West Chester starts fast to roll over Millersville

WEST GOSHEN » If you show up late for a West Chester football game these days, be prepared to miss a lot.

For those who happened to miss the first quarter of Saturday’s PSAC East opener at jam-packed Farrell Stadium, they might as well have turned around and headed home. The Millersville deficit was already at 28, which included a pick-six, two touchdowns in a 10-second span and five WCU sacks.

The 13th-ranked Golden Rams were unable to keep up that crazy pace but still cruised to a 42-16 victory that was never in doubt.

West Chester (4-0) will begin defense of its division title next week when Shippensburg visits. That will be followed by a road trip to Bloomsburg.

“You do what we did in that first quarter and the sideline starts talking about when the backups are going to get in, and stuff like that,” head coach Bill Zwaan said. “And we just lost our edge. But got it back, but that’s something we have to be careful of.”

In the first month of the campaign, West Chester has outscored its opponents, 17643. This is surely the most dominant start to a season during the 16-year Zwaan era.

“Statistically, it probably is,” Zwaan said. “But we haven’t played the best talent that’s coming.”

And the potential historical comparisons don’t end there. West Chester has boasted plenty of potent offenses since 2003, and this fall is no different. But nearly halfway through the regular season, the defense is shaping up as, perhaps, WCU’s best under Zwaan.

“I think it is,” said longtime defensive coordinator Mike Furlong. “We are good at all three levels and in certain years, we’ve been good up front and not at the back end, or whatever. We are balanced, experienced, and we make adjustments very quick.”

After the great start, WCU followed with a lull. Most of what Millersville (0-4) did offensively was the result of miscues by the Rams.

The Marauders’ first touchdown came after WCU turned it over deep in its end.