Game Preview - Lenoir-Rhyne

The #15 Golden Rams (13-1) travel south to Hickory, NC to take on the champions of the South Atlantic Conference, the #13 Lenoir-Rhyne Bears (12-1) on Saturday in the semifinals of the NCAA Division II playoffs. Kickoff in Helen and Leonard Moretz Stadium (8,500) is set for noon. The winner of this game will play for the NCAA Division II National Championship next Saturday in Florence, AL against either Grand Valley State or Northwest Missouri State.

Series History:
Although West Chester holds a 2-0 lead in the series with the Bears, those two contests came as part of a home-and-home series in 1969 and 1970.

Scouting the Opponent:

If you thought that Bloomsburg ran the ball a lot (57 times in the first game, 41 times in the playoff contest), you haven't seen anything yet. Lenoir-Rhyne averages 61 rushing attempts per game. And consider Erick Brundidge has more receptions this season - 46 - than the entire Lenoir-Rhyne team - 43!!! And "Flav" isn't even the Golden Rams' leading receiver! In their 42-39 regional championship win over North Alabama, the Bears only threw twice and completed one for 19 yards.

So it's no surprise that the Bears have the number rushing offense in the country, posting 370 yards per game on the ground. The line is led by right tackle Joe Ray. Although only a sophomore, Ray was All-SAC and All-Super Region 2. Left tackle Zack Bunn was also an All-SAC first team selection. The unit allows the fewest tackles for loss in the country. Running the flex bone offense has been very productive for the Bears, but also very costly. Miles Freeman (175 carries, 968 yards, 11 TD's; 35-73, 632 yards, 6 TD's, 3 interceptions) started the season at quarterback but was lost to a torn leg muscle. Backup quarterback Teverrius Jones (56 carries, 404 yards, 3 TD's; 3-15 78 yards, 1 TD) suffered a neck injury in Lenoir-Rhyne's first meeting with Carson-Newman. He was expected to be ready for their regional championship game against North Alabama, but did not participate in the contest. But it does not seem to matter as third string signal caller Josh Justice (44 carries, 228 yards, 6 TD's; 5-6, 63 yards, 1 TD) brought the Bears back from a 20-10 deficit to win their second round playoff game over Carson-Newman 27-20 before guiding Lenoir-Rhyne to the regional championship this past Saturday.

While West Chester relies almost exclusively on Rondell White to carry the ball, Lenoir-Rhyne will hand it off to anybody. Running back Jarrod Spears (95 carries, 849 yards, 7 TD's) and fullback Isaiah Whitaker (187 carries, 818 yards, 8 TD's) were both All-SAC. But running backs Graham Duncan (74 carries, 683 yards, 3 TD's), Michael Patrick (55 carries, 335 yards, 4 TD's), Corron Boston (33 carries, 281 yards, 2 TD's), and Chris Robinson (49 carries, 212 yards, 3 TD's) have all made significant contributions in the running game. Greyson Wells (17 catches, 317 yards, 5 TD's) and Spears (10 catches, 184 yards, 2 TD's) are the top receivers.

Lenoir-Rhyne's 3-4 defense is 12th in rushing, yielding 100 yards per game, and 7th in scoring, allowing only 16 points per contest. Up front they're led by defensive end Blake Baker (48 tackles, 11.5 sacks, 5 QB hurries) and noseguard Jimmy Long (59 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, 8 QB hurries) who were both All-SAC. Inside linebacker Tanner Botts (199 tackles, 8 TFL's, 1 interception, 9 Pass breakups, 3 forced fumbles) was also All-SAC and is the team's leading tackler while outside linebacker Rodney Singleton (60 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 3 pass breakups) was the SAC Defensive Freshman Of The Year. Cornerback O’neil Blake (61 tackles, 8.0 TFL's, 2 interceptions, 10 pass breakups) and strong safety Mylar Nolan (89 tackles, 4.0 TFL's, 4 pass breakups) were both All-SAC while free safety Michael Green (79 tackles, 6.5 TFL's, 8 interceptions, 5 pass breakups) has three pick-sixes and was SAC Defensive Player Of The Year. Baker, Botts, and Green were both also All-Super Region 2.

