Alumni News - Penecale to Bucks County Sports Hall of Fame

Former Golden Ram wide receiver Brian Penecale '96 has been inducted into the The Bucks County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. Penecale played football, basketball, baseball and ran track and field at Central Bucks High School East prior to coming to West Chester. He was the Golden Rams' leading receiver in 1993, 1994 and 1995.

Penecale finished his West Chester career with 191 receptions for 2,983 yards and 48 touchdowns. When he graduated, he held the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference career touchdowns receiving record and single season records in receiving yards and touchdown receptions. He still ranks among the top five in several West Chester receiving and scoring marks. Big players shine in big games and Penecale was no different. In a 43-30 loss at Ferris St in the first round of the 1994 NCAA Division II playoffs, Penecale had 8 receptions for 146 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Penecale was a unanimous first-team All-PSAC Easts selection as a junior and a second team choice in his senior year. He is already a member of the Killinger Hall of Fame.

Bucks County Sports Hall of Fame - 2017 Honorees

Bucks County Courier Times - Bucks County Sports Hall of Fame inducts 15 new members

2017 Spring Game Report - Purple 24 - Gold 7

Some observations from Friday's Purple-Gold game which was won by Purple by a score of 24-7:

• Purple featured the first team offense while Gold was manned by the first team defense.
• After last season, the only hole on the offensive line was expected to be Doug Gilbert. But starting right guard Tyler Drob did not dress with a brace on his right knee and Jake Duncan, one of the leading candidates to assume Gilbert's left tackle spot, was on crutches. So, from left to right, the o-line was Evyn Stadulis, Vince Lostracco, Devan LaBau, Frank Tranzilli and Alex Host. There's still plenty of experience on this unit.
• Purple's three top ball handlers - quarterback Pat Moriarty, wide receiver Tyler Karpinski, and running back Jarel Elder - all looked like the experienced seniors that they are.
• Tight end Cody Boozel continued to impress this spring, but his game was cut short by an apparent serious knee injury.
• Among the upstarts that had a great showing were running back Nafeese Nasir and wide receiver Rasheem James.
• The best defensive showing of the game was defensive end Diquan Gilbert. Granted he was facing the second string offensive line and the officials blew the whistle when the quarterback was touched, but Gilbert was relentless and spent most of the game in the Gold backfield. He was credited with seven sacks in the game.
• Eerin Young was as effective as ever as a slot receiver. He looks to continue to be that dual threat on offense - running and receiving.
• The secondary was a question going into this spring and looks to have been resolved with incumbent Shaquille James at one corner and Quintin Smith at the other. Sophomores Jarey Elder and Deionte Wilson could be three-year starters at the safety spots.
• The standout play of the game was made by linebacker Tyler Morrissey. With purple knocking at the door of a touchdown, Morrissey deflected then intercepted a swing pass and returned for 30 yards. It was a great display of athleticism in pass coverage for the big linebacker.
• In the kicking game, Brendan Paulison missed a 45-yard field goal, but George Lambritsios connected on a 44-yarder. All PAT kicks were converted.

Defensive end Diquan Gilbert has no interest in chatting with tackle John DiPasquale on his way to the quarterback (Photo Ron Hockman)

Elijah Hall pulls in a catch as Corey Kelley closes (Photo Ron Hockman)

Shaq James lines up Nafeese Nasir as Vince Lostracco provides protection
(Photo Ron Hockman)

Shane Kraynik protects Mike Alley from John Dubyk's rush (Photo Ron Hockman)

Jeff Driggins and Deionte Wilson sandwich Jarel Elder (Photo Ron Hockman)

Jarel Elder celebrates Nafeese Nasir's touchdown between Shaquil James and Jarey Elder (Photo Ron Hockman)

Rasheem James is dragged down by Shaquil James as Justice Smith watches
(Photo Ron Hockman)

Most of the 2017 recruiting class was on hand to take in the action
(Photo Ron Hockman)

Head Coach Bill Zwaan and Athletic Director Ed Matejkovic watch the action (Photo Ron Hockman)

Purple Zone Parents has two photo albums from the game, one for the first half and one for the second half.


