Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
A golden year ahead for Golden Rams?
Zwaan has high hopes for his WCU team this fall
To get an idea just how optimistic West Chester head coach Bill Zwaan is about the 2016 football season, consider this: the Golden Rams won the PSAC East crown last fall even though he considered it a rebuilding year.
Sure, WCU has to find a way to replace two All-Americans — tight end Tim Brown and defensive end Andrew Cohen — but seven starters on each side of the ball return, and as many as two dozen who have extensive playing experience.
“It was a good season for us, but we were in a bit of a rebuilding year,” said Zwaan, who will kick off his 14th season at the helm when the Rams travel to Bentley (Mass.) for a noon kickoff on Saturday. “Plus we had some off-the-field stuff going on. What we did last year with the gang we did it with, and all of the guys coming back, it gives us a legitimate chance to take the next step.”
That next step is to win in the PSAC Championship Game and grab a berth in the NCAA Division II Playoffs. The 2015 Rams flopped in the conference title game (losing to Slippery Rock 61-12) and missed the postseason for the first time since 2012.
“We will use that as fire to really push us for this season,” said preseason All-American offensive tackle Doug Gilbert.
“I want to see us dominate games. I don’t want to see us pull up in the third quarter. I want to see this team put together complete games.”
Assuming that incumbent starter Pat Moriarty can hold off a challenge from the reinstated Andrew Derr, West Chester will not be breaking in a new quarterback. Moriarty is among the top two returning signalcallers in the PSAC East after throwing for 2,655 yards and 28 touchdowns as a first-year starter last fall.
Also a junior, Derr was poised to be the starter in 2015 but sat out the season following a suspension due to offseason legal woes, and then missed spring workouts with an ankle injury.
“Pat had a good solid season last year and he had a good spring,” Zwaan said. “He will start out as the starter and it’s his job to keep. He’s the guy and Andrew will have to beat him out.”
The rest of the skill positions are loaded with proven playmakers; the secondary returns almost intact; and the defense has two of its top three tacklers back in the fold with inside linebackers Ralph Reeves and Kevin Duggan.
But when assessing his team, Zwaan first looks to the trenches.
“When you start out with an offensive and defensive line that we have, you feel like we are going to be in every game,” he said. “They will keep us in every game. The experience and strength
we have up front on both sides of the ball is probably as good as I can remember.
“And then you add in the other talent we have coming back, we should have a chance to win a lot of games.”
With Gilbert leading the way, WCU has the services of its top seven offensive linemen from a year ago, and this group averages 6-foot-3, 303 pounds per man. That’s great news for Moriarty and Derr, as well as a stable of quality runners like Jarel Elder, Eerin Young and Mike Class.
“(Gilbert) is a great leader for the other guys on that front. We know there is a place where we can go when we need a first down,” Zwaan said of the 6-4, 345-pound, two-time All-PSAC selection.
“Having everybody back is great,” Gilbert added. “The chemistry is there, so if we click — which know we will — I think it could be a big year.”
Elder led the team in rushing in 2015, Young averaged 6.3 yards per carry, and Class was a big-time recruit who is a strong, tough runner.
“Our fourth and fifth stringers, Anthony Brown and Mark Dukes, are guys who would be playing a lot for a lot of teams in our league,” Zwaan pointed out. “We are very deep, we just have to figure out how we are going to get them all the ball.”
Other than the intrigue at quarterback, the only potential question mark on offense is at receiver. Specifically:
How to replace Brown at tight end, and whether senior wideouts Shannon Mayer and Jim Hurley can elevate into big-time scoring threats.
“The touchdowns from our receivers will have to come through Shannon and Jim,” Zwaan said. “They both have great speed and athleticism.”
In addition, junior flanker Tyler Karpinski is developing into one of the league’s top possession receivers, and 6-foot-5 Penn State transfer, Brandon Kuntz, is an intriguing wild card. The tight end situation is more of an unknown, however, with junior college transfer Simon Williams as the leading candidate.
Similarly, the void created by Cohen’s graduation will be a major challenge to the defense, particularly in the pass rush. Cohen exited as the PSAC’s career sack leader, but junior George Shipp returns at one end position, and sophomore Ch’aim Smith is projected as a future standout. Junior tackles Josh Ganzelli and Kavon Johnson are experienced run-stuffers, and versatile sophomore Shaquil Ryder is also in the mix.
“I think we will be really good against the run, so we will have to find some guys who can get to the quarterback,” Zwaan said. ”I think we have two in Ch’aim Smith and (juco transfer) Diquan Gilbert.”
Reeves and Duggan combined to make 116 tackles a year ago, and Zwaan is excited
with the playmaking ability shown by sophomore Nydair Rouse, who will play WCU’s outside linebacker/ safety hybrid position.
“Nydair didn’t necessarily start but he played a lot last year and played well,” Zwaan said. “He had a great up-side.”
Senior strong safety Kevin Malone headlines a deep, experienced group in the secondary. Senior corner Ted Patton is solid, and junior Shaquil James is a budding star on the other side.
“We haven’t had this kind of experience back there in a while,” Zwaan said.
“I believe we were first in pass defense in the PSAC the last two years,” Malone added. “We’ve been together for a while, so we know what the other guy is going to do even without communicating verbally. It helps us play faster.”
As an added bonus, overall team depth is expected to be better across the board. And sophomore punter/ kicker Brandon Paulison is expected to improve on his consistency after experiencing some growing pains as a freshman.
Not surprisingly, the Rams were picked to repeat as divisional champs in a preseason vote by the league’s eight head coaches. West Chester received six first-place votes and nobody else had more than one.
“Everybody who comes to West Chester knows that we are going to be the team to beat, and we like that role,” Malone said.