Team News - Golden Rams Ascend in National Rankings

After the Golden Rams' 56-41 victory over Gannon, West Chester (2-0) moved up from #23 to #20 in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II poll. In the D2football.com poll, the Golden Rams are now ranked #22, rising from #25 a week ago.

Behind Rich Bruno, the Golden Rams rank 18th in the nation in net punting. The high power offense ranks 7th in the country in scoring, averaging better than 50 points per game and 10th in total offense with 563 yards per game. Senior captain Rondell White leads the nation in all-purpose yards with 307 yards per game while junior quarterback Sean McCartney is 6th in the nation in passing efficiency.

The Golden Rams travel to Millersville to take on the Marauders this Saturday evening.

American Football Coaches Association - Division II Coaches’ Poll – September 16, 2013

D2football.com - Top 25 Poll – September 17, 2013

Game Report - West Chester 56 - Gannon 41

“It’s a win.” “It sure wasn’t pretty.” “We’re 2-0.” Those were the sentiments among most of the WCU faithful that made the trek to the northwest corner of the commonwealth to witness the Golden Rams (2-0) dispatch the Golden Knights (1-1) 56-41 on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s a win.” The Golden Rams scored in every quarter and put up 612 yards of total offense. Erick Brundidge had seven catches for 87 yards and three touchdowns. Reigning PSAC-East Offensive Player of the Week Rondell White had another eye-popping performance: 245 yards and two touchdowns on the ground, 87 yards through the air and he hurled one of Brundidge’s touchdowns. Quarterback Sean McCartney outdueled his redheaded counterpart by throwing for 305 yards and five touchdowns, completing 66% of his passes and showing composure under pressure. The WCU defense sacked Gannon QB Liam Nadler four times and forced two turnovers one of which led to a Golden Ram touchdown.

“It sure wasn’t pretty.” The two teams combined for 23 penalties for 208 yards with West Chester accounting for 113 of those yards. The Golden Knights racked up 469 offensive yards, 371 of those through the air. Going into the game, the known most dangerous part of the Gannon game was their kick returns and they averaged, AVERAGED, over 37 yards per return. And Gannon was 10-18 or 56% on third down conversions.

“We’re 2-0.” Bottom line, the Golden Rams are undefeated after two games for the first time since 2003. To have that many penalties and to relinquish so many yards on defense and kick returns and still come out with a win, well, it will make learning from those mistakes this week that much easier.

The Golden Ram defense prepares to take on Gannon's offense

After each team possessed the ball three times, the Golden Rams had 202 yards and 21 points while the Golden Knights managed only 18 yards and one first down. West Chester was dominating on both sides of the ball. But the next three possessions for each team were a mirror image as West Chester managed only 41 yards and Gannon had 138 yards. When McCartney tried to squeeze a screen pass into traffic and it got tipped, intercepted, and returned for a touchdown, Gannon closed the score to 21-20. The frenetic second quarter saw 41 total points scored, including 21 in the last two minutes. With West Chester clinging to a 28-27 lead, McCartney led the Golden Rams on a 9-play, 67-yards touchdown drive in 79 seconds to extend the lead to eight points with just 20 seconds left in the half. It would seem that Gannon would be willing to run out the half, but after Quad Law returned the ensuing kickoff 41 yards to the Golden Ram 40, the Golden Knights ran one play and were in position to attempt a 49-yard field goal which went just wide left.

The third quarter turned into a flag fest. West Chester had a 45-yard pass completion called back due to a holding call. Fortunately Justin Caliste tried running prior to catching Rich Bruno’s punt and fumbled it back to the Rams’ Drew Formica. That set up White’s first collegiate pass which found Brundidge in the back of the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown. Gannon punted on their next possession and West Chester committed an illegal block on the return. The ensuing drive saw two more holding penalties against the Golden Rams setting up a third and 22 when McCartney threw his second pick of the day. This turnover was not as disastrous since on Gannon’s third play, Andrew Cohen was in the process of sacking Nadler when Ronell Williams ripped the ball out of the quarterback’s arms. Five plays later, White was crossing the goal line for the second time on the afternoon.

