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Nov. 17, 2018 WEST CHESTER, PA — The scene was set on a beautiful Fall day, behind a statue dedicated to former West Chester quarterback Michael Horrocks (class of 1985) who gave his life as the co-pilot of United Airlines flight 175 on September 11, 2001.
By all accounts this was a great playoff football game – two top teams battling neck and neck. In the end, the New Haven Chargers were the last to score to win 35-28 over the West Chester Rams in the first round of the NCAA Super Region-1 Playoffs on West Chester’s home turf.
New Haven tallied an impressive 7 touchdowns and 406 yards of total offense over a usually very stingy West Chester defense. The Rams built a 7 point lead (28-21) heading into the 4th quarter, but the defense could not stop the Charger offense who tied the game with a 48-yard TD strike.
West Chester QB A.J. Long was a force to be reckoned with, as he was all season long. But his luck ran out when he was injured on a 7-yard first down run half-way through the 4th quarter, and the Rams could not recover behind backup QB Mike Piperno. West Chester’s hopes ended on an incomplete 4th down pass from Piperno to Lex Rosario. A.J. Long exited the game with 2 TD, going 16-for-20 for 211 yards.
#6 New Haven (now 9-2) will advance to the next round of the DII Playoffs against #7-seeded Slippery Rock.
[Photos by Rick Pettine]
[Article by Rick Pettine]
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