GAME NOTES (PDF)

THE MATCH-UP: East Stroudsburg University travels to Millersville for its final PSAC East game of the season with an opportunity to wrap up a 5-2 conference record and improve to 8-2 on the season for the ninth time in 35 seasons under head coach Denny Douds, the winningest coach in PSAC history. The Warriors are also looking to keep their NCAA Division II playoff hopes alive, entering this weekend ranked ninth in Super Regional 1, with the top six schools earning a trip to the postseason.

Radio Coverage
Radio: Live on WVPO 840 AM and redzonemedia.com. Chuck Seese is in his 20th season as the voice of the Warriors, with Bob Brittain providing the color commentary. Pre-game begins at 1:00 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT: R-Sr. QB Tim Roken hit R-Sr. WR Doug Ogden for a 63-yard touchdown on the final offensive play of the first half to close a 35-point second quarter that propelled ESU to a 48-42 win at C.W. Post. The Warriors trailed 14-3 before putting five touchdowns on the board to take a 38-21 halftime lead, and held a 10-minute advantage in time of possession in the second half to seal the victory.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: Ogden and R-So. OLB Matt Freed swept the PSAC East weekly awards for ESU on Sunday. Ogden had eight catches for 194 yards and a touchdown, the top game for a PSAC wide receiver this year, and Freed had 10 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble, and a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown in less than a half of action. Freed was honored for the second time this season, also earning recognition from the PSAC and d2football.com for his 15 tackle, two sack, two interception day vs. Gannon.

THE SERIES: ESU had won six straight games over the Marauders before last year's 36-24 loss in the PSAC East opener. The schools have played every season since 1948 with the exception of a cancelled game in 1955, making it the second-longest continous series behind West Chester, which has continued uninterrupted since 1946. The Warriors hold a 34-24-1 in the all-time series and have won the last four meetings at Biemesderfer Stadium.

THE HEAD COACHES: Denny Douds (Slippery Rock '63) holds the PSAC record for career wins with a 216-142-3 record in his 35th season as head football coach at ESU. Douds is in his 43rd season at ESU overall and is one of four active coaches in Division II, and one of just 11 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.

Greg Colby (Illinois '75) is in his first season as a collegiate head coach after spending 34 years in the coaching profession, including 25 at the college level. He was defensive coordinator at Northwestern University for six years and helped the Wildcats make bowl appearances in 2003 and 2005. He has also coached at Kent State, Michigan State and Illinois and won two state titles at the high school level.

DOUDS MILESTONES: The milestones continue to add up for ESU head coach Denny Douds. This week the winningest coach in PSAC history looks for his 100th win on the road, entering today's game with a 99-82-3 record away from home. The Warriors' 48-42 victory at C.W. Post gave Douds 216 career wins, exactly half of the 432 wins in the 81-year history of the program. ESU enters today's game with an all-time record of 432-278-19 (.605). Earlier this season, the Warriors' head coach became the PSAC's career leader in victories when he won his 213th game, 44-41 (OT) vs. Shippensburg. The following week against Cheyney, he coached his 200th game against the PSAC East.

SENIOR DAY: Twelve of the Warriors' 15 seniors started ESU's final home game vs. Kutztown, and all 15 saw significant action. Ten members of ESU's senior class were members on the 2005 Northeast Region championship team that finished with an 11-3 record and played in the Division II semifinals - OL David Biever, WR Doug Ogden, OLB David Pacchioni, TB Joe Partridge, FB Jesse Reider, LB Fred Rice, QB Tim Roken, DL Jeff Shrive, WR Drew Stem and LB Steve Van Alstine. Another five players - OL Ryan Ehrie, P Nick Krut, DB Lionel Mitchell, DL Miguel Rivera and OL Keith Weaver - have since joined the program. In the last three-plus seasons, ESU has a 28-15 record and is 14-9 in PSAC East contests.

REGIONAL RANKINGS: ESU dropped one spot to No. 9 in the fourth set of rankings for Super Regional 1 (formerly the Northeast Region) which were released on Monday. The Warriors were No. 8 in the initial rankings and rose to No. 7 before dropping the last two weeks. Six schools will be selected for the NCAA Division II playoffs in each of the country's four regions. Earned access will be given to a school if it is among the top eight in the region and the only representative of its conference, with the regional rankings filling the remainder of the playoff field.