Brandon Monk returns a kick against Gannon

Although Gannon’s Jansen Jones amassed 91 yards on the ground, the Golden Knights abandoned the run game as 36 of their final 37 plays were pass attempts. On the other side of the ball, after Gannon closed the score to 49-34, West Chester gave White the ball for five straight carries. Then on third and six, under a heavy blitz, McCartney lofted a 49-yard catch and run touchdown to Adam Dempsey for his second score of the day. But Gannon was not done as the problem that plagued the Rams all day returned again. A 57-yard kickoff return gave the Golden Knights a short field. The WCU defense apparently stopped the drive after a fourth and goal pass completion was stopped on the two, but a pass interference penalty kept the drive alive. The Knights scored on the next play. With only a minute left, Gannon attempted the onsides kick which was recovered by White, but not without another Golden Ram penalty, this time a personal foul as the pile got untangled. But Gannon’s timeouts were no match for White’s running and the game ended quietly.

Golden Rams fans that made the trip to Erie for the game

Notes - Shawn Leo was perfect on his eight PAT attempts. Maybe Alex Walsh’s career record is within reach?...White had a wicked spin move on a 22-yard run midway through the third quarter that brought the crowd to its feet…The Golden Rams sacked Nadler four times…West Chester’s offensive line has yet to yield a sack this season…LaRonn Lee (1 rush for 11 yards, 1 catch for 25 yards) and Eddie Elliott (1 rush for 7 yards) left the game with injuries and did not return...R-Fr defensive back Blaise Schieler led the Rams with nine tackles while Williams, Shawn Krautzel and Mike Labor each had eight.

Sortable Box Score    Coaches Box Score

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Out Guns Gannon, 56-41

Gannon Athletic Site - Gannon Football Team Drops Shoot-Out to No. 23 West Chester in Home Opener

GoErie.com - West Chester too much for Gannon

Bert Garbutt - Photo Collage WCU Football vs Gannon

D2football - PSAC Columnist - Reactions from Week 2 in the PSAC

Player News - Bathurst, Farmer Featured

Senior offensive linemen Trey Farmer and Justin Bathurst have been playing football together since tenth grade at North Penn High School. They've since been joined at West Chester by fellow Knights linebacker Mike Culbreath, linebacker Ralph Reeves and defensive end George Shipp.

Trey Farmer (Photo Bert Garbutt)
Justin Bathurst (Photo Bert Garbutt)

Times Herald - North Penn grads Farmer, Bathurst have Ram-tough bond

Team News - Golden Rams in National Rankings

After the Golden Rams' 45-14 victory over #12 New Haven, West Chester (1-0) is now ranked #23 in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II poll and #25 in the D2football.com poll. Last year, the Golden Rams received votes in the AFCA survey in the fifth week after defeating California, but fell out of consideration when they lost to East Stroudsburg the following week. West Chester last appeared in the top 25 of the poll on August 30, 2010 at #21 prior to their first game of the season at Delaware.

American Football Coaches Association - Division II Coaches’ Poll – September 9, 2013

D2football.com - Top 25 Poll – September 10, 2013

West Chester Athletic Site - Football Squad Cracks National Polls Following Impressive Win Saturday

Game Preview - Gannon

West Chester has been playing football for over 90 years, but 2013 will be the first time that they travel to play in Erie, PA. The Golden Rams were scheduled to play the last regular season game of 2008 at Mercyhurst, but after finishing PSAC East play undefeated, they were rerouted to California where they faced the Vulcans in the PSAC championship game. West Chester (1-0) is set to kickoff at Gannon (1-0) at noon on Saturday.

Gannon is coming off a 36-33 victory over Lake Erie in Painesville, OH on Thursday. In that game, the Golden Knights racked up 241 yards rushing and 398 yards passing, although in 2012, Lake Erie's defense was among the worst in the nation yielding 40 points per game and 470 yards per game. Meanwhile, West Chester is coming off a 45-14 flogging of three-time NE10 champion New Haven.

Series History:

Gannon just joined the PSAC in 2008 and the two teams have only faced each other once, with the Golden Rams defeating the Golden Knights 21-17 last year at Farrell Stadium.

