With five preseason All-Americans on the roster and three consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division II playoffs, West Chester was the preseason favorite in the PSAC East. So there were plenty of expectations for the Golden Rams and they did not disappoint. But not without some wrinkles.
Just to set the scene, in 2007 Gannon and Mercyhurst were not yet in the conference, Lock Haven and Shippensburg were still in the Western Division, and Mansfield had just dropped football after the previous season ended. To fill the void in the schedule left by the Mountaineers, and also meet the NCAA’s minimum ten Division II games to qualify for the postseason, West Chester scheduled St Joseph’s College of Indiana. The Pumas were coming off an 8-3 season as a Division II independent team.
The season opened with a convincing 32-16 win at Edinboro, with the Golden Rams sacking quarterback Trevor Harris (who in 2016 threw for 3,300 yards for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League) six times. After taking their annual loss to the Delaware Blue Hens in front of 22,000 fans, it was time to focus on Division II play.
Big wins in crossover games against Clarion and Shippensburg set up a homecoming matchup with Bloomsburg. Although the Huskies entered the contest with a record of just 2-2, the winner of this game was expected to win the PSAC East. The first half was fairly even until Mike Washington caught a touchdown in the last minute giving West Chester a 21-14 lead at intermission. The only points of the third quarter came on an Alex Walsh field goal to extend the Golden Rams’ lead to ten. But the fourth quarter was a wild, back-and-forth affair and West Chester would secure the 44-28 win in front of over 4,000 fans.
Including Bloomsburg, West Chester swept the five teams in the PSAC east by an average score of 34-14, including a 21-0 shutout of Kutztown. The St. Joseph Pumas proved to be no match, as West Chester knocked them off 34-20 in the only meeting ever between the two teams. (As a brief aside, St. Joseph's suspended academic operations this past spring.) At 8-1, the #11 Golden Rams next hosted #5 California in front of 6,200 fans at Farrell Stadium. Unfortunately, the Vulcans forced three interceptions and held West Chester to just 21 yards rushing in the 30-14 decision. California would eventually earn the top seed in the region in the NCAA Division II playoffs and go on to win the region.
At 9-2, West Chester earned the third seed in the playoffs and hosted Western Division foe Indiana. The Golden Rams took a 35-27 lead early in the fourth quarter, but it was all Indiana after that. The Indians scored two touchdowns and a field goal and West Chester went three-and-out, lost the ball on a strip sack and an interception, which accounted for two of the team's six turnovers in the contest. The Golden Rams’ season ended with the 45-35 loss and a #17 ranking in the country.
Current West Chester assistant coach Bill Zwaan, Jr. (2,973 yards and 28 TD’s passing) was named the Maxwell Club's Tri-State Player of the Year.
Zwaan and fellow coach Osagie Osunde (953 yards and 12 TD’s rushing) were both named All-PSAC East in their senior season, as were
center Kennis Jones,
guard Kevin O’Neill,
tackle Ryan Devlin,
wide receiver Michael Washington (1,160 yards, 12 TD’s receiving),
kicker Alex Walsh, and
return specialist Kevin Garland.
The defense was led by PSAC Defensive Player of the Year linebacker Lateef Ferguson (116 tackles, 5.5 TFL, 4 PBU).
Joining him on the All-PSAC East team were
linemen Mike Walter,
freshman Travis Ford-Bey,
Vlad Garbovsky,
safety Mike Mignogno (six interceptions) and
sophomore linebacker Mike Dell.
Washington and Ferguson were also named ECAC Division II Football All-Stars.
Head coach Bill Zwaan was named the PSAC East Coach of the Year as well as Maxwell Club Tri-State Coach of the Year.
Brandon Hargrose
Osagie Osunde
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