Box Score
NEWARK, Del. – Downingtown native Pat Devlin threw for 163 yards and three touchdowns as 16th-ranked Division I-FCS power Delaware shut out visiting West Chester, 31-0, in the 2010 season opener before 19,421 spectators at Delaware Stadium on a humid Thursday night.
West Chester, ranked 21st in the country at the Division II level, was shut out by Delaware for the second consecutive year. Sophomore QB Mike Mattei went 9-for-20 for 68 yards, but threw three interceptions in his first career start. Red-shirt freshman Sean McCartney made his collegiate debut, going 2-for-6 for eight yards in relief of Mattei.
Junior LB Vic Iturbides led West Chester with a career-high seven tackles.
Devlin tossed a pair of touchdown passes in the first half, sandwiching a 22-yard run by Andrew Pierce early in the second quarter in-between. Devlin’s 7-yard flip to Nihja White put the hosts on top, 7-0, with 2:06 to play in the opening frame. Pierce’s run doubled the advantage. Then Devlin hit Tommy Crosby on a 15-yard pass just before halftime to send the Blue Hens into the locker room ahead, 21-0. Pierce finished the day with 119 yards on 13 carries.
Place-kicker Mike Perry nailed a 43-yard field goal five minutes into the third quarter, before Devlin hit Phillip Thaxton for a 23-yard TD strike later in the third.
West Chester opens its home slate on Saturday, Sept. 11 against Edinboro at 1 p.m. It will be Michael Horrock’s Day at Farrell Stadium. A statue of the Golden Rams’ former quarterback will be unveiled in a ceremony that morning that is set to begin at 10:30 a.m. That ceremony is open to the public.
NOTES: West Chester was shut out by Delaware for the second consecutive year … the Golden Rams lost 35-0 to the Blue Hens in 2009 … West Chester has not scored on Delaware since the 6:59 mark of the fourth quarter in 2008 when Andrew Taylor caught a 4-yard pass for a touchdown … the scoring drought has now reached 126 minutes, 59 seconds … West Chester has now dropped the last 17 contests against Delaware and trail the all-time series, 45-6-2 … the Golden Rams have not beaten the Blue Hens since a 21-20 victory in 1992 … head coach Bill Zwaan is now 0-8 against his alma mater … sophomore QB Mike Mattei made his first college start on Thursday … junior return man Jackson Fagan brought back the opening kickoff 44 yards to establish a new career high … a total of 13 Golden Rams made their collegiate debuts on Thursday … Sr. DB Cedric Jeffries made his West Chester debut as well.