Last Meeting:

09/08/2012 West Chester 21 - Gannon 17

In last year's home opener, the Golden Rams never trailed in earning a 21-17 win on a sunny, hot and humid afternoon. However it was by no means an easy game for West Chester against a Gannon team that would finish the season 3-8. Although yielding over 350 yards, the Golden Ram defense forced five turnovers and notched three sacks. All three West Chester touchdowns came as a direct result of Gannon turnovers. And even though Rondell White would go on to break the West Chester single-season rushing record, and Gannon would finish the season 14th in the conference in rushing yards allowed, the Golden Knights held the All-American to just 45 yards, 23 of which came on one play. Erick Brundidge had three catches for 66 yards, including the game-winning 29-yard touchdown catch with five minutes left in the game.

Defensively, the Golden Rams were led by linebackers Ronell Williams and Mike Labor who had 12 and 11 tackles respectively and Andrew Cohen who had a game-high three tackles for loss.

Scouting the Golden Knights:

Gannon returns nine starters from an offense that set several school passing records last year. Sophomore quarterback Liam Nadler (242-428, 2910 yards, 21 TD's) was 18 of 35 for 267 yards and two touchdowns in his second collegiate start last year at West Chester, but his three interceptions proved costly to the outcome of the game. His primary targets are wide receiver Abraham Ocasio (64 catches, 911 yards, 10 TD's) and diminutive wide receiver Justin Caliste (60 catches, 715 yards, 3 TD's). Both were All-PSAC performers for the second time as sophomores last year. In last year's game against West Chester, Ocasio had seven catches for 123 yards and one touchdown while Caliste had five catches for 116 yards and one touchdown. The speedy Caliste is also dangerous as the Golden Knights primary kick and punt returner.

The offensive line will be anchored by the return of a Alex Davis who missed last season due to an injury and Rhode Island transfer Kelson Patterson. They'll lead the way for running back Jansen Jones (181 carries, 692 yards, 5 TD's) who had a quiet day against the Rams last year.

The Golden Knight defense allowed the third fewest yards in the PSAC last season, but they also lost four of their top five tacklers, including defensive lineman Ian Jeffers, linebacker Will Giles and defensive back Khayree Connors-McChristian who all earned All-PSAC West honors. Their top returning tackler is cornerback Mike Phillips (96 tackles, 2 interceptions, 4 pass breakups), although he did not register a tackle against Lake Erie last week. He'll get support from defensive back Tashawn Sneed who logged five interceptions a year ago, while linebacker Luke Rankie (51 tackles, 7.5 TFL) looks to bounce from an injury-shortened season.

Analysis:

There are several questions for West Chester going into this game. How will the secondary handle Nadler and the Gannon speedy receiving corps? Will the offense be able to get White going after he was shut down by Gannon last season? How will the Golden Rams respond to their longest road trip in many years? Will the quirky stadium with few Golden Rams fans in attendance be an issue? On paper, this looks like a Golden Ram win, but they don't play the games on paper.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats   Audio   Video ($8)

PSAC Site - Football - Week 2 Notes

Gannon Athletic Site - Gannon Football Team Hosts No. 23 West Chester Saturday Afternoon in Home Opener

KYW Newsradio - West Chester Looks To Build Off Impressive Opener

GoErie.com - Gannon might bring offense down to Earth

GoErie.com - Edinboro, Gannon face tough PSAC East teams in home openers

Daily Local News - WCU tries to cement newly minted top-25 status at Gannon

D2football - PSAC Columnist - PSAC Week Two Preview

Player News - White Named PSAC East Offensive POW

For his efforts in West Chester's 45-14 win over #12 New Haven, Sr. running back Rondell White was named PSAC East Offensive Player of the Week. The co-captain had 96 yards and two touchdowns rushing, 94 yards and one touchdown receiving and 87 yards on two kickoff returns for a total of 277 all-purpose yards.

PSAC Site - PSAC Football Athletes of the Week - 1

West Chester Athletic Site - Rondell White Named PSAC East Offensive Player Of The Week

Game Report - West Chester 45 - New Haven 14

The Golden Rams (1-0) had all phases of the game working as they rolled to a 45-14 victory over #12 New Haven (0-1) at sun splashed Farrell Stadium.

Fourth down. No big deal. If the offense is close to the other team’s end zone, the field goal unit tries to put some points on the board. If they’re too close to their own end zone, the punting team trots on and tries to sway the field position. But in this game, there were six first-half fourth down plays that gave a glimpse into the guts of each team and would prove instrumental in the outcome.

