West Chester Claims Three of Four PSAC East Football Awards
Washington named Offensive Player of the Year, Dell claims Defensive Player of the Year, Zwaan named Coach of the Year; Bloomsburg's Price named Easts top freshman
2008 All-PSAC East Football Teams (pdf)
Lock Haven, Pa. - PSAC East champion West Chester 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 All-PSAC East teams on the 2008 All-PSAC Football teams. Wide receiver Mike Washington was named the PSAC East Offensive Player of the Year while teammate Mike Dell was named the PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the third straight Golden Ram to capture the East’s top defensive honor in the last three seasons. West Chester head coach Bill Zwaan was named the PSAC East Coach of the Year for the second straight season after guiding the Rams to their second straight PSAC East title and the program’s fifth straight NCAA playoff berth. Bloomsburg’s Derrick Price, who led the PSAC in rushing for most of the year and currently sits in second place in the league in rushing yards following the conclusion of the regular season, was named the PSAC East Freshman of the Year.
Bloomsburg tied with West Chester for the most selections on the first team with eight. Overall, on both teams, Bloomsburg and West Chester also led the way with 16 honorees each. Both teams had one player selected twice in two different positions. Placekicker/punter Alex Walsh of West Chester was the second team kicker and punter while Bloomsburg defensive back/return specialist Jesse Cooper was named to the first team as a defensive back and to the second team as a return specialist.
Among the Bloomsburg members on the first were quarterback Dan Latorre, a second team selection a year ago. He was joined on offense by freshman running back Derrick Price, offensive guard Matt Bosso, wide receiver Kyle Ream and placekicker Jon Koenig. This marks both Bosso’s and Koenig’s second time on the first team. On defense the Huskies were represented by lineman Jon Ochs, now a two-time first team selection, linebacker Greg Myers and defensive back Cooper. On the second team, Bloom had two running backs in Stefan Adams and Kenny Domzalski, two offensive linemen in tackle Jon Kantz and center Luke Beall, two defensive linemen in Alphonso Nathan and Earl McNeil, defensive back Domenique Price and Cooper as the return specialist.
West Chester placed four players on the first team offense, led by three-time first team center Kennis Jones and four-time first team wide receiver Mike Washington, who is the only member of the East team that is now a four-time All-East first team selection. Joining them were offensive tackle Brian Staerk and tight end Ryan Paulson. On defense, the Golden Rams were represented by linemen Travis Ford-Bey and Mike Walter and linebackers Mike Dell and Sam Scott. West Chester’s contingent on the second time was led by quarterback Joe Wright. He was joined by freshman running back Jackson Fagan and junior wide receiver Steve Miller on offense. On the second team defense, the Golden Rams were represented by lineman James Thorpe, linebacker T.J. Cascio, defensive back Tyler Downes, as well as Walsh as both the kicker and punter.
Other notables on the All-PSAC East team included East Stroudsburg punter Nick Krut, the nation’s leading punter, who was named to the first team for the second time in his career. Kutztown junior defensive back Mike Gardier was named to the second team for the third time in his career, twice as a Golden Bear and once when he was a freshman at Mansfield, which dropped its football program following his freshman season in 2006. League newcomer C.W. Post had five representatives between the two teams, including three members of the first team defense in Xavier Brown, Tayrance Smith and Kurt Ellis. Shippensburg receiver Mike Harris, who along with Washington were the only two receivers in the league to surpass 1,000 receiving yards during the regular season, is a first team selection in the East after being a first team All-PSAC West selection last year before the Red Raiders moved over to the East this year.
Washington, the East’s Offensive Player of the Year and a candidate for the Harlon Hill Trophy, becomes the first West Chester player honored as the East’s top offensive player since Mike Eckmeyer in 2002. He will close out his career sometime in the next few weeks as one of the most prolific wide receivers in college football history at any level. Washington became just the third receiver in NCAA history, at any level, to catch for 1,000 yards for four straight years, and the first at the Division II level, as both of the two others came from Division III. He leads the conference with 95.0 receiving yards per game, 1,045 receiving yards and 13 receiving touchdowns and is fifth in catches per game with 4.91 (71 total).
Dell becomes the third straight West Chester player to win the PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year, joining former teammate Lateef Ferguson, who won the honor the last two seasons. A key part of West Chester’s defense that six times this year held an opponent to 10 points or under, Dell was all over the field for most of the year. He ranks fifth in the league in tackles per game (8.5) and overall tackles (93) and has had four games this year with 10 or more tackles.
Price becomes the second PSAC East Freshman of the Year from Bloomsburg in the last three years, joining Dan Latorre from 2006, and the third in the last five years, as his predecessor at running back at Bloom, Jamar Brittingham, was the 2004 East Rookie of the Year. With still at least one playoff game to come, Price ranks second in the PSAC in overall rushing yards (1,105) and rushing yards per game at 110.5. He has ran for six touchdowns on the year and has run for over 100 yards in six of his 10 games played. He started out his college career by running for 132, 169 and 186 yards in the first three games of the year. He was held to fewer than 60 yards on the ground just once this year.
Zwaan is the PSAC East Coach of the Year for the second straight season and for the third time overall in his six years as West Chester head coach. He became the PSAC’s fourth active coach with 100 or more career wins this year and in six season as the head man with the Golden Rams has compiled a 53-21 record. He has guided the Rams to the NCAA playoffs for the fifth straight year, which followed a 10-year absence from the playoff prior to 2004. This year, he led the Golden Rams to their second straight PSAC East title despite having just three starters returning on offense and nine starters returning on offense and defense combined.
