Alumni News - Griffin Gets Tryout With Raiders

Golden Ram alumnus Shane Griffin recently had a workout with the Las Vegas Raiders. Griffin played his first three years as a defensive end before flipping to the offensive side of the ball and playing center as a senior. However, he served as the Golden Rams long snapper in all four seasons.

Shane Griffin (Photo Ron Hockman)

NFL Draft Diamonds - Raiders worked out former Air Force LS Harrison Elliott and former West Chester LS Shane Griffin

NFL Trade Rumors - Raiders Hosting Eight Players For Workouts/Visits

Alumni News - D’Andre Webb Helping Community

Former Golden Ram running back D’Andre Webb has joined Tayron Thomas in an effort to transform the former Delhaas High School gym located in Bristol into a rec center. The effort is being driven by their non-profit organization One Team—One Goal, Inc.

Webb played for West Chester from 2007-2010 and was the Golden Rams' leading ground gainer in both 2009 and 2010. He still sits atop West Chester's record book for most rushing yards in a game with 306 in his sophomore season. In that 41-10 win over Millersville, after starting running back Lee Hopkins got injured on the first play from scrimmage, Webb went on to carry the ball 17 times for 306 yards and four touchdowns.

Those wishing to contribute to the rec center effort can do so at their GoFundMe page.

Fox29 - Bucks County men on mission to fix up their former high school gym

Bucks County Courier Times - Truman alumni athletes reopening Delhaas gym to give back to community

Player News - Six Golden Rams Receive D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award

Six West Chester Golden Ram players have received honors for their performance in the classroom for the 2019-20 academic year. Offensive lineman Jacob Colby, offensive lineman Patrick Ferry, defensive lineman Michael Gobora, defensive lineman Joe Janick, offensive lineman Brendan Ruskowski, and linebacker Cole Zapf were all named recipients of the Division 2 Athletics Directors Association Academic Achievement Award. Ferry and Zapf are both repeat honorees.

In order to be recognized, each player must have completed a minimum of four semesters of college work, have been an active member of an intercollegiate team during the past academic year, and have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5.

Overall, 107 women and 41 men from West Chester University received recognition. The PSAC was the most represented conference in the country with 1,365 student-athletes honored.

National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics - D2 ADA Announces 2019-20 Academic Achievement Award Recipients

PSAC Site - PSAC Paces All NCAA DII Conferences for Second Consecutive Year with 1,365 D2 ADA Achievement Award Recipients

West Chester Athletic Site - WCU Lands School-Record 148 Student Athletes on D2 ADA Honor Roll

Alumni News - Warren Harding Lowans Passes Away at 97

Former West Chester football captain and U.S. Navy captain Warren Lowans has passed away. He was 97.

Lowans played football at West Chester in 1941 and 1942 and then entered the Navy during World War II. After the war, he returned to West Chester to finish his degree and played his final two seasons in 1946 and 1947. Lowans was the sole captain of the 1947 team which finished the regular season 9-0 and outscored opponents 214-32. The 1947 team then defeated Carson-Newman in the Burley Bowl in Johnson City, TN before falling to Missouri Valley in the Cigar Bowl on New Year's Day in Tampa, FL.

After West Chester, Lowans remained in the Naval Reserves as he earned his master's degree from Columbia. He was recalled to the Navy during the Korean Conflict and returned to the regular Navy in 1955 until his retirement as a captain in 1974 after 32 years of active service. Lowans was inducted into the Killinger Hall of Fame in 1995.

South Whidbey Record - Warren Harding Lowans: December 3, 1922 – July 9, 2020

Throwback Thursday - 1920

Extracted from the 1920-1921 Serpentine:

The first football team that old Normal ever had was organized and developed this season by Coach Hall and Professor Mathers. The standing that the team made in athletic circles is conclusive evidence that football is here to stay, and we trust that its endeavor will be carried on with still more spirit and ability than was shown this year.

Much of the success of the team is due to the efforts of Bert Hall, whose coaching throughout the entire season was absolutely unquestionable. He took a group of awkward inexperienced men and made them into a real fighting unit that could really be called a football team.

Due to the fact that we did not get organized until the season began, we were unable to get the most desirable schedule, most of the schools having their football program all made out. However, by persistent effort, a schedule of games that any team would be proud to win was obtained and we managed to win all but two of them.

West Chester Normal shut out West Chester High, Swarthmore Prep, Phoenixville High, and Villanova Frosh and held Swarthmore Prep to just three points in their second win over them one month later. Losses came in the final two games of the season to Ursinus Reserves and Williamson Trade to finish the year 5-2. Left halfback Robert Von Bulow served as the team captain.

West Chester State Normal School's First Football Team

Team News - No Golden Ram Football This Fall

On Tuesday evening the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference voted to suspend all mandated conference athletic events and championships through the fall semester in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This means that there will be no Golden Ram football this fall.

The PSAC becomes the third Division II football conference to suspend fall athletics joining the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) which both made their announcement on July 9. Non-football playing Division II conferences that previously reached similar conclusions are the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC).