West Chester Athletic Site - Purple Tops Gold In Annual Spring Football Game, 24-7

Daily Local News - No big revelations at WCU spring game

CBS Philly.com- West Chester Winding Down Spring Workouts

Event News - 27th Annual Quarterback Classic

The 27th Annual WCU Quarterback Classic will be held on Friday, May 19, 2017 at 8:00 am at the Downingtown Country Club in Downingtown, PA. Presented by National Food Sales, the schedule is as follows:

- 8:00 am Registration
- 9:00 am Shotgun Start
- 1:30 pm Lunch

The price for an individual golfer is $200, a foursome is $700, and alumni sponsorship is $150, with all proceeds from the event going directly into the football scholarship fund. Anyone interested in attending or sponsoring the event is asked to use the online registration center no later than May 12.

Team News - 2017 Second Spring Scrimmage Report

The gloomy day kept the crowd down to about 100 people, but the real rain held off until the scrimmage was over at noon. Some observations from yesterday's second spring scrimmage:

• Linebacker Tyler Morrissey was as mobile as ever, working sideline to sideline including throwing down Eerin Young for a loss on a jet sweep.
• The second team offense really struggled for about ten consecutive plays until redshirt freshman Mike Alley found a wide open Cody Boozel down the middle for a long catch and run touchdown.
• Defensive back Gerry Riccardo had a nice pass breakup in one-on-one coverage.
• The dearth at quarterback became very evident when the trainers were helping Alley with an eye issue and Pat Moriarty was required to take every snap for an extended period of time.
• Trent Thomas continued to impress running the ball, but he'll need to work on catching those little swing passes and blocking pass rushers to be successful in this offense.
• Defensive lineman Mark Webb looks to be an excellent addition to the front four rotation.
• It was good to see a handful of recruits on hand. Most, if not all, of them should be there Friday night as well.

The annual Spring Game is scheduled for Friday at 6:00 pm in John A. Farrell Stadium.

Tyler Karpinski hauls in a touchdown pass (Photo Ron Hockman)

Jarey Elder hauls down his older brother Jarel (Photo Ron Hockman)

Cody Boozel runs loose for a touchdown (Photo Ron Hockman)

Team News - 2017 WCU Football Schedule

Game times are set for the 2017 season. So make your travel plans!

Day	Date	Opponent	Time	Notes
Thursday	August 31	vs Bentley	6:00 pm
Saturday	September 9	at Slippery Rock	6:00 pm
Saturday	September 16	vs Edinboro	1:00 pm	Hall of Fame / Family Day
Saturday	September 23	at Lock Haven	2:00 pm
Saturday	September 30	vs Kutztown	12:00 pm
Saturday	October 7	at Shippensburg	1:00 pm
Saturday	October 14	vs Bloomsburg	12:00 pm
Saturday	October 21	at Cheyney	1:00 pm
Saturday	October 28	vs East Stroudsburg	2:00 pm	Homecoming
Saturday	November 4	at Millersville	1:00 pm
Saturday	November 11	vs Clarion	12:00 pm	Senior Day

Alumni News - Cougars Top Dauphins, Expanded Role for White

The Nice Dauphins fell to Les Cougars by a score of 36-16. Former Golden Ram running back Rondell White had 25 carries for 240 yards including a 92-yard touchdown and, get this, was 8 of 15 for 120 yards passing with a 10-yard touchdown and one interception. He also converted a two-point PAT.

The Dauphins (1-5) travel to Bron to take on Les Falcons (2-5) on April 30.

1ère Division Elite Standings

Les Cougars - Les Cougars confirment face à Nice

Team News - 2017 First Spring Scrimmage Report

Anyone that attended yesterday's scrimmage expecting to resolve some of the items on last week's "What to Look for This Spring" article were sorely disappointed. Offensive lineman Jake Duncan was not dressed and quarterback Paul Dooley was no where to be seen. The latter issue left just rising senior Pat Moriarty and redshirt freshman Mike Alley to handle all of the snaps the entire day.

Some observations from yesterday's first spring scrimmage:

• Despite some discussion of having Eerin Young move to the secondary, he played with the offense in his slot receiver position where he was the Golden Rams' third most productive receiver last season. Alley connected with EY on a touchdown in the scrimmage.
• Former reserve running back Anthony Brown was in the secondary and Moriarty and Tyler Karpinski took advantage of his inexperience back there.
• Cody Boozel appears to be a favorite target in the passing game, especially to Alley.
• It appears that Jarey Elder has moved from the shark linebacker spot to safety. And he looked quite comfortable back there as he was directing his team mates in coverage and stepped in front of a receiver for an interception.
• Running back Jarel Elder looked as sharp as ever, slipping through narrow holes for nice gains.
• Valley Forge Military Academy transfer Mark Webb looked good at defensive tackle after sitting out last season.
• Defensive back Ryan Panella had himself a pick and Jordan Burney looks ready to step in after winning the defensive scout team award last season.
• Unfortunately the kicking game was rather inconsistent.
• Most talked about among the many fans in attendance was the performance of 5'10, 210lb Trent Thomas. The walk-on fullback from Pleasant Valley ran with a determination not just of a guy trying to make the team, but of a player needing to pick up a first down in a short yardage situation, something the Golden Rams could use. As a wrestler, Thomas finished his senior season with a record of 33-6, winning his region and qualifying for states.