Green averages 8.1 yards on punt returns while Spears averages 24 yards on kick returns and has returned one 98 yards for a touchdown this season. Kicker Zach Neumann is 55 of 58 on PAT's and 14 of 19 on field goals with a long of 47 on the season. In Lenoir-Rhyne's 42-39 win over North Carolina, Neumann failed on his only attempts of the game from 46 and 27 yards. He was named All-SAC and All-Super Region 2. Freshman Austin Barker averages 39 yards on his 40 punts with 11 fair catches and pinning 10 inside the 20. Justin Powell has 11 touchbacks on 80 kickoffs, but he's also put four out of bounds.

SAC Coach of the Year Mike Houston is in his third season at Lenoir-Rhyne and carries a 28-7 record into the game.

Analysis:

Defensively, everything will be geared to slow down the Lenoir-Rhyne running game. So expect to see the Golden Ram corners play one-on-one all day. And the defense might play more three linebacker sets than normal. It's no secret that the West Chester linebackers are better suited to stop the run than the pass, so that should help. The safeties can't creep up too far though since they are going to have to first find the ball in the backfield before pursuing the runner. The closest offensive system to Lenoir-Rhyne that West Chester faced this season was Cheyney and it's a safe bet that the Bears run it a bit better than the Wolves. Since their season opening 18-10 loss to Concord, the Bears have scored fewer than 34 points only three times.

Opponents have shown that they can move the ball against Lenoir-Rhyne. Carson-Newman rushed for 258 yards against them in the second round of the playoffs. And Mars Hill's running back had 213 yards with an impressive 7 yards per carry average even after removing an 81-yard touchdown run. Winless Davidson threw for 374 yards against Lenoir-Rhyne, but they did so by totally abandoning the run, gaining only 18 yards on the ground. Last week, North Alabama generated an effective balanced offense, but three turnovers cost them dearly as all three led to Lenoir-Rhyne touchdowns, including a pick-six on the second play of the game. And earlier this season, Tusculum had 288 yards passing to nine different receivers and 114 yards rushing prior to suffering seven sacks for 48 yards. All those teams - Mars Hill, Davidson, North Alabama, Tusculum and Carson-Newman twice - have one thing in common: they came out on the short end of the scoreboard. Although Lenoir-Rhyne is seventh in the country in scoring defense, North Alabama posted 39 points against them last week. West Chester and North Alabama both average 39 points per game. West Chester will be the best passing team that Lenoir-Rhyne will have faced this season.

Against Shepherd, West Chester demonstrated a commitment to the running game despite averaging only 3.3 yards per carry. A similar type of effort will be necessary against the Bears. One of West Chester's strengths is having eight or more guys who can catch the ball in every single game. Removing the Bears' ability to key on one guy is only helpful if the offensive line provides Sean McCartney time to find the open receiver. While Lenoir-Rhyne's passing efficiency and passing yards allowed per game (217) is tops in the SAC, they rank only 75th and 66th in those categories in the country.

Notes:
Hickory is about one hour north of Charlotte. Directions can be found here and hotel and dining information can be found here. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased in advance here starting noon on Monday. Lenoir-Rhyne, a school of only 1,900 students, is making their second NCAA Division II playoff appearance having advanced to the second round last year...West Chester has defeated the NE10 champions, the PSAC champions and the MEC champions in successive weeks...Lenoir-Rhyne starting cornerback Blake was ejected for targeting in the Bears' victory over North Alabama, but the NCAA has overruled that ejection and Blake will be eligible on Saturday... A replay of the game will be on ESPNU at 1 p.m. on Monday.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats   Audio   Video   ESPN3   Bracket

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Prepares For Semifinal Saturday

Lenoir-Rhyne Athletic Site - Lenoir-Rhyne Football To Host West Chester On Saturday In The NCAA Division II National Semifinals

Lenoir-Rhyne Athletic Site - Game Notes - December 14 vs. West Chester

Lenoir-Rhyne Athletic Site - Lenoir-Rhyne Football To Take On West Chester For A Trip To The National Championship

