Player News - McKenzie, Taylor Enter Transfer Portal

Junior running back Ja'Den McKenzie and junior linebacker Jackson Taylor have reported that they have entered the transfer portal. Both were team captains in 2022 and were expected to be captains again next season.

McKenzie is a three-time first team All-PSAC East selection and amassed 2,603 yards and 30 touchdowns rushing over three seasons. As a redshirt freshman in 2019, he was named PSAC East Freshman of the Year and Don Hansen Football Gazette Super Region 1 Freshman of the Year.

Taylor is also a three-time first team All-PSAC East selection and amassed 262 tackles, including 20 tackles for loss, over three seasons. He captured the PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Year in both 2021 and 2022. Taylor was named third team Don Hansen Football Gazette All-Super Region 1 after his redshirt freshman year in 2019, and after his second season in 2021, was named second team All-D2CCA Super Region 1, D2Football.com Elite 100 and honorable mention Don Hansen Football Gazette All-American.

pic.twitter.com/bvlmnu40DE

— Ja’Den McKenzie (@mckenzie25jaden) November 22, 2022

🐏🤝🏽🚀 pic.twitter.com/EUZ1GIgqiD

— Jackson Taylor #50 (@JETMASTER44) November 29, 2022

Player News - Liggitt, Methlie, Miller Earn Academic Honors

Senior defensive end Zach Liggitt, redshirt freshman offensive lineman Patrick Methlie, and redshirt freshman tight end Thatcher Miller have been named to the 2022 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District 2® Football Team for Division II.

Liggit, a first team All-PSAC East selection, finished the season with 24 total tackles, three forced fumbles and two pass breakups. His eight sacks on the season is among the top five in the PSAC. After redshirting last season, Methlie started all ten games in which he played, leading the Golden Rams to the third best rushing attack in the conference. Miller had 11 catches for 262 yards and four touchdowns in his first collegiate season of play.

West Chester Athletic Site - Three Golden Rams Named to CSC All-District 2 Squad

College Sports Information Directors of America - Announcing 2022 CSC Academic All-District® Football and Volleyball Teams

Player News - Seven Golden Rams Named All-PSAC East

Seven West Chester Golden Rams were named to the 2022 PSAC East first and second teams. Three members of the offense and three players from the defense were recognized by the conference's coaches, while one player was tabbed for special teams play. In addition, freshman quarterback Cooper Jordan was named PSAC East Freshman of the Year and junior linebacker Jackson Taylor was named PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive year. It marks the fifth consecutive season that the defensive honor has gone to a Golden Ram as it was won by Jarey Elder in 2019, and Tyler Morrisey in 2018 and 2017.

Named to the first team offense for the third consecutive season was junior running back Ja'Den McKenzie. Named to the first team defense was linebacker Jackson Taylor, who is also making his third appearance on the first team list, and defensive end Zach Liggitt.

Named to the second team offense were redshirt freshman offensive lineman Caelan Krasley, sophomore wide receiver D'Shaun Seals, and sophomore placekicker Sean Henry.

Named to the second team defense was redshirt freshman defensive lineman David Blay.

PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year Jackson Taylor (Photo Joan Gillen)

PSAC East Freshman of the Year Cooper Jordan (Photo Joan Gillen)

PSAC Football Site - Bagent, Taylor, Jordan, and McCook Earn Major Awards; 2022 All-PSAC East Football Teams Announced

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Lands Seven on All-League Squad; Taylor and Jordan Major Award Winners

Event News - November 17 Bill Zwaan Show

The Bill Zwaan Show will be held at Timothy's in the Parkway Shopping Center in West Chester on Thursday 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 Show, junior running back Ja'Den McKenzie and junior linebacker Jackson Taylor will be the special guests on Coach Zwaan's show.

In West Chester's 36-27 win at Clarion, McKenzie had 59 yards on 13 carries and 13 yards on two catches. For the season, McKenzie is seventh in the PSAC in rushing with 706 yards on 177 carries and seven touchdowns. Also on Saturday, Taylor had ten total tackles, including a sack and a forced fumble. He's currently seventh in the PSAC in total tackles with 97, third in tackles for loss with 20.0 and leads the conference with four fumbles recovered.

