The 2015 West Chester University Golden Ram football team was honored at the 50th annual team banquet sponsored by the Golden Ram Football Club last night at the Concordville Inn in Concordville, PA.
For their performance in each game this past season, the following were selected as the Killinger Players of the Game:
Lenoir-Rhyne - A.J. DePietro -
DePietro (Jr., Garnet Valley) accounted for half of West Chester's four touchdowns in the game. The first came on a nine-yard pass from Pat Moriarty to cap an 11-play, 85-yard drive. The second was on a 45-yard catch from Alec Werner.
Mercyhurst - Adam Dempsey -
Dempsey (Sr., Cardinal O'Hara) had a 29-yard reception in the first quarter that led to a West Chester touchdown. Towards the end of the second quarter, he scored on a 21-yard run to extend the Golden Rams' lead to 11 points. He then had a crucial 22-yard catch on a third and 15 with nine seconds left to setup a game-winning field goal attempt.
Seton Hill - Jarel Elder -
Out of West Chester's 82 offensive plays, Elder (So., Parkland) touched the ball 33 times. He had 25 carries for 247 yards and 3 touchdowns and 8 catches for 84 yards and another score. After considering kickoff returns, Elder amassed 365 all-purpose yards and was named PSAC East Offensive Player of the Week as the Golden Rams earned their first victory of the season.
Millersville - Barry Lyons -
Lyons (Sr., Cumberland Valley) had one solo tackle and four assisted tackles for five total tackles. More significantly, 2.5 of those tackles resulted in losses for the Marauders.
Lock Haven - Nydair Rouse -
Rouse (R-Fr., Simon Gratz) had a team high six solo tackles and seven total tackles. He also registered two pass breakups in the game. But the highlight was an interception that he returned 21-yards and led to a Golden Ram touchdown on a cold, rainy day in Lock Haven.
Kutztown - Pat Moriarty -
Moriarty (So., Harriton) had his best game of the season in the 44-14 victory over the Golden Bears. Out of 40 attempts, he completed 30 passes to ten different receivers for 437 yards. He also threw five touchdown passes to four different receivers and racked up a season-high 208.0 QB efficiency rating for the game. Moriarty was named ECAC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
Shippensburg - Ralph Reeves -
Reeves (Jr., North Penn) had seven tackles in the game, all of which were solo stops. Included in that was a sack for a loss of 13 yards that forced the Raiders into a long field goal attempt that missed at the close of the first half. On Shippensburg's first possession of the second half, he forced a fumble that was recovered by West Chester.
Bloomsburg - Tim Brown -
In a critical division game in front of a homecoming crowd, Brown (Sr., Upper Darby) had a game-high six receptions for 84 yards. Four of his catches resulted in first downs and another resulted in a touchdown. Trailing late in the fourth quarter and facing third and six, Brown hauled in a pass and rumbled 24 yards to the Bloomsburg four-yard line to set up the game-winning touchdown.
Cheyney - Eerin Young -
With West Chester short on running backs, Young (So., Imhotep Charter) made sure the Golden Ram offense never skipped a beat. He had 13 carries for a game-high 131 yards for a 10.1 yards/carry average. He also hauled in a reception and returned two kickoffs for 50 yards for a total of 183 all-purpose yards in the game.
East Stroudsburg - Brandon Monk -
East Stroudsburg will be thankful that Monk (Sr., Avon Grove) will graduate. After rushing for 257 yards and two touchdowns last season against the Warriors, he went for 170 yards and two more touchdowns in this year's game. His average gain per carry of 7.1 yards was identical to last year's game which was played in the Poconos. Monk was named PSAC East Offensive Player of the Week and MNYFW Offensive Player of the Week for the game.
Slippery Rock - Andrew Cohen -
In the PSAC Championship Game, Cohen (Sr., Council Rock South) made six solo tackles and assisted on three others for nine total tackles. He also registered two solo sacks for a total of seven yards in addition to another tackle for loss in his final collegiate game.
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West Chester Football Scholar Athlete of the Year - Kyle Keyser - At the PSAC Football Championship game, Keyser (Jr., Garnet Valley) was named the PSAC Football Champion Scholar for his 3.887 grade point average in finance. He was also named to the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Football Team as voted by the sports information directors of the 28 colleges and universities in the Philadelphia area.
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The following players were selected by the coaches for their efforts this season:
Offensive Scout Team in memory of Mark Killinger - Paul Dooley - Dooley (Fr., Springside-Chestnut Hill) was a three-time all-conference and Inter-Academic Player of the Year as a senior for the Blue Devils. Over his final two seasons, he threw for almost 4,000 yards and 49 touchdowns. He also was twice named to his conference's all-academic team.
Defensive Scout Team from Dave Williams - Joe DeSanto - DeSanto (Fr., Plymouth-Whitemarsh) was a first team all-conference performer on both offense and defense as a junior. As a senior, he had 4.5 sacks in a single game while earning all-league and all-area honors.