Philadelphia Daily News - Birds' kindness bubbles over

Philadelphia Inquirer - West Chester's Zwaan cherishes playoff run

Philadelphia Inquirer - Opportunity for West Chester, RB White

Philadelphia Daily News - West Chester in Division II football semifinals

KYW Newsradio - West Chester University Charging Into Division II Final Four

KYW Newsradio - Pepper A Key Ingredient In West Chester Secondary

Hickory Record - Lenoir-Rhyne to play semifinal at home against West Chester

Hickory Record - West Chester faces a snowy start in preparing to face Lenoir-Rhyne

Hickory Record - A quick look at Saturday's West Chester at Lenoir-Rhyne football game

Hickory Record - Justice expected to start at QB in semifinal

Hickory Record - LRU FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: ESPN crew headed here

Hickory Record - Houston says Lenoir-Rhyne can’t get caught up in hype for semifinal

Hickory Record - LENOIR-RHYNE FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK: Semifinal at home could aid Bears’ chance to win

Hickory Record - Lenoir-Rhyne’s Justice steps up

Hickory Record - 53 years later, football greatness returns to LR

Charlotte Observer - Lenoir-Rhyne QB almost quit football before leading team to Division II semis

Daily Local News - Two defensive backs coming up huge for West Chester

Daily Local News - West Chester set for national semifinal battle with Lenoir-Rhyne

Daily Local News - WCU lineman will play despite injury

D2football - PSAC Columnist - West Chester Heads to Lenoir-Rhyne for National Semi-Final

D2football - National Columnist - Bob Eblen - National Columnist

Club News - December 12 Meeting Cancelled!!!

Due to scheduling issues, the Golden Ram Football Club meeting on Thursday has been cancelled. The Bill Zwaan Football Show which is held at Timothy's will still be held but will now start at 8:00 pm. Golden Ram fans unable to attend the show can listen to it live on WCHE1520AM.COM.

Come out to Timothy's at 8:00 pm to participate in the show live.

Player News - Ronell Williams Cliff Harris Award Finalist

Junior linebacker Ronell Williams has been named one of the finalists for the Cliff Harris Award which is presented to the small college defensive player of the year. The award was created this year by the Little Rock Touchdown Club and is presented to the top defensive player among NCAA Division II, Division III and NAIA schools as chosen by head coaches and a committee of college and professional football greats.

Williams applies pressure to the Shepherd QB (Photo Bert Garbutt)

So far this season, Williams has 57 solo tackles and 49 assists for a team leading 106 total tackles. This includes 8.5 tackles for loss of which 3.5 were quarterback sacks. He's also notched four quarterback hurries, three pass breakups and recovered a fumble. Williams made an incredible touchdown saving interception against East Stroudsburg and logged another one at Lock Haven.

Among the finalists, 20 are from Division II, 21 are from Division III and 8 are from NAIA schools. The overall winner will be announced on December 24. The trophy will be presented to the recipient at the Little Rock Touchdown Club’s annual awards banquet in February 2014 featuring guest speaker Lou Holtz.

The three finalists from the PSAC are:

• DE Jake Metz - Shippensburg
  
• DE Larry Webster - Bloomsburg
  
• LB Ronell Williams - West Chester
  

The Golden Rams just competed against a finalist in Shepherd defensive end Howard Jones and face another one on Saturday in Lenoir-Rhyne free safety Michael Green.

Cliff Harris Award - Cliff Harris Award Finalists Announced for Small College Defensive Player of the Year

West Chester Athletic Site - Ronell Williams Named A Finalist For Cliff Harris Award

Club News - December 12 Meeting

The Golden Ram Football Club will be meeting on Thursday at 7:45 pm at Timothy's in the Parkway Shopping Center in West Chester. The meeting will begin immediately following the Bill Zwaan Football Show which is also held at Timothy's starting at 7:00pm. Golden Ram fans unable to attend the show can listen to it live on WCHE1520AM.COM. The meeting will not be broadcast.

Edwers celebrates a sack against Shepherd (Photo Bert Garbutt)

According to the Bill Zwaan Football Show facebook page, senior defensive end Eric Edwers and senior wide receiver LaRonn Lee will be the special guests on Coach Zwaan's show. In West Chester's 28-7 victory over Shepherd to clinch the Super Region 1 Championship, Edwers had a game high nine tackles including West Chester's only sack of the game. Lee had three catches each going for 31 yards for a game high 93 yards receiving. The first came on the opening possession of the game on third and 14 from West Chester's own four yard line, the second on West Chester's second drive and third being the go ahead touchdown early in the third quarter.

