Team News - Repeat Opponents

A reader asked what's the effect of playing the same opponent twice in the same season. It's happened six times under current head coach Bill Zwaan - once West Chester has swept the opponent, three times the Golden Rams split, and twice the opponent swept West Chester.

Here's a breakdown of West Chester's history in repeat opponents:

2013 - Bloomsburg
- lost at home during the regular season 31-28
- won on the road in the second round of the playoffs 40-38

2008 - California
- lost on the road during the regular season 44-32
- lost on the road in the PSAC championship 47-36

2008 - Bloomsburg
- won on the road during the regular season 24-21
- lost on the road in the second round of the playoffs 28-21

2006 - Bloomsburg
- lost on the road during the regular season 30-27
- lost on the road in the second round of the playoffs 21-20

2004 - East Stroudsburg
- won on the road during the regular season 38-37
- won on the road in the regional final 48-38

2004 - Shippensburg
- lost at home during the regular season 24-21 in OT
- won on the road in the second round of the playoffs 33-28


It only happened once prior to 2000, under Danny Hale:

1987 - Indiana
- won at home during the regular season 31-7
- lost at home in the PSAC championship 21-9

Team News - WCU Playoff Record Under Zwaan

Head coach Bill Zwaan is now in his 15th year at West Chester and this will be the Golden Rams' eighth appearance in the NCAA Division II playoffs. He is 9-7 in his previous seven appearances and has led his team to the national semi-finals in both 2004 and 2013. Zwaan is 5-2 in the first round, 5-6 away from Farrell Stadium, and 4-3 against PSAC opponents. West Chester enters this season's playoffs as the fifth seed in Super Region I and is set to play at PSAC East foe Shippensburg on Saturday at noon.

Bill Zwaan enters his eighth Division II postseason (Photo Ron Hockman)

West Chester in the Playoffs Under Zwaan:

Year	Seed	Round	H/A	Opponent	Conf	W/L	Score
2004	4	First	Home	C.W. Post	NE10	Win	35-3
2004	4	Second	Away	Shippensburg	PSAC	Win	33-28
2004	4	Regional Final	Away	East Stroud.	PSAC	Win	48-38
2004	4	Semi-finals	Away	Valdosta St	GSC	Loss	45-21
2005	5	First	Away	C.W. Post	NE10	Loss	24-20
2006	6	First	Away	Bryant	NE10	Win	31-29
2006	6	Second	Away	Bloomsburg	PSAC	Loss	21-20
2007	3	First	Home	Indiana	PSAC	Loss	45-25
2008	4	First	Home	South. Conn.	NE10	Win	52-32
2008	4	Second	Away	Bloomsburg	PSAC	Loss	28-21
2013	3	First	Home	American Int	NE10	Win	38-7
2013	3	Second	Away	Bloomsburg	PSAC	Win	40-38
2013	3	Regional Final	Away	Shepherd	MEC	Win	28-7
2013	3	Semi-finals	Away	Lenoir-Rhyne	SAC	Loss	42-14
2014	4	First	Home	Slippery Rock	PSAC	Win	46-20
2014	4	Second	Away	Concord	MEC	Loss	51-36

Player News - Golden Rams Named All PSAC East

Thirteen West Chester Golden Rams were named to the 2017 PSAC East first and second teams. Four members of the offense and six players from the defense were recognized by the conference's coaches, while three players were tabbed for special teams play. Only six of the 13 are seniors. All four team captains that played this season were recognized by the conference. In addition, senior running back Jarel Elder was named the PSAC East Offensive Player of the Year and junior linebacker Tyler Morrissey was named PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year.

Jarel Elder
(Photo Ron Hockman)
Tyler Morrissey
(Photo Ron Hockman)

Named to the first team defense were senior defensive end George Shipp and junior linebacker Tyler Morrissey. Named to the second team defense were senior defensive tackle Josh Ganzelli, junior defensive end Diquan Gilbert, senior linebacker Kevin Duggan, and senior cornerback Shaquille James.

