West Chester is celebrating a return to the playoffs. (Photo courtesy of Michael Corsey Photography/ michaelcorsey.com)

BY ROCK HOFFMAN

The West Chester University Golden Rams are back in the NCAA Division II playoffs, they’ll host American International College at noon on Saturday at Farrell Stadium. West Chester (10-1) is seeded third in Super Region 1 after rebounding from their only loss of the season with a 41-14 win over Clarion. AIC is the sixth seed and the winner of the game will meet Bloomsburg (10-1), the second seed, in the second round.

“I’m just really happy to be back in the playoffs,” West Chester head coach Bill Zwaan said. “It was tough getting these kids back and getting them ready to play (Saturday vs. Clarion). But, they took care of business and got into the playoffs. Now, it’s a brand new season.”

AIC (9-2) won the Northeast-10 Championship with a 27-17 victory over Stonehill and have a seven game winning streak. The only common opponent the teams have is East Stroudsburg which beat the Yellow Jackets 21-14 in the first week on the season but fell to West Chester 34-20 at mid-season.

“This is the first time we are going to the playoffs,” running back Rondell White said. “I’m just excited that, finally, all our hard work over the past four years is paying off. Good teams get hot at the right time of the year. So, hopefully, we will get hot and make it to Alabama (site of the NCAA Division II national championship game).”

It will be the Golden Rams 10th playoff appearance but first since 2008. The Yellow Jackets only previous playoff experience was also 2008.

“Playing at home in the playoffs is a big deal.” Zwaan said. “I’ll talk to (the team) this week about how they should approach it. Most of my staff has been in the playoffs, but (for our players) this is their first time. So, they will find out how emotional it is. We just want to keep playing, no matter who it is.”

Of course, the chance to play Bloomsburg – the only team to beat West Chester this season – is be extra motivation for the Golden Rams.

“It’s a brand new ballgame now. Everybody starts all over again,” said senior defensive lineman Anthony McCloskey. “(The team) is excited and we have worked so hard to get to this exact point that we are happy to be in the playoffs and anxious to get back to the grind on Tuesday.”

E-mail Rock Hoffman at rock@footballstories.com