Rams trying to crack The Rock
SLIPPERY ROCK — The PSAC championship, a Division II playoff spot ... something always seems to be at stake when West Chester and Slippery Rock University get together on the football field.
“I consider them our IUP in the East,” SRU coach Shawn Lutz said. “We’ve had some highly competitive games with them over the years.”
West Chester (1-0) visits The Rock (1-0) for a 6 p.m. kickoff Saturday at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
SRU owns an 11-9 edge in the overall series between the teams. This is their seventh straight meeting in which at least one of the teams has been ranked. SRU is ranked No. 15 in the AFCA Div. II poll, 16th in the D2football.com poll.
“They’ve been playing at a very high level for the last eight years or so,” West Chester coach Bill Zwaan said. “They return a number of starters and have done a good job with the transfer portal to fill in other holes.
“We believe they’re a playoff team and we believe we should be in that conversation as well. We’ll find out where we stand on Saturday.”
While SRU used a three-back attack — Khalid Dorsey (81 yards, Chris D’Or (69) and Isaiah Edwards (52) — to rush for more than 200 yards in a 28-17 home win over Wayne State (Mich.) last week, West Chester came from 14 points down to edge Bentley, 20-19, on the road.
Sophomore quarterback Cooper Jordan accounted for 376 of the Rams’ 404 total yards in that game, throwing for 292 yards and rushing for 84. He guided West Chester 71 yards in just 44 seconds for the game-winning score.
Jordan was named PAC East Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
“That kid is the real deal,” Lutz said. “He can hurt you running or throwing. We can’t let him get out on the perimeter. We need to put pressure on him and keep him confined to the pocket.”
Zwaan said Jordan “just has that ability to make plays in crucial situations. That win last week was all about him, no question.”
SRU had a PSAC honoree of its own as defensive tackle Munchie Johnson had 11 tackles, two for loss, in being named PSAC West Defensive Player of the Week.
“Munchie is so quick and athletic in there,” Lutz said. “His athleticism enables him to get past the big guys up front. For a defensive tackle to get 11 tackles in a game is impressive.”
SRU wide receiver Kyle Sheets suffered a mild concussion in the first quarter last week and is questionable for Saturday. Defensive back Ali Abdul-Hakim remains out with an injury, but his replacement, Josh Stokes, had an interception last week.
Jawon Hall, another receiver, is out with an injury this week as well for The Rock.
Top offensive threats for West Chester include receivers Julian Jordan, D’Shaun Seals and tight end Thatcher Miller, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 230 pounds.
“They play hard and they play physical,” Lutz said.
The Rams have 18 starters back from last season, when they finished 7-4. West Chester has not had a losing season since 2011. Zwaan is 158-71 and in his 21st year as head coach.
“We have the makings of a pretty good football team this year,” he said. “We have to mesh well and play together. We definitely have a shot at the PSAC East.
“We’ll learn a lot about our team this week.”
The Rock is bidding for its 30th consecutive victory in night games (starting time of 4 p.m. or later) on Saturday.
