2008 All-PSAC Football Release
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – PSAC East champion West Chester University claimed three of the four major postseason awards and co-led the way with eight selections on the All-PSAC East first team to highlight the 2008 all-league selections it was announced by the conference Thursday afternoon.
All-American WR Mike Washington was named the PSAC East offensive player of the year while teammate Mike Dell took home defensive player of the year accolades, becoming the third straight Golden Rams’ linebacker to capture the East’s top defensive honor. West Chester head coach Bill Zwaan repeated as the East’s coach of the year after guiding the Rams to their second straight PSAC East title and the program’s fifth straight NCAA playoff berth.
West Chester placed four players on the first team offense, led by three-time selection Kennis Jones at center and four-time first teamer Washington, who is the only four-time first team pick on the squad this fall.
Washington appeared in and caught a pass in all 11 games during the 2008 season and recorded his fourth straight campaign with over 1,000 receiving yards, becoming only the third player in NCAA history to reach that achievement. He also led the team with 54 receptions and 13 touchdowns on the season. Washington holds or shares one NCAA record, four PSAC marks and six school standards as his college career nears its climax in the NCAA Tournament.
Adding to his PSAC East offensive player of the year nod, Washington was officially announced as a Harlon Hill Trophy candidate last week. One of three wide receivers, Washington goes up against 24 other candidates to be voted on as the NCAA Division II College Football Player of the Year. He has 1,045 yards receiving on the season and has now caught a pass in all 48 games in which he has appeared during his career.
Jones has started all 48 of his college football games at center for the Golden Rams. He anchors an offensive line that ranks 10th in the league in rushing (154.7 yds/gm) while blocking for four different No. 1 running backs during a season that has seen that position in turmoil for most of the fall. West Chester ranks tied for second in the conference and tied for 16th nationally in fewest sacks allowed (12) – Jones has been responsible for just one of those sacks all season.
The stalwart up front has garnered considerable attention from professional scouts and is a large part of the reason why West Chester’s passing offense is second in the PSAC and ranks 21st nationally. Jones was the only returning starter along the offensive line in August, and he has held together a unit that started three red-shirt freshmen on either side of him.
Joining perennial all-stars Jones and Washington on the first team were LT Brian Staerk and TE Ryan Paulson. Staerk was the only other non-redshirt freshman to start along the front wall besides Jones. He has opened the holes for West Chester’s plethora of running backs all season and helped a very young and inexperienced group gel quickly.
Paulson is widely considered one of the best, if not the best, tight end in the entire PSAC. He has 34 catches on the year for 546 yards and seven touchdowns. The big target in the passing game averages 16.1 yards per reception and has caught for more than 80 yards three times. Paulson caught two TD passes on two separate occasions at California (Pa.) and Kutztown.
On the other side of the ball, the Golden Rams were represented by DE Travis Ford-Bey and his counterpart at the other end position Michael Walter, along with linebackers Dell and Sam Scott.
Dell registered a team-high 93 tackles and ranks fifth in the PSAC in that category. His 57 solo stops is third in the loop, and he has recorded 6.5 tackles for a loss, including 3.5 sacks. Dell also has two interceptions to his credit and one QB hurry. Fellow linebacker Sam Scott is second on the squad in tackles with 69. He also has 3.5 sacks and two pass breakups to his credit.
Walter has provided the pass rush for the Golden Rams defensive front. He is tied for the league lead in sacks with seven. Walter has 45 tackles on the year, including 11.5 for a loss – a number that ranks seventh in the PSAC. He also has two pass breakups and one forced fumble to his credit. Ford-Bey has 38 tackles on the season and two forced fumbles. He too has 3.5 sacks and even intercepted a pass against Kutztown.
West Chester’s contingent on the second team was led by QB Joe Wright, freshman RB Jackson Fagan and WR Steve Miller offensively. On the second team defense, James Thorpe, LB T.J. Cascio, SS Tyler Downes, as well as Alex Walsh at both kicking positions (place-kicker and punter).
Wright leads the PSAC in almost every passing category, yet inexplicably was not on the first team, falling short of Bloomsburg’s Dan Latorre, who oversees a mainly-running offense for that honor. Wright tops the loop in passing yards (2,824), average yards passing per game (256.7) and pass efficiency rating (164.5). He ranks second in touchdowns (25) to Trevor Harris of Edinboro, who has 26 TD tosses, and second in total offense (258.8 yards per game).
The junior signal-caller led West Chester to an undefeated regular-season within the Eastern Division and has the Golden Rams in the playoffs for a fifth straight season. His 2,824 yards passing this fall ranks sixth on the school’s single-season chart as does his 25 TD passes.
Fagan was a pleasant surprise for West Chester out of the backfield. Entering the season fourth on the depth chart at running back, Fagan has run for 758 yards after the starting job fell in his lap. He averages 69 yards per game and has three touchdowns on the year. He averages 6.4 yards per carry. Fagan authored back-to-back 100-yard games against East Stroudsburg and C.W. Post, going for 178 and 107 yards, respectively. He also posted 95 yards and a score in the PSAC Championship Game at Cal last weekend.
Miller is the often overlooked wideout on the other side of Washington. He has 34 catches on the year for 621 yards and three scores, averaging 18.3 yards per reception. Miller has registered better than 80 yards receiving in a game five times this year with his best effort of 94 yards on five catches coming in the season opener at Cal.
Defensively, Thorpe clogged up the middle of the field for the Golden Rams. He registered 23 tackles and half a sack on the year. He also intercepted a pass. T.J. Cascio is third on the squad in tackles after taking a one-year hiatus from football. The inside linebacker has 60 stops to his credit in 2008, including 31 of the solo variety. He has registered three tackles for a loss and one sack as well.
Strong safety and co-captain Tyler Downes is fifth on the team in tackles with 51. He has seven pass breakups to his credit on the year as well. The CoSIDA Academic All-District 2 performer is one of the hardest hitting defensive backs in the loop. Of his 51 tackles, 36 are solo efforts.
Finally, the last all-leaguer for the Golden Rams pulled double duty for the second straight year and was rewarded with two second-team nominations. Alex Walsh is just one extra point shy of the PSAC all-time record held by Mark Brubaker of East Stroudsburg. Walsh has converted 40 PATs on the season and has 169 to his credit in his career. He is second on the team this fall in scoring with 55 points.
Punting, Walsh is chasing a record that is 53 years old on the books at WCU. He is averaging 43.0 yards per punt on the season. He has placed 12 inside the opponent’s 20-yard line and booted five longer than 50 yards, including a season-high 70-yarder.
No. 20 West Chester takes on Southern Connecticut State Saturday inside Farrell Stadium at 12 p.m. The game can be heard live on 91.7 WCUR-FM and seen via webstream on NCAA.com.