EDINBORO at WEST CHESTER
DATE: Saturday, Sept. 18
TIME: 12:00 pm ET
LOCATION: West Chester, PA – John A. Farrell Stadium
LIVE STREAM: PSAC DIGITAL NETWORK 

OPENING KICKOFF - Edinboro makes their first road trip of the season to visit the West Chester Rams for a noon kickoff from Southeastern Pennsylvania


- Following a long layoff caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Fighting Scots took their home field led by Head Coach Jake Nulph and his newly-instate staff for the first time against the Shippensburg Raiders. Despite a 30-9 result, the Fighting Scots took to the practice field throughout the week with vigor

- This marks the fifth meeting with West Chester University, with the most recent meeting dating back to September 17, 2017

- Following the weekend trip to a PSAC East opponent, the Fighting Scots are scheduled to take on seven straight PSAC West opponents, beginning with a Saturday, Sept. 25 meeting with California University of Pennsylvania

- Saturday marks Jake Nulph's first road game of his Edinboro tenure, which began in January 2019. He has most recently held positions of defensive backs and special teams coach at IUP, where he coached and mentored a pair of All-PSAC West selections in Nazir Streater and J.R. Stevens. Since assuming the role of head coach at Edinboro, Nulph has facilitated the renovation of the home locker room at Sox Harrison Stadium and the assembly of a solid mix of veteran and up-and-coming coaches including college teammate and offensive coordinator Rich DeMaio and former NFL player and coach Keith Willis


THE COACHES
Edinboro: Jake Nulph (second season / 0-1)  
- Head coach Jake Nulph is in his second year with the Edinboro Fighting Scots, though his team missed out on a 2019 campaign with the cancellation of play. Coming to Edinboro from IUP, Nulph has also held posts of special teams coordinator and defensive backs coach at Duquesne in 2018, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator and at Westminster College

- Under the direction of Nulph, IUP led the PSAC in scoring defense, ranked second in total defense and pass-efficiency defense and was third in passing defense and third-down conversions

- At Westminster College, he was part of three winning seasons in just four years as defensive and special teams coordinator

West Chester: Bill Zwaan (18th season / 145-63) 
- Bill Zwaan began his head coaching career at Widener in 1997.

- Zwaan was a quarterback for the University of Delaware, helping the Blue Hens reach the 1974 NCAA Division II national championship game. He graduated in 1979

- Zwaan has been named the PSAC East Coach of the Year five times in his 17 seasons with the Golden Rams

LAST TIME OUT
Shippensburg 30, Edinboro 9
- Playing its first game in week two of the 2021-2022 season, Edinboro dropped its season and home opener against the Raiders of Shippensburg despite holding their opponent's high-powered offense to a 14-point lead at half

- Edinboro left the halftime locker room motivated, as starting quarterback Tannor Watson found Jake L'Heureux for a pair of 15-yard gains through the air in the first drive of the second half

- Linebacker Saige Ley and defensive back Josh Boyd seemed to make their way into almost every play defensively, as they both finished the game with a team-leading eight tackles

- Multi-faceted punter Reed Martin managed an impressive 42.4-yard average over eight punts, landing five within the 20 yard line

- Tannor Watson shared the wealth on Saturday, scattering 14 completions among nine different receivers for the game

- Linebacker Clay Cunningham forced a fumble in the second half against the Raiders, which Josh Boyd scooped and ran back 18 yards to set the Scots up with favorable field position


SCOUTING THE GOLDEN RAMS 

- West Chester is two games into their season, sporting a 1-1 record going into week three

- The Golden Rams fell 41-17 to Bentley University in Waltham, MA in their opening game of the season, before downing the Mercyhurst University Lakers 56-10 in Erie, PA Saturday, Sept. 11.

- Shane Dooley returned from injury and made his presence felt, entering the game to throw for three touchdowns, accounting for four total in the lop-sided win against Hurst

- Defensive lineman Michael Gobora is the reigning PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week, having registered five tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks and a forced fumble in the recent win

- The West Chester defense tied a school single-game record with 10 sacks on the afternoon

- West Chester was voted second in the PSAC East pre-season standings


FORMER NFL LINEBACKER AND COACH FINDS HOME WITH EDINBORO FOOTBALL

- Former Pittsburgh, Buffalo and Washington linebacker and now assistant head coach and defensive line coach Keith Willis joined the Edinboro coaching staff in April of 2016.

- Willis registered 59 sacks in his 139-game career in the NFL, starting 88 of his professional games. 

- Willis began his career in 1982 with the Pittsburgh Steelers, before stints with the Buffalo Bills and Washington Football Team to wind down his playing career.

- Since retiring from the NFL, Willis has coached at Slippery Rock, Cincinnati, Boston College, North Carolina State, Montreal of the CFL, and most recently the Tennessee Titans of the NFL. 

PSAC PRESEASON COACHES POLL

- Edinboro was picked to finish fifth in the PSAC West Division in the pre-season coaches' poll. 

- The Fighting Scots wrapped up the 2019 football season with a 3-8 record under the direction of then head coach Wayne Bradford.

- Edinboro impressed with the additions to their team in 2019 and 2020, adding a mix of talented freshman and transfers with experience at schools including FIU, Cincinnati and Rutgers.


NEXT UP

The Fighting Scots enter the PSAC West portion of their schedule hosting Cal (Pa.) University for a noon kick-off from Sox Harrison Stadium in Edinboro, PA.