NATIONAL LEADER: Sr. P Nick Krut leads Division II in punting with a 45.7-yard average, and ESU is second in the country in net punting at 39.0 yards per punt. Krut was first team All-PSAC East last season, finishing second in the conference with a 40.7-yard average. He is on pace to shatter Jim Villani's 30-year old school record of a 40.5-yard career average, entering this week's game with a 42.0-yard average on 112 punts. He has 21 punts of 50+ yards and 35 inside the 20-yard line. His senior season season includes:

* the top single-game performance in Division II (min. 2 punts) with a 57.5-yd avg. at Clarion, including kicks of 59, 61 and 63 yards
* a punt of at least 60 yards in six of the Warriors' nine games this season
* a career-long 73-yard punt that rolled into the end zone vs. Kutztown
* a 67-yard punt that was downed at the five-yard line vs. West Chester
* a 57-yard punt that was downed at the two-yard line and two others downed inside the 10-yard line at Bloomsburg

ESU has finished in the top 10 in net punting each of the last four years and led the nation in 2004.

FREED FIFTH IN THE NATION: R-So. OLB Matt Freed leads the PSAC and is tied for fifth in Division II with 11.7 tackles per game this season. He has led ESU in tackles in eight of the first nine games, including a career-high 16 tackles vs. West Chester. He was the d2football.com Defensive Player of the Week following his 15 tackle, two sack, two interception performance against Gannon, and also earned PSAC East recognition last week with 10 tackles, a sack and forced fumble, and a 30-yard interception return for a TD.

Last week, Freed became the third ESU player since 2000 to record at least 100 tackles in a season, surpassing the mark in the ninth game of the year. Fred Rice (132) and John Vetter (119) both accomplished the feat during a 14-game season in 2005. Kevin Nagle, a four-time All-PSAC East first team selection and two-time PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year, surpassed the 100-tackle mark in 1998, 1999 and 2000.

HITTING THE ROAD: The Warriors' stretch of three straight road games to finish the regular season is nearly unprecedented, occuring only three other times in school history - 1926, 1929 and 1945. ESU has played three consecutive home games to end the regular season only twice, in 1927 and 1976.

IN THE RED ZONE: The ESU offense has been perfect in the red zone in PSAC East games this season, scoring on all 28 trips inside the opponents' 20-yard line, and is 36-of-38 on the year. The only two times the Warriors' have been stopped this season were on turnovers on downs vs. Virginia Union. The Warriors have scored 17 rushing TDs and nine passing TDs, and Jr. K Greg Knauss has made 10 field goals. Defensively, ESU is second in PSAC East games in yielding points in the red zone, giving up scores on just 12 of its opponents' 18 opportunities.

THIRD DOWN SUCCESS: The Warriors rank third in third down offense (45.7 percent) and fourth in third down defense (32.1 percent) this season. Offensively, ESU has converted at least half of its chances four times this year, including last week's 8-for-16 performance at C.W. Post. On the defensive side, five of the Warriors' nine opponents have converted less than 20 percent of their third down chances.

GONE WITH THE WIND: Last week's 90-point combined scoring output at C.W. Post came in some adverse weather conditions, with a gusting 30 mile per hour wind playing a significant role in the game. Only 20 points were scored going into the wind, but included two field goals from Jr. K Greg Knauss - 22 yards in the 1st quarter and 34 yards in the 3rd quarter. ESU held the ball for 11:11 in the 3rd quarter, running on 16 of its 20 plays, to keep the ball from the Pioneers' offense with the wind at their backs.

20-PLUS CLUB: R-Sr. WR Doug Ogden is averaging 20.8 yards per catch after last week's eight catch, 194 yard effort that included four plays of 25 yards or more. He is in the exclusive company of nine other Warriors wide receivers who have averaged at least 20 yards per reception (min. 20 rec. / 500 yds.) since 1980. The school record of 30.3 yards per catch was set by Tim Bishop (18 rec., 546 yds.) in 1983.

BALANCING ACT: The Warriors' receiving corps has five players with at least 20 catches compares favorably with the receivers on the 1996 and 2005 teams, which helped quarterbacks Damian Poalucci and Jimmy Terwilliger set NCAA Division II passing records. While it appears no player will approach 50 receptions this season, all five wide receivers have at least 296 yards, and four are averaging at least 15 yards per catch.