There is another scrimmage scheduled for Saturday at 10:00 am in John A. Farrell Stadium.

Team News - What to Look for This Spring

The Golden Rams are in the midst of spring practice and on the verge of scrimmages. Here's what to look for when you head to South Campus when looking toward the 2017 season:

3. Left Tackle

For a coach, the one advantage of starting a younger player at a position is that it doesn’t have to be thought about for a few years. The downside is that once that player departs, it leaves and inevitable void. This is the situation that the Golden Rams face at left tackle. Doug Gilbert was a three-time first team All-PSAC East performer and received a host of other accolades throughout his career. Jake Duncan, Gilbert’s backup last season, looks to be in line to assume the role of protecting the quarterback’s blindside.

2. Secondary

Of the 11 seniors that were on last year’s roster, five of them were in the secondary, including All-PSAC East and All-ECAC strong safety Kevin Malone. While last season’s roster shows 12 defensive backs that were not seniors, the only starter returning is Shaquille James (45 total tackles). Although Corey Kelley returns after a year off, and Eerin Young and Anthony Brown have been moved to the secondary, this unit lacks a lot of college experience.

1. Quarterback

Anyone who knows West Chester football knows that the quarterback position is key to the team’s success. This spring, the position presents the largest unknown. Andrew Derr (145 of 258, 56.2%, 2,103 yards 18 TD’s, 10 ints) started six games last year and has a season of eligibility left, although it’s unknown if he will use it or move on with his life and working career. Either way, due to eligibility rules, you won’t see him this spring.

That brings us to rising senior Pat Moriarty. Moriarty started every game in 2015 (197 of 355, 55.5%, 2,655 yards, 28 TD’s, 13 ints) while Derr was suspended and led the Golden Rams to a 7-4 record and a PSAC East championship. He was also the starter for the 2016 season opener at Bentley, but was pulled late in the first quarter in favor of Derr after going just 2 of 12 for 17 yards and 2 interceptions. Midway during the season, when Derr incurred an injury, Moriarty started four games and led the team to four division wins. Although he finished the season just 54 of 113, 47.8% for 810 yards with 8 TD’s and 2 ints, it would seem Moriarty has the edge for the job going into this spring.

Pushing Moriarty will be Paul Dooley. As a redshirt freshman last year, Dooley was primarily used in wildcat situations, carrying the ball 20 times for 129 yards and one touchdown. He completed his only pass attempt of the season, an 11-yarder late in the third quarter against Cheyney. It will be interesting to see if Dooley is ready to take control of the position prior to this fall.

Player News - Keyser Named National Scholar-Athlete

The National Football Foundation (NFF) has recognized senior free safety Kyle Keyser as a member of the 2017 Hampshire Honor Society. Membership is granted to senior or graduate student football players that have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability, and demonstrate strong leadership and citizenship. Keyser is one of 128 members from Division II and just 14 in the PSAC.

At the 2015 PSAC football championship, Keyser was named the PSAC Scholar Athlete. After this season, for the second consecutive year, the finance major was named to the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Football Team as voted by the sports information directors of the colleges and universities in the Philadelphia area.

Kyle Keyser (Photo R&R Photography)

National Football Foundation Site - 2017 NFF Hampshire Honor Society Membership Announced

Team News - Spring Schedule

Now that it's April, it's time to turn full attention to Golden Ram football. Four weeks of spring practice is set to start tomorrow afternoon and culminate in the spring game at the end of the month.

A scrimmage is scheduled for Saturday, April 15 at 10:00 am on the practice field due to the WCU 7's rugby tournament taking place at John A. Farrell Stadium. Both the second scrimmage, which is scheduled for Saturday, April 22 at 10:00 am, and the annual Purple & Gold Game, set for Friday, April 28 at 6:00 pm, will be played in Farrell Stadium.