Player News - Elder, Smith Receive All-American Recognition

Senior safety Jarey Elder and graduate student defensive end Ch'aim Smith have both been named to the D2football.com All-America team. Elder received second team recognition while Smith was named honorable mention.

Elder, a Cliff Harris Award nominee, was named first team All-PSAC East and PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year, first team All Super Region One Team by the Don Hansen Football Gazette, and second team All-Super Region 1 by the Division 2 Conference Commissioner's Association. He finished the season with 60 total tackles including 4.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions, eight pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

Meanwhile, Smith, a Cliff Harris Award finalist, was named first team All-PSAC East, first team AFCA All-American, and second team All Super Region One Team by the Don Hansen Football Gazette. He finished the season with 61 total tackles including 20.5 tackles for loss (ninth in the country), three pass breakups, a forced fumble and seven quarterback hurries.

Elder
Smith

D2football.com - 2019 D2Football.com All-America Team

West Chester Athletic Site - Elder and Smith Named To D2Football.com All-America Squads

Player News - Don Hansen Regional Teams Named

Six Golden Rams were named to the All Super Region One Team by the Don Hansen Football Gazette. Named to the first team were senior safety Jarey Elder and junior punter George Lambritsios. Elder received first team recognition last year as well.

Named to the second team were redshirt freshman running back Ja'Den McKenzie, senior defensive tackle Tyrone Barge, and graduate student defensive end Ch'aim Smith. Recognized on the third team was redshirt freshman linebacker Jackson Taylor, Additionally, McKenzie was recognized as Freshman of the Year.

Ja'Den McKenzie is Freshman of the Year (Photo Ron Hockman)

Super Region One consists of schools in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, Northeast-10, Mountain East Conference, and the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. The first-team and second-team All-Region selections advance to a national ballot from which the 2019 Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-America team will be selected next month.

2019 Don Hansen Football Gazette Super Region 1 Team Announced

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Lands Six On Don Hansen FB Gazette All-Region Team; McKenzie Freshman of the Year

Player News - Ch'aim Smith a Cliff Harris Award Finalist

Graduate student defensive end Ch'aim Smith has been named a finalist for the Cliff Harris Award which is presented to the small college defensive player of the year. The award was created 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.

Ch'aim Smith (Photo Ron Hockman)

Already this year, Smith has been named first team All-PSAC East and first team AFCA All-American. He finished the season with 61 total tackles including 20.5 tackles for loss (ninth in the country), three pass breakups, a forced fumble and seven quarterback hurries.

The finalists list consists of 35 players from Division II, 36 from Division III and 24 from NAIA. The overall winner will be announced on December 27 with the trophy being presented to the recipient at the Little Rock Touchdown Club’s annual awards banquet on January 9, 2020.

Four Golden Rams have been finalists in recent years: linebacker Tyler Morrissey in 2018 and 2017, defensive end Andrew Cohen in 2015, cornerback Al-Hajj Shabazz in 2014, and linebacker Ronell Williams in 2013.

Cliff Harris Award - 2019 Cliff Harris Award finalists announced

West Chester Athletic Site - Ch’aim Smith Named a Finalist for Cliff Harris Award

Team News - Golden Rams Finish #24 in AFCA Poll

After falling to Notre Dame in the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs, West Chester (9-3) finished the 2019 season ranked #24 in the final coaches' poll. West Florida defeated Minnesota St on Saturday to capture the NCAA Division II Championship. The Golden Rams have qualified for the postseason in five of the past seven seasons.

West Chester's next scheduled action is in September when they travel to Bentley to start the 2020 season.

American Football Coaches Association - West Florida Tops Final 2019 Division II Coaches’ Poll

Event News - 2019 Football Team Banquet

The Golden Ram Football Club will be sponsoring the 54th annual team banquet to honor the 2019 Golden Rams players, coaches and staff on Saturday, January 25, 2020 at 5:30 pm at the Concordville Inn in Concordville, PA. Anyone interested in attending ($60) or sponsoring a player ($60) or table ($200) can do so here.

Player News - Elder, Smith Cliff Harris Award Nominees

Senior safety Jarey Elder and graduate student defensive end Ch'aim Smith have been named nominees for the Cliff Harris Award which is presented to the small college defensive player of the year. The award was created 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.

