GAME NOTES (PDF)

THE MATCH-UP: The Warriors look to rebound from a 38-14 loss at Shippensburg in last week's PSAC East opener with a trip to Cheyney on Saturday. The Wolves are 0-4 and dropped their conference opener 51-0 at C.W. Post last weekend. ESU has won the last 29 games in the series, an NCAA Division II record.

RADIO COVERAGE: Live on WVPO 840 AM and redzonemedia.com. Chuck Seese, the 2009 PSAC Heaslip Media Award recipient, is in his 21st season as the voice of the Warriors, with Bob Brittain in his 9th year providing the color commentary. Pre-game begins at 12:30 p.m.

THE SERIES: ESU won last year's meeting 52-12 for its 29th straight win over Cheyney, which extended the NCAA Division II record for consecutive wins over one opponent in an uninterruped series. The Warriors own the all-time series 52-1, with Cheyney's 7-3 win during its 1979 PSAC East championship season the only blemish. ESU has scored at least 35 points every year since putting up a series-record 78 points in 1996, and has averaged 49.9 points per game during that span.

LAST TIME OUT: Shippensburg ran for 241 yards, held a 15-minute advantage in time of possession and used a pass rush that produced seven sacks to hand the Warriors their first loss of the year Saturday at Seth Grove Stadium. ESU came up empty on two trips inside the five-yard line in the first half as Shippensburg held a 17-7 halftime lead, and a 51-yard scramble for a touchdown by R-Jr. QB Matt Marshall with 12:22 left in the third quarter was ESU's last first down of the game. Marshall was 9-for-20 for 157 yards, a touchdown (to R-Jr. WR Ed Kiser) and an interception and R-Jr. WR Jeff Giglio had six catches for 116 yards to go over 100 yards for the fifth time in his last six games. R-Jr. OLB Matt Freed led ESU with 10 tackles.

THE HEAD COACHES: Denny Douds (Slippery Rock '63) holds the PSAC record for career wins with a 221-143-3 record in his 36th season as head football coach at ESU. Douds is in his 44th season at ESU overall and is one of five active coaches in Division II, and one of just 16 coaches in all of college football, with at least 200 career victories. He has led the Warriors to nine PSAC titles and three NCAA Playoff appearances, including the Northeast Region championship in 2005 when ESU advanced to the national semifinals. For more information on Coach Douds and the ESU coaching staff, please see page 8 of the game notes.

Jeff Braxton (Salisbury State) is in his second season as head coach at Cheyney. He came to the PSAC from Delaware State, and has also coached at Bowie State, Hofstra, Towson, Fordham, Wesley, Morehouse and Tennessee State.

PSAC/NCAA RANKINGS: Shippensburg's defensive effort last week put an end to some lofty conference and national rankings for the Warriors through the first three weeks. ESU was 1st in scoring offense (34.0 ppg), total offense (428.0 ypg) and third down percentage (55.3), ranking 5th in Division II in the last category, and 2nd in passing offense (285.0 ypg). At Shippensburg, the Warriors managed 14 points, 250 yards of total offense and 207 yards passing while going 1-for-10 on third downs.

ESU is still ranked third in the PSAC in scoring offense (29.0 ppg), second in pass offense (265.5 ypg), fifth in total offense (383.5 ypg) and third in third down percentage (45.8).

QB Matt Marshall, TB Zach Krise and WR Jeff Giglio, all redshirt juniors, rank in the top three in the PSAC in several categories, and All-American OLB Matt Freed is fourth with 9.8 tackles per game.

THE MARSHALL PLAN: R-Jr. QB Matt Marshall suffered his first loss as a starter after winning his first five career starts — two games last year (Cheyney, Slippery Rock) and the first three games of the 2009 season.

Marshall made his first career start vs. Cheyney last year and was 17-for-26 for 314 yards and 3 TDs. His first pass of the game was intercepted, but came back to throw his first career touchdown, a 36-yarder to Giglio late in the first half, and finished the game with 341 yards of total offense.

Marshall leads the PSAC and is 21st in Division II in pass efficiency with a 156.9 rating and is second in the conference in completion percentage (66.1), passing yards (240.0) and total offense (268.8). He also has a PSAC-best eight TD passes and ran for his first career score last week.

