GAME NOTES (PDF)

THE MATCH-UP: ESU hosts Bloomsburg on Homecoming Weekend at Eiler-Martin Stadium. The Warriors enter with a 5-1 record (2-1 PSAC East) after earning a 21-20 win at West Chester last Saturday, while the Huskies are the lone remaining unbeaten team in the PSAC with a perfect 6-0 mark (3-0 PSAC East).

Television/Radio Coverage

Statewide Television: Live on PA SPORTSfever TV as part of the PSAC “Game of the Week” package. The telecast will be available on channel 16 (WQMY) on Blue Ridge Cable. Viewers across the commonwealth, please check your local listings for broadcast information in your area.

Regional Television: Live on Blue Ridge TV-13. Veteran play-by-play man Chris Doty is joined in the booth by Jim Riley, along with Drenen Tucker on the sidelines.

Radio: 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 2 p.m.

THE SERIES: The two schools are meeting for the 74th time, tied with West Chester for the most games ESU has played against one opponent since the start of varsity football in 1926. The Warriors lead 38-33-2 during that span, including a 52-39 win in the NCAA Division II playoffs in 2005 for ESU's most recent victory in the series. The Huskies have won the last three meetings - 45-37 at Bloomsburg in 2006, 35-26 at ESU in 2007 and 42-23 at Bloomsburg last fall.

Today's game marks the sixth time in the past nine seasons when both teams have entered the game with one or fewer losses, with Bloomsburg winning three of the last five games under those conditions.

The only other time in series history when both schools have had 0 or 1 losses entering the game was in 1984, when a 2-0 East Stroudsburg team fell to a 1-1 Bloomsburg team, 23-13, at Bloomsburg.

HOMECOMING SATURDAY: ESU head coach Denny Douds is 23-12 in Homecoming games in his 35 years on the sidelines at Eiler-Martin Stadium. The Warriors have played Bloomsburg in their Homecoming game just one other time under Coach Douds, posting a 31-6 win in 1993.

NCAA REGIONAL RANKINGS: ESU is ranked fifth in the initial rankings for the NCAA Division II Super Regional One, which were released on Monday. Bloomsburg (6-0) is ranked first, followed by Charleston (6-0), Edinboro (5-1), Slippery Rock (5-1), ESU (5-1), Bentley (5-1), California (4-2), West Liberty State (5-1), Shaw (5-1) and Merrimack (4-1). ESU has made three appearances in the NCAA playoffs — 1991, 2004 and 2005 — and won the Northeast Region and advanced to the national semifinals in 2005.

POALUCCI INDUCTED TO HALL OF FAME: Damian Poalucci '98, one of the all-time great quarterbacks in Warriors football history, is one of seven inductees to the ESU Athletic Hall of Fame this weekend. Poalucci held 17 school records when he graduated and was an All-American and finished third in the Harlon Hill Award voting for the outstanding player in Division II football as a junior in 1996, when he set Division II records with 383.1 passing yards per game and 616 passing yards vs. Mansfield. Poalucci threw 40 touchdown passes in 1996 and 69 for his career, both school records at the time, and he still holds the record of 388.3 yards of total offense per game in 1996. He is a health and physical education teacher at South Western High School, where he is an assistant varsity and head JV football coach.

LAST TIME OUT: R-Jr. QB Matt Marshall threw two second-half TD passes, including the go-ahead score on a five-yard toss to R-Fr. WR Jordan Hallman with 6:50 left, and the defense forced two key fumbles in the fourth quarter as ESU ended a six-game losing streak against West Chester with a 21-20 victory. The Warriors' last win in the series was a 28-27 victory in 2003 when R-Fr. QB Jimmy Terwilliger directed a 94-yard TD drive and hit Evan Prall for the two-point conversion with 47 seconds left.

WCU drove 55 yards after ESU went ahead and had a first down at the 13-yard line, but a false start and three incomplete passes brought on Chris Hill for a 35-yard field goal that he missed wide left. ESU ran all but the final 3.6 seconds off the clock in the final minute and Fr. Joseph Janovic got off a 36-yard punt from his own end zone that the Warriors covered successfully to seal the victory.