FIVE BY FIVE: All five wide receivers caught at least five passes in ESU's comeback win over Shippensburg, led by R-Sr. Doug Ogden (8-163) and R-Jr. Sam Shuman (6-111). R-Sr. QB Tim Roken's 31 completions were fifth-most in school history in a single game.

THROWIN' WITH ROKEN: R-Sr. QB Tim Roken is one of three quarterbacks in Division II with two 400-yard passing games this year, going 24-of-33 for 420 yards and 5 TDs at Clarion and 31-of-59 for 414 yards and 1 TD vs. Shippensburg. He had his third 300-yard passing game of the season and the fourth of his career last week at C.W. Post, going 19-of-30 for 343 yards and two touchdowns.

Roken leads the PSAC in passing yardage (252.2 yards per game) and is second in total offense (261.8 yards per game) entering this week's contest. He has thrown for 2,018 yards this season, becoming the seventh quarterback (and 14th 2,000-yard season) to surpass the mark in school history.

This season, Roken has:
* been named PSAC East Offensive Player of the Week following the win at Clarion (6 TD - 5 pass, 1 run)
* set ESU's single-game record for passing attempts with 59 vs. Shippensburg
* two games with 400 yards of total offense - 435 at Clarion; 424 vs. Shippensburg
* matched Jimmy Terwilliger with two career 400-yard passing games
* become the second ESU QB to have consecutive 400-yard passing games (Damian Poalucci, 1996)
* had the fourth-highest two-game passing yardage total in school history

ROKEN IN 2007: Threw for 1,765 yards with 15 TD and seven interceptions in seven starts ... ranked second in the PSAC in total offense (269.0 ypg) and third in passing (252.1 ypg) ... had at least 200 yards passing in six starts and closed the year with a season-high 312 yards in a comeback win at Kutztown.

THE RUNNING GAME: The Warriors have run for 155.5 yards per game over the last two weeks (160 vs. Kutztown, 149 at C.W. Post) after averaging 99.1 yards per game through the first seven games. Last week, Sr. FB Jesse Reider had 21 carries for 76 yards and two touchdowns, all career-highs, after replacing R-Sr. TB Joe Partridge, who left due to injury in the second quarter.

Reider entered the game with 25 carries in his career, including eight carries for 74 yards and two TDs while playing fullback and tailback earlier in the season vs. Cheyney. Reider was ESU's Redshirt Award winner last season and has been a key contributor on special teams throughout his career, making 23 tackles. He has started nine career games at fullback.

Partridge had eight carries for 35 yards and a TD before leaving vs. C.W. Post. The previous week, he had 27 carries for 97 yards, nearly topping the 100-yard mark for the third time in his career. Partridge went over 1,500 career yards and has 1,573 yards, 17 touchdowns and is averaging 4.9 yards per carry as a two-year starter. He also has games of 78 yards (vs. Cheyney), 83 yards (vs. Gannon) and 91 yards (at Bloomsburg) this season.

As a junior, Partridge ran for 698 yards and seven touchdowns, including a school-record 284 yards and four TDs at Cheyney. He was second team All-PSAC East and was fifth in the PSAC with 87.2 yards per game.

FALLING FORWARD: Partridge has 320 carries in his career at ESU and has been hit for a loss only a handful of times, suffering only 23 yards worth of losses while gaining 1,573 yards in his four years with the Warriors.

CAREER-HIGH: R-Fr. TB Russell Johnson had the best game of his young career against Kutztown, carrying nine times for 51 yards and a touchdown. He started consecutive games against Clarion and Shippensburg and averaged just 2.7 yards per carry entering the game, but broke a career-long 26-yard run, caught a 17-yard pass and scored on a six-yard run against the Golden Bears.

LACE UP YOUR RUNNING SHOES: R-So. WRs Jeff Giglio and Ed Kiser both provide exceptional speed on the outside for the Warriors' offense. Giglio set school records in the 100m (10.6) and 200m (21.5) at Freedom High School in Bethlehem, while Kiser stars for the Warriors' track team. He holds the ESU record in the indoor 400m (49.49 seconds) and is a member of three school record relay teams.

IN THE FRONT ROW: ESU started the same five players on the offensive line through the first six games before making its first change of the season at Bloomsburg when R-Jr. RG Morgan Thomas was held out due to injury. Thomas had started all 26 games of his career at ESU before missing the Bloomsburg game. Sr. David Biever, who started nine games at guard in 2006, started in place of Thomas. The Warriors used four different combinations last season.