He was the PSAC East Offensive Player of the Week vs. Clarion after completing 79.3 percent of his passes (23-for-29), the second-best day in school history, for 316 yards and 3 TDs. He was also honored by the conference following the final two games of the 2008 season in wins over Millersville and Slippery Rock.

OUT OF THE BLOCKS: Marshall's first pass against Clarion was intercepted, an inauspicious start to a near-record setting night which included a 10-for-11 performance for 135 yards and a touchdown in the second half. He has been very sharp at the start of the Warriors' other three games:

at Virginia Union - 14-for-15, 163 yards, TD
at Gannon - 11-for-13, 136 yards, 2 TD
at Shippensburg - 7-for-9, 144 yards, TD

MARSHALL TO GIGLIO: The Warriors' top quarterback and receiver have connected 40 times for 806 yards and 7 TDs in less than seven games over the past two years, including four 100-yard games.

2008 vs. Cheyney: 3 catches, 87 yards, 2 TD
2008 at Millersville: 4 catches, 134 yards, 2 TD
2008 at Slippery Rock: 8 catches, 162 yards, TD
2009 at Virginia Union: 6 catches, 69 yards
2009 at Gannon: 7 catches, 140 yards, TD
2009 vs. Clarion: 7 catches, 148 yards, TD
2009 at Shippensburg: 5 catches, 66 yards

PSAC LEADER: R-Jr. WR Jeff Giglio leads the PSAC and is 6th in Division II with 118.2 receiving yards per game and is also the PSAC leader in all-purpose yardage (147.5 per game). He is 2nd in the conference with 6.5 receptions per game. Giglio was tied for 4th with 10 receiving TDs and 7th with 68.1 receiving yards per game last year.

He has gone over the 100-yard mark five times in the last six games, going back to the last two games of the 2008 season, and is averaging 129.0 yards per game during that stretch.

FAST START: R-Jr. TB Zach Krise ran for 384 yards in the first three games, ranking second in the PSAC with 128.0 yards per game and leading the conference with 146.7 all-purpose yards, but was held to 7 yards on seven carries at Shippensburg. Krise is fourth in the PSAC with a 97.8-yard average entering this weekend.

In his first three games, Krise ran for 107 yards and a TD on 26 carries at Virginia Union, 184 yards and 2 TD on 29 carries at Gannon and 93 yards on 23 carries vs. Clarion. His average of 26.0 carries per game was fifth in Division II. He was the PSAC East Offensive Player of the Week with 222 all-purpose yards and 3 TDs in the Warriors' win at Gannon.

Krise has made his first three career starts at tailback this year and was ESU's leading returning rusher with 11 carries for 43 yards entering the year. He was primarily a wide receiver his first two years and was a defensive back during his redshirt year in 2006. He started at wide receiver at Millersville last season and had three career catches for 38 yards, all at Lock Haven as a redshirt freshman in 2007.

EVERYBODY'S ALL-AMERICAN: R-Jr. OLB Matt Freed, a first team Daktronics Division II and third team Associated Press Little All-American last year, is putting up similar numbers in 2009. He is fourth in the PSAC with 9.8 tackles per game and has 39 tackles, 3.5 TFL and 2.0 sacks.

Freed tied for sixth in Division II with 11.5 tackles per game last year and recorded 126 tackles, 11.0 TFL, 4.0 sacks and 4 interceptions. He was a three-time PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week and had 13 or more tackles in six of the Warriors' 11 games. Freed has reached double figures in tackles in 11 of his 15 career starts.

THE WIDE RECEIVERS: R-Sr. Sam Shuman, R-Jr. Jeff Giglio and R-Jr. Ed Kiser all averaged at least 16 yards per catch last season as ESU led the PSAC in passing at 298.9 yards per game.

Shuman had career-highs in receptions and yards last season and has four career 100-yard receiving games, including two in 2008. He led ESU with 36 catches for 534 yards in 2007, when he was second team All-PSAC East and named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II team while majoring in Pharmacy.

Giglio has been the Warriors' go-to receiver this season after the graduation of Doug Ogden, who had 39 catches for 825 yards and 8 TD in 2008. He has gone over 100 yards in each of the last three games, leads the PSAC with 118.2 yards per game and has a career average of 18.0 yards per catch.

