1969 PSAC Football Championship

WEST CHESTER NICKS CLARION 41-34 FOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP; TWO TEAMS COULD MEET AGAIN IN 1970

For West Chester State and its football team, it’s a case--- pure and simple---of the rich getting richer.

Last Saturday the Rams concluded an 8-2 season by winning their fifth Pennsylvania Conference championship in the 10 years of the playoff with a 41-34 victory over Clarion at West Chester

The triumph came just a day after the West Chester frosh wrapped up their first perfect season (7-0) in history.

Following up on a 46-12 thumping of Villanova, a 33-0 shutout of Bullis Prep and a 21-0 nod over the Army plebes among others, the junior Rams walloped previously undefeated Stevens Trade of Lancaster, Pa., 49-21.

“The look pretty good to me,” declared West Chester Varsity coach Bob Mitten, “and you can bet we’ll be using a lot of them next year.”

Clarion, too, had a fine freshman season of 4-1 and it would not be unlikely to see both teams back in the playoff in 1970--- along with some of the key personnel that preformed last Saturday in snow flurries and mud at West Chester.

Clarion’s junior quarterback Bob Erdeljac and West Chester’s sophomore quarterback Ernie Forchetti, for example, tossed 77 passes between them. They each clicked two touchdowns.

Put the balance of power went to West Chester because of a sophomore substitute fullback named Bob Wolfrum who racked up four touchdowns and 133 yards in the first half that gave West Chester a 35-14 lead and enough points to seal the victory.

West Chester will also have back flanker Barry Stout who nabbed four passes for 64 yards. But they won’t have Paul Dankelberger, the swift halfback who made three spectacular catches of 16, 65 and 42 yards---the first pair for touchdowns on the dead run---and the latter a diving catch that set up another score from the three.

“Dunkelberger broke our back,” said Clarion coach Al Jacks. “He had to drop those passes for us to win, but he didn’t and that’s a sign of a good football team.”

Clarion showed its class by driving 93 yards for a touchdown with three minutes left, and then scored with six seconds on the clock as linebacker Brad Whoolery clocked a punt and ran 30 yards into the end zone.