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Cheyney football experiences the other side for a change

The Wolves, who struggled mightily in recent decades, scored 56 points in the first half of its season opener.

Cheyney University football coach Chris Roulhac.
Cheyney University football coach Chris Roulhac.Read moreCHEYNEY UNIVERSITY

Cheyney didn't just win a football game. It beat somebody by 28 points. When was the last time that happened?

Saturday against visiting Lincoln, the Wolves scored 56. In the first half. The last 30 minutes were played in rain. Lincoln won those 28-zip. Final score: Cheyney 56, Lincoln 28.

Is this the same Cheyney that broke a 43-game losing streak in last year's opener, in overtime at Lincoln? And then proceeded to lose 79-3 at home to California (Pa.). And the five games after that by a combined 280-38. As well as the finale at Edinboro by 66-8.

"For our kids, it wasn't totally unexpected," said Chris Roulhac, who's in the third year of his second stint as the head coach, having previously held the job from 1992-94. "We have been playing well in preseason with the new stuff we were doing."

Still …

"I got a text that read, 'Wow, you haven't scored that many in a season,' " Roulhac said. "I didn't know we'd win like that. Everybody was calling. I tried to answer them all. It took me until [Monday]. It was just nice to hear from so many former players who'd been on the other end of some scores."

Roulhac, a Germantown High graduate who is truly one of good guys, has coached at Roman Catholic, Simon Gratz, George Washington and Norristown high school, as well as Drexel, West Chester, Temple, Colgate and Dartmouth at the college level. He also spent time with the CFL's Ottawa Rough Riders.

He's 71. It's doubtful he's experienced anything else that was quite as gratifying.

"The stands were packed," he gushed. "Nobody left. It was raining, and everybody stayed 'til the end.

"Of course once the word gets out, there's no telling what might happen."

Senior quarterback Dominick Trautz accounted for a school-record six touchdowns, five passing. He played three quarters, going 15 for 20 for 230 yards in a new spread offense.

"You could see some guys in the locker room at halftime kind of looking around in amazement," Trautz said. "It was like, 'Wow, this is what other teams are feeling. Is this really happening?'

"There's been too many games I wish I could forget, but I can't. It's what drives you. But to be defeated that much, it almost takes away your will. I won a state championship in high school [North Bergen, in north Jersey]. We never had a losing record …

"We're answering questions we've never had to answer before. I've been getting them all week. A lot of people aren't going to forget this for a long time. It's only the first game. I have friends at West Chester, and some of them told me their players had partied the night before they played us. We don't want to be a joke."

Maybe the Wolves aren't going to win a Division II national title any time soon. But better is always a worthy goal.

This week, they're at Cal, which is ranked eighth. Then they visit Indiana (Pa.), which beat them, 55-0, last September. That is followed by a trip to Bloomsburg, which beat them, 54-14. The next home game is Sept. 30 against East Stroudsburg. That one ended 54-12 a year ago.

Nobody said change comes easily. Maybe that's why Roulhac lives by the Serenity Prayer, which he says keeps him sane.

"We just have to make sure we keep a level head," he insisted. "I want them to be confident but not cocky. They're feeling good about themselves. We brought in a kicker (freshman Alex Rummel) that can kick. The first day he's putting it in the end zone, and that's getting everyone fired up. 'OK, we don't have to tackle their (returner) at the 40.' It's those little things.

"For the first time, I could relax a bit. I wasn't thinking, 'Who's going to make a mistake' or 'What's going to go wrong?' It was, 'This is what it's going to be.' Now let's see what the next week brings. And the week after that."

The last time Cheyney beat anyone not named Lincoln was 2010. The last time it won more than once in a season was 2005, when it beat West Virginia State, 32-7. Roulhac went 3-8 in both 1992 and '93.

For the time being, there is nothing wrong with some actual serenity.