WACO, Texas - West Chester finished the 2013 football season ranked fourth in the country by the American Football Coaches' Association (AFCA) it was announced Monday morning when that organization released its final poll for the year.
West Chester University's storybook 2013 campaign came to a close in the national semifinals on Dec. 14 with a 42-14 setback to Lenoir-Rhyne in Hickory, N.C. However, the Golden Rams set a new school record for wins in a single season, going 13-2 overall on the year. As a result, West Chester was ranked fourth in the final AFCA coaches' poll.
It marks the first time that West Chester finished the year ranked nationally since 2008 when the Rams were ranked 17th in the final poll of the year. It is the highest West Chester has been ranked in the final polls since the Golden Rams were second in the 1988 final poll. That is as high as West Chester has ever been ranked since the poll's inception in 1965. It is also the third time that West Chester has been ranked in the top five in the final coaches' poll (1987 [2nd], 1988 [2nd], 2013 [4th]).
Senior RB Rondell White (West Chester, Pa./Rustin) finished the 2013 campaign with an NCAA Division II record 406 carries. He finished fifth overall in the Harlon Hill Trophy balloting, Fellow PSAC running back, Franklyn Quiteh, won the Division II player of the year trophy, marking the second straight campaign in which a PSAC player has won the award. Shippensburg QB Zach Zulli was the 2012 Harlon Hill Trophy recipient.
