Box Score

West Chester, Pa. – West Chester entered Saturday night's contest with visiting Millersville averaging just under 87 yards per game on the ground. That trend, however, would not continue, as sophomore running back D'Andre Webb rushed for a career-high 306 yards and the Golden Rams ground attack racked up 453 yards in handing Millersville a 41-10 defeat at Farrell Stadium.

The Golden Rams (2-2, 1-0 PSAC East) got the scoring started early. Quarterback Joe Wright connected with Steve Miller for a 44-yard gain to the Millersville 8 on West Chester 's second play from scrimmage and Webb scored the first of his four touchdowns a play later to make it 7-0.

Millersville (0-4, 0-1 PSAC East) looked poised to answer on its second possession of the game, after junior safety Julius Carter recovered a fumble at the WCU 35. Redshirt sophomore Bill Shirk, starting his first game this season at quarterback, found Andy Tischbein for 20 yards and the Marauders were set up inside the 20. Two plays later, the drive came to an abrupt end, when Mike Dell picked off Shirk at the 8-yard line.

West Chester ran its lead to 14-0 when Webb scampered into the endzone from 33 yards out with just over two minutes to play in the first quarter.

After forcing the Golden Rams to punt from deep in their own territory, Millersville started with great field position on its first drive of the second quarter. Shirk found Jamal Smith, who moved from quarterback to wide receiver following last week's game, for a 19-yard pickup down to the West Chester 33. A few plays later, the drive stalled and John Banzhof missed a 45-yard field goal attempt, keeping the Marauders off the board.

The failure to put up any points turned into a huge momentum swing, when Webb took the next play from scrimmage and raced 70 yards to the Millersville 2 yard line. The drive finished with a Webb touchdown plunge on the next play and the Golden Rams were up comfortably, 21-0.

Millersville would atone for its previous missed opportunity as Shirk completed 4-of-5 passes in leading the Marauders on a 59-yard drive to the West Chester 10. Unfortunately, they were not able to come up with a touchdown, but Banzhof did connect from 27 yards out to cut the lead to 21-3.

West Chester extended its lead to 28-3 early in the third quarter when Wright used his feet to finish off a six play, 84-yard drive with a 25-yard touchdown run. Webb was a workhorse on the drive, as he carried the ball four times for 66 yards.

The Golden Rams would give themselves even more breathing room with just over six minutes to go in the third quarter. Webb broke loose for a career-long 87-yard score to make it 35-3. It was the second time in two weeks that Millersville had allowed a play of longer than 85 yards.

Golden Rams' leading receiver Mike Washington was the recipient of a 10-yard touchdown pass from Wright on the next possession and West Chester led 41-3.

West Chester looked to be heading for another score early in the fourth quarter, but Byron Void recovered a Marshall Vogel fumble at the Millersville 17. Two plays later, Shirk hit Smith with an 80-yard strike to make it 41-10. The hook up was the longest pass play from Millersville dating back to 1999, when Drew Folmar connected with Sean Scott for a 91-yard touchdown against Bloomsburg.

Smith hauled in six receptions for 131 yards, while Tischbein made seven catches for 95 yards. Shirk finished 18-of-31 passing with the one touchdown and one pick. Millersville ran its streak of games with at least 100 yards rushing to 14-straight. The Marauders picked up 101 yards on the ground, led by Brad Lantz's 62 yards on 16 carries.

On the defensive side of the ball, Carter led the way with 10 tackles and the aforementioned fumble recovery. John Banzhof averged 41.1 yards per punt on eight attempts and landed four inside the 20.

The Marauders will travel to Shippensburg next Saturday, still in search of their first win of the season. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.