Player News - Cooper Jordan Named PSAC East Offensive POW

For his efforts in West Chester's come-from-behind 20-19 win at Bentley, sophomore quarterback Cooper Jordan has been named PSAC East Offensive Athlete of the Week.

Jordan accounted for 376 yards (292 passing, 84 rushing) which was eighth best in Division II this past week. It was a tale of two halves for Jordan. In the first 30 minutes, he ran 10 times for 76 yards and five first downs while only throwing for 47 yards. In the second half, Jordan ran for just 8 yards, but threw for 245 yards, including six passes of at least 20 yards.

Trailing 19-10 early in the fourth quarter, Cooper led the Golden Rams on a 7-play, 74-yard drive the ended in a field goal to pull West Chester to within one score. On the ensuing possession, with a minute and a half remaining, Cooper completed consecutive passes of 45 yards to D'Shaun Seals and 24 yards to Jonathan Haynes which led to the game-wining touchdown. In the first half, he completed an 8-yard touchdown pass to tight end Thatcher Miller.

Cooper Jordan picks up some of his 84 yards rushing (Photo Joan Gillen)

PSAC Site - PSAC Football Athletes of the Week - 1

West Chester Athletic Site - Cooper Jordan Named PSAC East Offensive Athlete of the Week

Game Report - West Chester 20 - Bentley 19

The Golden Rams had to shake off a sluggish start and a 14-0 deficit, but they overcame mistakes on both sides of the ball and outscored Bentley 13-5 in the second half en route to a stunning come from behind 20-19 victory in Waltham, MA.

Daniel Hicks jars the ball loose from the Falcon QB (Photo Joan Gillen)

When West Chester sent redshirt freshman Dayshawn Jacobs, redshirt sophomore Daquan Robinson, and true freshman Darrell Brown to return the opening kickoff, the gravity of how young this team is could be felt. The Golden Ram defense allowed two 80-yard, 6-minute drives that gave the Falcons a 14-0 lead midway through the second quarter. Meanwhile the West Chester offense primarily consisted of Cooper Jordan scampers. The Golden Rams got into the end zone on a 8-yard shovel pass from Cooper to tight end Thatcher Miller to narrow the score to 14-7 at halftime.

Thatcher Miller takes the shovel pass for the first score of 2023 (Photo Joan Gillen)

A Sterlen Barr interception thwarted Bentley's first possession of the second half and the Golden Ram offense took advantage of the favorable field position. Jordan connected with Rahiem Bowens for a 45-yard pickup that moved West Chester into the red zone. Unfortunatley, this only resulted in three points on Sean Henry's 29-yard field goal.

Rahiem Bowens makes a leaping catch and turns upfield (Photo Joan Gillen)

Bentley answered with a field goal of their own to return the Falcons' lead to seven points, 17-10. And then the biggest gaffe of the game was made. Bentley's ensuing kickoff went just into the end zone where Robinson made the catch. After a brief pause, he stepped out, then thought better of it, stepped back into the end zone and took a knee. The resulting safety would extend Bentley's lead to 19-10, meaning WCU would need two scores. Fortunately, those would be the last points the Falcons would score on the afternoon.

Khalib Slaughter applies pressure to the Bentley QB (Photo Joan Gillen)

The Golden Ram passing game got going. Jordan connected with Julian Jordan for 14 yards, Jonathan Haynes for 9, and Jordan again for 25 yards. Although the drive stalled at the Falcon 32, it showed that the Golden Rams could move the ball, and quickly, if given another chance. And the Golden Ram defense did just that, forcing a three-and-out to start the fourth quarter.

Starting at their own 21, Jordan connected with Miller for 30 yards, and 36 and 14 yards to D'Shaun Seals to get to the Bentley 5. But two running plays didn't advance the ball any further. Needing two scores, the Golden Rams elected for the 23-yard field goal which Henry delivered.

Julian Jordan had a game-high five catches (Photo Joan Gillen)

Nursing a 19-13 lead, Bentley drained nearly eight minutes off the clock, but their 46-yard field goal attempt failed. So the Golden Ram offense, which scuffled most of the game but started finding their footing recently, had the ball at their own 29 with 1:37 remaining. Of course, the first thing West Chester did was commit a false start to push the ball back to the 24-yard line and followed that with a Jordan keeper for no gain. On second-and-15, Jordan scrambled to buy time and launched a 45-yard strike to Seals to the Bentley 31.