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

Ja'Den McKenzie
(Photo WCU Athletics)
Jackson Taylor
(Photo WCU Athletics)

Game Report - West Chester 36- Clarion 27

The Golden Rams (7-4) exhibited Jekyll and Hyde tendencies in all facets of the game, but came away with a 36-27 victory at Clarion (3-8).

The defense had seven tackles for loss, including three sacks, forced six three-and-outs and held the Golden Eagles to just one of 14 on third down conversions. But they also got gashed for six plays of at least 20 yards, allowed 468 total yards to a team that had averaged 288 yards per game and gave up 27 points to a team that hadn't scored over the past two weeks.

The balanced West Chester offense rolled up 252 yards rushing and 237 yards passing and scored 30 points. But three first-and-goal situations ended in zero touchdowns, eleven plays resulted in negative yards, and with the game in the balance, their three fourth quarter possessions failed to produce a first down.

WCU special teams converted all six scoring kicks, and they blocked a Clarion field goal on the last play of the game, but a pooch kickoff to the 25 was returned 34 yards and a successful Clarion onsides kick was thwarted only by an illegal touching penalty on the Golden Eagles.

Quarterback Cooper Jordan (13 of 19, 237 yards, 2 TD's) had a good game, often avoiding pressure and connecting with seven different receivers. Rahiem Bowens hauled in a 43-yard touchdown pass on West Chester's first offensive play. And Thatcher Miller and D'Shaun Seals each had 30+ yard receptions. But the workhorse of the offense was senior running back Phil Poquie. Poquie had 14 carries for 122 yards and a touchdown, two catches for 60 yards, and two kickoff returns for 34 yards. Jordan had 69 yards on the ground, although the Clarion defense started to snuff him out late in the game, and Ja'Den McKenzie had 59 yards rushing.

Linebacker Jackson Taylor paced the defense with ten total tackles. Cornerback Sterlen Barr had six tackles and blocked Clarion's potential game-tying field goal to end the game. West Chester got sacks from Taylor, Zach Liggitt, and Michael Alexander. Kicker Sean Henry had another good game. He converted his three PAT's and three field goal attempts from 21, 25 and 29 yards. He also dropped three of his seven punts inside the Clarion 20-yard line.

Cornerback Obi Anyatonwu didn't play the first quarter, as he was replaced in the starting lineup by Matt Marshall. Izaiah McPherson played the first half in place of Elijah Beard who presumably was benched for being ejected during last week's game at Kutztown. Safety Kaleb Brown and linebacker Khalib Slaughter were not in attendance, and were replaced by Shamar Edwards and Oscar Uduma respectively.

Sortable Box Score   

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Concludes Season With 36-27 Victory Over Clarion

Clarion Athletic Site - Football Season Ends With Slugfest Against WCU

Game Replay

Game Preview - Clarion

The Golden Rams (6-4) close the 2022 campaign with a long road trip to Clarion (3-7) to take on the Golden Eagles. Kickoff in Memorial Stadium is set for noon. This will be the third consecutive senior day event in which West Chester will participate.

Series History:
West Chester leads the overall series with the Golden Eagles 20-3. Despite being in the west division of the PSAC, West Chester head coach Bill Zwaan has already faced Clarion eight times in his 20 years at the helm and is perfect against them, winning those eight contests by an average score of 38-16. The Golden Eagles' last two wins in the series happened in 2000 and 2002, and both of those games were in Clarion.

Former Kutztown head coach Raymond Monica is in his first season with the Golden Eagles. From 2006 to 2012, Monica accumulated a 45-34 record at Kutztown, including playing into the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs in 2010 and 2011. Monica then spent five seasons as head coach of Arkansas Tech where he went 31-26.