Named to the first team offense were senior running back Jarel Elder, sophomore offensive guard Frank Tranzilli, and senior wide receiver Tyler Karpinski. Named to the second team offense was redshirt freshman wide receiver Rasheem James.

Junior Brendan Paulison was named to the first team as a punter, while sophomore Jarey Elder was named to the second team as a return specialist and classmate Andrew Chegia was named to the second team as place kicker.

PSAC Football Site - West Chester, Shippensburg Athletes Headline PSAC Football East All-Conference Teams

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Places 13 on All-PSAC East Squad,Elder and Morrissey Major Award Winners

Club News - November 16 Meeting

The Golden Ram Football Club will be meeting on Thursday at 7:45pm 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.

According to the Bill Zwaan Football Show, senior offensive lineman Vince Lostracco, senior defensive end John Dubyk, and redshirt freshman tight end Dan Neuhaus will be the special guests on Coach Zwaan's show.

In West Chester's 24-7 loss to Indiana in the PSAC championship game, Neuhaus had three catches for 62 yards including the Golden Rams' only touchdown. For the season, he has nine catches for 203 yards and four touchdowns. Meanwhile, Lostracco was an All-PSAC East lineman last season and made seven starts this season while battling injuries that kept him out of the other games. Dubyk also battled an injury all year and made his first appearance of the season just three weeks ago, registering three tackles in three games.

Come out to Timothy's at 7:00pm to participate in the show live. Or send your questions for coach or the players to Bill Zwaan Show.

John Dubyk
(Photo Ron Hockman)
Vince Lostracco
(Photo Ron Hockman)

Dan Neuhaus (Photo Ron Hockman)

Teams News - Golden Rams Playoff Bound!!!!

For the third time in five years, the West Chester Golden Rams will be participating in postseason play when, as the #5 seed, they travel to Shippensburg on Saturday at noon. The NCAA announced the 2017 Division II football playoff field and Super Region I shapes up as follows:

1. Indiana
2. Shepherd
3. Assumption
4. Shippensburg
5. West Chester
6. California
7. Findlay

Indiana will have a bye and will host the winner of the West Chester-Shippensburg matchup on Saturday November 25. The other two first round matchups feature California at Assumption and Findlay at Shepherd.

West Chester finished the regular season with an 8-3 record for the second straight season. In 2014, as the fourth seed, the Golden Rams defeated Slippery Rock in the first round before falling at top seed Concord.

NCAA.com - NCAA Division II Football Championship field announced

NCAA.com - A region by region look at the 2017 DII Football Championship

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Football Season Continues In NCAA II Playoffs

Shippensburg Athletic Site - Football Earns No. 4 Seed in Super Region 1, Will Host West Chester on Saturday

PSAC Site - Four PSAC Football Teams Selected for NCAA DII Championship

Daily Local News - WCU earns berth in NCAA field

Daily Local News - West Chester University happy to keep football season alive

KYW Newsradio - West Chester Gets Shippensburg In Playoff Opener

Team News - Final NCAA Playoff Consideration

Yes, last week we said was going to be the final look at the postseason possibilities, but yesterday was so bizarre, we'll take another "final" review.

Here are the results among last week's Super Region 1 top ten:

#1 Indiana (11-0) defeated #6 West Chester (8-3)
Bentley (6-4) defeated #2 Assumption (9-1)
#3 Shepherd (10-0) defeated Virginia-Wise (4-6)
Ohio Dominican (6-3) defeated #4 Findlay (9-2)
Kutztown (8-3) defeated #5 Slippery Rock (8-3)
#7 Shippensburg (10-1) defeated Seton Hill (0-11)
Indianapolis (11-0) defeated #8 Notre Dame (8-3)
#9 California (9-2) defeated East Stroudsburg (3-8)
#10 LIU Post (8-2) defeated St Anselm (2-8)

Indiana is no doubt the top seed and will receive a first-round bye and own the right to host throughout the Super Region 1 finals. Undefeated Shepherd will surely be #2 and host a game on Saturday. After that, who knows? Here's a look at each team and how West Chester stacks up against them. Remember, the top seven teams make the playoffs.

