Throwback Thursday - 2005

Wow, it's already been ten years. Pictured is the 2005 Golden Ram football team which was led by captains #1 Brandon Simmons and #91 Jared Souders. West Chester finished 8-4 and qualified for the playoffs for the second consecutive season. All four losses came away from Farrell Stadium, in four different states, and to very good opponents - North Dakota, Bloomsburg and C.W. Post, each of which was ranked #4 in the nation at the time West Chester played them, and Division I-AA Delaware. The Golden Rams edged East Stroudsburg, which was ranked #6 at the time, by a score of 18-17. The Warriors went on to finish 11-3 and advanced to the national semi-finals.

One of the most memorable games was the season opener. On a Friday evening in August against Clarion, redshirt freshman Michael Washington made seven catches for 242 yards and five touchdowns in his first collegiate game. His receiving yards in that game are the third most in West Chester history behind Kevin Ingram's 401 yards against Clarion in 1998 and George Reid's 247 yards against New Haven in 1990. His five touchdown catches in a game remains the school record.

West Chester's final regular season game was a thriller as well. The Golden Rams took a 24-9 lead into the fourth quarter at Shippensburg, but the Raiders scored a touchdown with five minutes left to move within one possession. West Chester responded exactly as they wanted to - running the ball and picking up first downs to consume the clock. Until a fumble was lost at the Shippensburg 30 with just under two minutes remaining. The Raiders swiftly moved down the field, using a couple of completions to Brent Grimes, now a cornerback with the Miami Dolphins, to earn a first down at the West Chester 25. But then the defensive pressure stepped up to another level. A quarterback hurry by Randy Reinert and a sack by Jimmy Lewis was followed by an incomplete pass setting up fourth and 16. On that play, Dave Montgomery and Dan Faubel joined forces on a sack and West Chester clinched the fifth seed in the playoffs.

Unfortunately, West Chester wasn't able to replicate their ability to hold on to a late lead in the first round of the playoffs at C.W. Post. Despite being outplayed in the contest, the Golden Rams were clinging to a 20-17 lead in the fourth quarter and looked to have advanced to the second round when Anthony Belasco pinned a punt on the Pioneers' four with 80 seconds left to play. But C.W. Post navigated the 96 yards, capped by a 15-yard touchdown pass with three seconds left, ending the Golden Rams season.