GAME NOTES (PDF)
THE MATCH-UP: East Stroudsburg University hosts Slippery Rock on Homecoming at Eiler-Martin Stadium. The Warriors are playing the last of their four crossover games against PSAC West schools one week after dropping their PSAC East opener 36-24 to Millersville. The Rock is 4-1 overall and coming off its first setback of the season, a 34-31 loss to IUP in its first PSAC West game of the year.
TV/Radio Coverage
TV: Live on Blue Ridge TV 13. Chris Doty (play-by-play) and Bob Capasso (color) will cover all of the action from Eiler-Martin Stadium. This is the 20th year that Blue Ridge TV 13 has broadcast ESU football.
Radio: Live on WVPO 840 AM and redzonemedia.com. Chuck Seese will handle the play-by-play with Bob Brittain doing color commentary. Pre-game begins at 12:30 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT: Freshman quarterback Jamal Smith ran for 136 yards and threw for 157 yards and two touchdowns to lead Millersville to a 36-24 win over ESU in the PSAC East opener for both schools. Smith led a Millersville offense that failed to produce a touchdown in its first four games to a pair of first quarter scores and the Marauders led 20-7 at the half. A 40-yard field goal by sophomore Greg Knauss on the first possession of the second half pulled the Warriors within 20-10, but Millersville answered with the next 10 points to pull away. Junior wide receiver Drew Stem had 268 all-purpose yards (181 KR, 27 PR, 60 receiving) and senior linebacker Jayson Frank had 14 tackles (2.5 TFL), a sack and an interception to lead ESU.
THE HEAD COACHES: Denny Douds (Slippery Rock '63) is in his 34th season as head football coach at ESU, and his 42nd season at ESU overall. Last season, Douds became just the 10th active college football coach to pass the 200-win plateau and enters today's game with a career record of 207-137-3. Douds 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.
Dr. George Mihalik (Slippery Rock '74) is in his 20th season as head coach at Slippery Rock, and has been part of the Slippery Rock program as a player or coach for 36 of the last 37 seasons. Mihalik enters today's game with a career record of 131-78-4 and led Slippery Rock to four consecutive PSAC West championships from 1997-2000.
HALL OF FAME WEEKEND: Former ESU football players Jake Piatt '61 and Willard Stem '76 are two of seven individuals that will be inducted into the ESU Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday night. Stem is the father of current ESU wide receiver/kick returner Drew Stem, and was one of the top defensive backs and kick returners in school history. He was a first team All-America selection at safety and a co-captain of ESU's undefeated 1975 team, and helped ESU lead the nation in pass defense in 1973. Piatt was a two-year all-conference player at tackle and was a member of a defense that had five straight shutouts in 1959. He was a professor at ESU from 1991-2006 and served as chair of the Professional and Secondary Education Department from 2001 until his retirement.
TURN ON THE LIGHTS: ESU played each of its first three games under the lights, including the first home night game in school history on Sept. 15 against IUP. The Warriors will also play night football on Oct. 20 at West Chester (6 p.m.), and the lights will also be on at Eiler-Martin Stadium on Oct. 27 for a 2 p.m. game vs. Bloomsburg that will be featured as the PSAC Game of the Week as part of the conference's television package with PA SPORTSfever.
RETURNING ALL-PSAC PLAYERS: The Warriors return three players who earned All-PSAC East honors in 2006, including one first-teamer on both sides of the ball. On offense, senior LT Mike Habel entered the season with 34 starts on the offensive line in his career at ESU. Senior LB Jayson Frank (1st team) and junior OLB David Pacchioni (2nd team) lead a group of five experienced linebackers. Frank had a team-leading 86 tackles last season, and Pacchioni made 47 tackles with four sacks.
WHO'S GONE: Five ESU seniors were named All-PSAC East last season. QB Jimmy Terwilliger, WR Evan Prall and DE Greg Thoman were on the first team, and TB Matt Brunetti and DT Andrew Marsteller were on the second team.
ESU lost 10 starters in all off last year's team. WR Wes Lindsay and RG David Biever were also starters on offense, while DE John Vetter, CB Mike Macksoud and S Michael Wiggins were members of the defense. K Eric Petters is also no longer on the team.
SCHOOL RECORD FOR KNAUSS: Sophomore kicker Greg Knauss broke ESU's 19-year old school record with a 53-yard field goal on the final play of the first half against IUP on Sept. 15. The previous record was held by Todd McNamee, who made a 50-yard field goal vs. Southern Connecticut State in 1988.
THE QUARTERBACKS: Redshirt junior Tim Roken was 21-of-44 for 171 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions last week against Millersville. He threw for 260 yards and 4 TDs at Lock Haven and 259 yards and 2 TDs vs. IUP in his first two career starts. Redshirt sophomore Tom O'Brien started the season opener at Cal and was 16-of-28 for 91 yards with two interceptions, and was sacked nine times. The Vulcans returned all 11 starters off the PSAC's top defense from a year ago.