Believe it or not, these two schools played for the conference championship three times in four seasons back in the late 60's. The Golden Rams lost by two in 1966, but won in 1967 by a score of 27-7 and in 1969 in a 41-34 game. All three of those games were played in West Chester. One of the most memorable moments in recent history between these two schools was at Clarion in 2012 when kicker Shawn Leo narrowly missed a 57-yard field goal attempt as time expired in the first half. However, he did convert on his four other attempts - 40, 32, 45, 36 - in the game.

Last 10 Meetings:

Year	H/A	W/L	Score	Year	H/A	W/L	Score
2001	Home	Win	16-14	2006	Away	Win	49-21
2002	Away	Loss	34-28	2007	Home	Win	49-21
2003	Home	Win	35-17	2012	Away	Win	33-12
2004	Away	Win	20-17	2014	Home	Win	41-14
2005	Home	Win	43-14	2016	Away	Win	37-10

Last Meeting:

11/12/2016 West Chester 37- Clarion 10

The Golden Ram offense generated 237 yards rushing while the defense nabbed four interceptions to dominate time of possession by 19 minutes. West Chester's 17-0 halftime lead expanded to 31-10 in the fourth quarter. Any thought of a Clarion comeback was thwarted by senior safety Kevin Malone's 85-yard pick six.

The other interceptions came from Pete Galiano, Jarey Elder, and Ted Patton. On offense Jordan Banks had only two catches but both were touchdowns. Running backs Mike Class (15 carries, 118 yards, 1 TD) and Jarel Elder (21 carries, 83 yards) and quarterback Andrew Derr (10 of 17, 188 yards, 2 TD's, 1 rushing TD) all had a memorable final game of the season.

Scouting the Opponent:

The strength of the Clarion offense comes from their running game, specifically All-PSAC West running back Khalil Owens (149 carries, 623 yards, 5 TD's; 32 catches, 245 yards). Quarterback Zach Benedek (91 of 179, 938 yards, 3 TD's, 5 int's; 69 carries, 335 yards, 5 TD's) is more effective running than throwing and Elon transfer quarterback Will Alexander (16 of 36, 213 yards, 1 TD, 4 int's) has played in five games this year.

Corahn Alleyne is the Golden Eagles' multi-purpose player on offense. The Delaware State transfer is listed as a wide receiver (18 catches, 314 yards, 1 TD), has played running back (45 carries, 296 yards, 3 TD's), is effective throwing the ball (2 of 3, 39 yards, 2 TD's) and has returned kickoffs (20 returns, 23 yard average). Unfortunately, Alleyne got injured in the the third quarter of the Edinboro game and, although he left the field under his own power, has not played since. So besides Owens, receiving options are Andy Martin (7 catches, 204 yards, 1 TD), Regan Schleicher (9 catches, 127 yards, 1 TD) and Ty Corbin (9 catches, 111 yards).

Shippensburg transfer defensive back Drew Blon (64 tackles, 8 TFL) and Don Hansen Football All-America Honorable Mention linebacker Kareem Hamdan (64 tackles, 5.5 TFL) are the leading tacklers for the Golden Eagles. Shane Kemper (55 tackles, 2.5 TFL) and Bloomsburg and South Carolina transfer Jordan Villafane (33 tackles, 3.5 TFL) patrol the secondary. Blon, Hamdan, Kemper and Villafane each have two interceptions this season.

The defensive line is paced by Albany transfer Robert Lachmann (28 tackles, 5.5 sacks), Jake Tarburton (25 tackles, 4.0 sacks) and Daryl Davis (16 tackles, 2.5 sacks).

On 37 kickoffs, Trent McDowell has two touchbacks and has kicked four out of bounds. Jarrett Esposito averages 35 yards on 42 punts and has dropped 18 inside the opponent 20. McDowell (2 of 5 FG, long of 24, 2 blocked; 4 of 5 on PAT's) started the season as the points kicker, but has given way to Esposito (6 of 6 FG, long of 39; 17 of 17 PAT's).

