The 2009 football season ended a couple of weeks too early for the West Chester University Golden Rams this year. A season that started with a lot of promise ended in disappoint as they were not able to make the NCAA playoffs for the first time in six years.The entire season was not lost for the Golden Rams. They were led by a defense that was the best in the PSAC and one of the best in the entire country. West Chester gave up 17.3 points per game led by a group of linebackers that could be considered the best in school history.
All-American linebacker Mike Dell led the team, a year after winning the PSAC Eastern Division defensive player of the year award. He led the team in tackles (72) and recorded an interception in the final game of the season against Mercyhurst.
Playing beside Dell were seniors Sam Scott, Mike Holland and T.J. Cascio. Scott led the PSAC with 16.5 tackles for loss this season. He also recorded a team-high 7.5 sacks, while also intercepting a pass in the final game against Mercyhurst. Holland, a transfer from Villanova, finished second on the team with 64 tackles and 9.5 tackles for loss. Cascio started the entire season, even when injured, and did a phenomenal job covering backs and tight ends out of the backfield.
“Certainly the linebacking core is outstanding,” head coach Bill Zwaan said. “I don’t know if we will ever have a core like that again.”
The front three for West Chester was also a force throughout the year. James Thorpe, Travis Ford-Bey and Scott Schiavo put consistent pressure on the quarterback towards the end of the year which allowed the linebackers and secondary to make game changing plays. Troy Wasserleben, Jason Hunt and Lucas Fickel gave the starting three a chance to come off the field by continuing to dominate the line of scrimmage when asked to play.
The secondary was led by seniors Kevin Garland and Corey Rhood. Garland made the switch to defensive back from running back so that he could get on the field and show off his athletic ability. Garland led the Golden Rams with three interceptions, including returning one for a touchdown against Cheyney. Rhood continued his stellar play as the West Chester safety and finished with two interceptions. Cordero Newkirk and Matt Colyar also helped in the secondary as starters opposite of Garland and Rhood.
The West Chester offense started off slow this year, but got it going in the middle of year. Even without All-American wide receiver Mike Washington, the Golden Rams were able to move the ball at will while putting up 33.9 points per game.
Senior quarterback Joe Wright led the offense as he finished his final season with 2,759 yards and 20 touchdowns. Wright overcame many injuries and surgeries to start the last two seasons as the West Chester signal caller.
The Golden Rams had playmakers all over the field. Led by senior wide receiver Steve Miller and junior wide receiver Dan DePalma, the West Chester passing game continued their success over the past couple of seasons under Zwaan. Miller finished with 46 receptions for 759 yards and nine touchdowns. DePalma, who moved from cornerback to wide receiver, finished the season with 45 receptions for 832 yards and nine touchdowns.
Senior tight end Ryan Paulson, who was a preseason All-American selection, had a tough start to the season, but he came on towards the end. In the rivalry game against Bloomsburg, Paulson had 104 yards receiving to help lead the Golden Rams to victory. Sophomore wide receiver Will Gardner also caught three touchdowns in his first season as a starter.
“Ryan Paulson is probably going to end up being one of the best tight ends to ever play here,” Zwaan said.
West Chester had trouble running the ball throughout the season, but was loaded with talent at the running back position. Senior running back Lee Hopkins finished with 278 yards and four touchdowns. Also contributing were junior D’Andre Webb (423 yards and seven touchdowns) and sophomore Jackson Fagan (203 yards and four touchdowns). Starting fullback Matt McLaughlin also got some carries as he finished the season with three touchdowns.
The West Chester offensive line, led by center Kyle O’Neil, did another solid job of protecting Wright throughout the season. While passing the ball over 300 times over the season, the West Chester quarterbacks were sacked only 13 times.
Garland and DePalma also did outstanding jobs in the return game. Garland averaged 20.6 yards per punt return to lead the country this season. DePalma averaged 24.4 yards per kickoff return to help the offense with great field position.
Following the season, the PSAC recognized some of the top performers throughout the conference, and the Golden Rams were represented well on the team.
West Chester placed ten players on the All-PSAC East team this year, eight on the first team and two on the second team, most of any team in the division. The players who made the team are:
FIRST TEAM
-TE Ryan Paulson
-WR Steve Miller
-C Kyle O’Neil
-DE Travis Ford-Bey
-DE James Thorpe
-LB Mike Dell
-LB Sam Scott
-PR Kevin Garland
SECOND TEAM
-WR Dan DePalma
-S Corey Rhood
The season started out on a bright note with a shutout victory over Lock Haven. The next two games didn’t go the Golden Rams way as they fell to Delaware and California (Pa.) before opening up the conference schedule.
West Chester entered this season with a 16-game win streak against division opponents. The first division game started with a bang as West Chester ran through Millersville 63-10. The Golden Rams then defeated the Golden Bears of Kutztown on Family Day.
Mistakes and penalties were a glaring weakness throughout the season as West Chester committed 77 penalties for 790 yards. Some penalties hurt more than others, while a lot of penalties left West Chester leaving points on the board.
The first sign of trouble came the following week against East Stroudsburg when West Chester fell an extra point away from defeating the Warriors on Homecoming. The Golden Rams got back on their winning ways against C.W. Post with a 34-26 come-from-behind victory over the Pioneers.
West Chester then traveled to Shippensburg for a matchup of two teams tied for second place in the PSAC East. Despite a big game from Miller, the Golden Rams fell short against the Red Raiders 24-19. With 6:28 remaining in the game, Wright was intercepted when a ball hit off the shoulders of Miller and went right to a Shippensburg player.
With three games remaining in the season, West Chester played for pride. The seniors wanted to go out winners, and that they did. After a blowout victory over Cheyney, the Golden Rams faced arch-nemesis Bloomsburg University.
With the chance to knock the Huskies out of the playoff picture, West Chester came out with a ton of emotion and it showed on the field. The Golden Rams took control of the game after the first quarter and never looked back as they ran away with a 30-14 victory.
In the final week of the season, the Golden Rams easily defeated Mercyhurst on Senior Day. The seniors led the way as West Chester controlled every aspect of the game.
With three consecutive wins to end the season, the Golden Rams have momentum for next season. With a young nucleus coming back led by Ford-Bey, Webb and DePalma, West Chester will undoubtedly be back to where they belong next year: in the playoffs.
The following senior players are to be recognized for their play at WCU over the years:
-Mike Dell
-Joe Wright
-Ryan Paulson
-Kevin Garland
-James Thorpe
-Mike Holland
-Sam Scott
-Steve Miller
-T.J. Cascio
-Corey Rhood
-Lee Hopkins
-Matt Gounaris
LJ H
arrell is a fourth-year student majoring in Marketing. He can be reached at LH639694@wcupa.edu.