THE TAILBACKS: Redshirt freshman Brant Quick has started the first four games at tailback for the Warriors, but junior Joe Partridge has been ESU's leading rusher in each of the last two games. Partridge ran 15 times for 50 yards and a touchdown against Millersville and is averaging 5.3 yards per carry (33 carries, 174 yards) with three touchdowns this season. Partridge was the projected starter entering the season but missed the season opener due to injury. He returned against Lock Haven and ran for 95 yards and two touchdowns in the second half in his first action of the season. He had 424 all-purpose yards (249 rushing, 165 receiving) and four TDs as the backup tailback in 2006.
Quick had 21 carries for 54 yards in his first career start at Cal and ran 22 times for 115 yards and a touchdown at Lock Haven. In the last two games, he has been held to 23 yards on 10 carries (8-11 vs. IUP, 2-12 vs. Millersville).
THE WIDE RECEIVERS: Junior Drew Stem has recorded 268 all-purpose yards (vs. Millersville) and 169 all-purpose yards (vs. IUP) in the last two games. Stem is ESU's leading receiver with 18 catches for 172 yards this season, and is averaging 29.0 yards on kick returns and 13.2 yards on punt return. He is second on the single-season kick return average list with a 28.7-yard average in 2006.
Redshirt sophomore Sam Shuman caught three passes for 35 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown, last week vs. Millersville. Against IUP, he led ESU with three catches for 88 yards and scored on plays of seven and 65 yards in the first half. Shuman is averaging 14.9 yards on 11 catches this season, and averaged 15.2 yards per catch as a freshman.
Senior Doug Ogden has 13 catches for 157 yards and a touchdown this year. Ogden was ESU's leading returning receiver entering the year, with 39 catches for 494 yards and six touchdowns in 2006. He has 64 catches for 776 yards and eight touchdowns in his career at ESU.
THE OFFENSIVE LINE: Sr. LT Mike Habel, a four-year starter and first team All-PSAC East selection, has started 38 games in his career and is the leader of the offensive line. The Warriors reshuffled their line after giving up nine sacks at Cal and have given up just one sack in each of the last three games. Senior Thomas Sugden moved from right guard to left guard, senior Michael Parshley is the center, and redshirt sophomore Morgan Thomas moved to right guard from right tackle, where he had started all 12 games of his career. Redshirt sophomore Matt Keller has made the first three starts of his career at right tackle. Parshley scored a touchdown at Lock Haven when he recovered a fumble in the end zone.
THE LINEBACKERS: ESU returned all four starters at linebacker from 2006 in outside linebackers Jr. Steve Van Alstine and Jr. David Pacchioni, and inside linebackers Sr. Jayson Frank and Sr. Dave Lotier. Jr. Fred Rice led ESU with 132 tackles as a freshman in 2005 and missed all but three games in 2006 to receive a medical redshirt.
All four of the starting linebackers have an interception through the first four games - Frank vs. Millersville, Van Alstine vs. IUP, and Lotier and Pacchioni at Lock Haven.
Frank, a first team All-PSAC East selection in 2006, leads ESU with 42 tackles and had 14 tackles (2.5 TFL), a sack and an interception last week against Millersville. Frank made 12 tackles against IUP and had eight tackles and a sack in both of the first two games. Frank led ESU with 86 tackles last season.
Lotier is second on the team in both tackles (35) and sacks (2.0). He led ESU with 13 tackles vs. IUP and has six career interceptions in 19 starts. He returned a pick 42 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter at Lock Haven.
Pacchioni was a member of the All-PSAC East second team in 2006 and has 20 tackles, a sack and an interception this year after recording 47 tackles and four sacks last season. Van Alstine has made 23 tackles over the last three games and had a 71-yard interception return to set up the Warriors' first touchdown against IUP.
Rice has seen limited action through the first four games, playing primarily on special teams. He has 16 tackles this season, including seven stops at Lock Haven.
THE DEFENSIVE LINE: The ESU defensive line has three new starters from a year ago, with Jr. DT Miguel Rivera (9 tackles, sack) as the only holdover. Defensive ends Dave Iobst (18 tackles) and Matthew Faas (9 tackles, 3.0 TFL, sack) and defensive tackle Jeff Shrive (12 tackles) have also started all three games in 2007. Backup defensive end Ray Ramirez had eight tackles and combined with Pacchioni for a sack vs. Millersville, and Iobst also made seven tackles against the Marauders.
