Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
WCU aims to keep hot start going
No. 13 Golden Rams face winless Millersville Saturday
To say that West Chester football is off to a good start may be a bit of an understatement.
The Golden Rams have embarked on seasons with three convincing wins before under the 16-year reign of head coach Bill Zwaan. In fact, it’s happened two other times, but the 2018 start has been unique.
“What we’re doing is playing great defense and scoring points,” Zwaan said. “That combination might be the best we’ve had to start a season.”
Now up to 13th in the AFCA Division II national poll, WCU will open defense of its PSAC East crown on Saturday against winless Millersville at Farrell Stadium (noon kickoff). So far, the Rams are outscoring opponents 134-27, and two of the three wins have come on the road.
The big question now is how WCU handles success.
“We will learn things about this team in the next four to five weeks,” Zwaan pointed out. “Now that we have three games under our belt, can we continue to play well? We will find out about that against Millersville.”
And then the heart of the division competition kicks in with showdowns against Shippensburg, Bloomsburg and Kutztown in three of the following four weeks.
“Those are all huge games for us, not just for our record but what kind of football team we are going to be,” Zwaan said.
On paper, Saturday’s contest looks like a mismatch. But it was a similar scenario a year ago and the Rams barely escaped Biemesderfer Stadium with a 2724 squeaker.
“We went up there last year and I think our kids thought it was a mismatch and Millersville gave us everything we could handle until the last minute of the game,” Zwaan pointed out. “We don’t want to make that mistake again.”
In addition, the Marauders 0-3 mark may be a bit misleading. They fell in the opener to Pace (N.Y.) 23-10, and then suffered blowouts to PSAC West powers Indiana (41-7) and Slippery Rock (57-10).
“With the caliber of opponents Millersville’s played, the results of those games aren’t really abnormal,” Zwaan said. “We have to be prepared for a similar team that we faced last year.”
So far WCU leads the conference in rushing (209.3 yards per game) and rush defense (55.0). It’s another indication that these Rams may be unlike any team Zwaan’s had here.
“That’s not normally us,” he said. “We run the ball pretty well, but not at this level. But the fact that you throw (quarterback) A.J. (Long) running the ball into the mix, it’s really improved our run game.”
And even though Zwaan and his staff were very optimistic about the defense heading into the season, what’s happened through three games has met and often exceeded expectations. West Chester currently leads the PSAC in scoring defense (9.0) and total defense (225.3).
“We feel like we have a ton of guys that can get to the quarterback and a ton of guys who can make plays,” Zwaan said.
NOTE » Nearly a third of the way through the regular season, WCU has had good luck in the health department. The only exception is sophomore tight end Dan Neuhaus (leg), who has yet to play this season. “We’re hoping to get him back because he is such a weapon,” Zwaan said of the Bishop Shanahan product. “He is week-to-week. It’s frustrating because he is so close and he just can’t get there.”