 515.8 yards per game.

McNeal’s former high school teammate John Hengehold has been a pleasant addition at quarterback this season for the Mountaineers. The freshman ranks second in the PSAC in total offense (240.5 ypg) and second in passing yards per game (229.0 ypg). He has completed 101 of 184 attempts for 1374 yards and 12 touchdowns while being intercepted eight times.

 

Freshman Rodney Davis ranks second in the PSAC in receptions per game (5.33) and fourth in receiving yards per game (70.7). He has caught 32 passes for 424 yards and four touchdowns so far this season. Tyrone Robinson has caught 20 passes for 329 yards and three touchdowns. Ozzie Mathis has 16 catches for 275 yards and four touchdowns while Jeff Tanner has 200 yards and two touchdown receptions

 

Linebacker Andre Turner leads the defense, ranking among the conference leaders in tackles with 53. Safety Ryan Kassak is second on the team in tackles with 48 while Marc Hunsberger is third with 45 stops. Senior defensive end Keith Slezak (41), Senior linebacker Jason Zeigler (39), and Junior linebacker C.J. Okogeri (34) are also among the teams defensive leaders.

Junior punter Brandon Fields is ranked fourth in the PSAC in punting, averaging 38.6 yards per boot.

 

 Records Watch

McNeal now has 3,205 yards in his career and needs only 64 more to surpass Lee Brannon (1996-99, 3268) as MU’s all-time rushing leader. He currently ranks fourth in the PSAC in rushing averaging 116.3 yards per game.

 

 

 

 

About the Golden Rams

Current PSAC Rankings   

 

Offense -- Scoring (4th, 34.3 ppg), Total Offense (4th, 423.7 ypg), Passing Offense (4th, 228.0 ypg), Rushing Offense (5th, 195.7 ypg) 

 

Defense -- Scoring (5th, 20.7 ppg), Total Defense (4th, 292.1 ypg), Passing Defense (2nd, 150 ypg), Rushing Defense (4th, 142.1 ypg)

 

West Chester ranks solidly (top 5) in all offensive and defensive categories in the PSAC. The Golden Rams have had a balanced offensive and defensive attack this season with an offense that ranks fourth in total offense (423.7 ypg) and a defense that ranks fourth in total defense (292.1 ypg).

Junior quarterback Matt Burdalski is third in the PSAC in passing (212.7 ypg) and has completed 76-of-159 passes for 1276 yards and 10 touchdowns. Freshman Mike Washington ranks second in the PSAC in receiving yards per game (109.4 ypg) and has caught 29 passes for 766 yards and nine TD’s. Senior receiver Brandon Simmons has 23 catches for 423 yards and two touchdowns. These two receivers are both on the all purpose yard leaderboard in the PSAC (110.4 and 112.1 ypg). Brent Steinmetz tops the team in rushing and ranks sixth in the PSAC (87.7 ypg). Simmons doubles as a kick returner, ranking second in the PSAC in punt returns (15.1 yards per return) and third in the conference in kick off returns averaging 23.8 yards per return. Linebackers Lateef Ferguson, Randy Reinert and Jimmy lewis all rank among the conference leaders in tackles with 53, 43 and 42 tackles respectively.

 

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