Elder was named first team All-PSAC East and PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year, and second team All-Super Region 1 by the Division 2 Conference Commissioner's Association. He finished the season with 60 total tackles including 4.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions, eight pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

Meanwhile, Smith was named first team All-PSAC East and first team AFCA All-American. He finished the season with 61 total tackles including 20.5 tackles for loss (ninth in the country), three pass breakups, a forced fumble and seven quarterback hurries.

Elder
Smith

Among the 164 nominees, 61 are from Division II, 73 are from Division III and 30 are from NAIA schools. Finalists will be announced on December 19, with the Cliff Harris Award winner being announced on December 23. The trophy will be presented to the recipient at the Little Rock Touchdown Club’s annual awards banquet on January 9, 2020.

Cliff Harris Award - 2019 Nominees

West Chester Athletic Site - Elder, Smith Nominated For Cliff Harris Award

Player News - Ruskowski and Zapf Honored for Academics

Two West Chester Golden Ram players have received honors for their performance on the field and in the classroom this season. Sophomore offensive lineman Brendan Ruskowski (Accounting) and sophomore linebacker Cole Zapf (Criminal Justice) were both named to the 2019 Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Football Team.

Ruskowski
Zapf

The Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Football team is voted on by the sports information directors of the 30 colleges and universities in the Philadelphia area. In order to be eligible for Academic All-Area honors, an athlete must be in at least his second year at the institution and hold a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.00 or better.

West Chester Athletics - Ruskowski, Zapf Named To Philadelphia Inquirer Academic All-Area Team

Player News - Two Golden Rams Named All-Region

Two Golden Rams have been named Division 2 Conference Commissioner's Association All-Super Region 1. Senior safety Jarey Elder was named to the second team defense after being a first team selection last season. Elder had 60 total tackles which was good for fourth on the team. He also had three interceptions, eight pass breakups, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Meanwhile junior punter George Lambritsios was also named to the second team. He finished fourth in the country with an average of 43.5 yards per punt. Of his 48 punts on the season, 12 were at least 50 yards and 19 landed inside the opponents' 20-yard line.

Elder
Lambritsios

The Division II Conference Commissioners Association (CCA) encourages and promotes Division II athletics and high standards of sportsmanship as important elements of higher education. The CCA is a key communications link among the conferences as they discuss views, policies and regulations that impact Division II intercollegiate athletics and works closely with the NCAA as a communications channel to NCAA Division II member colleges and universities.

West Chester Athletic Site - Lambritsios, Elder Land All-Region Recognition From D2CCA

2019 D2CCA All-Super Region 1 Football Teams

Player News - Smith Named All-American

Graduate student defensive end Ch'aim Smith has been named to the 2019 American Football Coaches Association Division II All-America team.

Smith, a first-team selection, logged 61 total tackles which was third best on the Golden Rams. He also tallied seven quarterback hurries, 8.5 sacks, three pass breakups, and a forced fumble.

Defensive end Ch'aim Smith is a first team All-American (Photo Ron Hockman)

The only other PSAC schools that had players named were Edinboro and East Stroudsburg.

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Defensive End, Ch’aim Smith, Named First Team AFCA All-America

AFCA Site - Notre Dame College's Jaleel McLaughlin & West Texas A&M’s Tobia Harris Headline the 2019 AFCA Division II Coaches' All-America Teams

York Dispatch - York Suburban grad named football All-American

Event News - December 5 Bill Zwaan Football Show

The Bill Zwaan Football Show will be held at Timothy's in the Parkway Shopping Center in West Chester starting at 7:00pm. Golden Ram fans unable to attend the show can listen to it live on WCHE1520AM.COM.

According to the Bill Zwaan Football Show, senior receiver Lex Rosario senior safety Jarey Elder, graduate student defensive end Ch'aim Smith, and senior right guard Frank Tranzilli, will be the special guests on Coach Zwaan's show.

Golden Ram captains Ch'aim Smith, Jarey Elder, Frank Tranzilli and Lex Rosario will be the guests on coach Zwaan's show (Photo Ron Hockman)

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.