WCU football reeling after death of Archbishop Ryan grad Sean Boylan

KUTZTOWN >> Last weekend’s tragic death of redshirt sophomore defender Sean Boylan has shaken the West Chester football program to the core.

According to multiple sources, Boylan died early Saturday morning after jumping from the Girard Point Bridge in Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania State Police confirmed the body was recovered from the Schuylkill River on Sunday between 4-5 p.m.

“This is a whole new thing for me,” said West Chester head football coach Bill Zwaan. “I am just going to try to make sure the guys on our team can handle this and work their way through it.”

Zwaan has been in coaching for nearly four decades, but admitted during Monday’s PSAC Media Day that this one of the most difficult situations he’s faced during his career. The Golden Rams’ season opener at Bentley (Mass.) is just 26 days away.

“It’s still hard for me to believe,” Zwaan said.

“It’s one of the biggest challenges I’ve ever faced as a coach. There are many repercussions, and the first is our consideration for Sean’s family. Think about what his family is going through right now — it’s just hard to even imagine.

“And the fact that Sean was such good friends with so many guys on the team, and he showed no signs of anything like this, I know a lot of our kids are struggling right now. They are wondering if they missed something, and why their friend would do this.”

There were reportedly no eyewitnesses, but police began searching the Schuylkill River after an abandoned vehicle, later tied to Boylan, was discovered on the bridge at about 8:45 a.m. on Saturday.

“Initially, they couldn’t find his body, but they assumed he had jumped into the river,” Zwaan confirmed. “Until they found his body, we were all holding out hope that it wasn’t Sean.”

A native of Chalfont, Boylan attended Archbishop Ryan. The school reportedly held a vigil for Boylan on Sunday evening.

“You never really know what is going on in people’s lives, but we were all very shocked,” said WCU senior safety Kevin Malone.

“We all kind of hang out with each other outside of football, so I know Sean was a really good kid. He was kind of quiet and to himself, but he was fun to be around.”

Christopher Fiorentino, the interim president of West Chester University, emailed students and faculty on Monday.

“Our hearts are heavy with the tragic news of the death of sophomore Sean Boylan,” the email read. “Sean’s untimely passing is a great loss for our community. I know you join me in extending heartfelt condolences and support to Sean’s family and friends, including his Golden Rams Football teammates. A hallmark of West Chester University is our capacity to help one another in times of adversity and loss. This is one of those moments. I look to all of you to provide strength to those who need it now and in the days that will follow.”

Zwaan added: “We will do the best we can do to help our players with some professional counseling. As a coaching staff, we want to make sure we look after our guys and make sure they are OK. But it is going to be tough.”

At Archbishop Ryan, Boylan was a team captain as a senior in 2013 and was named to various all-city and all-Catholic League teams as a tight end/defensive end. He committed to West Chester in January of 2014 and graduated from Ryan later that spring.

The 6-foot-5, 230-pound Boylan was redshirted for the 2014 season, and saw action in seven games as a freshman last fall. He registered seven tackles and a pass breakup as a backup defensive end.

“Sean went through the program the way we hope guys do,” Zwaan explained. “He redshirted as a freshman, got better with a little playing time as a redshirt freshman, and then he was building toward more playing time as a sophomore.

“He’s gotten better and better every year, he was a good physical kid who definitely would have helped us. He was really a great kid.”

Heading into this season, Boylan was listed as WCU’s second string defensive end.

“I know a lot of the guys are struggling with this — some more than others,” admitted Doug Gilbert, West Chester’s All-American left tackle. “As seniors it’s our job to make sure we are there for our teammates and that they can come to us if they need anything at all.

“For me, I am going to use this as motivation and dedicate this season to Sean. I’m going to make sure I play hard on every play because that’s what he would do. I know he wouldn’t want to see us all sad and sobbing. He would want us to make a run this season.”

Funeral services for Boylan have not yet been announced. According to Zwaan, a team meeting has been scheduled in order to open lines of communication with the players.

“I’ve talked with a few of the kids already and they are connecting with each other, which is a nice thing about social media,” Zwaan said. “I’ve talked to the leaders on our team about the particular kids we really need to keep an eye on.”

The news of Boylan’s death cast a pall over Monday’s kickoff festivities at Kutztown. The defending PSAC East champion, West Chester was picked to finish first once again in a poll of the division head coaches.

The Golden Rams garnered six first-place votes. Shippensburg was picked to finish second, Bloomsburg third and Kutztown fourth. East Stroudsburg, Lock Haven, Millersville and Cheyney rounded out the poll, respectively.