Kiser has emerged as a solid all-around receiver this fall after ranking fifth on the team in receptions and fourth in yards last season, when he averaged 18.5 yards per catch and hauled in a 96-yard TD pass at Millersville, the second-longest pass play in school history. He held the school record in the 400m (49.49) until it was broken last year and contributed to three school record-setting relay teams for the Warriors.

Kiser broke into the top 10 in the PSAC in receiving yards per game (9th, 60.2 ypg) this week after catching three passes for 89 yards and a TD at Shippensburg. He also had three kick returns for 67 yards for a career-high 156 all-purpose yards and recorded 120 all-purpose yards (68 receiving, 11 rushing, 41 KR) the week before.

R-Fr. Jordan Hallman has added a fourth wide receiver to the mix this season.Hallman had his first two catches for 34 yards, including a 32-yard TD, at Gannon and caught four passes for 43 yards vs. Clarion.

AIR IT OUT: Shuman is 2-for-2 for 102 yards passing this season and 5-for-6 for 216 yards in his career. He completed a 52-yard pass to Kiser at Virginia Union and a 50-yard pass to Giglio at Shippensburg. A former high school quarterback, Shuman was 3-for-3 for 114 yards last year, completing passes of 57 yards at Bloomsburg, 41 yards at Slippery Rock and 16 yards for a TD at Millersville.

OFFENSIVE VERSATILITY: ESU has rotated offensive linemen at tight end, along with regular tight ends Willie Bell and Matt Brown, the last two years and added Sr. Dan Finnegan, an offensive lineman, at fullback to join R-Jr. Brent Jones this season. Finnegan changed numbers to 48 (from 68) earlier this year. R-Fr. Blair Gower and Jr. Mike Dimitriou have also seen action at tight end.

IN THE FRONT ROW: R-Sr. Morgan Thomas has started 34 career games (4 at LT, 17 at RG, 13 at RT) and made the switch to left tackle this season. He was second team All-PSAC East last year and was named a preseason honorable mention All-American by CDSdraft.com this summer.

R-So. Dan Caffrey returns as the Warriors' center and has started all 15 games in his career after moving from the defensive line, where he spent his redshirt season. R-So. Zach Sarginger (right guard), R-Fr. Seve Rivers (left guard) and R-Fr. Wrenton Wright II (right tackle) have all made their first four career starts this season. Jr. Mike Dimitriou has also played the last two weeks.

ESU started the same five players on the offensive line in 10 of its 11 games last season, with graduate student Ryan Ehrie (Syracuse) lining up at left tackle, Keith Weaver (1st team All-PSAC East, 2nd team All-Region) at left guard, Caffrey at center, Thomas at right guard and Matthew Keller (two-year starter) at right tackle. The quintet combined for 82 career starts at the end of the season.

MAGIC NUMBER = 140: ESU has won its last 12 games when running for at least 140 yards. The Warriors had six games with 140 yards rushing last season and have topped the mark twice this year (143 at Virginia Union, 187 at Gannon). The last loss with at least 140 rushing yards was a 49-28 setback vs. West Chester in 2006.

RED ZONE SUCCESS: ESU led the PSAC in red zone offense last season, scoring points on 44 of its 48 possessions inside the 20-yard line (92%). The Warriors scored 32 touchdowns (72% of its posssessions) and kicked 12 field goals. This year: ESU ranks ninth in the PSAC at 75.0 percent (15-20) with 13 TDs

THIRD DOWN SUCCESS: The Warriors led the PSAC and were fifth in Division II in third down conversions (55.3 percent) before going 1-for-10 at Shippensburg last week. Their current perentage of 45.8 is third in the conference after ranking second (46.1 percent) last season.

WARRIORS ON DEFENSE: ESU was on the field for 37:30 last week at Shippensburg as the Raiders ran for 241 yards and threw for 185. The Warriors were very good on the defensive side of the ball through the first three weeks, allowing 19.3 ppg and forcing 8 turnovers (5 interceptions, 3 fumble recoveries) but failed to produce a turnover for the first time this season on Saturday.

