Event News - Montgomery County All-Star Classic

Four future Golden Rams will be participating in the 45th Annual Montgomery County All-Star Classic to be held at 7:00 pm on June 4 at Souderton High School. Quarterback Andrew Derr of Upper Dublin and defensive back Kenny Williams of Plymouth-Whitemarsh will play for the South squad, while quarterback Shannon Mayer of Norristown and linebacker Ralph Reeves of North Penn will play for the North squad.

Last year, the Montgomery County All-Star Football Classic donated $8,000 to the Children's Tumor Foundation.

Montgomery County All-Star Football Classic

Montgomery Media - West Chester represented well at Montco All-Star Game

EasternPAFootball.com - South Prevails over North in Montgomery County all-star football game

Montgomery Media - Derr, Lee lead South All-Stars past North

The Times Herald - South takes North 28-7 in Montco All-Star game

The Reporter - Derr leads South all-stars past North

Event News - Valor Bowl

Three future Golden Rams will be participating in the 14th Annual Valor Bowl to be held at 7:15 pm on May 31 in Zimmerman Stadium at West Chester East High School. Linebacker Grant Garbutt of Conestoga and lineman Tom Phelan of West Chester East will suit up for the East squad while lineman Kenny Massey of Oxford will play for the West team.

The Valor Bowl was founded by Scott Allison and former West Chester Golden Ram and Killinger Hall of Fame member Joe Carroll, and serves as Chester county's senior all-star game with all proceeds going to benefit the Chester County Special Olympics. Several current West Chester University football players have participated in the Valor Bowl including 2008 South Offensive MVP Matt Carroll, 2010 East Offensive MVP Rondell White, Brandon Monk, Ian Wood, Chris Scavicchio and Jeff Kiely. Other notable Valor Bowl alumni include 2001 North Offensive MVP Bob Findora who later led the Golden Rams to the 2004 Division II National semi-final, and 1999 South Offensive MVP and current Houston Texan quarterback Matt Schaub.

There are several other ties between West Chester Golden Ram football and this year's Valor Bowl. Serving as assistant coaches for the West team are long-time West Chester University head football coach and recent Killinger Hall of Fame inductee Rick Daniels, former Golden Ram player and assistant coach Jim Smink, along with Mike Matta. On the other side of the field, former Golden Ram center and Killinger Hall of Fame member Joe Walsh will work as an assistant coach for the East team.

Daily Local News - Defenses may be taxed at Valor Bowl

Daily Local News - East nips West in Valor Bowl thriller

EasternPAFootball.com - East rallies to nip West

Highlight Video

Event News - Hero Bowl

Two future Golden Rams will be participating in the 36th Annual Delaware County Hero Bowl to be held at 7:30 pm on May 31 in Leslie C. Quick Stadium on the campus of Widener University. Wide receiver A.J. DiPietro of Garnet Valley and linebacker Tyler Morrissey of Springfield will suit up for the West squad.

The Hero Bowl serves as Delaware county's senior all-star game with all proceeds going to benefit the Hero Scholarship Fund of Delaware County to provide scholarships to the children of police officers, fire fighters and EMS workers who have given their lives in the line of duty.

Delaware County News Network - Annual Hero Bowl football game set for May 31

Delaware County News Network - Coaches announced for annual Hero Bowl

CBS Philly - The Hero Bowl: A Great Game For A Great Cause

Delaware County News Network - Hero Bowl scholarship game a high note at the end of numerous football careers

Springfield Patch - West Comeback Bid Falls Short in Hero Bowl

Daily Times - Hero Bowl: DiGalbo and O-line pave way as East takes Hero Bowl thriller

Event News - Philadelphia All-Star Game

Jaleel Reed courtesy of PhillyTrib.com

Several future Golden Rams recently participated in the 38th Annual Philadelphia All-Star Game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. The game which features seniors from the public schools against those from the non-public, was won by Public 29-22 on May 10.

Participating for Non-Public were quarterback Jaleel Reed, and defensive backs Kevin Malone and Blaise Schieler all of West Catholic. Suiting up for the Public team was defensive lineman Shaquill Ryder of Imhotep Charter.

PhillyTrib.com - City’s all stars to play at LINC

EasternPAFootball.com - Public City All-Stars outlast Non-Public All-Stars, 29-22

philly.com - Publics go to town in Eagles City All-Star Football Classic

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Event News - PSFCA East-West Game

A future Golden Ram recently participated in the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association (PSFCA) East-West All-Star Game at Gateway High School in Monroeville, Pa. Linebacker Ralph Reeves of North Penn represented the East team in the game which was won by the West 45-24 on May 6. Reeves played alongside players that will be playing football for such schools as Maryland, Temple, Akron, Virginia and Penn State.