For the season, Edwers has 64 total tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss and a team leading 7.0 sacks. He's also notched a pass breakup, two quarterback hurries, and a fumble recovery. Lee, although hampered by a leg injury all season, has 14 catches for 323 yards for an average of 23 yards per reception. He's also reached the end zone four times.

Lee had 93 yards and a touchdown against Shepherd (Photo Bert Garbutt)

Come out to Timothy's at 7:00 pm to participate in the show live.

Team News - Ninth 2013 Lambert Poll

The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has released the ninth Lambert Meadowlands football poll of the 2013 season. After Saturday's win over Shepherd, the West Chester University Golden Rams are alone in first. With no more games among NCAA Division II teams, it appears that West Chester will win the Lambert Meadowlands Award. The final poll will be released when there are no more games among other ECAC schools. The top two teams in the Division I Championship Subdivision poll are all in action in their respective playoff this weekend. The Lambert Meadowlands Trophy recognizes supremacy in Eastern college football.

Ranking	School	Overall Record
1.	West Chester	13-1
2.	Bloomsburg	10-2
3t.	American International	9-3
3t.	Slippery Rock	9-3
5.	Indiana	9-2
6.	Stonehill	8-3
7t.	New Haven	8-3
7t.	California	7-4
9.	Shippensburg	7-4
10.	Mercyhurst	7-4

Penn State, Towson, West Chester and St. John Fisher Sit Atop Week Nine Lambert Polls

Game Report - West Chester 28 - Shepherd 7

The #15 Golden Rams (13-1) topped #6 Shepherd (12-1) by a score of 28-7 to advance to the national semi-finals. West Chester last won the regional championship in 2004. Shepherd, previously undefeated and the top seed in the region, had not lost at home since 2010.

Everyone that saw the game, and many West Chester fans were there in person, knows that midway through the fourth quarter cornerback Al-Hajj Shabazz had a pick six which was immediately followed by a pick six by Brandon Pepper to put the game out of reach. Those were certainly two memorable plays. But keep this in mind:

• Shepherd had the top rushing defense in the country yielding just 41 yards a game and the Golden Rams ground out 124 yards.
• Shepherd's opponents were converting on only 20% of third downs which was best in Division II and West Chester was 6 of 14 for a 42% conversion rate.
• Shepherd led the nation in time of possession this season, yet the Golden Rams held the ball for over half of the game.
• Shepherd's defense was among Division II's leaders in fewest first downs allowed and West Chester earned 19, including converting their only fourth down attempt.
• Coming into the contest, Shepherd was used to rushing for almost 200 yards per game, but was held to just 120.
• Prior to Saturday, Shepherd had only thrown five interceptions all season, mainly due to the success of their run game and always being on the winning side of the score. Being placed in a situation where they were forced to throw exposed the Shepherd passing game for what it truly is.

So while back-to-back interceptions returned for touchdown were exciting and decisive, West Chester controlled everything about the game except for the scoreboard prior to those heroics.

Mike Labor applies pressure to the Shepherd QB (Photo Bert Garbutt)

Now it certainly wasn't easy. The Shepherd defense spent a lot of time in the Golden Ram backfield as they registered nine tackles for loss including three sacks. And after halftime, quarterback Sean McCartney was only 4 of 10 for 12 yards. But those completions for little or no yards, and one for negative yards, kept the clock running which led to a speedy two and a half hour game.

Besides Shabazz's and Pepper's game ending interceptions, defensive standouts were Eric Edwers who had a team-high nine tackles including a sack, Anthony McCloskey who notched eight tackles, and cornerback Blaise Schieler who had two pass breakups to go along with his six tackles. And how about Drew Formica's crushing goal line pass breakup of the Shepherd tight end on third down in the second quarter which forced a Shepherd field goal attempt.