The defense produced two turnovers after surrendering TDs on WCU's first two drives of the second half. Sr. FS Nicholas Artinger forced a fumble that was recovered by R-So. CB Shawnte Carroll at the 45-yard line to set up the go-ahead scoring drive. Fr. TB Kendrick Williams, seeing his first career action, carried six times for 50 yards and went 30 yards on 4th-and-one from the 35 which led to Marshall's TD pass to Hallman. R-Sr. DL Keith Galinsky's sack and forced fumble, recovered by R-So. DL Rudy Cerami, stopped WCU's next drive. Galinsky was named the PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week for the Warriors.

THE HEAD COACHES: Denny Douds (Slippery Rock '63) holds the PSAC record for career wins with a 223-143-3 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 9 of the game notes.

Danny Hale (West Chester '68) is 142-46-1 in his 17th season as Bloomsburg's head coach and his 22nd season in the PSAC, including a five-year stint at West Chester. He has led the Huskies to a share of 10 PSAC East championships, was the national runner-up in 2000 and made the national semifinals in 2006.

RUNNING THE GAUNTLET: ESU broke a six-game losing streak last week at West Chester, and is looking to beat West Chester and Bloomsburg in the same year for the first time since the 1991 NCAA playoff season.

Since 2000, ESU is 3-7 vs. Bloomsburg and 4-7 vs. West Chester, and 34-4 against the rest of the teams in the PSAC East. ESU is 15-1 in its last 16 games against opponents other than the Golden Rams and the Huskies. The Warriors are playing the schools in consecutive weeks for the fourth straight year.

ESU vs. THE TOP 25: ESU has faced at least two members of the AFCA Top 25 in each of the last four seasons and played six nationally-ranked opponents in 2005, when the Warriors won the Northeast Region and advanced to the national semifinals. ESU is 6-6 against the Top 25 during that time, including a 52-39 win at No. 2 Bloomsburg in the second round of the NCAA Playoffs in 2005.

PSAC RANKINGS: ESU faces the Huskies' top-ranked scoring defense and No. 2 total defense this week, one week after lining up against the No. 1 team in total defense and rushing defense at West Chester. The Warriors produced 354 yards of total offense (220 passing, 134 rushing) against a unit that was allowing 240.8 total yards and 68.2 rushing yards per game.

Bloomsburg is ranked 4th in Division II in scoring defense, allowing 10.0 ppg, and has yet to allow more than 14 points in a game this season. Their defense ranks 2nd vs. the run (88.7 ypg) and 7th vs. the pass (181.2 ypg), and is also 2nd in pass defense efficiency. The Huskies have 8 interceptions while allowing 5 TD passes, and opponents are averaging just 5.6 yards per attempt. ESU leads the PSAC with 9.5 passing yards per attempt and has thrown 12 TD passes and just 4 interceptions.

THIRD DOWN SUCCESS: The Warriors have converted at least 50 percent of their 3rd downs in four of the first six games. They ranked 5th in Division II at 55.3 percent before going 1-for-10 at Shippensburg, and their current percentage of 46.7 is 3rd in the conference. ESU was 2nd at 46.1 percent in 2008.

The Huskies have excelled defensively in 3rd and 4th down situations. They rank 5th in the PSAC on 3rd downs at 31.0 percent, and are 6th in Division II on 4th downs, allowing a conversion on just one of 15 opportunities (6.7 percent). ESU is 4-for-8 on 4th down this season.

PROTECT THE FOOTBALL: ESU didn't turn the ball over at Cheyney or West Chester, marking the first time since at least the 2002 season that the Warriors have been turnover-free for two straight games.

BALANCING ACT: The Warriors have run the ball on 58.8 percent of their 400 offensive plays this season, averaging 39.1 rush attempts and 27.5 pass attempts per game. The ratio is the Warriors' largest towards the run since the 2000 season, when they ran on 63.5 percent of their offensive snaps.

ESU's percentage of running plays since the 2000 season:
2009: 58.8 2008: 52.2 2007: 46.1 2006: 46.9 2005: 52.1
2004: 49.7 2003: 50.3 2002: 50.1 2001: 58.5 2000: 63.5

BALANCING ACT (2): ESU has scored at least one TD both rushing and passing in 11 consecutive games, and has 19 rushing TDs and 26 passing TDs while averaging 32.3 points per game in that stretch.

The Warriors have thrown a touchdown pass in 19 straight games and 81 of their 84 games since 2002. Jimmy Terwilliger (2003-06) had a TD pass in 47 of his 48 career games, including an NCAA Division II record 39 straight.

