Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Tragedy rattles Zwaan, WCU again
Coach dealing with brother’s death as his favored Rams prepare for fall
WEST GOSHEN » For the second consecutive season, West Chester head coach Bill Zwaan heads into football season with a heavy heart, reeling from an unexpected summer tragedy.
A year ago, it was the shocking suicide of sophomore linebacker Sean Boylan. Now, he is trying to deal with the death of his younger brother, Brian, who drowned on July 31 in Sea Isle City, N.J. The 58-year-old Berwyn resident was a bank executive.
Both were stunning, but this time it’s more personal for Zwaan and his son, Bill, Jr., the team’s offensive coordinator. A year ago, Boylan’s death was felt much more acutely throughout the entire squad.
“This is more on a personal level for us, as compared to the entire team — although, the players have been tremendously supportive,” Zwaan said after the Golden Rams began workouts in preparation for the 2017 season on Monday.
“I don’t think it will have the effect of Sean’s death.”
It’s unclear how much of an effect it had in 2016, where the Rams were the preseason favorites in the PSAC East, but finished as the runner-up to Kutztown in the division race. It was announced on Monday that West Chester was a unanimous pick, in a vote of league coaches, to win the 2017 PSAC East crown.
“I always look at it as a good thing,” Zwaan said of the preseason poll. “Our kids know it doesn’t really mean anything except that other people think highly of the team, and now it’s up to them to carry that out. It’s always good to be challenged.”
The Rams received all eight firstplace votes and return nine all-conference players from a team that was in the top-five in all major statistical categories and finished 8-3 last season. Kutztown was second, followed by Shippensburg, Bloomsburg and East Stroudsburg. Lock Haven, Millersville and Cheyney rounded out the poll.
“Even when we haven’t had great teams, we pretty much get everybody’s best shot — people come after West Chester,” Zwaan said. “We are one of those schools where ev-
erybody wants to have the notch on their belt and knock us off. Being picked as the top team, maybe our guys will be more than ready to take on everybody’s best.”
Following a rain-soaked initial practice, Zwaan acknowledged some of the reasons why expectations are so high for WCU. A total of 20 starters return, and the heart and soul of the squad is a group of fifth-year seniors — who watched, first hand — as West Chester advanced all the way to the NCAA Final Four in 2013.
“We have good players with experience at all positions,” Zwaan said. “Our seniors were here when we had a really great team and then they’ve gone through solid seasons with some tough losses in there. They know what they want, and they know we need to find a way to push through those tough losses.”
A year ago, the Rams fell behind early and went on to drop three games by a total of 17 points. A 54-51 overtime setback at Edinboro and a lackluster 20-14 loss at Kutztown were particularly tough to swallow.
“The challenge is to finish those games, and not fall behind and have to try to make comebacks,” Zwaan said.
Despite so many returnees, Zwaan has areas of concern, like at cornerback and trying to find a replacement for All-American Doug Gilbert at offensive tackle. But the competition at quarterback is sure to draw the most interest.
Senior Pat Moriarty has 17 starts under his belt in the last two seasons, but has lost the job a couple times. And unlike spring practice, Moriarty will be pushed this summer by sophomores Paul Dooley and A.J. Long. Dooley missed spring ball with an injury and Long is a transfer from Syracuse, where he started five games in 2014.
“(Dooley) will challenge Pat for the job along with A.J. Long,” Zwaan confirmed. “It’s a short window in camp now so it will be interesting to see how it shakes out.
“Pat has been able to manage games. We are looking for the guy who can win the important games on our schedule. The one-touchdown games where we need a quarterback that can either win it at the end or win that game somewhere along the way. We are not just looking for somebody who can manage the game, but actually make a difference.”
If first impressions mean anything, Zwaan liked what he saw from the Rams on Monday.
“You could tell that the older guys are really trying to set the tone,” he said.
“I like what we look like right now. They guys came back in great shape, so I am really excited where this team can go.”