2023 Spring Game Report - Purple 12 - Gold 7

Here are some observations from Friday's Purple-Gold game which was won by Purple by a score of 12-7:

• Less than a week since the second scrimmage of the spring, quarterback Aidan Dooley joined his brother Shane on the "no longer interested in playing football at West Chester" list.
• After missing all of last season, presumably due to academics, receiver Seth Degree was back on the field. The speedster started ten games in 2021 when he was second on the team in both receptions and receiving yards.
• While the Purple offense had the first team skilled position players - quarterback Cooper Jordan, receivers Degree and D'Shaun Seals - the Gold offense appeared to have the starting line - Quinton Derr, Caelan Krasley, Dylan Nichols, Trey Wells, and Ethan Vargas. As a junior, Derr is the oldest among all the linemen that played, so there is certainly the potential for changes come summer camp.
• Jonathan Haynes and Brody McAndrew were mid-year transfers and participated. McAndrew, who played quarterback at New Hampshire but is playing safety for the Golden Rams, registered a tackle for loss in the game.
• Another expected incoming transfer from Temple is linebacker Connor Noble. He's the son of former Golden Ram defensive coach Brandon Noble.
• The steady cold rain shortened the game to one half and adversely impacted the passing offense. One of Jordan's four completions was to Seals who got past Izaiah McPherson for what would result in a 99-yard touchdown pass. Gold quarterback Ethan Kohler had just two completions with one of them going 44 yards to Rahiem Bowens. Kohler did have a nice 16-yard scamper. Each QB threw a pick, with Kohler's coming on a fourth-and-22 Hail Mary with 32 seconds left in the contest.
• The Gold offensive line paved the way for almost 100 yards rushing in the abbreviated contest. Daquan Robinson, who was listed as a defensive back but played plenty of offense in high school, had 48 yards on seven carries before leaving with a left shoulder injury. Dayshawn Jacobs picked up 44 yards on ten carries.
• For Purple, Jordan executed a beautiful play action fake and connected with Degree on a 26-yard touchdown pass. Unfortunately, Degree was flagged for excessive celebration and the ensuing long PAT attempt failed.
• Defensively for Purple, safety Kaleb Brown and linebacker Khalib Slaughter led the way with five tackles each. Nazeem Werts had two pass breakups while linebacker Graham Muscella and end Kyle Fisher were each credited with a sack.
• The Gold defense was paced by linebackers Stanley Bryant and Ricardo Delgado. Bryant registered five total tackles including a sack and Delgado was credited with four solo stops including two sacks.

West Chester Athletic Site - Seals’ 99-yard TD Reception Highlights Purple’s 12-7 Win in Spring Game

Daily Local News - Golden Rams answer some questions during Spring workouts

Alumni News - Former Golden Rams Playing Professionally

Four former Golden Rams are continuing to play football now that their college careers are completed.

• Defensive lineman Shane Griffin is in his second year as the long snapper for the Michigan Panthers of the USFL. The Panthers sit atop the North Division with a record of 2-0.
  
  
• Also in the USFL is safety Jarey Elder who is with the New Orleans Breakers. Similar to Griffin's team, the Breakers are undefeated and in first place in the South Division.
  
  
• After spending a season with the Bismarck Bucks and a brief time with the Tucson Sugar Skulls, former Golden Ram wide receiver Lex Rosario is now with the Tulsa Oilers of the Indoor Football League.
  
  
• And former defensive back Nydair Rouse is currently with the first place DC Defenders of the XFL.
  
  

Player News - Future Golden Rams Recognized for Academic Achievement

Four future Golden Rams have been recognized by EasternPAFootball.com for their academic achievement.

Jack Ruskowski is listed on the 2022-23 EasternPAFootball.com All-Academic Gold Team for maintaining a GPA of 3.8 or higher. McDermott Murphy and Kyle Schumann are noted on the 2022-23 EasternPAFootball.com All-Academic Silver Team for maintaining a GPA between 3.4 and 3.7. And AJ Saggese is cited on the 2022-23 EasternPAFootball.com All-Academic Bronze Team for maintaining a GPA between 3.0 and 3.3.

You can expect to see these four as well as all of the latest incoming recruiting class during this Friday's annual Purple-Gold Spring Game whch is scheduled for 7:00 pm.

Team News - 2023 Second Spring Scrimmage Report

Technically, this was the first scrimmage of the spring, since last week's forecast cancelled the first scrimmage. It was a beautiful albeit breezy morning for some spring football for the Purple and Gold. Just a couple of observations from this morning:

• All three quarterbacks - Cooper Jordan, Ethan Kohler, and Aidan Dooley - were as expected. Jordan used both his arms and his legs to advance the offense, Kohler fired the ball well, and Dooley showed growth from his freshman season. Aiden's brother, Shane Dooley, was not there.
• It appears that Brody McAndrew is not only changing schools, but also changing positions. At New Hampshire, McAndrew was a quarterback, but is lined up in the secondary for the Golden Rams. It's clear that he's eager to learn the new position and the WCU terminology, it's just a matter of how quickly he can do so.
• Kicking was pretty sketchy. Punting was into a decent breeze, but distances were only about 20 yards. And place kicks were inconsistent. A field goal attempt for 52 yards was good, while PAT's clanged off the upright before passing the crossbar.
• Dooley did execute one nice play. He got a clean read of safety Kaleb Brown blitzing and was able to loft the ball to Frank Didio who was one-on-one for a touchdown.
• As is usual in the spring, it's hard to know who's who. Practice jerseys don't always represent a player's number, some players change numbers, some players aren't dressed, and others, including Maurice Mazzccua, Matt Marshall, and Oscar Uduma, have hit the transfer portal.
• Speaking of the transfer portal, former Golden Ram running back Ja'Den McKenzie had a game-high 10 carries for 43 yards and a 1-yard touchdown in the final minute to give the offense the win in Rhode Island's annual Blue-White Game last weekend. And former Golden Ram linebacker Jackson Taylor was expected to get plenty of time in Delaware's spring game last night, although they don't track statistics.
• Golden Ram alumnus Tyler Drob was on hand this morning. The stand out offensive lineman is now the head football coach at his alma mater Cherry Hill East and brought some of his rising seniors who are interested in playing at the next level.

The annual Spring Game is scheduled for Friday at 7:00 pm in John A. Farrell Stadium. There will be plenty of events prior to kickoff as the Alumni Association is celebrating Alumni Weekend and the Killinger Foundation will be hosting a Spring Game Social.