Two things that the Golden Rams have in their favor over every team with a winning record in the region:
- they have, by far, the strongest strength of schedule
- have a winning record (4-3) in seven games against opponents with a record of .500 or better. Only Assumption and LIU Post have played more than five such opponents.

Assumption - record is 9-1 for a .900 winning percentage.
West Chester - strength of schedule. 2-0 against common opponents (Kutztown, Bentley) versus Assumption's 1-1. Played 11 games to Assumption's 10.

Findlay - record is 9-2 for a .818 winning percentage.
West Chester - strength of schedule.

Slippery Rock - head-to-head result against West Chester.
West Chester - strength of schedule. 3-1 against common opponents (Lock Haven, Edinboro, Kutztown, Indiana) versus Slippery Rock's 1-3.

Shippensburg - record is 10-1 for a .909 winning percentage. 6-0 against common opponents (Bloomsburg, Cheyney, East Stroudsburg, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Millersville) versus West Chester's 5-1.
West Chester - significant strength of schedule advantage. Head-to-head result. Shippensburg played only three opponents with winning records.

Notre Dame - none.
West Chester - strength of schedule.

California - record is 9-2 for a .818 winning percentage.
West Chester - significant strength of schedule.

LIU Post - record is 8-2 for a .800 winning percentage.
West Chester - strength of schedule. 1-0 against common opponent (Bentley) versus LIU Post's 0-1.

Kutztown - 6-1 against common opponents (Bloomsburg, Cheyney, East Stroudsburg, Lock Haven, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock) versus West Chester's 5-2.
West Chester - strength of schedule. Head-to-head result against Kutztown.

Fairmont St - none.
West Chester - strength of schedule. 1-0 against common opponent (East STroudsburg) versus Fairmont St's 0-1.


The NCAA Division II Football Playoff field will be announced today at 5:00 pm here.

Game Report - Indiana 24 - West Chester 7

In a game that wasn't as close as the score would indicate, Indiana captured the PSAC championship by defeating West Chester 24-7 in front of 5,000+ on a cold November day.

The Crimson Hawks took the opening kick and marched 78 yards in six minutes to open the scoring. Their first 12 plays were running plays and the drive was capped by a 15-yard touchdown pass. Their second possession used a big 52-yard pass completion to make quicker work of the 69-yard touchdown drive. So 12 minutes into the game, Indiana had 14 points while West Chester had six yards of offense.

Diquan Gilbert made his team-leading eighth sack this season
(Photo Ron Hockman)

The Golden Rams gained a glimmer of hope after a running-into-the-kicker penalty extended a three-and-out. Quarterback Paul Dooley withstood a blitz and found a wide open Dan Neuhaus for a 36-yard scoring pass. The momentum continued to build when the West Chester D forced a three-and-out, but the offense couldn't answer and punted the ball right back. Indiana then went on another marathon drive - nine plays, 85 yards - including a well-executed fake punt and ending in a 40-yard touchdown pass. The halftime numbers were stark, as Indiana had 14 first downs, 257 yards and were 6 of 8 on third down compared to West Chester's 7 first downs, 108 total yards and 0 for 4 on third down.

Dan Neuhaus scored West Chester's only touchdown (Photo Ron Hockman)

After only having four possessions in the first half, the Golden Rams had the ball seven times after intermission. None of the seven went further than 36 yards, and they totaled 79 yards with the final four ending in interceptions. While the Golden Ram defense held the Crimson Hawks out of the end zone, thanks in large part to Corey Kelley wrestling the ball away from the Indiana receiver in the end zone for an interception, the offense crossed midfield only once in the second half.