GoErie.com - West tops East in PSFCA All-Star Football Game

thetimes-tribune.com - West cruises to all-star win over East

Highlight Video

Alumni News - Mike Dell Update

Former West Chester University standout linebacker Mike Dell continues in his second season with the Indoor Football League's Reading Express. And he's doing things in his professional career that he never did in his stellar collegiate career - score touchdowns and carry the ball on offense.

Dell racked up 277 total tackles in four seasons as a Golden Ram, but no points. In last week's win over the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks, Dell recovered a fumble in the end zone at the start of the fourth quarter. It was his first defensive touchdown for the Express, but not his first trip into the end zone this season. In Reading's win over the Cedar Rapids Titans a week earlier, Dell scored twice on carries of four and two yards. And he had a monster game against Cedar Rapids last night - two carries for eight yards and another touchdown on offense and seven total tackles including 5.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble on defense. For his performance, Dell was named Week 12 IFL Defensive Player of the Week. On the season, he is tied for third in the conference in sacks with 8.0 and his 44 total tackles is good for third on the team.

The Express's last home game is 7:00pm on Saturday June 2 at the Sovereign Center in Reading against the Chicago Slaughter.

Reading Eagle - Dell giving Express an added dimension

Cedar Rapids Gazette - Drought ends for Titans

Week 12 IFL Players of the Week - Mike Dell Earns IFL Defensive Honors

Team News - Seniors Honored

Five senior football players were honored at the Rams Athletic Association's 19th Annual Senior Awards Brunch held at Sykes Student Union today. Senior student-athletes in attendance from all sports were presented with a replica of the rams statue located in front of Old Library. Receiving their statue from Athletic Director Dr. Edward Matejkovic were fullback Brian McDermott, cornerback Matt Colyar, defensive back Bryan Hinderer, defensive back Matt Westervelt and offensive tackle Chris Faix.

Along with honoring those seniors, head football coach Bill Zwaan took the opportunity to congratulate West Chester University first-year head coaches Amy Cohen, whose field hockey team captured the NCAA Division II national championship this past fall, and Jad Prachniak, whose baseball team won the PSAC baseball championship yesterday.

Team News - Spring Recap

Entering spring ball, there were three main items that WCU football fans were focusing on: offensive line, running back and quarterback. Now that spring ball is completed, how did each of these critical areas turn out? And how about that new wrinkle on defense? 

Offensive Line - Five seniors and a wealth of experience concluded their college playing days in November, so there was going to be a lot of changes on the offensive line. Squeezing out as much experience as possible from the current roster has yielded the following starting five: senior Erik Pratt at left tackle, junior Trey Farmer at left guard, senior Brian Margetich at center, senior Blair Gower at right guard and junior Adam Citko at right tackle. As can be expected when a lot of experience leaves a team, depth on the line will be a challenge, meaning there's a lot of opportunities for young players to step up. 

Senior Brian Margetich will serve as center next season

Running Back - There was a total of 43 yards net rushing for both teams combined in the spring game. To be fair, the quarterbacks accounted for -50 yards on the ground, but the running game wasn't exactly stellar. For Gold, junior Rondell White gained 26 net yards on 15 carries and transfer James Rosseau had eight carries for 24 yards. Purple was led by transfer Chris Smallwood with 42 net yards on 12 carries. Freshman Brandon Monk did not play in the spring game due to an injury, but he was electric during spring practices. The running game improved in 2011 over the previous two seasons, but it has a way to go to get to the levels it was during the five playoff seasons. The lack of production in the spring game may have been due to the aforementioned new offensive line, or due to the primary offensive focus of the spring - the quarterbacks. 

Junior Rondell White will lead the rush next season

Quarterback - The field of guys battling for the quarterback position cleared early in the spring. Transfer Bret Gillespie left the team and incumbent Matt Carroll moved to defense. The two most experienced signal callers were 2010 starter Mike Mattei and Sean McCartney who took the bulk of the snaps last season. Talk among fans at Farrell Stadium during the spring game was that there was no clear cut leader and subsequent media reports concurred. However, Coach Zwaan has since tabbed McCartney as the starter for the 2012 season.

Junior Sean McCartney has been named starting quarterback for 2012

4-2-5 Defense - Although the Golden Rams rushing defense improved 17 yards per game from 2010 to 2011, it still was ranked in the bottom third in the country. So for the first time in Zwaan's career, he will play a four-man front on a regular basis. From a personnel perspective, this means that Anthony McCloskey will move from inside linebacker to nose guard and pass rusher Eric Edwers will move from outside linebacker to defensive end. The secondary will be led by single safety and team co-captain John O'Donnell, two cornerbacks and two outside linebackers to complete the umbrella effect. Matt Carroll seems to have made the adjustment to the defensive side of the ball just fine as he had five tackles including a sack and a fumble recovery.

Defensive coordinator Mike Furlong will lead a four-man front in 2012

Players report to camp on August 8th to begin preparation for the season opener at Delaware on August 30th. Find the complete 2012 schedule here.

Daily Local News - Zwaan tabs Sean McCartney as West Chester’s starting quarterback