Analysis:

Clarion's three wins have come against Lock Haven, Mercyhurst and Seton Hill, three teams that are a combined 5-25. The Golden Eagles average only 18 points per game on offense and have not scored in the past two weeks. With the worst passing offense in the PSAC, expect Clarion to run and run some more, especially if Alleyne is still out this week. It will be interesting to see how the WCU offense chooses to attack Clarion. Despite having 11 interceptions, Clarion has the worst passing defense in the conference, allowing over 250 yards per game. But passing isn't necessarily West Chester's forte this season, and the weather looks to be cold and windy, so the Golden Rams may stay with the running game. If it can be as effective as it was last week at Kutztown, West Chester should control the scoreboard and the clock.

Massey Ratings is projecting a 35-17 WCU win and Versus Sports simulates a similar 33-15 Golden Ram victory.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats   Audio   Video  

PSAC Site - PSAC Football Notes, Week 11

Clarion Athletic Site - Clarion Football Game Day - Week 11 vs. West Chester

D2football - PSAC Columnist - PSAC Week Eleven Preview

Event News - November 10 Bill Zwaan Show

The Bill Zwaan Show will be held at Timothy's in the Parkway Shopping Center in West Chester on Thursday 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 Show, senior running back Phil Poquie and senior defensive end Zach Liggitt will be the special guests on Coach Zwaan's show.

In West Chester's 28-9 win at Kutztown, Poquie had 10 carries for 28 yards. For the season, he has amassed 318 yards and two touchdowns on 78 carries, 94 yards on 7 catches, 275 yards on 14 kick returns and 163 yards on 8 punt returns for a total of 850 all-purpose yards. Poquie leads the PSAC in punt returns with a 20.4 yard average. Also at Kutztown, Liggitt had three tackles, a strip sack, and a quarterback hurry. For the season, Liggitt has 21 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss, 2 PBU's, and 3 forced fumbles. His 7.0 sacks is currently fifth in the PSAC.

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

Phil Poquie
(Photo WCU Athletics)
Zach Liggitt
(Photo WCU Athletics)

Player News - Jackson Taylor Named PSAC East Defensive POW

For his efforts in West Chester's 28-9 win at Kutztown, junior linebacker Jackson Taylor has been named PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week.

Taylor had a game-high 11 total tackles including four solo stops and 1.5 sacks. At the end of the first quarter, on a third-and-five, Taylor teamed up with fellow linebacker Khalib Slaughter on a five-yard sack. The ensuing Kutztown field goal attempt sailed wide left. Then at the end of the first half, with the Golden Bears already in West Chester territory, Taylor registered a solo sack of eight yards to thwart any notion of Kutztown pursuing points, desipte 35 seconds being left in the period.

For the season, Taylor is currently seventh in the PSAC in tackles with 87, 11th in sacks with 5.0, and first in fumbles recovered with four.

Jackson Taylor with one of his 11 tackles (Photo Joan Gillen)

PSAC Site - PSAC Football Athletes of the Week – 10

West Chester Athletic Site - Jackson Taylor Named PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week

Game Report - West Chester 28 - Kutztown 9

The Golden Rams started strong on both sides of the ball and then maintained it throughout the entire game en route to a 28-9 win at Kutztown.

The West Chester defense opened the game by forcing a three-and-out, including stopping a third-and-one to force the punt. Then the offense looked like the offense of old as the line opened holes for Ja'Den McKenzie and Cooper Jordan to pick up big yards on the ground. Ultimately Cooper completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to D'Shaun Seals to cap the 11 play, 72 yard drive.

Rahiem Bowens hauls in a catch among KU defenders (Photo Joan Gillen)

The Golden Bears responded with a time-consuming drive of their own and penetrated to the WCU 21, but a zero blitz resulted in a sack by linebackers Khalib Slaughter and Jackson Taylor and the subsequent 44-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left. Jordan capped another time-consuming drive with a 15-yard touchdown run to put the Golden Rams up 14-0. This time, Kutztown opened the response with a 45-yard run and eventually got to a first-and-goal from the four. But the West Chester defense stood tall, stuffing the Kutztown running game on all four plays. Unfortunately, the Golden Rams fumbled the ball away, giving Kutztown possession on the WCU 26 with 90 seconds left in the half. But a David Blay tackle for loss, a couple of false start penalties on the Golden Bears, and a Taylor sack sent everyone to the locker room without further scoring.