D'Shaun Seals hauls in a 45-yard bomb (Photo Joan Gillen)

That was followed by a 24-yard pass to Haynes, who redeemed himself from a couple of drops earlier in the game. Then with just 58 second remaining, Jayden Williams went untouched around the right side from 7 yards for the game tying touchdown. Henry's PAT would give West Chester its first lead of 2023, 20-19.

Jayden Williams waltzes into the end zone for the game tying touchdown

On Bentley's final desperation drive, Shane Mosley had two pass breakups and Izaiah McPherson had one to end any of Bentley's hopes.


Other observations:

• WCU newcomers made an impact on defense. Linebacker Connor Noble made a game-high 14 tackles while Mosley made 13 tackles on top of his two pass breakups.
• Captains were Ayyub Dail, Sterlen Barr, Jr., Obi Anyatonwu, Khalib Slaughter and Mason Griffiths.
• It was announced that the only senior on the offensive line, Quinton Derr, is out for the season. He was replaced at right tackle by Trey Wells who did a fine job. In fact, the offense had no holding penalties and Jordan was sacked only twice in the game. The only downside was a couple of false start penalties.
• Brody McAndrew (4 solo tackles) got the start at the one safety position, but DeJuan Dandridge (4 total tackles) saw time there as well.
• Daniel Hicks forced a fumble that was recovered by Kaleb Brown and Sterlen Barr, Jr. ripped the ball out of the tight end's hands for an interception.
• WCU faced a fourth and one from their own 45 on their first possession of the second half and employed the "tush push" to get the first down.
• Obi Anyatonwu left the game right before halftime and did not return to the game, although he was on the sidelines. He was replaced by Izaiah McPherson and Victor Pena.
• Our first look at the Golden Rams 3-3-5 showed that it worked as expected. It held Bentley to just 136 yards passing, but Bentley's big quarterback picked up 98 yards on the ground.
• Third down efficiency heavily favored Bentley - West Chester was just 2 of 8 while the Falcons were 10 of 16. This led to the time of possession to be heavily skewed in favor of Bentley as well.
• With Bentley leading for 59 minutes, some of their players expressed their confidence vocally. This boiled over in a mild mele near the post-game handshake line.

Sortable Box Score   

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Escapes Bentley With Last-Minute Touchdown, 20-19

Bentley Athletic Site - Late TD Gives West Chester 20-19 Win over Bentley

WCU Football Family - Photo Album - Bentley

Game Replay

Game Preview - Bentley

The West Chester Golden Rams head to Waltham, MA on Saturday to face usual season-opening opponent Bentley Falcons. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00pm.

Series History:
Although the Golden Rams lead the series 5-1, three of West Chester's wins required late game heroics. The Golden Rams had dominating wins in 2017 and 2018, while the Falcons won handily in 2021 in Waltham, MA.

For the second consecutive season, Bentley will be breaking in a new head coach as Saj Thakkar has replaced Alvin Reynolds who went 7-3 last year. The Falcons were picked to finish third in the Northeast-10 Football Coaches’ Poll. Meanwhile, Golden Ram head coach Bill Zwaan starts his 21st season at West Chester with an overall record of 157-71, including 12-4 against Northeast-10 opponents and 5-1 against Bentley.

Last Meeting:

09/03/2022 West Chester 17 - Bentley 16

After a scoreless first quarter, the Golden Rams took a 14-0 lead into halftime on a pair of passing touchdowns. Unfortunately, the West Chester offense stayed in the locker room at halftime. Bentley scored on three consecutive possessions, including after two interceptions which gave the Falcons short fields and the West Chester defense little rest. Bentley carried a 16-14 lead into the final period. It wasn't until Sean Henry nailed a 34-yard field goal with under five minutes to play that West Chester regained the lead, 17-16. It was a bit of redemption for Henry who earlier in the contest missed field goals of 34 and 38 yards. But it wasn't until safety Kaleb Brown batted a pass away as time expired that Golden Ram fans could exhale.

Rahiem Bowens had three catches for 34 yards and D'Shaun Seals had two catches for 19 yards. The defense was led by Maurice Beverly who made his collegiate debut with nine tackles, a forced fumble and two quarterback hurries. Ayyub Dail and Nate Desmond each had four tackles while Sterlen Barr, Jr. and Obi Anyatonwu combined for four pass breakups.