THE MARSHALL PLAN: R-Jr. QB Matt Marshall is 7-1 as a starter, going 2-0 last season and 5-1 this year. He is first or second among PSAC quarterbacks in five categories:

PSAC Ranks
QB Rating - 1st, 158.3 (13th DII)
Completion % - 2nd, 65.2 (12th DII)
Passing - 2nd, 229.2 ypg
Total Offense - 2nd, 263.7 ypg
Rushing by QB - t-2nd, 207 yards (34.5 ypg)
TD Passes - 3rd, 12

Marshall compiled a rating of 168.3 in four games last season, including two starts. He has thrown for 2,312 yards, 21 TD and 10 interceptions in 10 games over the last two years.

He earned his third career 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 has been almost perfect in the first quarter this season, going 33-for-44 (75.0 percent) for 512 yards, 3 TDs and one interception. He was 11-for-12 for 94 yards and a TD to start the season opener at Virginia Union, and has thrown for at least 80 yards in the first quarter in five of the Warriors' first six games.

MARSHALL TO GIGLIO: The Warriors' top quarterback and receiver have connected 46 times for 908 yards and 8 TDs over the past two years, including four 100-yard games.

ALL-AROUND GUY: R-Jr. WR Jeff Giglio is 2nd in the PSAC in both receiving (95.8) and all-purpose (132.0) yards per game. He has recorded three 100-yard receiving games and four games with at least 148 all-purpose yards this season.

Giglio has 32 catches for 575 yards and 3 TD and has gone over the 100-yard mark five times in the last eight games, coinciding with Marshall taking over as the Warriors' quarterback. He has also returned 10 kicks for a 21.7-yard average, which would rank 4th in the PSAC with one more kick return.

Giglio had 41 catches for 749 yards and 10 TDs last year. He was tied for 4th in the PSAC in receiving TDs and ranked 7th with 68.1 receiving yards per game.

GOING DEEP: The Warriors have seven receivers who have caught a pass of at least 30 yards this season. Long pass plays have been a staple of the Warriors offense for the past decade — ESU has had at least five receivers with a 30-yard reception in each season since 2001, including 10 players who had at least one 30-yard play during the 2005 NCAA semifinal season.

THE WIDE RECEIVERS: R-Sr. Sam Shuman, R-Jr. Jeff Giglio and R-Jr. Ed Kiser are all averaging at least 15 yards per catch for the second straight season and have combined for more than 4,000 yards in their careers.

Shuman just missed his fifth career 100-yard receiving game with four catches for 97 yards and two TDs at Cheyney. He is less than 200 yards away from becoming the eighth player in ESU history to reach 2,000 career receiving yards. Shuman set career-highs in receptions and yards last season and led ESU with 36 catches for 534 yards in 2007, when he was second team All-PSAC East.
2009 yards per catch: 15.4 Career yards per catch: 15.4

Shuman is 2-for-2 for 102 yards passing this season and 5-for-6 for 216 yards and a TD in his career. He completed a 52-yard pass to Kiser at Virginia Union and a 50-yard pass to Giglio at Shippensburg, and was 3-for-3 for 114 yards last year.

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. Giglio is second in the PSAC in receiving yardage this year and has more than 1,600 career yards in 26 games at ESU.
2009 yards per catch: 18.0 Career yards per catch: 17.9

Kiser has emerged as a solid all-around receiver and is just outside the top 10 in the PSAC in both receiving and all-purpose yards per game. He has accounted for 480 yards (295 receiving, 33 rushing, 152 KR) for an average of 80.0 yards per game.

Kiser was 5th on the team in receptions and 4th in yards last season but 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.
2009 yards per catch: 17.4 Career yards per catch: 18.0

R-Fr. Jordan Hallman had a career-high six catches for 42 yards and caught the game-winning TD pass, a five-yard strike from R-Jr. QB Matt Marshall, last week at West Chester. Hallman has added a fourth wide receiver to the mix for the Warriors and has 13 catches for 133 yards and 2 TDs. His first career score was a 32-yard catch at Gannon. Fr. WR Bryan Ogden caught two passes for 20 yards at West Chester and has 4 catches for 63 yards this year.

R-Sr. TE Willie Bell provides a receiving threat from the tight end spot with 9 catches for 102 yards and a TD this year and 6 catches for 124 yards last season. R-Jr. FB Brent Jones has 5 catches for 39 yards.

