West Chester topped Mercyhurst in the rain at John A. Farrell Stadium

WEST CHESTER – The West Chester Golden Rams jumped all over Mercyhurst University Saturday afternoon at John A. Farrell Stadium by scoring 21 points in the first 10 minutes of the game. Golden Rams quarterback Sean McCartney threw for three touchdowns and ran another in the 38-14 win. The defense got into the act as well when strong safety Drew Formica returned an interception 39 yards for a score. As a unit, the defense held the Lakers (0-2) to just 255 yards of total offense including only 43 yards on the ground.

“Tremendous effort defensively,” Golden Rams head coach Bill Zwaan, “I was hoping we would make that jump back after last week. [We were] very physical, shutdown a really good running back and made some big plays.”

The Golden Rams (2-0) limited Lakers running back Brandon Brown-Dukes, whose coming off of back-to-back 1000 yard seasons, to just 39 yards.

“We had everything together,” said Formica, a junior out of Cardinal O’Hara. “We had a good game plan and we came to play.”

After Jarel Elder set them up at their own 45-yard line with a 39 yard return of the opening kickoff, the Golden Rams went the rest of the way mixing run with pass and converting a fourth-and-four from the Lakes 38. McCartney scored on a nice bootleg from the two-yard line despite slipping after receiving the snap.

The defense would force a three-and-out on Mercyhurst’s first possession and feature what would be their themes of the day – bottling up Brown-Dukes and putting the Lakers’ quarterbacks under tremendous pressure.

West Chester would only need one play to go up 14-0, McCartney hit wide receiver Eric Brundidge with a short pass along the left sideline and the senior from Northeast High School in Philadelphia did the rest. He broke one tackle then forced the lone remaining Laker, who had a chance to tackle him, to make a diving try which Brundidge high-stepped over. After that, it was off to the races on a play that covered 74 yards.

Next came Formica’s big play. Linebacker Ronell Williams was pressuring Mercyhurst quarterback Zach Emerick as he rolled to the right. Williams hit him as he threw and Formica stepped in front of the pass, broke a tackle and scored his first collegiate touchdown.

“It didn’t even feel real at first,” Formica said, “then I looked back, no penalties, so it felt good.”

Late in the second quarter the Lakers got on the board with a defensive touchdown, Michael Foster returned a fumble by Eddie Elliott 43 yards to make it 21-7. However just before halftime, the Golden Rams answered when McCartney and tight end Tim Brown got together on the first of two touchdown connections they would have on the day. This one one covered 16 yards. The second one went for 31 yards and came early in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 35-7.

“After we broke down tape last week, we left a lot on the field,” said Brown referring to the season opening 35-30 win at New Haven. “After watching that, it was tough but we need to get better every week.”

Mercyhurst mounted their best drive of the day against mostly reserves but the scoring play, a 34-yard pass from Brendan Boylan to Jaquan Williams, would have looked good against anybody. As Boylan was scrambling around, he threw a pass deep down the middle, Williams went up over the defenders to comedown with a great catch that made the score 35-14. Rich Bruno would add a late field goal to provide the final margin of victory for the Golden Rams.

Email Rock Hoffman at Rock@footballstories.com