On Friday the West Chester University Golden Rams held their annual Purple-Gold Spring football game at Farrell Stadium and finished with a 20-20 tie. Also, throughout the day, the football team held their “Get in the Game. Save a Life” drive to increase the national bone marrow testing program.West Chester is beginning life without All-American wide receiver Mike Washington for the first time in four years. If Friday was any indication, that adjustment could come easier than expected.
“No team could ever replace a Mike Washington,” runningback D’Andre Webb said. “But everytime someone asks me that, all I can think about is Coach Zwaan’s quote ‘We don’t rebuild we retool.’ Meaning we are not looking for someone to replace Mike, we are looking for someone to step in and help us win. We still have very, very talented receivers and we can’t go wrong with Mr. Wright.”
Both offenses started out fast. Gold came right out of the gates and put up the first points of the game. Starting quarterback Joe Wright led a 70-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass to starting tight end Ryan Paulson. On the first play of the game, Wright found wide receiver Dan DePalma for 51 yards. DePalma, who starred as a defensive back last season, is making the switch to wide receiver to help offset the loss of Washington.
The Purple offense answered right back. Led by quarterback Jared Jorgensen, Purple tied the game at seven when Jorgensen found wide receiver Rodney Sykes who dove to make the touchdown grab.
Late in the first quarter, following a 23-yard pass play to DePalma, Wright found wide receiver Will Gardner for a touchdown to help Gold retake the lead. Gardner is another receiver who is expected to step up and help the offense.
Purple answered right back as quarterback Marshall Vogel found wide receiver Jackson Fagan for a 19-yard catch and run to tie the game at 14. Fagan, another receiver being looked at to step up this year, is making the switch from running back to receiver to help the offense.
In the second half, kicker Chris Hill, who is expected to take the reins from Alex Walsh, booted two field goals of 35 and 40 yards to give the Gold a six point advantage.
Midway through the fourth quarter, Vogel scored a touchdown from one-yard out to tie the game at 20. With a chance to take a one-point lead late in the game, Purple’s extra point attempt was blocked by linebacker Andrew Sheehan who corralled the holder Fagan to keep the game knotted at 20.
Wright finished the game 12 of 28 for 195 yards and two touchdowns, while playing the first half. Scott Bradish, who played the second half, finished 2 of 9 for 24 yards.
Jorgensen, who is the anticipated second string quarterback, finished 9 of 23 for 146 yards, one touchdown and an interception. Vogel finished 11 of 23 for 145 yards and a touchdown.
It is going to take a full team effort to replace the numbers Washington put up throughout his illustrious career, and Friday could be the start of something special. The receivers throughout the rosters stepped up during the game. DePalma led the Gold with three receptions for 85 yards. Paulson finished with four catches and 43 yards. Starting wide receiver Steve Miller and Gardner each finished with three receptions for 54 and 24 yards, respectively.
For the Purple team, backup wide receivers Sean Beahan (six catches for 119 yards) and Sykes (seven catches for 85 yards) led the way for the offense.
Webb, coming off a knee injury sustained last season against Kutztown, rushed for a game-high 71 (7.9 yards per carry) for the Gold. The Purple team ran for a total of five yards in the game.
“After the game I felt good,” Webb said. “My knee felt really good. I felt like I accomplished a lot during the spring. Personally I didn’t think I would be able to participate but I made it.”
The Gold team held a slight advantage over the Purple team in the yards gained: 314-296.
“I think that the offense did a
good job,” Webb said. “We did a lot of things right, but we also made a lot of mistakes. We were able to run the ball and pass, so we will be fine come time for the season. Plus, we are practing against the best defense in the league, so I don’t think we have too many worries.”
Defensively, Purple recorded four sacks in the evening. Linebacker Mike Holland, a transfer from Villanova University, recorded four tackles and a sack. Matt Colyar also had four tackles.
Brad Herr led the Gold team with six tackles and a fumble recovery. Brian Hinderer added five tackles.
The Golden Rams are now off until August when they return to campus and begin their preparation to defend their PSAC East title during the 2009 campaign. The first game of the season is scheduled for August 27 at Lock Haven University.
LJ Harrell is a third-year student majoring in Business. He can be reached at LH639694@wcupa.edu.