Did anyone gain more appreciation for West Chester's special teams when Shepherd mishandled the snap on their lone field goal attempt in the second quarter? While the Golden Rams didn't have the electric kick or punt returns that were witnessed last week, kicker Shawn Leo and punter Rich Bruno were solid as usual. Besides converting all four of his PAT attempts, Leo's variable kickoffs kept Shepherd's return team off balance as two kickoffs went deep, a pooch kickoff was fair caught and the final two were midrange. Bruno landed two of his seven punts inside the Shepherd 20 including his final kick which was spotted at the Shepherd one yard line. With Shepherd's previous six drives gaining a total of 54 yards, a 99-yard field might as well been a mile.

Offensively, McCartney was 11 of 15 for 168 yards and a touchdown in the first half. But his biggest play came on third and 12 on the Golden Rams' first drive when he ran for 41 yards. It was his largest ground gain of his career. Harlon Hill finalist Rondell White was given the punishing chore of running against Shepherd's front seven. His 24 carries netted 94 yards and his five receptions yielded only 15 yards with 11 coming on one catch. There's no doubt his efforts were key to West Chester's success. And while LaRonn Lee only had three catches, each of them went for 31 yards. The first came on third and 14 from West Chester's own four yard line, the second on West Chester's second drive and third being the go ahead touchdown early in the third quarter.

Brandon Pepper now has four interceptions in the playoffs (Photo Bert Garbutt)

Notes - The Golden Rams travel to Hickory, NC to take on Lenoir-Rhyne on Saturday at noon for the right to play in the NCAA Division II national championship the following week...Yesterday's regional championship game is available for viewing here...For the first time all season, the Golden Rams deferred after winning the coin toss...No fewer than eight different players caught passes for West Chester for the third game in a row.

Sortable Box Score   

West Chester Athletic Site - Super Region 1 Champions!

Daily Local News - West Chester wins to advance to national semifinals

Daily Local News - Rams defense comes up golden when it counts

Philly.com - West Chester Reaches National Semifinals

Herald-Mail - Shepherd falls in NCAA Division II football quarterfinals

The Journal - West Chester Knocks Off Shepherd

Bert Garbutt - Photo Collage WCU Football vs Shepherd

Shepherd Athletic Site - West Chester Pulls Away for Win over Shepherd

D2football - PSAC Columnist - West Chester Wins Super Region 1

Game Preview - Shepherd

The #15 Golden Rams (12-1) travel to Shepherdstown, WV to take on the #6 Shepherd Rams (11-0) on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II playoffs. Kickoff in Ram Stadium is set for noon. The winner of this game will represent Super Region I in the semi-finals and play the winner from Super Region II - either Lenoir-Rhyne or North Alabama - next Saturday for the right to play in the NCAA Division II National Championship.

Series History:
This will be the first time these two teams meet on the football field. They looked to be on a collision course in the 2005 playoffs as top seeded Shepherd was set to host the winner of the first round game between fourth seeded C.W. Post and fifth seeded West Chester. A year earlier in the first round of the playoffs, West Chester easily handled C.W. Post 35-3 at Farrell Stadium. However, the 2005 game was played on Long Island and the Golden Rams squandered a second half 20-14 lead and allowed C.W. Post to navigate 96 yards in 80 seconds to score the winning touchdown with three seconds left. The Pioneers went on to defeat Shepherd the following week.

Scouting the Opponent:

Defense. Hardly anything more needs to be said. Shepherd leads the nation in scoring defense yielding a skinny 12 points per game. They've pitched three shutouts this season including against Shippensburg in the first game of the season and Winston-Salem St last week in the second round of the playoffs. Consider that those two teams averaged 37 and 36 points per game respectively, and that includes their shutouts to Shepherd. Shepherd is also number one in the country in rushing defense, surrendering just 41 yards on the ground per game, and tops in third down conversion defense, allowing opponents to be successful just 20% of the time on third down. They're second in Division II in fewest first downs surrendered, second in passing efficiency defense, fifth in sacks and a respectable 33rd in passing yardage allowed.

For the Shepherd Rams, it all starts with their front seven who were all All-Mountain East Conference first or second team. Their top player is defensive end Robert Hayes (18 tackles, 10 sacks) who was the MEC defensive player of the year. The other four linemen are nose guard Mike Franklin (20 tackles, 4.5 TFL's), defensive tackle Xavier Tyler (19 tackles, 8 sacks) and defensive end Howard Jones (32 tackles, 8 sacks).