1,000 yard rusher Jarel Elder only had 12 carries as he was often called on to block (Photo Ron Hockman)

The offensive game plan was interesting to say the least. Pat Moriarty, whose only playing time this season came at Cheyney, started the game and carried the ball on West Chester's first offensive play. He was inserted on the Golden Rams' final possession, throwing two incomplete passes and an interception in desperation mode. A.J. Long made his first appearance since September and completed his only pass attempt. Dooley did take a majority of the snaps and always seemed to be under pressure with few receivers open. He ended with three interceptions and three sacks. Neuhaus, Rasheem James, Tyler Karpinski, Jarel Elder and Jordan Banks each had three catches.

West Chester's last four possessions ended with an interception
(Photo Ron Hockman)

The Golden Ram defense registered only three tackles for loss, including a sack by Diquan Gilbert when the Indiana quarterback tripped over him. Linebacker Tyler Morrissey capped a monster season with a monster game, notching 20 total tackles in the contest. True freshman Nate Barnes got the start at safety and made nine tackles including 1.5 tackles for loss.

Tyler Morrissey had 20 tackles in the game (Photo Ron Hockman)

Sortable Box Score    Coaches Box Score

West Chester Athletic Site - No. 3 IUP Captures PSAC Championship With 24-7 Win

Indiana Athletic Site - IUP Football wins 2017 PSAC Championship

PSAC Site - No. 3/1 IUP Uses Quick Start to Claim 4th PSAC Football Title

Indiana Gazette - Crimson Hawks win PSAC football title

Game Replay

Game Preview - Indiana

The Golden Rams (8-2) host Indiana (10-0) at John A. Farrell Stadium on Saturday at 12:10 pm with the winner being crowned the PSAC Champion. West Chester has 18 PSAC championships, but none since the championship game between the East and the West was re-instituted in 2008. The Golden Rams last appeared in the PSAC championship game in 2015 when they fell to Slippery Rock by a score of 61-12. Indiana has 17 conference titles with their last one coming in their last appearance in the championship in 2012. The Crimson Hawks are currently ranked #1 in the D2football.com poll and #3 in the AFCA poll.

This season, Indiana and West Chester had four common opponents. The only outcome that the two teams did not share was Slippery Rock (Indiana won 34-17, West Chester lost 49-42). The game will also serve as Senior Day when West Chester University senior band members, cheerleaders, football players and the team training staff will be honored before the game.


Series History:
Indiana leads the overall series 12-7. The teams faced each other twice in 1987 with both games being played at Farrell Stadium. West Chester won the season opener by a convincing 31-7 score, but in the PSAC championship game, Indiana won in an equally convincing manner, 21-9.

Head coach Bill Zwaan endeared himself to Golden Ram fans when he broke West Chester's five-game losing streak to Indiana and led West Chester to a 30-20 win in his first game against them in 2005. However, he then lost three straight to the Crimson Hawks, including a 45-35 home loss in the first round of the 2007 playoffs. In a game that vaulted West Chester into the the 2014 playoffs, the Golden Rams won at Indiana in their last meeting.

Indiana is currently under the direction of long-time assistant and first-year head coach Paul Tortorella who took over the position after Curt Cignetti left for Elon University. Tortorella has spent 22 years at Indiana with most of those coming as defensive coordinator.

Last 10 Meetings:

Year	H/A	W/L	Score	Year	H/A	W/L	Score
1987	Home	Loss	21-9	2005	Home	Win	30-20
1993	Home	Loss	37-26	2007	Home	Loss	45-35
1995	Away	Loss	50-7	2010	Away	Loss	27-10
1998	Home	Loss	19-10	2011	Home	Loss	34-7
1999	Away	Loss	12-9	2014	Away	Win	28-17

Last Meeting:

11/15/2014 West Chester 28 Indiana 17

The Golden Rams used several big plays with the most significant one being Brandon Monk's 80-yard, third-quarter punt return for a touchdown. Once the Crimson Hawks figured out their quarterback situation, they moved the ball well, although they only got into the red zone one time. Meanwhile, the West Chester offense was gaining yards in big chunks. Besides Monk's big return, another key area was turnovers where the Golden Rams won that battle 2-0.

