Football Scores Six Players on All-ECAC Team
DANBURY, Conn. - Six West Chester University football players were honored on the 2016 All-ECAC squad, which was released by the same organization Tuesday afternoon. West Chester (8-3, 6-1 PSAC) finished second in the PSAC East, behind Kutztown who finished with an undefeated record (7-0) in conference play. Grabbing first team honors on offense were junior tailback Jarel Elder (Allentown, Pa. / Parkland) and left tackle Doug Gilbert (Mount Laurel, N.J./Lenape). Elder led the Golden Rams in rushing, eclipsing over a 1,000 yards on the season in the regular season finale against Clarion. The junior produced 1,013 yards and 11 touchdowns for the Golden Rams. Additionally, the back chipped in 184 yards of receiving. Gilbert on the line helped clear the path for Elder, while also protecting quarterbacks Andrew Derr and Pat Moriarty. Upfront, Gilbert managed to help the Golden Rams claim fourth in the PSAC conference in total points with 395. The lineman added name Super-Region 1 last week to the list of his awards. The Golden Rams' offense ranked fourth in the conference in rushing (2,192 yards) and fifth in passing (3,093 yards). Overall, this offense generated 480.5 yards per game, including nearly five touchdowns per contest. Defensively, the combination of sophomore Nydair Rouse (Philadelphia, Pa. / Simon Gratz) and senior Kevin Malone (Philadelphia, Pa. / West Catholic) in the secondary claimed first team defense. Both Rouse and Malone posted three interceptions apiece this season for a West Chester's defense that generated a total of 23 turnovers. Rouse returned all three interceptions for a touchdown, which is the second most in a single-season in school history behind Jim Pribula. One of the interceptions for a touchdown came from 35-yards out in the season opener to lift the Golden Rams in the fourth quarter to beat non-league opponent Bentley. Malone was a senior captain who managed 21 total tackles to go along with an 85-yard interception for a touchdown in the regular season finale against Clarion Earning honorable mention were a pair of juniors in Tyler Karpinski (Lancaster, Pa. / Manheim Township) and Tyler Drob (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East). Drob was a left guard who help provide the offensive production that ranked fourth in the conference. As a receiver, Karpinski produced a team-high 798 yards. In a loss to Edinboro, the junior managed nine receptions for 178 yards and a Golden Ram touchdown. In total, he produced eight touchdowns which tied teammate Jordan Banks for the lead. Every member who received All-ECAC also landed All-PSAC honors for their efforts in the 2016 season.