In the middle are Levi Barber (51 tackles, 4.0 TFL's, 2 interceptions, 4 pass breakups), De'Ontre Johnson (57 tackles, 7.5 TFL's, 2 interceptions) and Octavius Thomas (58 tackles, 7.5 TFL's, 1 interceptions). Thomas was the MEC defensive freshman of the year. If West Chester manages to have time to pass, the secondary is Shepherd's possible weakness as free safety Corey Washington (39 tackles, 2 interceptions, 5 pass breakups, 3 blocked kicks) was the only defensive back named all-conference.

Kicker Ryan Earls is 48 of 52 on PAT's and 12 of 15 on field goals with a long of 46 on the season. Two of his three field goal misses came last week against Winston-Salem St when points were hard to come by. Return specialist CJ Davis was named All-MEC with an average of 42 yards on his ten kickoff returns with one touchdown and an average of 26 yards on 16 punt returns and two touchdowns.

Offensively, Shepherd runs the ball twice as much as they throw it (oh yeah, they lead the nation in time of possession) behind three All-MEC linemen - right tackle Jordan Dixon, left tackle Isaiah Shelton and center Hussam Ouri. All-MEC running back Allen Cross (222 carries, 1,038 yards, 12 TD's) and MEC offensive freshman of the year Jabre Lolley (187 carries, 856 yards, 14 TD's) run behind All-MEC fullback Jonathan Hammer. At quarterback, season starter Trae Tinsman (68-116, 890 yards, 8 TD's, 2 interceptions) has given way to Jeff Ziemba (91-136, 982 yards, 7 TD's, 3 interceptions).

Head coach Monte Cater certainly isn't new to the rodeo. He's in his 27th season as head coach of the Rams and just completed his third undefeated regular season. The MEC coach of the year has a career record of 201-87-1 at Shepherd and has been to the NCAA playoffs seven times. It's interesting to note that five of those seven playoff runs ended at the hands of a PSAC opponent, including a 27-17 loss to Indiana in the first round last season.

Analysis:

The Shepherd offense seems a lot like Bloomsburg - clock consuming, run heavy offense (although the Rams use multiple runners), but throw enough to keep the opposing defense honest. West Chester gave up 31 and 38 points to Bloomsburg which was not good enough in the first game, but was in the second game. Either total is no where near good enough against a team that gives up only 12 points per game.

Usually the trick is to see how other teams that beat the opponent accomplished the task, however that has not happened against Shepherd this season. Urbana was tied with the Rams for most of the fourth quarter before succumbing 28-21. They did it with 54 pass attempts and allowed only three sacks. Their 14 rushing attempts yielded 20 yards. Glenville managed 137 yards on the ground against Shepherd, but also lost by 26 points. Concord scored 33 points against this Shepherd defense although they were always at least eight points behind. They used several big plays, which, if the Golden Rams can provide time for Sean McCartney, is in line with West Chester's usual game plan.

Limiting turnovers is a no brainer, but Shepherd is fifth in the country in turnover margin at +1.5 per game. Kick scoring looks to favor West Chester and the punting game looks even, but the Golden Rams will be tested on kick coverage.

Notes:
Expect a huge crowd as Shepherd had over 6,000 for their second round game against Winston-Salem St last weekend on the Saturday after Thanksgiving...A fan bus is being chartered to leave from the West Chester area at 7:30 am on Saturday and return around 7:00 pm. Price is $30. Send an e-mail to Jim Brazill at jimbrazill61@yahoo.com for more information or to reserve your spot...The only thing better than practice on Thanksgiving morning is playing games in December...General admission tickets are $10 and will be available at the gate only.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats   Audio   Video  

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Heads To Shepherd For NCAA Quarterfinal

Shepherd Athletic Site - Shepherd Parking Map

Shepherd Athletic Site - Parking Plans for Saturday's Football Game

Christmas In Shepherdstown 2013 - Schedule Includes 5K run at 10:00 am and parade at 11:00 am