THE RUNNING GAME: R-Jr. TB Zach Krise, who was 12th in Division II with 128.0 rushing yards and 5th with 26.0 carries per game through the first three weeks, left the West Chester game with an injury late in the second quarter and did not return. Krise had 11 carries for 42 yards and three catches for 64 yards before leaving the field at Farrell Stadium. He 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. He was the PSAC East Offensive Player of the Week with 222 all-purpose yards and 3 TDs in ESU's win at Gannon.

STEPPING IN, STEPPING UP: Three freshmen — true freshmen Kendrick Williams and Eric Deery and redshirt freshman Justin Lee — will step in as the Warriors' ball carriers in an offense that is averaging nearly 40 rushing attempts per game.

Williams ran for 50 yards on six carries in his first career action on ESU's go-ahead 55-yard touchdown drive in the fourth quarter at West Chester. He gained nine yards on his first career carry and had the key play in the drive, picking up a 4th-and-1 at the 35-yard line with a 30-yard run. Marshall hit Hallman for the score two plays later. Williams finished the game with 50 yards on 10 attempts.

Lee and Deery both saw the first significant action of their careers at Cheyney. Lee got the start at tailback and ran 17 times for 58 yards and 2 TDs, all in the first half, and Deery ran for 121 yards on 15 carries in his first career game. Deery was the first ESU true freshman to have a 100-yard rushing game since Stewart Ford eclipsed the 100-yard mark five times in 1997 on his way to a 1,109-yard season, the second-best in school history.

Williams and Deery had standout high school careers in New Jersey, where they were both third team All-State. Williams set a conference record with 2,186 yards and 22 TD on 320 carries at Nottingham (Hamilton, N.J.), including a Mercer County record with 428 yards and scored 4 TD against rival Hamilton. Deery was the Warren County Player of the Year and was second in Phillipsburg HS history with 1,718 yards rushing and 13 TD as a senior.

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 36 career games (6 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.

The Warriors made their first change on the offensive line at Cheyney, with Jr. Mike Dimitriou replacing R-So. Zach Sarginger at right guard. ESU started the same five players on the offensive line in 10 of its 11 games last season. Sarginger was back in the starting lineup at West Chester.

R-So. Dan Caffrey has started all 17 games in his career at center after moving from the defensive line, where he spent his redshirt season. R-Fr. Seve Rivers (left guard) and R-Fr. Wrenton Wright II (right tackle) have started all six games this year, and Sarginger has started five games at right guard.

MAGIC NUMBER = 140: ESU has won its last 13 games when running for at least 140 yards. The Warriors had six games with 140 yards rushing last season and have topped the mark three times this year (143 at Virginia Union, 187 at Gannon, 235 at Cheyney). The last loss with at least 140 yards was a 49-28 setback vs. West Chester in 2006. ESU ran for 134 yards in this year's game at West Chester and had 145 yards before losing 11 yards on its last possession.

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 their posssessions) and kicked 12 field goals.
This year: ESU ranks seventh in the PSAC at 77.8 percent (21-27) with 18 TDs

GOING THE DISTANCE: ESU had three scoring drives that covered 88 yards at Cheyney, and has six drives of at least 85 yards this season.
85-yard drives over the last four seasons: 2009 - 6 2008 - 4 2007 - 1 2006 - 3

GOING THE DISTANCE (2): ESU had a 16-play drive that took 6:47 off the clock and led to a field goal in the second quarter at Cheyney. The Warriors have had 193 scoring drives (149 touchdowns, 44 field goals) since the start of the 2006 season, and just four that have lasted at least 6:00. The longest drive in that stretch was a 12-play, 44-yard possession that took 6:55 and set up the game's final field goal in a 12-0 win at Edinboro in 2006.

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 4th in the PSAC with 9.8 tackles per game and has 59 tackles, 5.5 TFL and 3.0 sacks.

Freed has reached double figures in tackles in 12 of his 17 career starts. He tied for 6th 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.

ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT: Freed and R-Sr. WR Sam Shuman have been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District team in their careers. Freed was named to the first team last year with a 3.55 GPA as a History major. Shuman, a Pharmacy major completing his ninth semester at ESU, was an Academic All-District selection in 2007.

WARRIORS ON DEFENSE: ESU used the same starting defensive lineup through the first four games before making its first change at Cheyney, when Jr. ILB Kevin Schafer was held out due to injury and replaced by So. ILB Mike Bergey, who made his first career start. Schafer returned to the lineup last week at West Chester. He is one of three new starters at linebacker this season, along with Jr. OLB Mark Kalo and R-So. ILB Taylor Cave. R-Jr. OLB Matt Freed was an All-American last season as the only first-year starter among a veteran group of linebackers.