Scouting the Opponent:

Expect Youngstown State transfer Mark Waid (93 of 190 for 1,505 yards, 15 TD's, 6 int, 714 yards and 3 TD's rushing last season) to return at quarterback. Waid accounted for 221 of Bentley's 269 yards of offense against WCU last year. Waid has plenty of passing targets including Isaiah Decias (21 catches, 378 yards), Abel Lopes Jr. (14 catches, 341 yards, 5 TD's), and tight end Nayvon Reid (11 catches, 176 yards, 2 TD's). After Waid, senior Vinnie Holmes (107 carries, 443 yards, 2 TD's) is Bentley's top returning rusher.

Mason Campbell was first team all Northeast-10 last season after converting on all 30 PAT's and 12 of 16 field goals with a long of 48 yards. Decias averaged almost 22 yards per kickoff return.

As is usual in recent years, the strength of this Bentley team lies on defense. Linebacker Salvatore Lupoli Jr. (102 tackles, 7 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovered) is the team's top returning tackler for the second consecutive year and was first team all Northeast-10 after 2022. He's helped out in the middle by Christian Lanzalotto (54 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 2 interceptions). Former NE10 All-Rookie team member Herve Tshibamba (39 tackles, 1.5 sacks) continues to be a force up front. The secondary is led by cornerback Mathieu Severance (42 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 11 pass breakups) and safety Aaron Racki (30 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 4 pass breakups).

Analysis:

Quarterback Cooper Jordan returns after a pretty good freshman season. And the offensive line, although fairly young, has experience. It's a matter of where the yards and points are going to come from on this offense. The Golden Ram defense will be breaking in a scheme with a 3-3-5 approach. The secondary is very experienced so it's a matter of the front six maturing quickly. Bentley lost the best defensive player in the conference to graduation and is working with a new head coach again. So many unknowns for both teams in this game.

Versus Sports simulates a 25-17 Falcon victory while Massey Ratings projects a similar 24-17 outcome.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats   Audio   Video   Tickets  

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Heads to Bentley For 2023 Lid-Lifter

PSAC Site - PSAC Week 1 Football Notes

Bentley Athletic Site - Falcons kickoff 2023 season by hosting West Chester

Bentley Athletic Site - Bentley Football Voted Third in Northeast-10 Preseason Coaches’ Poll

Bentley Athletic Site - Thakkar & His Bentley Falcons Kick Off Preseason Camp Sunday

KYW Newsradio - West Chester University Golden Rams - College Football Preview

Boston Globe - Bentley names Saj Thakkar head football coach

Daily Local News- Despite loss of Taylor, WCU defense could be even better in 2023

Daily Local News- With dangerous QB, Rams’ offense looking to surprise foes

Daily Local News- Rams lose, then add, key players from transfer portal

D2football - PSAC Columnist - PSAC Week One Preview

D2football - Northeast-10 Columnist - NE10 - Week One Preview

Team News - 2023 Second Scrimmage Report

Just a couple of observations from Friday's action:

• Defensively, it's not clear if it's personnel driving the scheme or the scheme driving personnel, but the Golden Rams are sporting a 3-3-5 look this season. And one of those three linebackers is sophomore Maurice Beverly who was listed as a defensive back last season. It will be interesting to see if opposing offenses will be able to throw effectively against this defense and, if not, how quickly they can spin up a running game.
  
• Veteran offiensive tackle Quinton Derr was not dressed for either scrimmage. Maybe it's the Sirianni effect (we know he's the starter, no need to play him), precautionary (he could play if he had to), or something more serious. Answers to come next Saturday.
  
• Quarterback Cooper Jordan looked really good. Poised and confident, he knew which receiver was expected to be open and delivered the ball accurately and on time. While his favorite target appears to be D'Shaun Seals, he also connected with Julian Jordan on a long touchdown pass and Jonathan Haynes on another scoring strike. Cooper will have plenty of options.
  
• While Jordan looked sharp at quarterback, classmate Ethan Kohler did not. He was out of sorts in delivering the ball late and not making the right read on the run-pass option. Hopefully just an off day. Newcomer T.J. Pergine had some good moments.
  
