The 2006 season was not for the faint of heart Golden Rams fans. For the first time in its 35-year history, Farrell Stadium would host a game on artificial turf when West Chester opened the campaign against Edinboro. Although the field held up well to the rain, the Golden Rams did not as six West Chester turnovers led to a 28-14 Edinboro win. After a trip to Newark to face Delaware, West Chester had an 0-2 record. And back in 2006, the Division II playoff criteria counted the game against the FCS Blue Hens.
The Golden Rams transitioned the starting quarterback position from
Matt Burdalski to
Bill Zwaan and picked up three wins, which set up a pivotal matchup at #9 Bloomsburg. With the Huskies holding a 24-6 lead early in the third quarter and with West Chester having very little success on third down, the Golden Rams started finding success on fourth down, successfully converting three attempts and narrowing the lead to 30-20. Bloomsburg pinned the Golden Rams on their own one yard line with a little more than two minutes left, but Zwaan completed passes to
Eric Ruffenach,
Ryan Paulson,
Steven Miller, and
Michael Washington to navigate the offense 99 yards in just 53 seconds and pull within three points. Unfortunately, Bloomsburg recovered the ensuing onside kick and West Chester's record was evened at 3-3.
The Golden Rams would then defeat the remaining four teams in the PSAC East - Millersville, Kutztown, East Stroudsburg and Mansfield. At 7-3, the last week of the regular season meant a trip to Slippery Rock, also 7-3, with a chance to qualify for the playoffs if another game broke properly. Entering the weekend, California (8-2) had the edge in the playoff criteria and held a 17-7 fourth quarter lead over visiting IUP. But the Crimson Hawks scored two touchdowns, the latter with less than a minute left to knock out the Vulcans. Since the California-IUP game started an hour earlier, the IUP win meant that the West Chester-Slippery Rock winner would make the playoffs.
It was rainy and cold in western Pennsylvania and the Rock scored a touchdown to take a 10-7 lead with 77 seconds left in the first half. Zwaan was 6 for 6 on the drive, completing three passes to
Brent Steinmetz, one to Ruffenach and two to Washington including the 15-yards touchdown. A 14-10 lead with eight seconds left seemed pretty positive, but the kickoff still had to be made before the teams went to the locker room. On that kickoff, freshman
Mike Dell forced a fumble and
Brett Paterson landed on it in the end zone to extend the halftime lead to 21-10.
With the Rock trailing 21-17 midway through the fourth quarter,
Rashad Grimsley intercepted a Rock pass at the West Chester one. But two plays later, the Rock intercepted the ball right back. Fortunately, the defense limited Slippery Rock to a field goal and West Chester clung to a 21-20 lead. The Rock had one last chance, but their three-time All-PSAC West kicker hooked the potential game-winning 48-yard field goal just wide left and the Golden Rams were playoff bound for a third consecutive season.
A trip to Rhode Island to take on now-FCS Bryant was at hand. The Golden Rams entered the fourth quarter with a 31-23 lead, but the Bulldogs opened the period with a touchdown. However, their two-point conversion pass attempt was intercepted by defensive lineman
Michael Walter. Bryant later advanced to the West Chester 22, but a
Tyler Downes intercepted a third down pass setting up a second round rematch at #6 Bloomsburg.
In the regional semi-final, the Huskies held a 21-20 halftime lead thanks to a bobbled snap on a point after touchdown. After an uneventful third quarter, the Golden Rams started the fourth quarter at their own 20-yard line. The offensive drive lasted over seven minutes and poked inside the Bloomsburg 10-yard line, but a couple of one-yard gains was followed by a sack. A good chance at a touchdown devolved to a 37-yard field goal attempt which missed wide left. The Huskies went on their own long drive - over five minutes - that involved a first-and-goal, but the Golden Rams defense held on third- and fourth-down attempts from the one. With 2:41 left, West Chester only needed a field goal and didn't need to travel the entire 99 yards in front of them. Zwaan led the team down to the Bloomsburg 24-yard line, but three incomplete passes setup a game-winning field goal attempt. However, the magic of the season ended when kick was blocked and the Huskies advanced to the regional final.
Washington and linebacker
Lateef Ferguson were both named to the Daktronics Division II Football All-Northeast Region Team and as D2Football.com All-Americans. Ferguson was also named PSAC East Defensive Player of Year and the team that finished 9-4 was awarded the Lambert Trophy as the top Division II football team in the East. Sixteen players were named All-PSAC East with only three of them being seniors.
Rondell White outruns the field for a first quarter score
White was named Foreign MVP of the league this season
The Golden Rams were led onto the field by a live ram
The field as it appears today (Photo WCU Athletics)
Artist's rendering of the new field (Photo WCU Athletics)
Farrell Stadium's previous FieldTurf