Only a handful of Golden Rams that participated in that game three years ago are still on the roster - George Shipp, Jarel Elder, Vince Lostracco, John Dubyk, and Josh Ganzelli - with Lostracco and Shipp getting the start as redshirt freshman.

Scouting the Opponent:

Temple transfer quarterback Lenny Williams (170 of 251, 2,154 yards, 23 TD's, 6 ints) was All-PSAC West last season and leads the PSAC in passer efficiency. And although he's also added 250 yards on the ground on 55 carries, All-PSAC West running back Samir Bullock (155 carries, 992 yards, 11 TD's) and Justice Evans (105 carries, 601 yards, 6 TD's) get the bulk of the carries. The receiving corp is led by Allen Wright (59 catches, 587 yards, 3 TD's) and Dom McNeil (26 catches, 493 yards, 3 TD's).

Joining All-PSAC West center Jeff Arnold on the offensive line are transfers from Rutgers, Wake Forest and Delaware State.

Linebacker Damon Lloyd (78 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 2 int) is the team's top tackler with fellow linebacker Nick Amendola (72 tackles, 3.5 TFL) close behind. Defensive ends Deandre Easterling (25 tackles, 5.5 sacks) and Dondrea Tillman (37 tackles, 4.5 sacks) headline a team with 23 sacks this season. Two-time All-PSAC West and All-Super Region One defensive tackle Jemal Averette (37 tackles, 7.0 TFL) plugs up the middle.

In the secondary, cornerback JR Stevens (30 tackles, 6 int) leads the PSAC in passes defended. The Crimson Hawks have Temple transfer Anthony Davis (37 tackles, 3 int) at the other corner position. The free safety is Takhi Turner (57 tackles, 2 int) and the strong safety is Max Redfield (65 tackles, 3 int) who played 36 games, and started in 23 of them, in three years at Notre Dame before transferring to IUP.

Kicker Dillon Sarka (10 of 14 FG, 44 of 50 PAT) is second in the PSAC in field goals made and has a long of 46 yards while the punter is East Stroudsburg transfer Nico Ruiz (37.7 avg, 7 I20, 3 50+). McNeil is the primary kick returner while Mike Pietropola returns punts.

Analysis:

These two teams are among the top five in the PSAC in scoring offense and defense, total offense and defense, and rushing offense and defense. While the passing offenses and defenses are not as good as the other areas, they are still above average. One area of significant concern is Indiana leads the PSAC with 19 interceptions. And an area where "something has to give" is when the Crimson Hawks are passing the ball - the West Chester defense leads the PSAC with 31 sacks while the Indiana offense has only allowed seven. And believe it or not, Indiana has more penalties and penalty yards than West Chester.

Since this game was not on the original schedule, neither Atomic Football nor Massey Ratings has a prediction for this game. However, using Massey's Matchup Tool shows an Indiana 35-24 win.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats   Audio   Video

West Chester Athletic Site - The 2017 PSAC Championship to Air on SportsFever TV

PSAC Site - IUP, West Chester to Play for PSAC Football Championship

PSAC Site - Football - Week 11 Notes

Indiana Athletic Site - The Paul Tortorella Show for November 6

Indiana Athletic Site - No. 3/1 IUP Football goes for fourth PSAC Championship at West Chester on Saturday

KYW Newsradio - West Chester Hosts IUP Saturday For PSAC Title

Indiana Gazette - Crimson Hawks haven't had to rely on freshmen

Indiana Gazette - Crimson Hawks need to cut back on penalties

Indiana Gazette - Love it or hate it, PSAC championship game will ensure a champion is crowned

Indiana Gazette - For Crimson Hawks, winning PSAC is the next huge step

D2football - National Columnist - Bob Eblen - National Columnist

HERO Sports - Compare Stats: Indiana (PA) vs West Chester