• Prior to live action, kicker Sean Henry made a 57-yard field goal, after converting a 52-yard attempt on his previous kick. During the game, however, the long snapper wasn't accurate enough. It doesn't matter if the leg is there if the ball isn't. This needs to get corrected quickly to avoid the loss of points in a game.
  

West Chester opens the season on Saturday at Bentley. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 pm.

Team News - Golden Rams Picked To Finish Third in 2023

The West Chester University Golden Rams were picked to finish third in the division by the conference coaches at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Football Virtual Media Day. Prior to last season, the Golden Rams were predicted to finish third and, in fact, they did finish in third place behind Shepherd and Kutztown.

Predicted order with first place votes in parentheses:

Eastern Division
1. Shepherd (5)
2. Kutztown (2)
3. West Chester (1)
4. East Stroudsburg
5. Millersville
6. Shippensburg
7. Bloomsburg
8. Lock Haven

West Chester is voted your No. 3 team in the East's 2023 PSAC Football Preseason Poll! The Golden Rams' 170.4 rushing yards per game ranked 2nd in the conference as head coach Bill Zwaan enters his 21st season in charge:#PSACFB#PSACProud@WCUAthletics @WCUGoldenRamsFB pic.twitter.com/swbXcMxNgB

— PSAC Sports (@PSACsports) August 10, 2023

PSAC Site - Shepherd voted No. 1 in 2023 PSAC Football East Division Preseason Poll

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Selected Third in PSAC East Preseason Poll

Team News - 2023 Roster Changes

We're four weeks out from the 2023 season opener at Bentley and the Golden Rams' official roster is posted.

On the bright side, almost all members of the 2023 recruiting class are listed, including late additions Cam McQueen and Rodney Benjamin. The only omissions are linebacker Rovny Dasilva and wide receiver Connor Becker. Becker reportedly received a full scholarship from Robert Morris, although he does not appear on their football roster.

Departures:

Over 20 players from last year's roster that had eligbility left are no longer here. In addition to previously reported departures that have landed somewhere - defensive tackle David Blay to Louisanna Tech, linebacker Jackson Taylor to Delaware, and running back Ja'Den McKenzie to Rhode Island - two other players that entered the portal are linebacker Oscar Uduma and running back Maurice Mazzccua. Among the others, linebacker Stanley Bryant (five tackles, one interception in nine games last season) made the biggest contribution last year.

Returning:

Roughly speaking, players have five years to play four seasons. There are times when a student completes his academic studies in four years, graduates, and moves on to the work force with a year of playing eligibility remaining. This has been amplified by COVID - when students had an additional year of academics that did not count towards their playing elegibility since the 2020 season was cancelled. The Golden Rams are fortunate to have several players returning this season including tight end Stone Huffman and fullback Mason Griffiths on offense. Defensively, tackle Ayyub Dail and reserve back Michael Alexander return. Maybe most importantly from a defensive unit perspective, both corners - Sterlen Barr, Jr. and Obi Anyatonwu - are back.

Transfers:

With Barr and Anyatonu returning, and safety Kaleb Brown only a sophomore, the Golden Rams had one safety spot to fill. While former New Hampshire quarterback Brody McAndrew saw a lot of time there in the spring, it is still a point of transition for him. Offering immediate help could be either Temple transfer DeJuan Dandridge or Maryland transfer Shane Mosley (12 tackles in two seasons for the Terrapins). It will be interesting to see how this shakes out in camp.

Additional incoming transfers are defensive end Connor Noble from Temple and linebacker Tyson Tate from Lackawanna College. Coincidentally, both Noble and Tate were listed as tight ends at their previous schools. Other newcomers are receiver Mike Gray (33 catches, 425 yards, 3 TD's in two seasons at Albany), receiver Julian Jordan (16 catches, 177 yards, 1 TD in two seasons at Wagner), running back Trey Blair from Temple, quarterback T.J. Pergine also from Temple and defensive tackle Debrick Johnson who redshirted last season at Slippery Rock.

Camp:

Players report tomorrow, and daily practices are set to start Monday morning with intrasquad scrimmages tentatively scheduled for Saturday August 19 and Friday August 25. West Chester will then open the season on Saturday, September 2 at Bentley in Waltham, MA.

Player News - Seven Golden Rams Receive D2 ADA Academic Achievement Award

Seven West Chester Golden Ram players have received honors for their performance in the classroom for the 2022-23 academic year.