PSAC Site - PSAC Suspends NCAA Competition for Fall 2020

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester University Athletics' Reaction To The PSAC's Announcement

Daily Local News - West Chester football coach Bill Zwaan not surprised by PSAC announcement to suspend fall sports season

The Philadelphia Inquirer - As PSAC fall sports shut down, West Chester football coach Bill Zwaan looks for optimism

Throwback Thursday - 1930

The 1930 season opened with a trip to Philadelphia to take on Drexel. Although the team came away with a 13-0 win, they lost team captain Motz Singer for the remainder of the season due to an injury. In their only home game of the year, West Chester effectively used the "forward pass attack" to trounce Beckley 46-0. The contest was costly as the team incurred more injuries that prevented a handful of players from participating for the remainder of the season. In West Chester's second trip of the season to Philadelphia, it tied St. Joseph's 6-6.

West Chester could have scored more in their 19-0 win at Trenton, but Coach Conover substituted liberally due to previous injuries and future opponents. West Chester then handled Millersville by a score of 6-0 before falling at Slippery Rock 14-2.

Coach Conover's 1930 team finished 4-1-1

Morris "Motz" Singer
Captain
C. Van Dyke Conover
Head Coach

Throwback Thursday - 1940

The 1940 season opened with a 19-0 win over Blue Ridge College. It would be the only meeting between the two schools as the small college in New Windsor, MD would close three years later due to financial difficulties. The next game marked the final meeting between West Chester and LaSalle. In ten meetings, LaSalle won nine of them, eight of them by shutout, including a 13-0 blanking of West Chester in 1940. The Rams would then top Pennsylvania Military College, now Widener, by a score of 9-0. The game against the Ithaca Blue Devils resulted in a 7-7 tie.

Fifty-five hundred watched a battle between the Albright Lions and the Purple and Gold. And it wasn't until the waning minutes of the contest when defensive end Dick Wisneski returned an interception to set up the game's lone touchdown. Edward Twardowski's PAT capped the 7-0 win. The Rams then got shut out at Waynesburg 20-0 in a muddy game in southwestern Pennsylvania. The following week, George "Butch" Clark and his classmates celebrated their final home game with an 18-0 shutout over Lock Haven. In the final game of the season, West Chester traveled to East Stroudsburg to hand the Warriors their only loss of the season by a score of 18-0.

Only one team scored in seven games as West Chester finished 5-2-1.

W. Glenn Killinger
Head Coach
Inside the locker room

Throwback Thursday - 1950

Over five thousand people witnessed West Chester be ungracious hosts to Pennsylvania Military College on a Saturday night as the Rams won 20-0. That gave coach Killinger a record of 38-4-1 since football resumed after World War II, but 0-2-1 against Delaware. This season would be no different as West Chester fell to Delaware by a score of 16-13. Delaware converted a pair of West Chester turnovers into 14 points. Later in the first half, quarterback Ray Spafford connected with Harry West on a couple of touchdown passes, but a failed PAT kept Delaware ahead 14-13. When Spafford was sacked in the end zone late in the game, the final score was set.

Earl Hersh and Fred Pender each scored three touchdowns as West Chester downed Lock Haven in a 39-21 shootout on Wayne Field. West Chester then traveled to Cortland, NY and defeated SUNY-Cortland in their second ever and final meeting by a score of 26-0. Against East Stroudsburg, the Rams scored 25 second half points en route to a 27-0 shutout victory paced by their "freshman flash" Fred Pender. After tossing Millersville 26-7, West Chester traveled to Bethlehem and shut out Moravian for their sixth consecutive victory over the Greyhounds.

West Chester welcomed Bloomsburg to Wayne Field for the informal State Teachers College Championship. The Huskies were riding a 15-game winning streak, but the underdog Rams scored three times in the first quarter en route to a 31-6 thrashing of the visitors. The Golden Rams' 20-game home wining streak ended the following week as they completed only five of 20 passes, turned over the ball four times on fumbles and missed a PAT as Drexel nipped West Chester 7-6.

1950 Pennsylvania Conference Champions

Head Coach W. Glenn Killinger instructs Co-Captains Elwood McKenzie and Norman Waldman

Team News - 23 Golden Rams Named PSAC Scholar-Athletes

Twenty-three members of the Golden Ram football team have been named PSAC Scholar-Athletes for the 2019-2020 academic year. In order to qualify for the honor, athletes must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or better. There were 3,763 athletes from all 18 PSAC institutions of which 324 represented West Chester University.

Representing the football team are:

• freshman defensive back Micheal Alexander
• freshman kicker/punter Chris Barbera
• redshirt junior tight end Cody Boozel
• freshman offensive lineman Tom Burns
• redshirt freshman linebacker Nick Chapman*
• freshman defensive back Matt Checchia
• sophomore offensive lineman Jacob Colby*
• junior offensive lineman Patrick Ferry*
• redshirt freshman defensive lineman Michael Gobora*
• freshman linebacker Mason Griffiths
• freshman defenisve lineman Jake Hendershot
• freshman linebacker Sean Hopkins
• freshman tight end Stone Huffman
• redshirt freshman defensive lineman Joe Janick*
• freshman kicker/punter Derek Krug
• redshirt freshman offensive lineman Jonathan Miller
• freshman wide receiver Matt Moody
• freshman offensive lineman Logan O'Grady
• redshirt freshman running back Marcus Owens
• freshman wide receiver Jahmair Rider
• sophomore offensive lineman Brendan Ruskowski*
• freshman defensive back Nick Westburg
• sophomore defensive back Cole Zapf*

* Student-athletes who were also recognized as a PSAC Scholar-Athlete for the 2018-2019 academic year.

PSAC Site - PSAC Impresses with New Scholar-Athlete Record of 3,763

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Among The Leaders In PSAC Scholar-Athletes