Y2K wasn't nearly as big an issue for a society heavily reliant on computers as some had predicted, but it certainly was catastrophic for the Golden Rams. Before 2000, the only other season in which West Chester finished 2-9 was 1978, but that was when they were not in the PSAC and played the likes of Lehigh, New Hampshire and Northeastern.
Sure, in 2000 West Chester faced tough non-conference opponents like New Haven, UC-Davis and Delaware. But the Golden Rams lost those three games by a combined score of 136-0!!! It really was a matter of bad timing for those opponents.
UC-Davis, behind All-American and future San Francisco 49ers quarterback J. T. O'Sullivan would go on to the NCAA Division II semi-finals where they lost 58-48 to Bloomsburg.
And current Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy led Delaware to the NCAA Division I-AA semifinals that season.
Meanwhile, West Chester was breaking in a new quarterback after four-year starter Mike Mitros completed his eligibility in 1999.
True freshman George Caroulis, who was not even listed among the top three quarterbacks on the roster two weeks into the season, played just four games and was West Chester's leading passer for the season.
The team suffered five shutouts in all that season, and the offense scored only 104 points, the lowest output since World War II. And that total was boosted by a 34-14 win at Mansfield and a 30-6 win at Cheyney. The defense fared much better, led by All-PSAC defensive ends Rasheem Reed and Raheem Islam. Junior punter Ron Minck also received all-conference honors.
Raheem Islam had 7 sacks and 2 forced fumbles in 2000
No comments:
Post a Comment