Recipients of the Division 2 Athletics Directors Association Academic Achievement Award are:

• sophomore defensive back Matt Checchia
• sophomore fullback Mason Griffiths
• sophomore tight end Stone Huffman
• redshirt freshman offensive lineman Patrick Methlie
• redshirt freshman tight end Thatcher Miller
• junior linebacker Graham Muscella
• senior wide receiver Mari Wright

In order to be recognized, each player must have completed a minimum of four semesters of college work, have been an active member of an intercollegiate team during the past academic year, and have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5.

Overall, 129 women and 44 men from West Chester University received recognition. The PSAC was the most represented conference in the country with 1,923 student-athletes honored.

National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics - 2022-23 Academic Achievement Awards

PSAC Site - PSAC earns most D2ADA Academic Achievement Award honorees for fifth consecutive year

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Lands 173 on D2 ADA Academic Honor Roll

Player News - Rodney Benjamin Joins the Golden Rams

Rodney Benjamin (Northeast) has indicated that he will continue his football career at West Chester University. The 6-2, 180lb safety was part of a Vikings team that advanced to the District 12 Class 6A championship game in both 2021 and 2022. Benjamin reportedly received offers from Division 2 Lock Haven and nearby Eastern.

- 2022 All-Public Independent

COMMITED!!! pic.twitter.com/kzCZjsVSv6

— Rodney Benjamin (@rben215) July 5, 2023

PA Football News - Northeast survives first half battle and pulls away for the win of Central with a 41-6 win

PA Football News - District 12 Public League Finals Previews

Highlight Video

Player News - Cam McQueen Commits to the Golden Rams

Cam McQueen (Long Island University/North Penn) has indicated that he will continue his football career at West Chester University. The 6-1, 270lb center was a team captain in his senior year for the Knights before attending Long Island University for two years where he was a member of th NEC Spring Academic Honor Roll in 2022.

Since entering the transfer portal in mid-April, McQueen reportedly received offers from Division 2 schools West Virginia Wesleyan, Colorado State Pueblo, American International, East Central (OK), Kentucky State, Charleston (WV), Limestone, Elizabeth City State, Mars Hill, Central State (OH), Lincoln (PA), Chowan, Catawba, Clarion and Wheeling. He expects to have four years of eligibility remaining.

- 2020 Second Team Class 6A All-EasternPAFootball.com
- 2020 First Team The Reporter/Times Herald/Montgomery Media All-Area
- 2020 Second Team All-Intelligencer All-Area
- 2020 First Team All-Suburban One National
- 2019 Second Team The Reporter/Times Herald All-Area
- 2019 First Team All-Suburban One Continental

Excited for this next chapter of my life 🐏🐏 pic.twitter.com/8jV35gKGmy

— Cam McQueen 🥶 (@camdenmcqueen52) June 20, 2023

Highlight Video

Team News - 16 Golden Rams Named PSAC Scholar-Athletes

Sixteen players that were on the Golden Ram football roster last season have been named PSAC Scholar-Athletes for the 2022-2023 academic year. In order to qualify for the honor, athletes must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.25 or better. There were 3,838 athletes from all 18 PSAC institutions of which 221 represented West Chester University.

Representing the football team are:

• sophomore punter Chris Barbera*
• junior offensive lineman Tom Bramwell
• freshman tight end Alex Checchia
• sophomore defensive back Matt Checchia*^
• freshman wide receiver Zack Gillen
• sophomore fullback Mason Griffiths*^
• sophomore tight end Stone Huffman*^
• freshman quarterback Ethan Kohler
• freshman kicker Zack Liberatore
• senior defensive end Zach Liggitt*^
• redshirt freshman offensive lineman Patrick Methlie*
• redshirt freshman tight end Thatcher Miller*
• junior linebacker Graham Muscella
• redshirt freshman offensive lineman Luke Vereb*
• redshirt freshman running back Jayden Williams
• senior wide receiver Mari Wright*^

* Student-athletes who were also recognized as a PSAC Scholar-Athlete for the 2021-2022 academic year.

^ Student-athletes who were also recognized as a PSAC Scholar-Athlete for the 2020-2021 academic year.

PSAC Site - PSAC honors 3,838 Scholar-Athletes in 2022-23

West Chester Athletic Site - West Chester Lands 221 on PSAC Academic Honor Roll