Philadelphia Daily News - West Chester in quarterfinals at Shepherd

KYW Newsradio - West Chester University Hoping To Take Next Step In D2 Tourney

The Journal - Rams line stays in control

The Journal - Shepherd, West Chester seek region title

Daily Local News - West Chester set for showdown with Shepherd

D2football - PSAC Columnist - West Chester and Shepherd set for Super Region 1 Final

D2football - National Columnist - Bob Eblen - National Columnist

Player News - Seven Golden Rams Named All-Region

Seven Golden Rams have been named to the 2013 Daktronics Division II All-Super Region 1 football team. Just like the team's performance, the West Chester honorees are balanced with four coming on offense and three on defense.

On offense senior running back Rondell White appears on the first team this year after being named to the second team last season. He is joined on the first team by left guard and fellow captain Trey Farmer. Senior center Derek Schatz and senior left tackle Justin Bathurst were both named to the second team.

Rondell White and Trey Farmer were named to the
Daktronics Super Region 1 First Team Offense

On defense, junior linebacker Ronell Williams is a repeat first team honoree. He is joined on the first team by junior cornerback Al-Hajj Shabazz. Despite being overlooked by the PSAC, punter Rich Bruno was named to the second team.

Ronell Williams appears on the Daktronics Super Region 1
First Team Defense for the second time

Al-Hajj Shabazz was named First Team cornerback
in the Daktronics All Super Region 1

Those named to first team are eligible for the Division II All American team.

West Chester Athletic Site - Farmer, Shabazz, Williams and White Named First Team All-Super Region 1

2013 Daktronics All-Super Region 1

Club News - December 5 Meeting

The Golden Ram Football Club will be meeting on Thursday at 7:45 pm at Timothy's in the Parkway Shopping Center in West Chester. The meeting will begin immediately following the Bill Zwaan Football Show which is also held at Timothy's starting at 7:00pm. Golden Ram fans unable to attend the show can listen to it live on WCHE1520AM.COM. The meeting will not be broadcast.

Pepper makes a game-saving interception at Bloomsburg

According to the Bill Zwaan Football Show facebook page, sophomore safety Brandon Pepper and junior punter Rich Bruno will be the special guests on Coach Zwaan's show. In West Chester's 40-38 second round playoff win over Bloomsburg, Pepper had five total tackles, a pass breakup, a forced fumble which led to a Golden Ram field goal and a key fourth quarter interception at the goal line. Bruno only punted twice - the first one went 39 yards and was fumbled giving the Golden Rams another possession which resulted in a touchdown. His second boot of the game traveled 56 yards with no return pinning the Huskies at their own 19 yard line with just over two minutes left.

For the season, Pepper has 45 tackles, seven pass breakups and three interceptions. For the season, of Bruno's 42 punts, 7 have traveled over 50 yards, 12 have been inside the opponents 20, and opponents only attempted to return ten of them for a total of 19 yards. Of those ten punt returns, six went for no yards.

Punter Rich Bruno has been effective all season

Come out to Timothy's at 7:00 pm to participate in the show live.

Note - The Comcast Network will replay West Chester's second round playoff victory over Bloomsburg on Thursday, December 5 at 10:00 pm.

Team News - Eighth 2013 Lambert Poll

The Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) has released the eighth Lambert Meadowlands football poll of the 2013 season. After Saturday's win over Bloomsburg, the West Chester University Golden Rams are alone in first. With no more games among NCAA Division II teams, it appears that West Chester will win the Lambert Meadowlands Award. The final poll will be released when there are no more games among other ECAC schools. The top four teams in the Division I Championship Subdivision poll are all in action in their respective playoff this weekend. The Lambert Meadowlands Trophy recognizes supremacy in Eastern college football.

Ranking	School	Overall Record
1.	West Chester	12-1
2.	Bloomsburg	10-2
3t.	American International	9-3
3t.	Slippery Rock	9-3
5.	Indiana	9-2
6.	Stonehill	8-3
7.	New Haven	8-3
8.	California	7-4
9.	Shippensburg	7-4
10.	Mercyhurst	7-4

Penn State, Towson, West Chester and St. John Fisher Top Week Eight Lambert Meadowlands Football Polls