Jackson Taylor with one of his 11 tackles (Photo Joan Gillen)

The second half started slowly for the purple and gold. The offense went three-and-out and Kutztown went 70 yards on nine plays to cut the lead to 14-7. When West Chester's next possession stalled at the Kutztown 33, Coach Bill Zwaan shrewdly elected to punt which was downed at the two-yard line. The Golden Ram defense forced another three-and-out and the subsequent Kutztown punt was blocked by Sterlen Barr giving the Golden Rams possession at the Kutztown four-yard line. It took four downs, but McKenzie plowed into the end zone from the one to go up 21-7.

Ja'Den McKenzie broke numerous tackles on the day (Photo Joan Gillen)

Kutztown would drop a punt on the WCU one-yard line and they would get a safety by taking down McKenzie in the end zone to cut the score to 21-9. But the Golden Ram defense would force yet another three-and-out, their fifth of the game. McKenzie and Jordan would then go on another long march to the end zone, chewing up four minutes before McKenzie scored from the seven to set the final score of 28-9.

David Blay drags down a Golden Bear (Photo Joan Gillen)

West Chester won the ground game, 247-150. And while Jordan was only 3 of 9 passing, he did have 129 yards and a touchdown rushing. McKenzie netted 98 yards and two scores and broke numerous tackles along the way. Taylor had a game-high 11 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Kicker Sean Henry had a tremendous day. Besides completing all four PAT's, none of his six kickoffs were returned and four went for touchbacks, including a kickoff from the 20 after a personal foul penalty. Henry also averaged 39 yards on three punts and had one downed at the two.

Cooper Jordan was too elusive for Kutztown (Photo Joan Gillen)

Sortable Box Score   

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Upsets Kutztown on the Road, 28-9

Kutztown Athletic Site - Golden Bears Drop Home Finale Against West Chester, 28-9

Reading Eagle - Kutztown fall to West Chester in college football

WCU Football Family - Photo Album - Kutztown

Game Replay

Game Preview - Kutztown

The Golden Rams (5-4, 3-3) travel to Andre Reed Stadium to take on the Kutztown Golden Bears (7-2, 5-1) in the final PSAC East contest of the season. Kickoff for Kutztown's Senior Day/Military Appreciation/Hall of Fame is slated for noon.

Series History:
West Chester leads the overall series 52-12-1, and head coach Bill Zwaan is 12-6 against the Golden Bears during his tenure with West Chester. In 2003 in Kutztown, West Chester shot out to a 16-0 first quarter lead, but the failed point after touchdown conversion came back to haunt West Chester when Kutztown made a 38-yard field goal with 50 seconds left in the game, handing Zwaan his first Division II loss.

Kutztown notched two wins in 2010 and 2011, the two years in the past ten that West Chester was under .500 and Kutztown qualified for the NCAA playoffs. That 2011 game was played in a snowy, windy and cold John A. Farrell Stadium, some of the worst weather conditions West Chester football has seen in the past several decades. In 2013, the Golden Rams trailed 21-10 midway through the fourth quarter, but rallied for two fourth-quarter touchdowns and Al-Hajj Shabazz sealed the 22-21 win with an interception in the final minute.

Jim Clements is 66-24 in his eighth season as head coach of the Golden Bears. Kutztown has qualfied for the NCAA Division II playoffs each of the past three seasons. The PSAC East Coach of the Year in 2016 and 2021 is the winningest football coach in Kutztown history.

