West Chester Picked As The Favorite In PSAC East Preseason Poll

2018 PSAC Football Preseason Notes

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – West Chester University's football squad was picked to repeat as the PSAC East champion in a poll of the loop's head coaches released Friday afternoon by the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).
 
West Chester, coming off a 9-4 campaign from a year ago that saw them win the Eastern Division title and advance to the second round of the NCAA II Playoffs, returns six all-leaguers and a pair of All-Americans in 2018. Eight of the Golden Rams' 16 returning starters are on defense where West Chester seems to be strongest heading into the new year.
 
WCU claimed six of the possible seven first-place votes after appearing in the PSAC Championship Game last season, before advancing to the NCAA DII Football Playoffs. It marked the second time in three years that West Chester won the East.
 
If the old adage that defense wins championships stands true, then West Chester University football fans will enjoy the 2018 fall campaign. The Golden Rams are stacked on that side of the ball with plenty of returning starters and plenty of experienced depth. This year's group is fast, physical and hungry.
 
Head coach Bill Zwaan, now entering his 16th season on the Golden Rams' sideline and 25th season as a collegiate head coach, recognizes that this could be a special year for his defense.
 
"I would be disappointed if this defense wasn't as good as some of the best defenses we have had," boasted Zwaan. "Last year, we were young in the secondary, and our defensive front was hurt. Therefore, we weren't a 'take-the-game-over' kind of a unit. We were a 'hang-on-and-keep-us-in-the-game' unit. We will be that 'take-the-game-over' defense this year."
 
West Chester opens the 2018 slate on the road, Thu., Aug. 30 at Bentley University in Waltham, Mass. with a 6 p.m. kickoff scheduled against the Falcons.