Three Warriors have made their first career starts on the offensive line this season - Gr. LT Ryan Ehrie, Sr. LG Keith Weaver and R-Fr. C Dan Caffrey. On the right side, Thomas has 28 career starts and R-Jr. T Matthew Keller has 16 career starts, all at right tackle.

Ehrie is a graduate student in Education at ESU and transferred from Syracuse, where he was a letterwinner on the offensive line and majored in History and Political Science. Weaver is in his second year at ESU after playing at Lackawanna JC, and Caffrey was redshirted as a defensive lineman last fall.

THE HEAVY PACKAGE: ESU has shown great offensive versatility this season, often sending out five wide receivers on one play and then replacing them with tight ends and fullbacks on the next. Sr. OL David Biever (72) and Jr. OL Dan Finnegan (68) have reported as tackle eligible players and Biever started at tight end against Cheyney, along with R-So. FB Brent Jones, in front of Partridge and Reider. R-Jr. TE Willie Bell provides a pass catching element, with the four receptions for 61 yards.

KNAUSS KNOTES: Jr. K Greg Knauss, a first team All-PSAC East and second team All-Northeast Region selection last season, has made 10 of his last 14 field goals. Knauss was 2-of-4 last week, with his misses coming from 52 and 53 yards. He made a season-long 44-yard kick at the end of the first half the previous week vs. Kutztown. Knauss is 9-of-10 from inside 40 yards this season and 17-of-21 from that distance in his career. His 44-yard field goal at the end of the first half against Kutztown is his only from beyond 40 yards this season after going 4-of-5 from 40-49 yards a year ago.

Knauss has two game-winning field goals for the Warriors, making a 29-yarder in overtime against Shippensburg this season and a 40-yarder with 18 seconds left for a 24-23 win at Kutztown in the season finale last year. He also set two school records in 2007, with a 53-yarder vs. IUP and five field goals in a 30-15 loss at West Chester. Knauss was third in Division II with 1.4 field goals per game and was 13-of-19 a year ago.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Sr. WR Drew Stem is ESU's career leader in kick return average at 26.7 yards per return and had a career day returning punts vs. Kutztown, with seven returns for 108 yards. Stem averaged 143.2 all-purpose yards per game a year ago, including 268 yards vs. Millersville. He was a second team All-PSAC East selection at wide receiver last season.

BACK IN BUSINESS: Three of the Warrior's four linebackers were returning starters, with R-So. OLB Matt Freed, the nation's fifth-leading tackler, stepping into a starting role for the first time this year. R-Sr. ILB Steve Van Alstine (29 starts), R-Sr. OLB David Pacchioni (28 starts) and R-Sr. ILB Fred Rice (23 starts) give the Warriors a veteran linebacking corps that ranks among the best in the PSAC.

LOWERING THE BOOM: Fred "Boomer" Rice is fifth in the PSAC with 8.9 tackles per game (71 tackles) and hit double figures in tackles in the first four games this season - 11 vs. Virginia Union, 11 vs. Gannon, 12 at Clarion and 10 vs. Shippensburg. Rice has made 23 career starts for the Warriors but hadn't started since the first three games of the 2006 season before missing the rest of the year due to injury. He played behind PSAC East selections Jayson Frank and Dave Lotier last season. Rice started 12 games and led the Warriors with 132 tackles during his sophomore season in 2005.

VETERAN LEADERSHIP: Pacchioni and Van Alstine both have 50 tackles this season and were the Warriors' starting linebackers the last two seasons before Van Alstine moved inside this year. Van Alstine was ESU's leading returning tackler entering the season, with 53 stops in 2007, while Pacchioni is one of the most versatile defenders in the PSAC and had 47 tackles, 7.0 TFL and two interceptions last season. He has 3.5 sacks this season and sacked Bloomsburg quarterback Dan Latorre in the end zone for a safety two weeks ago.

THE NEXT GENERATION: A trio of freshmen linebackers (R-Fr. ILB Taylor Cave, Fr. ILB Mike Bergey and R-Fr. OLB Bryan Billger) saw significant action at C.W. Post with Rice out for the entire game and Freed missing the second half. Cave made his first career start and had five tackles, Bergey and four tackles, and Billger was in on three tackles for the Warriors defense. All three have played an integral role on special teams this season.