Last 10 Meetings:

Year	H/A	W/L	Score	Year	H/A	W/L	Score
2011	Home	Loss	24-0	2016	Away	Loss	20-14
2012	Away	Win	45-24	2017	Home	Win	27-21
2013	Home	Win	22-21	2018	Away	Win	38-21
2014	Away	Win	29-7	2019	Home	Loss	30-17
2015	Home	Win	44-14	2021	Home	Loss	21-14

Last Meeting:

11/07/2021 Kutztown 21 - West Chester 14

The Golden Rams scored touchdowns on their first two time-consuming possessions which were 75- and 72-yard drives to take a 14-0 lead. After that, the offense totalled just 100 yards for the remainder of the game, turned the ball over twice and missed a 43-yard field goal. The Golden Bears scored touchdowns in the second and third quarters to take a tie game into the final period. Kutztown scored the game-winning touchdown with just eight seconds remaining when Jerome Kapp pushed off Kendall Singleton on a 22-yard pass.

Quarterback Shane Dooley was 12 of 17 for 157 yards, 2 TD's and 2 int's along with 22 yards on the ground. Ja'Den McKenzie had 67 yards rushing and Mari Wright made two catches for 23 yards and a score. The West Chester defense amassed seven sacks including two from Zach Liggitt and one each from Khalib Slaughter and Jackson Taylor. Obi Anyatonwu had an interception and Taylor made a total of 16 tackles.

Scouting the Opponent:

Quarterback Donny Blaine (110 of 189, 1,557 yards, 12 TD's, 5 int's) has been a steadying influence for the Golden Bears. He was last year's starter before getting injured in the second game of the season at IUP. He returned for Kutztown's quarterfinal battle with Shepherd. Although the Golden Bears lost as time expired, Blaine accounted for all four of Kutztown's touchdowns. This season, he hasn't thrown in interception in his last 100 pass attempts. His targets are the aforementioned All-PSAC East wide receiver Jerome Kapp (34 catches, 726 yards, 8 TD's), Jake Novak (14 catches, 195 yards) , and tight end Alex MacKenzie (9 catches, 101 yards, 2 TD's).

As usual, Kutztown is very balanced on offense - 1,553 yards rushing versus 1,560 yard passing. Accounting for the bulk of the rushing game are running backs Darryl Davis-McNeil (183 carries, 968 yards, 12 TD's) and 5'8 Jordan Davis (135 carries, 484 yards, 4 TD's). The offensive line has a pair of All-PSAC East performers in Old Dominion transfer right tackle Devin Hannan and center Albert Glasgow.

The Kutztown defense is led by a pair of All-PSAC East linebackers: Amani Justice (56 tackles, 6.0 TFL) and Tyler Whary (44 tackles, 4.0 TFL). Key members of the secondary are CJ Brown (41 tackles, 4 PBU) and All-PSAC East cornerback Antaun Lloyd (22 tackles, 3 PBU, 2 int). Defensive end Tom Griese (24 tackles, 3.5 sacks) and Bloomsburg transfer tackle Tom Pellegrino (27 tackles, 2.5 sacks) lead the charge up front.

Freshman punter Nathan Millard averages 41 yards per punt and has dropped 11 of his 30 punt insiode the opponent's 20-yard line. Millard also has 18 touchbacks on 47 kickoffs for the Golden Bears. Kicker Dawson Evitts is 7 of 9 on field goals with a long of 41.

Analysis:

Kutztown's two losses came by one score to two teams on their way to the NCAA Division II playoffs - Shepherd and Assumption. Similar to West Chester, Kutztown struggled but ultimately defeated both East Stroudsburg and Millersville. However unlike the Golden Rams, Kutztown handled Bloomsburg and Shippensburg with realtive ease. For West Chester to come away with a win on Saturday, it really needs an outstanding performance by its offensive line. Kutztown has the best overall defense in the PSAC, and only allows 68 yards per game on the ground. And the Golden Rams have allowed twice as many sacks as the Golden Bears. So if West Chester can keep the quarterbacks clean and achieve some sort of success in the running game, they might steal a win.

Versus Sports simulates a 26-17 Golden Bear victory and Massey Ratings predicts a similar 27-14 Kutztown win.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats   Audio   Video  

PSAC Site - PSAC Football Notes, Week 10

Reading Eagle - Kutztown University football looks to continue late-season surge against West Chester

D2football - PSAC Columnist - PSAC Week Ten Preview