EDINBORO Fighting Scots (2-0, 0-0 PSAC West) at WEST CHESTER Golden Rams (1-1, 0-0 PSAC East)
Date: Saturday, September 16, 2017
Site: West Chester, Pa.
Stadium: John A. Farrell Stadium (7,500)
Kickoff: 12:06 p.m.
Live Stats: Click Here
Radio: WFSE 88.9
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Television: SportsFever TV Network/ESPN3
Edinboro Game Notes
Scouting the Teams
The All-Time Series
Tied at 5-5
Edinboro has won the last two meetings between the two schools. A year ago the Fighting Scots won a shootout, 54-51 in two overtimes, at Sox Harrison Stadium. Before that, they prevailed 16-14 in 2010 at West Chester. Last year's win at home for Edinboro snapped a string of six straight meetings in which the visiting team came away the winner.
The Last Meeting
2016 -- Edinboro 54, West Chester 51 2ot
In the first double overtime game in Edinboro history, Jake Sisson completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Alex Caratelli on a 4th-and-1 play for the winning score. Both teams scored touchdowns in the first overtime. The Edinboro defense limited West Chester to a 25-yard field goal in the second overtime, setting the stage for Sisson's school-record sixth touchdown pass of the game. Edinboro jumped out to a 24-7 lead at the half against the PSAC East preseason favorites, but the Golden Rams closed to within ten points after three quarter. A wild fourth quarter saw the two teams combine for 44 points. When Sisson and Walter Fletcher combined on an eight-yard TD pass with 4:30 to play, the Fighting Scots appeared to have a safe 41-27 lead. But the Golden Rams scored twice in the final 3 minutes, 30 seconds to tie the game, and actually could have won in regulation but missed a 30-yard field goal. Sisson set records with six touchdowns passing and a seventh rushing, with James Clark, Caratelli, and Fletcher catching two apiece. West Chester would outgain Edinboro by an incredible 400+ yards, 758 to 349 yards. WCU quarterback Andrew Derr completed 39-of-70 passes for 559 yards and 4 TDs, but was guilty of four interceptions.
The Coaches
Wayne Bradford (Salisbury St. '90) was named Edinboro's 15th head coach on March 29, 2017. Bradford worked under four different head coaches and was an assistant at Edinboro for 18 years before taking over as the interim head coach. He has spent a majority of his time as the Fighting Scots' defensive coordinator. Bradford has master-minded some brilliant defensive performances over the years in a day and age when offense has taken over. For instance, in 2011 the Fighting Scots ranked eighth in Division II in scoring defense (17.0 ppg.), 11th in pass efficiency defense, and 18th in total defense (292.6 ypg.). Edinboro gave up fewer than 20 points in seven of its 11 games. A year ago, his Edinboro defense finished first in the PSAC and fourth in Division II in tackles for losses, and second in the PSAC and sixth in the country in sacks. Edinboro finished the 2016 campaign with a 9-2 record, marking the fifth time an Edinboro team with Bradford on the staff tied the school record for victories (9). Three of Edinboro's teams during his tenure have reached the NCAA playoffs, including the 2009 team, which finished at 9-4 and reached the Super Region One semifinals. All told, he has been a part of 111 wins.
Bill Zwaan (Delaware '79) is in his 15th season as head coach of the Golden Rams, having put together one of the most impressive coaching resume's in the PSAC during that span. He has won four PSAC East titles (2004, 2007, 2008 and 2015) while being named the PSAC East Coach of the Year each time. He has guided the Golden Rams to the NCAA Division II playoffs a school-record seven times while authoring the second-most wins in school history (117) and steering the Golden Rams to the national semifinals twice (2004 and 2013). His 15 years as head coach is the second- longest stint as head coach in school history. Zwaan owns a record at WCU of 117-55 and has an overall mark of 171-69, now in his 21st season. Zwaan's 21 years of service as a head coach is seventh in Division II in longevity. His .714 career winning percentage ranks seventh among active head coaches in DII. He entered the 2017 campaign ranked fifth nationally among active head coaches at Division II in wins. Prior to taking over as the head coach at WCU, Zwaan was the head coach at Widener for six seasons, He still owns the highest winning percentage in school history at Widener (.794), with a record of 54-14. He led the Pioneers to three straight Middle Atlantic Conference titles in 2000, '01', and '02.