The first came on West Chester’s opening drive of the game. It was fourth and four from the New Haven 34. Okay, this is in that “tweener” area – too far for a field goal attempt, too close for a punt – so going for it is not uncalled for. But an 11-yard completion from Sean McCartney to Erick Brundidge kept the drive alive which resulted in a ten-yard Rondell White touchdown run four plays later.

Perhaps feeling the pressure to match West Chester, but more likely from also being in the tweener zone, New Haven was faced with fourth and four at the West Chester 30 yard line on their first possession. Although quarterback Ronnie Nelson completed the pass to his running back Mike DeCaro, rover Drew Formica kept the play in front of him and stopped DeCaro short of the first down, giving possession to the Golden Rams.

The third possession of the game saw another fourth down decision. West Chester had first and goal from the five, but managed only four yards after three plays. Rather than attempt an almost sure field goal, Bill Zwaan elected to go for the touchdown. However, the New Haven defense stuffed McCartney for no gain. It was difficult for Golden Rams fans to see points being left on the field.

Kayo Bakare drags down a Charger running back (Photo Geoff Ruth)

Early in the second quarter, New Haven was faced with another fourth down. This time, the Chargers only needed one yard, but the ball was on the West Chester 45. Although a punt would typically be warranted, New Haven only had 50 yards of offense to that point and may have felt this opportunity was too good to let slip away. After a timeout, Nelson picked up two yards for the first down and the Chargers would continue the drive into the end zone, bringing the score to 10-7 in favor of West Chester.

On West Chester’s ensuing possession, their drive stalled at the New Haven 18, just one yard short of the first down. Although within field goal range, the three additional points would still leave New Haven within one score. White would make the gamble payoff as he picked up the first down and two plays later caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from McCartney.

QB Sean McCartney stiff arms his way to a first down (Photo Geoff Ruth)

And the final fourth down of the first half was the most pivotal. Shawn Krautzel, who played both strong safety and rover throughout the game, made a leaping interception and Brundidge made a great catch despite being mugged for the one-play touchdown to put the Golden Rams up 24-7. With two minutes left in the half, New Haven looked to be running out the clock to get to the locker room. But on third and five, West Chester called a timeout. This was clearly a shot over the bow, as West Chester signaled that they planned on trying to score yet again, and New Haven didn’t take it too kindly. On third down, Charger receiver Roshawn Wilson got behind the West Chester secondary and was streaking down the middle of the field, but Nelson’s pass failed to connect. Which brought up….fourth down. This time, New Haven made the right choice to punt. But West Chester’s Byron Cooper came around the left end and blocked it. Al-Hajj Shabazz recovered the ball at the two and White punched it to put the Golden Rams up 31-7 at the half.

Remarkably the third quarter remained scoreless, although the Golden Rams had another big fourth down play. With New Haven needing just three yards from the West Chester 16, Chris DiValentino came in untouched for the only sack of the game.

The fourth quarter was a clock running exercise as on their final three possessions, West Chester rushed the ball 17 times of 20 plays.

Justin Bathurst clears a lane for Rondell White (Photo Geoff Ruth)

Notes – Coming into the game, this looked to be a battle between two of the best all-purpose backs in the nation. After DeCaro returned West Chester’s first kickoff 57 yards, the Golden Rams did a nice job of containing him on offense and keeping the ball away from him on special teams. Punter Rich Bruno’s two punts were 35 and 34 yards, but one was fair caught at the 12 and the other was downed at the three. Meanwhile, White had one of his trademark stat packers: 96 yards and two touchdowns rushing, 94 yards and one touchdown receiving and 87 yards on two kickoff returns….In an effort to get Eddie Elliott more touches, he was lined up as a receiver and caught a 19-yard pass. Later in the game he had a sideline-to-sideline 50-yard touchdown run…West Chester's last punt block was by Camille Max last year against LIU Post…Besides the interception, Krautzel had eight total tackles…Mike Labor led the defense with ten total tackles…Shawn Leo missed his second field goal attempt when he banged the 48-yarder high off the right upright…McCartney, better known for being in the pocket, scrambled six times for 27 yards and two first downs…Excluding New Haven, West Chester's 2013 opponents went 6-4 in Week 1. Besides Cheyney and Millersville losing, Kutztown and Clarion played each other, but the team that caused the biggest surprise/disappointment in the loss column was Shippensburg which was blanked by Shepherd 33-0... It's the first time West Chester has started the season 1-0 since 2009...The Golden Rams return to action against Gannon in Erie at noon on Saturday.