THE LINEBACKERS: All-American Matt Freed was the only first-year starter at linebacker last season and is the only returning starter this year. All four linebackers have made an impact in the first three games and are among ESU's top five tacklers. Freed leads the way with 39 tackles, followed by Jr. ILB Kevin Schafer (30 tackles, 2.0 TFL, sack, FF), Jr. OLB Mark Kalo (22 tackles, 1.5 TFL, sack) and R-So. ILB Taylor Cave (17 tackles, 0.5 sack, 2 Int.). Cave has 3 career interceptions and had a 26-yard return for a touchdown vs. Clarion. Schafer has started 6 career games and made 2 starts at free safety as a true freshman in 2007, while Cave started at C.W. Post last year and Kalo has made his first 4 career starts this season.

THE DEFENSIVE LINE: R-Sr. Matthew Faas (24 career starts) and R-Jr. Jeff Case (14 starts) are both returning starters at defensive end for the Warriors and Jr. Alex Figueroa and Fr. Kevon Brown have also been on the field. R-Sr. Keith Galinsky and R-So. Rudy Cerami are first-year starters at defensive tackle and R-So. Cody Berry is also in the rotation at tackle and tied for the team lead with 4 sacks last season.

Case has 18 tackles (4.5 TFL), 2 sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery so far this season. Faas has 9 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble this year and had 35 tackles, led ESU's defensive linemen with 9.0 TFL and tied for the PSAC lead with 4 fumble recoveries a year ago. Galinsky made a career-high 6 tackles at Shippensburg and has 12 tackles (2.0 TFL) this year, and Cerami has 15 tackles (2.0) and a half-sack. Berry had his first sack of the season at Shippensburg.

PICK IT OFF: Sr. FS Nicholas Artinger is one of three players in the PSAC with three interceptions this season and has six interceptions in his career. Artinger has started 22 games between safety and cornerback in his career at ESU and made 10 starts at safety last season.

BREAK IT UP: Jr. CB David Castillo was second in the PSAC with 15 passes defended (three interceptions, 12 pass breakups) and had a 64-yard interception return for a touchdown vs. Gannon last season. He has started 20 straight games since midway through his freshman year.

THE SECONDARY: Along with Artinger and Castillo, R-So. CB Shawnte Carroll has started all 4 games this season and has made 5 career starts. Freshmen Mark Henderson and John Mack have both contributed at cornerback and nickel back as well and freshman D'Jon Tillman saw action at cornerback the last two weeks.

DEPARTED ALL-AMERICAN: The Warriors boasted the top punter in Division II in 2008 in Nick Krut, a first team Daktronics Division II and first team AP Little All-American, who led Division II and ranked second in all divisions of college football with a 46.0-yard average last season. Krut had 15 punts of 50 or more yards and eight of 60 or more yards with a long of 73. He had a career average of 42.4 yards in three years.

NATION'S BEST: ESU led Division II with a 39.7-yard net punting average and has ranked in the top 5 four times in the last nine years. The Warriors also had the top net average of 40.6 in 2004.

2009 ROSTER BREAKDOWN: 51 players have participated for the Warriors through the first four games this season, including 17 who saw their first career action for the Warriors.

The Warriors have played six true freshmen - DB Mark Henderson, DB John Mack, DB D'Jon Tillman, DE Kevon Brown, WR Bryan Ogden and P Joseph Janovic - after playing only five true freshmen in the past two years. So. LB Mike Bergey was the only true freshman to letter last year, and Jr. CB David Castillo, Jr. OLB Mark Kalo and Jr. LB Kevin Schafer lettered in 2007.

RETURNING STARTERS: The Warriors returned nine starters, four on offense and five on defense, after graduating 15 seniors (14 starters) from last year's team. Five players made their first career starts in the season opener - R-So. DL Rudy Cerami, Jr. OLB Mark Kalo, R-Fr. LG Seve Rivers, R-So. RG Zach Sarginger and R-Fr. RT Wrenton Wright II.

WARRIORS ON TV: Blue Ridge TV-13 will broadcast ESU football for the 22nd year this season, with all five home games airing live across the region. Veteran play-by-play man Chris Doty is joined by color commentator Jim Riley and sideline reporter Drenen Tucker. ESU also expects to announce a partnership with PA SportsFever, which has broadcast five games over the past two seasons.

WARRIORS ON RADIO: WVPO 840 AM is in its 47th season broadcasting ESU football and will once again carry all 11 games in 2009. Chuck Seese, recently honored as the 2009 PSAC Heaslip Media Award winner to recognize his contributions to ESU and the PSAC, is in his 21st season as the voice of the Warriors. He is joined in the booth by Bob Brittain, who is in his ninth year providing the color commentary.