Freed has made 17 career starts and is one of five returning starters from last year, joining R-Sr. DE Matthew Faas (26 career starts), R-Jr. DE Jeff Case (16), Jr. CB David Castillo (22) and Sr. FS Nicholas Artinger (24). For a complete list of career starts for the Warriors, please see page 4 of the game notes.

TURNING IT OVER: ESU is in a four-way tie for the PSAC lead with 13 turnovers forced this season (8 interceptions, 5 fumbles), including two key fumble recoveries in the fourth quarter at West Chester last week. The Warriors have forced five turnovers in the last two weeks while the offense hasn't given up the ball once, and ESU is tied for 2nd in the PSAC in turnover margin at +5 (+0.83 per game).

10 players have been involved in creating turnovers this season, led by the defensive backs. Sr. FS Nicholas Artinger has three interceptions, tied for 2nd in the PSAC, and a forced fumble and Jr. CB David Castillo has two interceptions and a fumble recovery. Artinger and Castillo both have six career interceptions. R-So. ILB Taylor Cave has two interceptions this year and three in his career, including a 26-yard return for a TD vs. Clarion this season.

BALANCED DEFENSE: Freed leads the defense with 59 tackles, 5.5 TFL and 3.0 sacks and the Warriors have seen almost every player who has stepped on the field make an impact this year. Each of the top 13 tacklers have made at least one tackle behind the line of scrimmage, including eight players who have contributed to the Warriors' 13 sacks.

Case leads the Warriors' defensive linemen with 23 tackles, 5.0 TFL and 2.0 sacks and R-So. DL Cody Berry also has 2.0 sacks this season after tying for the team lead with 4.0 sacks last year. Faas recorded 9.0 TFL last year and tied for the PSAC lead with 4 fumble recoveries. R-Sr. Keith Galinsky and R-So. Rudy Cerami are both in their first year as starters at defensive tackle, and Jr. Alex Figueroa and Fr. Kevon Brown have also been on the field at defensive end.

In the secondary, Artinger has started 16 games at safety over the last two years and has also made 8 starts at cornerback. Sr. FS Mike Gnall has been on the field with the punt return team the last two weeks after returning from injury and has made 9 career starts.

Castillo has an interception in each of the last two weeks and is tied for 4th in the PSAC with 6 passes defensed. He was 2nd in the PSAC with 15 passes defensed (3 interceptions, 12 pass breakups) last season. R-So. CB Shawnte Carroll is the starter on the other side and true freshmen Mark Henderson, John Mack and D'Jon Tillman have also contributed at cornerback and nickel back.

SHUTTING IT DOWN: The Warriors' 37-0 shutout at Cheyney was their first shutout since a 12-0 win at Edinboro in 2006. ESU has 26 shutouts in 36 seasons under head coach Denny Douds. The defense has held opponents to 9 or fewer points 23 times since 2000, including six shutouts, and has a 22-1 record in those games with the only loss coming by a 9-7 score vs. Bentley in the 2006 season opener.

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.

2009 ROSTER BREAKDOWN: 55 players have participated for the Warriors through the first six games this season, including 19 who saw their first career action for the Warriors.

The Warriors have played eight true freshmen - DB Mark Henderson, DB John Mack, DB D'Jon Tillman, DE Kevon Brown, TB Eric Deery, TB Kendrick Williams, 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.

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. ESU has had seven first team All-PSAC East punters and six first team kickers in the past 10 years, and Denny Douds has coached 14 first team kickers and 13 first team punters in his 35 seasons at ESU.

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 will also have two games broadcast across the state by the SPORTSfever Television Network - Bloomsburg (Oct. 10) and Millersville (Oct. 31). Five ESU games have been broadcast by SPORTSfever over the last two years. The telecasts will air on STN-affiliated stations WTVE (Philadelphia-Lehigh Valley-South Jersey), WGCB (Harrisburg-Lancaster-York), WQMY (Wilkes-Barre-Scranton-Williamsport) and WQED (Pittsburgh-Western Pennsylvania). They will also be featured on FSN Pittsburgh on Monday nights and replay on Time Warner, Armstrong, Atlantic Broadband, Blue Ridge, Service Electric and Comcast (WIUP) cable systems throughout Pennsylvania.

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 year's 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 206-98-1 (.677) 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.