Sortable Box Score    Coaches Box Score

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Upsets No. 12 New Haven, 45-14

New Haven Athletic Site - No. 12/19 Chargers Suffer Season-Opening Loss at West Chester

Daily Local News - West Chester impressive in season-opening triumph

New Haven Register - New Haven routed by West Chester (Pa.) in opener for football

Bert Garbutt - Photo Collage WCU Football vs UNH - 1st Half

Bert Garbutt - Photo Collage WCU Football vs UNH - 2nd Half

D2football - PSAC Columnist - PSAC Week One Headlines

Player News - Williams Garners Another Preseason Honor

Williams

Junior linebacker Ronell Williams has captured another preseason honor as he has been named to the D2football.com Preseason All America Team second team. As a sophomore last season, the 6-1, 230lb linebacker from Chester led the PSAC in tackles with 119 which was also 15th best in all of Division II. He was named first team All-PSAC East, second team Daktronics Division II All-Super Region 1, Don Hansen’s Football Gazette All Super Region 1, AFCA 2012 Division II Coaches' All-American, Associated Press Little All-American, D2Football.com All-American honorable mention and Don Hansen’s Football Gazette All-America honorable mention.

D2football.com - 2013 D2Football.com Pre-Season All-America Team

Game Preview - New Haven

For the first time in seven years, the Golden Rams will open the season in the friendly confines of Farrell Stadium when they host the #12 New Haven Chargers on Saturday at noon. It will be the first of six home games in 2013 for West Chester.

Series History:
From 1993 through 2003, these two teams squared off regularly, playing nine times in those eleven years. In what was Bill Zwaan's first game as head coach of West Chester University, the Golden Rams captured a 28-17 victory in West Haven, CT. Unfortunately after the 2003 season, New Haven dropped their football program, causing West Chester to scramble for a non-conference opponent for the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Overall, New Haven leads the series 8-4-1, including the last tie in West Chester history in 1995. After a five year hiatus, New Haven resumed its varsity football team in 2009 under current head coach Pete Rossomando.

Last 10 Meetings:

Year	H/A	W/L	Score	Year	H/A	W/L	Score
1993	Away	Loss	45-33	2000	Home	Loss	7-0
1995	Home	Tie	36-36	2001	Away	Loss	32-28
1996	Away	Win	24-17	2002	Home	Loss	28-19
1997	Home	Loss	32-26	2003	Away	Win	28-17
1998	Away	Win	33-27 (OT)	2011	Away	Loss	35-32 (OT)

Last Meeting:

09/03/2011 New Haven 35 - West Chester 32 (OT)

On a warm September afternoon on the blue turf in West Haven, West Chester managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The Golden Rams carried a 12-point lead into the fourth quarter. After a Charger touchdown, Shawn Leo booted a 28-yard field goal to extend West Chester's lead back to eight. But the Chargers scored a touchdown and two-point conversion with just over a minute left to force overtime. In the overtime, Leo notched his fourth field goal of the game to put the Rams up by three, but in the Chargers' possession, New Haven used just three plays to score the game-winning touchdown.

Looking at how players that are still on the roster fared in that contest, New Haven running back Mike DeCaro only had 30 yards rushing, but he logged 114 yards in kickoff returns, including a 52-yarder after West Chester took the 12-point lead in the fourth quarter. And after Leo's field goal, DeCaro returned the ensuing short kickoff 24 yards to midfield to set up the game tying touchdown. Strong safety Herbens Antenor had six tackles, one tackle for loss and one fumble recovery.

West Chester quarterback Sean McCartney was 14 of 28 for 173 yards. Running back Rondell White had 51 yards rushing, while receivers Tim Keyser and LaRonn Lee combined for 12 catches and 153 yards. Shawn Leo set the West Chester single game record with four field goals. Strong safety Shawn Krautzel and Anthony McCloskey each had seven tackles while defensive end Eric Edwers had five tackles and 0.5 sacks. The Golden Rams picked off four New Haven passes, but committed 12 penalties for 123 yards.