First Team Offense
Quarterback
Dan Latorre^ Bloomsburg Jr. Elysburg, Pa./Southern Columbia
Running Back
Kevin Marshall Shippensburg So. Philadelphia, Pa./Scotland School
Derrick Price Bloomsburg Fr. Burlington, N.J./Burlington City
Dontay Wilson^ Kutztown Jr. Stamford, Conn./Stamford
Offensive Tackle
Adam Cobb* Millersville Sr. Hanover, Pa./Southwestern
Brian Staerk West Chester Jr. Abington, Pa./Abington
Offensive Guard
Matt Bosso* Bloomsburg Sr. Camp Hill, Pa./Cedar Cliff
Keith Weaver East Stroudsburg Sr. Upper Black Eddy, Pa./Palisades
Center
Kennis Jones** West Chester Sr. Philadelphia, Pa./Bartram
Tight End
Ryan Paulson West Chester Jr. Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville
Wide Receiver
Mike Harris* Shippensburg Jr. East Earl, Pa./Garden Spot
Kyle Ream Bloomsburg Sr. Elliottsburg, Pa./West Perry
Mike Washington*** West Chester Sr. Philadelphia, Pa./Frankford
Placekicker
Jon Koenig* Bloomsburg Jr. Pine Grove, Pa./Pine Grove
First Team Defense
Defensive Line
Xavier Brown C.W. Post So. Bay Shore, N.Y./Brentwood
Travis Ford-Bey^ West Chester So. Phoenixville, Pa./Phoenixville
Jon Ochs* Bloomsburg Sr. Wind Gap, Pa./Nazareth
Miguel Rivera^ East Stroudsburg Sr. Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty
Mike Walter* West Chester Sr. Absecon, N.J./Holy Spirit
Linebacker
Mike Dell^ West Chester Jr. Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin
Greg Myers Bloomsburg Sr. Philadelphia, Pa./Dobbins
Sam Scott West Chester Jr. Bear, Del./Middletown
Tayrance Smith C.W. Post Jr. Brooklyn, N.Y./Lincoln
Defensive Back
Jesse Cooper Bloomsburg Jr. Sewell, N.J./Washington Twp.
Kurt Ellis C.W. Post Sr. Valley Stream, N.Y./Nassau CC
Lionel Mitchell East Stroudsburg Sr. Snellville, Ga./Hargrave Mili. Acad.
Jason Stone Shippensburg Sr. Finksburg, Md./Westminster
Return Specialist
Kendell Coleman Kutztown So. Philadelphia, Pa./Martin Luther King
Punter
Nick Krut* East Stroudsburg Sr. Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights
* Indicates previous All-PSAC East first team selection
^ Indicates previous All-PSAC East second team selection
Second Team Offense
Quarterback
Joe Wright West Chester Jr. Wilmington, Del./St. Mark’s
Running Back
Stefan Adams Bloomsburg Jr. West Chester, Pa./Henderson
Kenny Domzalski Bloomsburg Fr. Milford, Pa./Delaware Valley
Jackson Fagan West Chester Fr. Morrisville, Pa./Pennsbury
Offensive Tackle
Joe Kantz Bloomsburg Jr. Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove
Matt Olecki Shippensburg Sr. Schrenksville, Pa./Perkiomen Valley
Offensive Guard
Dave Fremont Shippensburg Jr. Drexel Hill, Pa./Monsignor Bannor
Morgan Thomas East Stroudsburg Jr. Allentown, Pa./Parkland
Center
Luke Beall^ Bloomsburg Sr. Girard, Pa./Fairview
Tight End
Dennis Vanella C.W. Post Sr. Rockville Centre, N.Y./South Side
Wide Receiver
Chris Harris C.W. Post Sr. Islip, N.Y./Islip
Steve Miller West Chester Jr. Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury
Drew Stem^ East Stroudsburg Sr. Lincoln, Pa./Salesianum
Placekicker
Alex Walsh^^ West Chester Sr. Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East
Second Team Defense
Defensive Line
Jason Groller^^ Shippensburg Sr. Easton, Pa./Easton
Tim Hume Cheyney Fr. Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Twp.
Earl McNeil Bloomsburg Sr. Lansdowne, Pa./Msg. Bonner
Alphonso Nathan Bloomsburg Jr. Philadelphia, Pa./Milton Hershey
James Thorpe^ West Chester Jr. Malvern, Pa./Great Valley
Linebacker
Riley Bowen Shippensburg So. Mansfield, Pa./Mansfield
T.J. Cascio West Chester Jr. Villanova, Pa./Malvern
Matt Freed East Stroudsburg So. Souderton, Pa./Souderton
Matt Harmon Millersville Sr. Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East
Defensive Back
Demel Chambers Cheyney Jr. Philadelphia, Pa./Southern
Tyler Downes West Chester Sr. Laurel, Del./Delmar
Mike Gardier^^ Kutztown Jr. Dunmore, Pa./Dunmore
Domenique Price Bloomsburg Jr. Easton, Pa./Easton
Return Specialist
Jesse Cooper Bloomsburg Jr. Sewell, N.J./Washington Twp.
Punter
Alex Walsh West Chester Sr. Downingtown, Pa./Downingtown East
* Indicates previous All-PSAC East first team selection
^ Indicates previous All-PSAC East second team selection
PSAC East Offensive Player of the Year
Mike Washington, WR, West Chester
PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year
Mike Dell, LB, West Chester
PSAC East Freshman of the Year
Derrick Price, RB, Bloomsburg
PSAC East Coach of the Year
Bill Zwaan, West Chester