Head coach Danny Hale entered his third year as head coach of the Golden Rams after back-to-back 7-3 seasons. After opening with an easy 38-0 win at Glassboro State (now Rowan University), it was time for the, what was then, annual pilgrimage to Newark to take on the University of Delaware.
In retrospect, a narrow 33-31 loss to the Division IAA Blue Hens, in front of their 22,000 fans, led by future two-time Pro Bowl MVP quarterback Rich Gannon seems tolerable for the nearby Division II rivals. But when you consider that the Golden Rams had a 31-14 lead with twelve minutes left to play, and the Blue Hens later failed on a fake punt, didn't recover an onside kick, and lost a fumble deep in West Chester territory with under two minutes left, it becomes tougher to accept. But the ultimate knife to the heart was that Delaware scored on a three-yard pitch on the very last play of the game for the victory.
The Golden Rams would recover the very next week with a 44-7 drubbing of Bloomsburg and pick up five more PSAC wins, raising their record to 7-1 and their national ranking to #7 entering a trip to Division IAA Lehigh. Under a steady rain and a deeply muddy field, West Chester trailed 12-7 in the third quarter when Gerald Toney recovered a Lehigh fumbled punt. One play later, the Golden Rams took a 13-12 lead. Unfortunately, the Engineers (the Lehigh nickname at the time) converted their third and fourth field goal of the game to give Lehigh an 18-13 lead. West Chester still had chances, advancing to the Lehigh eight-yard line before they lost a questionable fumble (one official ruled the runner down, another overruled him) and the Lehigh 13-yard line before a sack ended that drive. And the final play of the game was a West Chester reception to the Lehigh 15, but the Golden Rams would suffer their second setback of the season, both to Division IAA teams. It also marked the last time that Lehigh and West Chester faced each other in football.
But there was still work to be done. A trip to Millersville (9-0) would determine who would win the PSAC East and advance to the PSAC Championship. It was a defensive battle, with the Marauders kicking a 43-yard field goal at the end of the first quarter for a 3-0 lead that held up deep into the final period. The Golden Rams had yet to even cross midfield until Mike Burnetta ripped a 66-yard touchdown run with five minutes left to propel West Chester into the PSAC Championship. A week later, the #10 Golden Rams fell to #14 Indiana by a score of 20-7.
The 1986 team was star studded with quarterback Al Niemela, running back Jason Sims, receivers Bill Hess and Jim Sheehan, offensive lineman Ralph Tamm, defensive lineman Mike Testa, and defensive back Gerald Toney, all of whom are members of the Killinger Football Hall of Fame.
Sophomore Al Niemela led the Golden Ram offense
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