Scouting the Chargers:

New Haven has enjoyed incredible success since resuming their football program. In 2010, they shared the regular season NE10 championship with three other teams. In 2011, they won the NE10 regular season and only lost two games - at Football Championship Subdivision William and Mary by a score of 13-10 and at Winston-Salem in the NCAA Division II Super Regional One championship. Last year, they won the NE10 championship and finished the regular season 10-0 before losing to Indiana in the second round of the NCAA playoffs.

However, from last year's squad, the Chargers lost 14 all-conference players including quarterback Ryan Osiecki (1,550 yards, 16 TD's), wide receiver Jason Thompson (44 catches, 881 yards, 16 TD's), wide receiver Demetrius Washington-Ellison (30 catches, 444 yards, 7 TD's), tight end Kameel Lashley (16 catches, 235 yards, 5 TD's) and offensive linemen David Stedman, James Malloy, and Zack Conklin. On defense, they lost six of their top eight tacklers, including NE10 defensive player of the year Raheem Stanley (33 tackles, 6.5 TFL), NE10 defensive lineman of the year Tom Herd, linebacker Mike Gomes, linebacker Rich Long (team leading 63 tackles), defensive back Kendrick Butler (43 tackles) and defensive back Bernard Risco (45 total tackles, 4 int's). To boot, kicker Chris Scifo (8-11 FGs, 45-49 PATs, 73 pts) is also gone.

Mike DeCaro

Returning is All-NE10 multiple threat running back Mike DeCaro (96 carries, 616 yards, 7 TD's; 22 catches, 224 yards, 3 TD's; 5 punt returns, 66 yards; 24 kickoff returns, 656 yards, 1 TD). Quarterback Ronnie Nelson (71-103, 987 yards, 18 TD's, 3 int's; 65 carries, 266 yards, 3 TD's) played in ten games and started four games last year when Osiecki got hurt in their second game of the season. The only returning wide receiver with a collegiate catch is Nick Music (14 catches, 107 yards). Key returning defenders are defensive end Brent MacLeod (24 tackles, 6 sacks, 1 interception), strong safety Herbens Antenor (51 tackles, 5 pass breakups) and linebacker Matthew Fallico (48 tackles, 7 TFL, 1 interception).

To offset the loss of so many seniors, New Haven brought in wide receiver DeeJay White who transferred from Bowling Green after last season, wide receiver Brett Parenteau who played for Sacred Heart in 2011, former Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year running back Dillon Romain (Albany) and linebacker Andre Lawrence who transferred from Boston College after last season.

Analysis:

Like West Chester's Rondell White, Mike DeCaro can hurt opponents in a variety of ways and Ronnie Nelson is a mobile quarterback. The task of containing these two will fall mainly on the shoulders of the Rams' front seven. It remains to be seen who will step up among the Chargers' receivers - the transfers, a rising sophomore or Roshawn Wilson who has yet to see the field for New Haven due to injuries. Offensively, the Rams' quarterback, running back and two receivers posted good numbers two years ago against New Haven as only sophomores. If the line can provide support, they should expect to have better numbers in this game.

New Haven Register - New Haven Chargers set to hit the ground running

New Haven Register - New Haven football opens training camp

West Chester Athletic Site - Depth Chart - New Haven

PSAC Site - Football - Week 1 Notes

New Haven Athletic Site - No. 12/19 Football Opens 2013 at West Chester

KYW Newsradio - West Chester Hoping For Fast Start To Season

New Haven Register - New Haven opens on the road at West Chester (Pa.)

wtnh.com - UNH football season preview

Daily Local News - Golden Rams open up at home

D2football - PSAC Columnist - PSAC Week 1 Preview

Team News - 2013 Second Scrimmage Report

West Chester's second scrimmage of the summer was very similar to a final NFL preseason game. Just about everyone knows what the starters can do, so after a brief performance by them, they got to enjoy the rest of the action from the sidelines. From what they showed, they looked fine. Rondell White took the opening handoff and went 70 yards to the endzone and Brandon Monk gained some hard earned yards.

But with injuries creeping into the locker room, and memories of last year's final scrimmage, most of the play was focused on getting the younger guys plenty of live game reps. And Jarel Elder delighted the fans by giving them a peek into WCU's future.

The Golden Rams' 2013 season opens on Saturday, September 7 at noon against New Haven in Farrell Stadium.

LaRonn Lee struggles to escape a tackle (Photo Geoff Ruth)

Jarel Elder finds running room around the right side (Photo Geoff Ruth)