WEST CHESTER, PA – And so it begins … another century of football at West Chester University is upon us as the Golden Rams head to Boston, Mass., for a clash with Northeast-10 power Bentley on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Bentley Football Field.
The first 100 years were about as successful as you could have imagined. There were 655 wins and a .679 winning percentage overall in the first century on the gridiron. Oh, and 627 of those wins were NCAA contests – a number that ranks third all-time among Division II institutions. The school's .684 winning percentage in NCAA games is sixth all-time as well.
But a new chapter is about to be written in the annals of the Purple & Gold, and the prospects which lay ahead have veteran head coach Bill Zwaan chomping at the bit to get started. Zwaan enters his 22nd year at the helm as the school's all-time winningest football mentor. He is also the NCAA's all-time winningest active head coach in Division II. He is responsible for 157 of West Chester's victories in 20 seasons of football. One year was wiped out by COVID.
So, why is Coach Zwaan excited for this season?
You would be excited too if you had the two quarterbacks returning that West Chester does. Sophomores
Cooper Jordan (Downingtown, Pa./Bishop Shanahan) and
Ethan Kohler (Schwenksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley) were pressed into service as true freshmen in 2022. Now, they return with that year of experience under their belts and a much better grasp of the offense.
You need more reasons?
The portal, which was not West Chester's friend when two-time conference defensive player of the year
Jackson Taylor and three-time, first-team all-conference running back
Ja'Den McKenzie left, produced three stellar wide receivers and a running back that should electrify this offense and give Jordan and Kohler plenty of weapons. And, of course, the entire offensive line returns – save for the exception of one injury. However, that spot was replaced with someone who has plenty of playing time and a few starts to boot.
The Golden Rams go four deep at running back.
Jayden Williams (Bethlehem, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic),
Daquan Robinson (Philadelphia, Pa./Northeast) and
Dayshawn Jacobs (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) will be joined by Temple transfer
Trey Blair (Havertown, Pa./Haverford). Zwaan's task will be keeping that foursome satisfied with their workload.
Out on the perimeter,
D'Shaun Seals (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter) is the returning leading receiver. He stretches defenses and keeps the safeties back which opens up the middle. Transfers
Julian Jordan (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt),
Johnathan Haynes (North Wales, Pa./North Penn) and
Mike Gray (West Chester, Pa./East) take some of the focus off Seals. A healthy
Rene "Junior" Duffault (Reading, Pa./Muhlenberg) and returner
Rahiem Bowens (Lansdowne, Pa./Penn Wood) are also in the mix.
Robby Longo (Springfield, Pa./Springfield) and
Zack Gillen (Easton, Pa./Wilson) are new names to the Golden Rams' faithful. But, they can play and will get on the field. Finally, freshman
Darrell Brown (Swedesboro, N.J./Kingsway Regional) is extremely talented and deserves a look. Zwaan and his staff feel they have adequately addressed the team's issues at wide receiver from a year ago. That group just mentioned above is a testament to that.
Lest we forget So., tight end
Thatcher Miller (Lititz, Pa./Warwick). He was the best tight end in the PSAC East last fall and perhaps the second-best tight end in the entire league. His breakout year in 2022 has the coaching staff eager to see what he has in store for a follow up.
All of these weapons won't mean a thing without the boys up front protecting the quarterback and opening holes for the runners. So.,
Caelen Krasley (Chester Springs, Pa./Downingtown East) was an all-league selection a year ago at left guard.
Patrick Methlie (Avondale, Pa./Salesianum [Del.]) will take over at left tackle for the injured
Quinton Derr (Willow Grove, Pa./Upper Dublin), and
Luke Stengel (Philadelphia, Pa./Archbishop Wood) returns at center. Those three appeared in and started all 11 games for the Golden Rams on an offensive line that ranked second in the PSAC in rushing. The right side of the line consists of
Bill Martelon (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic), who appeared in all 11 games and made 10 starts, and
Trey Wells (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster Catholic) who appeared in nine games and made two starts. Barring anymore injuries, this group in the trenches is one of the best in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.
Defensively, a pair of former Big Ten athletes are in the secondary, one of the team's top tacklers return at inside linebacker, and his partner in the middle should make people forget about
Jackson Taylor pretty quickly. Up front on the D-line, West Chester returns three regulars from a year ago. This defense might be one of the best Zwaan and his long-time defensive coordinator,
Mike Furlong, have built at West Chester. If injuries don't slow down the Golden Rams, then a third-place prediction in the PSAC East preseason polls may be a severe underestimation of this squad.
Strong Safety
Shane Mosley (Havertown, Pa./Haverford) and free safety
Kaleb Brown (Reading, Pa./Wilson) honed their skills at Maryland and Penn State, respectively, before landing in West Chester. Brown is a returning starter to the Golden Rams' secondary while Mosley starts his first season in the Purple & Gold this fall. Outside, returning starters
Obi Anyatonwu (York, Pa./Central York) and
Sterlen Barr, Jr. (Hatboro, Pa./Upper Moreland) are on the corners. Anyatonwu broke up 10 passes a year ago while Barr broke up seven and intercepted one. He also ranked among the nation's leaders with four blocked kicks.
Sr., linebacker
Khalib Slaughter (Flemington, N.J./Hunterdon Central) finished second on the team in tackles a year ago with 44 stops, including three for a loss. He also intercepted a pass and forced a fumble. He will man one of the inside positions in Furlong's new-look, 3-4 defense. Alongside him will be Temple transfer
Connor Noble (Chester Springs, Pa./Downingtown East). There is a lot of upside to Noble, and the coaching staff can't wait to see what he can do. On the outside of them is sophomore
Maurice Beverly (Philadelphia, Pa./Imhotep Charter), who was a starter as a true freshman a year ago, but had that campaign cut short to injury. The other outside linebacker position will be
Brody McAndrew (Penndel, Pa./Neshaminy), who transferred in from New Hampshire.
Ricardo Delgado (Warminster, Pa./Archbishop Wood) and Temple transfer
DeJuan Dandridge (Sharon Hill, Pa./St. Joe's Prep) are also ready to play and will challenge for playing time.
Senior
Ayyub Dail (Easton, Pa./Easton Area) returns in the middle of the defensive line. He will clog things up in the run game. Flanking him will be
Daniel Hicks (Lansdale, Pa./North Penn) and
Nate Desmond (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley) – both of whom have seen plenty of playing time and drawn a few starting assignments as well.
Tom Burns (Yardley, Pa./Conwell-Egan),
Charlie Mininger (Willow Grove, Pa./Archbishop Wood) and
Debrick Johnson (Fairless Hills, Pa./Conwell-Egan) are each capable backups giving the Golden Rams some of the best depth on the defense.
Heading up the special teams unit once again is junior place-kicker/punter
Sean Henry (Reading, Pa./Exeter). He has developed into one of the top kickers in the region, and last year, added punting duties to his resume. Henry has a very strong leg, was perfect from over 40 yards, and regularly puts kickoffs into the end zone.
Chris Barbera (Fort Washington, Pa./Upper Dublin) is a capable punter as well. Sophomore
Zack Liberatore (Glen Mills, Pa./Garnet Valley) can also punt and kick.
Most likely, the return specialists will come from that stable of running backs, meaning whoever is not getting carries on downs will be back returning kicks and punts. Seals, a wide receiver, will also be a candidate in the return game. As far as coverage goes on kicks, that's where the depth at linebacker and defensive back come in handy. There are a lot of choices for the coaching staff in these areas.
