C.W. Post Drives To First-Ever NCAA Playoff Victory; Blount Finds Heller With 2.6 Seconds Left For 24-20 Victory Over West Chester (Pa.)
Box Score
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Nov. 12) – Senior quarterback Rob Blount was 8-for-9 for 86 yards on the final drive of the game Saturday afternoon at Hickox Field, including a 15-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Heller with 2.6 seconds remaining in the contest, as the fourth-seeded C.W. Post football team won its first-ever game in the NCAA Division II Championship by knocking off fifth-seeded West Chester (Pa.), 24-20, in a Northeast Region first-round contest.
The Pioneers (9-2), the Northeast-10 Conference champions, had previously played in the NCAA tourney in 1976, 2002 and 2004 – the latter appearance was at West Chester (8-4) last season, with the Golden Rams scoring a 35-3 first-round victory en route to an appearance in the national semifinals.
C.W. Post, the first team in Northeast-10 history to win an NCAA Championship football game, will travel to Shepherdstown, W. Va. next Saturday (Nov. 19) for a 12 Noon kick-off at regional top-seed Shepherd (11-0).
Blount (25-for-34, 274 yards, 2 TD, INT; 23 rushes, 80 yards, TD), one of 26 candidates for the 2005 Harlon Hill Trophy, led the hosts on a 10-play, 96-yard drive to the winning score. The Pioneers got the ball on their own four-yard line, with no timeouts remaining, with 1:23 to go in the contest following a Golden Rams punt.
C.W. Post faced no more than second down on the drive, before Blount found Heller (game-high nine catches, 134 yards) for the go-ahead score on the duo's fifth completion of the drive. Following an excessive celebration penalty, freshman kicker Andrew Kroell drilled the 35-yard point-after kick, giving him a new C.W. Post single-season record for PAT's made (62).
The Pioneers received the ball on the four-yard line following a stalled WCU drive, which occurred after the Golden Rams' Dan Faubel stuffed freshman CWP tailback Anthony Lazarus on a fourth-and-inches play at the visitors' 15-yard line. Anthony Belasco's 51-yard punt rolled dead at the 4, setting the stage for Blount's heroics.
West Chester broke a 14-14 halftime tie with 9:07 left in the third quarter, when tailback Brent Steinmetz (27 carries, game-high 115 yards) ran into the end zone from three yards away for his third touchdown of the season. Following a blocked point-after attempt by CWP sophomore Jamel Ramsay , the Golden Rams held a 20-14 lead.
Kroell's 29-yard field goal on the ensuing Pioneers drive pulled the hosts within 20-17 with 6:37 left in the quarter.
C.W. Post, which held a 419-256 advantage in total offense and kept the ball for 36:29 of possession on the day, ripped off a 10-play, 65-yard drive to start the contest that ended when Blount ran into the end zone from seven yards away to put the Pioneers up 6-0 just 4:35 into the game.
Steinmetz answered with a 20-yard run with 7:52 to go in the opening quarter, before his one-yard plunge with 5:09 left in the first half put the visitors up 14-6.
The Pioneers responded with an eight-play scoring drive, which was capped on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Blount to Chris Bone (five receptions, 34 yards) with 1:38 left in the half. Blount dove into the end zone for the two-point conversion to knot the game at 14-all at the break.
West Chester received a 10-for-20 passing performance from Bill Zwaan, Jr., with three receptions apiece by Brandon Simmons (69 yds.), Mike Washington and Steinmetz (30 yds. each). Inside linebacker Lateef Ferguson registered a game-high 14 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one-half a sack and forced one fumble.
C.W. Post, which has now scored a school single-season record 496 points this year (previous: 488, set in 1993), received a season-high eight catches and 79 yards from Jo-el Kimaiyo , who also earned 95 yards on three kickoff returns. Mike Molloy made nine tackles to lead the Pioneers defense, while Woody Aime (seven tackles) had one tackle for loss, a forced fumble and one interception.