Ted Novak Memorial Coaches' Award - Brandon Monk - Fighting injuries all season, Monk (Sr., Avon Grove) still amassed over 1,100 all-purpose yards this season. Monk was injured early in the game at Mercyhurst which also caused him to miss the following week against Seton Hill. He then missed most of the second half against Bloomsburg and was held out the following week at Cheyney. For the season, he ground out 546 yards and five touchdowns on 115 carries and notched another 100 yards on ten receptions. Monk was the team's leading punt returner and had a 96-yard kickoff return for touchdown at Lock Haven. He was named PSAC East Special Teams Player of the Week for that Lock Haven game, PSAC East Offensive Player of the Week after East Stroudsburg, first team All-PSAC East and honorable mention All-ECAC for the season.
Mark and Julie Drochek Coaches' Award - Adam Dempsey - The diminutive Dempsey (Sr., Cardinal O'Hara) is the only Golden Ram who had a catch in every game this season. Acting as a coach on the field, Dempsey had 28 catches for 345 yards and a touchdown while also logging five carries for 21 yards and one score. Fans will best remember Dempsey for his many over the middle catches that were almost also in traffic and incurred a big hit.
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The following players were selected by their teammates for their performance for the season:
Kelly's Sports Unsung Hero - Charles Kuklinski - You won't find Kuklinski's (Sr., Central Bucks West) name in the box score other than participation, but as the dedicated long snapper, he played a big role for the Golden Rams for the past four seasons. It's not hard to think of games when the opponent lost valuable field position or even points due to bad snaps on punts, field goals or PAT's.
Bill Vansant Memorial Special Teams Award - Pete Galiano - Galiano (Jr., Camden Catholic) didn't account for any points like a kicker would or yards like a punt or kickoff return man would, but he played an important role on punt and kickoff coverage teams. He finished the season fourth on the team in total tackles with 43, and as a reserve defensive back, it's safe to assume that many of those came on special teams coverage.
Muz and Lew Peck Offensive Player of the Year - Tim Brown - It was a tough season for tight end Brown (Sr., Upper Darby) since he missed the first two games as the NCAA sorted out his eligibility issue and the final two and a half games due to an injury incurred in the first half of the game at Cheyney. Despite playing in just seven games, he still led the Golden Rams in receptions (33), receiving yards (444), and receiving touchdowns (5) and points (102). In games in which Brown played, West Chester was 6-1 this year and 25-5 in his three years in purple and gold. After the 2015 season, he was named first team All-PSAC East, honorable mention All-ECAC, and second team Dan Hansen Football Gazette Super Region 1.
Timothy's of West Chester Defensive Player of the Year - Andrew Cohen - Cohen (Sr., Council Rock South) finished the season second on the team in total tackles with 57. He led the entire PSAC with 1.82 tackles for loss per game and 1.23 sacks per game. Cohen led the team in tackles for loss 20.0 and sacks with 13.5. He notched at least one sack in every game this year and was named PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year.
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Senior defensive end Andrew Cohen was named both the Golden Ram Football Club Player of the Year and WCU Football Athlete of the Year as chosen by the players.
Cohen will go down as one of the most decorated players in West Chester University football history. After leading the entire PSAC with 13.5 sacks for 91 yards and 20.0 tackles for loss this season, he was named PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Year. His 1.23 sacks/game is good for fifth in the country and he set the career PSAC sack record with 33.5. This season, Cohen had 39 solo tackles and 18 assists for 57 total tackles. He registered at least one sack in every game this season and was credited with two forced fumbles at Mercyhurst.
Cohen was also named first team All-PSAC East, first team Don Hansen Football Gazette All-Super Region One, first team CCA All-Super Region 1, first team USA Football Network All-American, second team D2football.com All-American, second team AP All-American, All-ECAC, and Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area. Cohen was also a finalist for the Gene Upshaw Award, a finalist for the Cliff Harris Award and a nominee for the Harlon Hill Trophy.
Head Coach Bill Zwaan presents Brandon Monk with the Ted Novak Memorial Coaching Staff Award (Photo Mary Gilbert)
Head Coach Bill Zwaan took the liberty to present Adam Dempsey with the Mark and Julie Drochek Coaches Award (Photo Mary Gilbert)
Jim Vansant presents Pete Galiano with the Special Teams Award 
Head Coach Bill Zwaan elected to make the presentation of the Muz and Lew Peck Offensive Player of the Year Award to Tim Brown (Photo Mary Gilbert)
Head Coach Bill Zwaan presents Andrew Cohen with the Defensive Player of the Year Award (Photo Mary Gilbert)
Golden Ram Football Club President Richard Greenwood presents Andrew Cohen with Player of the Year Trophy (Photo Mary Gilbert)
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