UNDER THE LIGHTS: ESU is 4-1 in night games since lights were installed at Eiler-Martin Stadium before the 2007 season. The Warriors dropped their inaugural game to IUP (38-23) on Sept. 15, 2007, but won all four since then — Virginia Union (14-11), Gannon (23-10) and Cheyney (52-12) in 2008, and Clarion (45-31) in 2009, the only night game on this year's schedule.

PSAC PRESEASON POLL: ESU was picked to finish third in the 2009 PSAC East Coaches Poll, which was released at PSAC media day on August 3. The Warriors, who received one first place vote, were selected behind preseason favorite Bloomsburg and defending PSAC East champion West Chester. C.W. Post was fourth, followed by Shippensburg, Kutztown, Millersville and Cheyney.

In the West, defending PSAC champion and two-time NCAA semifinalist California was picked to defend its title, followed by Edinboro, IUP and Mercyhurst. Slippery Rock, Gannon and Clarion, all on the Warriors' schedule in 2009, were fifth through seventh. The 2009 season will mark the second year of the PSAC State Game, which was held annually from 1960-1987 and returned last season.

AND WE GO TO...OVERTIME: ESU broke a four-game losing streak in overtime games with its 44-41 win vs. Shippensburg on Sept. 20, 2008, which gave head coach Denny Douds the PSAC record with his 213th career victory. ESU is 3-6 all-time in overtime contests.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON: Two members of this years team have fathers who earned letters for the Warriors under Coach Douds. They join at least five other father-son combinations who have been affiliated with ESU football since Douds arrived in 1966.

R-Fr. DE Sam Hull - father Chris was a four-year letterwinner at DE from 1984-87
R-Jr. QB Matt Marshall - father Brian was the Warriors' leading passer in 1981

* Michael Falcone lettered at linebacker in 1973, his son Bryan earned 3 letters at linebacker from 2000-02
* Steven Jackson lettered at center from 1969-71, his son Greg lettered at tight end in 1998 and 1999
* Doug McNamee (DB/WR) was a co-captain on the 1966 team, his son Todd was a four-year letterwinner as a kicker and punter from 1985-88
* Willard Stem was an All-American safety in 1975, his son Drew was a two-year starter at wide receiver and kick returner in 2007 and 2008
* Mike Terwilliger was the starting quarterback for Douds' first four years as head coach and has been an assistant coach since 1978, his son Jimmy was a four-year starter at QB and won the Harlon Hill Award as the top player in Division II in 2005

PSAC CHAMPIONSHIPS: ESU has won a share of nine PSAC titles under head coach Denny Douds, and 15 in school history. The most recent championships came in 2002 and 2003, when the Warriors tied for the PSAC East championship. Outright PSAC titles came in 1964, 1965, 1975, 1978 and 1982. ESU has a 204-98-1 (.675) record in PSAC games for the third-best winning percentage since the first on-the-field title was awarded in 1960.

EILER-MARTIN STADIUM: Eiler-Martin Stadium has been home to the ESU football program since 1938 and was named in honor of John R. Eiler, an outstanding athlete at the school in the early 1930s and later athletic director and a championship soccer coach, and Gene Martin, the Warriors' head football coach from 1942-57 and the school's long-time Dean of Men. The stadium has been upgraded several times since its construction. New home bleachers were added in 1960, the current press box was installed in 1988, the track was resurfaced and expanded in 2005, lights were added in 2007 and FieldTurf was installed prior to the 2008 season. The Warriors have a 115-59 record at Eiler-Martin Stadium under head coach Denny Douds and a 35-16 home record since the start of the 2000 season.

ACADEMIC ACCOLADES: ESU has led the PSAC with 10 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II selections in each of the last two years and produced two Academic All-Americans in 2008-09, men's basketball player Chris Bach and track & field athlete Paul Wagner. ESU also led the conference with five “Top 10” honorees last year. R-Jr. OLB Matt Freed was first team Academic All-District last year and will have an opportunity to become the fifth ESU football player to be named an Academic All-American. Matt Crispell (DB, 2004) and Ernie Siegrist (TE, 1984) were both first team Academic All-Americans and Ed Detwiler (K-P, 1992) and Warren Brown (LB, 1979) were mentioned on the second team.