BREAK IT UP: So. CB David Castillo leads the PSAC and is tied for 11th in Division II with 1.4 pass breakups per game (two interceptions, 11 pass break-ups) this season. He broke up two passes in each of the last four games before last week and had an interception and knocked down a pass the previous week vs. Shippensburg. He has two of the Warriors' six interceptions this season and scored on a 64-yard interception return vs. Gannon. Castillo has made 14 straight starts since moving into the lineup midway through his freshman season.

THE SECONDARY: The ESU secondary returned four players with starting experience and added Sr. CB Lionel Mitchell, a transfer from Alabama. The son of former NFL running back Stump Mitchell, Lionel made 10 starts and had five career interceptions (including three for 131 yards in 2006) for the Crimson Tide. He has 33 tackles and three pass breakups this season. R-Fr. CB Shawnte Carroll made his first career start at Kutztown and had two pass break-ups last week at C.W. Post.

Jr. FS Nicholas Artinger has started eight games at safety (30 tackles, interception, four pass breakups) this season and also has eight career starts at cornerback. Jr. FS Mike Gnall made his first start of the season at Bloomsburg before being held out the last two week. Gnall made seven starts at safety as a sophomore.

GOING THE DISTANCE: R-Jr. DE Matthew Faas returned a fumbled snap on a field goal 75 yards for a touchdown vs. West Chester. The score was the first defensive fumble recovery for a touchdown for the Warriors since Phil DeCecco had a 43-yard return against Cheyney in 2002, a span of 66 games. Faas is tied for the PSAC lead with four fumble recoveries this season and set up ESU's first-quarter field goal with a fumble recovery last week at C.W. Post.

THE JERSEY BOYS: ESU has rotated three players at defensive end, all natives of the Garden State - R-Fr. Cody Berry (Woolwich Township, N.J./Kingsway), R-So. Jeff Case (Blairstown, N.J./North Warren) and R-Jr. Matthew Faas (Sea Girt, N.J./Wall). Faas has started all nine games and has 30 tackles (7.0 TFL) and two sacks along with his four fumble recoveries. Case has made eight starts and has 26 tackles (4.0 TFL), four pass deflections and his first sack of the season last week. Berry is tied for the team lead with four sacks as a freshman, and is second on the team with 7.5 tackles for a loss (26 total tackles).

THE PENNSYLVANIA BOYS: At defensive tackle, Sr. Miguel Rivera (Bethlehem/Freedom) is a three-year starter and was second team All-PSAC East last season. Rivera has 31 tackles, 4.5 TFL and a sack this season and is one of the top interior linemen in the PSAC. R-Sr. Jeff Shrive (Scranton/West Scranton) has made 18 straight starts and has 24 tackles (4.5 TFL) this year. R-Jr. Keith Galinsky (Carbondale/Lakeland) had six tackles in his first career start against Shippensburg.

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

Fr. OLB Sam Hull - father Chris was a four-year letterwinner at DE from 1984-87
R-So. QB Matt Marshall - father Brian was the Warriors' leading passer in 1981
Sr. WR Drew Stem - father Willard was an All-American safety in 1975 and inducted into the ESU Athletic Hall of Fame last year

Michael Falcone lettered at linebacker in 1973, his son Bryan earned three letters at linebacker from 2000-02
Steven Jackson was a three-year letterwinner 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
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

DIGGING THROUGH THE RECORD BOOK: ESU has produced a long line of record breaking quarterbacks, including Damian Poalucci, who set an NCAA Division II record with 3,831 passing yards in 1996, and Jimmy Terwilliger, who set 15 Division II records and tied the all-division record with 148 touchdown passes in his career from 2003-06.

It wouldn't appear that there are many passing records within reach, but R-Sr. Tim Roken and R-So. Matt Marshall both reached milestones this season. Roken tied Poalucci's mark with two straight 400-yard passing games against Clarion (420 yards) and Shippensburg (414 yards), and Marshall helped set another record in his first career start vs. Cheyney. He threw for 314 yards, marking the first time in school history two quarterbacks have thrown for at least 300 yards in consecutive weeks.