THE SECONDARY: The Warriors have eight interceptions through four games after picking off just 13 passes in 11 games a year ago. Four members of the secondary have interceptions this season - Sr. CB Mike Gowen, Jr. CB Scott Christy, So. FS Mike Gnall and Fr. FS Kevin Schafer. So. Nick Artinger has started all four games at corner, and Gowen started the first three before suffering an injury against IUP. Christy made his 10th career start last week against Millersville after starting nine games last season. Gnall has started all four games at safety and Schafer is the nickel back.
SPECIAL TEAMS: The ESU special teams have been solid so far in 2007, highlighted by two blocked extra points at Cal (Dave Lotier, Fred Rice) and the punting of junior Nick Krut. ESU was third in Division II in net punting (36.0) last year and has a net punting average of 35.6 this season.
Senior LB Brock Williard is in his fourth year as the long snapper and sophomore Greg Knauss is in his first year with the Warriors and is the only kicker on the 2007 roster. Knauss made a school-record 53-yard field goal on the final play of the first half vs. IUP to give the Warriors a 20-17 halftime lead and made three field goals in the game. He is 6-for-8 on field goals and 12-of-13 on extra points this season.
WARRIORS ON TV: All four of the Warriors' home games will be broadcast on Blue Ridge TV 13, the 17th season that Blue Ridge will broadcast ESU football. Chris Doty handles play-by-play and Blue Ridge Sports Director Bob Capasso is the color commentator. Additionally, the Oct. 27 match-up with Bloomsburg is the PSAC Game of the Week on PA SPORTSfever TV, which will be broadcasting a PSAC game across the state each week during the 2007 season. The broadcast outlets in the Poconos are WQMY-53 (channel 16 on Blue Ridge Cable) and WSWB-38 (channel 11 on Blue Ridge).
WARRIORS ON RADIO: WVPO 840 AM has broadcast ESU football for 42 years, with Chuck Seese and Bob Brittain forming the broadcast team once again in 2007. WESS 90.3 FM, ESU's campus radio station, will also broadcast selected games.
TERWILLIGER AND PRALL: QB Jimmy Terwilliger, the 2005 Harlon Hill Award recipient as the most outstanding player in Division II, started all 48 games in his career at ESU before graduating last May. Terwilliger left with 15 ESU and 14 NCAA records, including tying the NCAA all-division record with 148 touchdown passes. He also set Division II standards for passing yards (14,350) and total offense (16,064). Terwilliger was a three-time recipient of the PSAC East Offensive Player of the Year (2003, 2004 and 2006), and set PSAC records with 4,571 passing yards, 4,960 yards of total offense and 50 passing touchdowns as ESU won the Northeast Region championship in 2005.
WR Evan Prall set PSAC records with 4,093 receiving yards and 50 touchdowns in his career at ESU from 2003-06. He teamed with Terwilliger for 164 catches, 2,940 yards and 40 touchdowns over his final two seasons and also holds ESU's all-purpose yardage record with 5,682 all-purpose yards when adding in more than 1,000 yards as a kick returner and 500 yards as a punt returner. Prall made it to the final cut with the New York Jets before being released following their final preseason game.
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 197-92-1 (.681) record in PSAC games for the third-best winning percentage since the first on-the-field championship was awarded in 1960.
ESU IN THE DIVISION II PLAYOFFS: ESU has made three appearances in the Division II Playoffs, with the first coming in 1991, followed by back-to-back trips in 2004 and 2005. The Warriors are 4-3 all-time in playoff games. Their first Division II Playoff victory was a 36-32 win over Edinboro in 2004, while the 2005 playoff run included wins over Southern Connecticut State (55-33), Bloomsburg (52-39) and C.W. Post (55-28) to earn the Northeast Region championship. The run finally ended with a 55-20 loss to eventual national champion Grand Valley State.
PSAC PRESEASON POLL: ESU was picked to repeat last year's third-place finish in the PSAC East in the 2007 PSAC Coaches Poll, which was released in early August. The Warriors went 4-2 in the East last season. West Chester was the top choice, followed by 2006 champ Bloomsburg, with Millersville (4th), Kutztown (5th) and Cheyney (6th) rounding out the list.
In the West, Cal was picked first with IUP and Slippery Rock tied for second. Cal and IUP shared the PSAC West title in 2006, and ESU will play all three teams this season. Edinboro was fourth, followed by Shippensburg, Lock Haven and Clarion.
THE 2007 SCHEDULE: ESU is slated to play nine games in 2007, with five on the road and four at home. The Warriors lost their 10th game when Mansfield discontinued its football program following the 2006 season, and were unable to fill the vacant spot despite their best efforts. While the NCAA requires that schools play 10 games to maintain postseason eligibility, ESU has received a waiver from the NCAA should its record and strength of schedule merit playoff consideration.