The Game Stories
- Edinboro plays its first road game of 2017, making the journey to southeastern Pennsylvania to play PSAC East foe West Chester in a crossover contest. The Fighting Scots are 2-0 following wins over Lake Erie (30-3) and Lock Haven (20-3) at Sox Harrison Stadium. The Golden Rams are 1-1 after suffering a 49-42 loss at Slippery Rock last Saturday. They opened the season with a 51-9 win over Bentley. The loss to Slippery Rock snapped a seven-game winning streak dating back to last year.
- Edinboro began a new coaching era in 2017 as long-time assistant coach Wayne Bradford debuted as head coach. An assistant for 18 years at Edinboro, he opened his reign as interim head coach with a 30-3 win over Lake Erie. The 15th head coach overall at Edinboro, he became the third straight head coach to win his first two contests. Scott Browning and Justin Lustig also won their first two games.
- Bradford took over for Justin Lustig, who was Edinboro's head coach for just a year. Lustig moved on to an assistant coaching position at Syracuse. He enjoyed a monumental one season as head coach, as Edinboro recorded the largest turnaround in NCAA Division II history. The Fighting Scots went 9-2 in 2016, tying the school record for wins in a season, after finishing 0-11 in 2015.
- The Fighting Scots face the preseason favorites in the PSAC East and West the next two weekends, with both games on the road. West Chester finished 8-3 a year ago and was picked to finish first in the PSAC East in the coaches' preseason poll. On Saturday, September 23, Edinboro opens up PSAC West action against the division's preseason favorite, playing at Indiana(Pa.).The Fighting Scots were picked to finish fourth in the Western Division.
- A year ago, Edinboro featured a high-scoring offense while posting a 9-2 record. The offense has struggled somewhat in 2017, but the defense has stepped up, allowing just a pair of field goals. It has been a bend-but-don't break unit that has forced six turnovers in each of the first two games. The Fighting Scots rank first in Division II in scoring defense (3.0 ppg.) while standing just 13th in the PSAC and 101st overall in total defense.
- The Edinboro defense will be put to the test by a West Chester offense that leads the PSAC and ranks fifth in Division II in scoring (46.5 ppg.), along with ranking third in the conference and 17th nationally in total offense (488.0 ypg.). In addition, WCU is third in the PSAC and 27th in Division II in rushing offense (225.0 ypg.). In last year's meeting, the Golden Rams compiled an astounding 758 yards, a record by an Edinboro opponent. Senior Jarel Elder paces the WCU ground game. He burned the Fighting Scots for 193 yards and 2 TDs on 22 carries in last year's game. The 5'7", 165 lb. tailback is off to a fast start with 216 yards on 38 carries with 4 TDs. He ranks fifth in the PSAC and 33rd in Division II in rushing yards per game, and is second and fifth, respectively, in rushing TDs.
- After finishing 9-2 finish in 2016, Edinboro was ranked in several preseason polls. The summer began with the Fighting Scots picked 16th in the Street and Smith's Division II Preseason Top 25 Poll. Next came a ranking of 30th in the College Football America 2017 Yearbook Division II Preseason Top 30. The AFCA released its 2017 AFCA Division II Preseason Coaches' Top 25 Poll on August 14, with defending national champion Northwest Missouri State ranked number one. While failing to land a spot in the top 25, Edinboro was one of the top teams among others receiving votes. The Fighting Scots received 57 votes after ending the 2016 season among "others receiving votes", as well.
- The Edinboro offense continues to revolve around quarterback Jake Sisson. The senior quarterback enjoyed his eighth career 300-yard game a week ago, throwing for 323 yards against Lock Haven. Sisson has moved into a tie for third place in career touchdown passes with 62, and is fifth in career passing yards with 6,481 yards.