STARTING STRONG: The Warriors started the season with a 5-0 record, the fourth time they have won their first five games under head coach Denny Douds. ESU was also 5-0 in 1975, 1976 and 2004. The 1975 and 1976 teams won 19 straight games and had a combined 19-0-1 record, and the 2004 squad won the first seven contests on its way to a 10-2 record. The Warriors have won the first five games of the season 12 times in 81 years of varsity football.

PSAC PRESEASON POLL: ESU was picked to finish third in the 2008 PSAC East Coaches Poll, which was released at PSAC media day on August 4. The Warriors, who received one first place vote, were selected behind preseason favorite and defending PSAC East champion West Chester and runner-up Bloomsburg. Shippensburg was fourth, followed by C.W. Post, Kutztown, Millersville and Cheyney.

In the West, NCAA semifinalist California was picked to defend its title, followed by IUP, Edinboro and Slippery Rock. ESU is scheduled to play the Rock in the final game of the regular season. The Warriors' other two PSAC West crossover opponents, Clarion and Gannon, were picked sixth and seventh, respectively.

PSAC CHANGES: There are two major developments in the PSAC leading up to the 2008 season - the conference's expansion and the return of the "State Game" - as the conference celebrates 75 years since the first football championship was awarded in 1934. The Eastern and Western division champions played a state championship game from 1960 until 1987, and ESU participated nine times, posting a 5-2-2 record. The Warriors are 3-1-1 in the State Game under Denny Douds, winning outright state titles in 1975, 1978 and 1982, and tying for the crown in 1976.

The expansion of the conference to 16 members with the addition of Gannon and Mercyhurst to the PSAC West provides another storyline for the 2008 season. Shippensburg will switch divisions and compete in the PSAC East, and C.W. Post has joined the conference as an associate member in football and field hockey.

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. The Warriors have played three overtime games with Shippensburg, all at home, since playing the Raiders in the first overtime game in school history, a 34-33 loss in the NCAA Division II playoffs in 1991. ESU is 3-6 all-time in overtime contests.

NEW SURFACE: FieldTurf was installed at Eiler-Martin Stadium this summer, the latest phase in the renovation of the Warriors' major outdoor facility which has had an all-weather track and lights installed in the last two years. ESU debuted the new surface on Thursday, Aug. 28 with a men's soccer-football doubleheader, as the defending PSAC champion men's soccer team defeated Lincoln 12-0 and the football team knocked off No. 25 Virginia Union 14-11. The estimated total cost to turf the stadium and Whitenight Field was approximately $1.7 million. The university received a $300,000 Pennsylvania state challenge grant made possible by State Senator Bob Mellow and $150,000 was donated from the ESU Student Activity Association. The balance of the funds is being secured through other donations.

WARRIORS ON TV: ESU's first eight games, including all six home games, were televised in 2008. Blue Ridge TV-13 was in its 21st year televising ESU football and had live coverage of every game from Eiler-Martin Stadium. Veteran play-by-play man Chris Doty was joined in the booth by Jim Riley, along with Drenen Tucker on the sidelines. Additionally, four games were available statewide through an agreement with PA SPORTSfever TV - Sept. 13 at Clarion, Sept. 20 vs. Shippensburg, Oct. 11 at Bloomsburg and Oct. 18 vs. Kutztown.

WARRIORS ON RADIO: WVPO 840 AM has broadcast ESU football for 46 years, with Chuck Seese and Bob Brittain forming the broadcast team once again in 2008. Seese is in his 20th season as the voice of the Warriors on WVPO. WESS 90.3 FM, ESU's campus radio station, will also broadcast selected games.

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 199-95-1 (.676) 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.

RETURNING ALL-PSAC PLAYERS: The Warriors return six All-PSAC East selections for the 2008 season, including Jr. K Greg Knauss and Sr. P Nick Krut, who were both members of the first team. Also back are Sr. TB Joe Partridge, Jr. WR Sam Shuman, Sr. WR Drew Stem and Sr. DT Miguel Rivera.

WHO'S GONE: ESU graduated three All-PSAC East players in first team OL Mike Habel, first team LB Jayson Frank and second team LB Dave Lotier. Frank (93) and Lotier (80) led the team in tackles, and Frank was second in the PSAC. Other starters who departed are WR Jon Clouse, FB Joe Kircher, OL Michael Parshley, OL Thomas Sugden, DE Dave Iobst, CB Mike Gowen and LS Brock Williard.