With back-to-back 500-yard games, the fifth-year senior quarterback has done something no one else ever did in the PSAC.

By Jeff Schuler
Of The Morning Call
October 19, 2011

Related: ESU Game Notes vs. Millersville

Ray Wagner has erased any doubts anyone might have had about having enough game experience to run East Stroudsburg's offense this year.

The fifth-year senior quarterback, who had thrown just 63 passes over the past three years as backup to Tim Roken and Matt Marshall, has now done something none of his illustrious predecessors in ESU's long line of outstanding quarterbacks ever did — throw for 500 yards in back-to-back games.

Wagner threw for 503 yards in Saturday's loss to C.W. Post after throwing for 522 the previous week in a setback at Kutztown. He became the first player in PSAC history with back-to-back 500-yard passing games and the second in Division II to accomplish the feat since 2008.

Even with Wagner's gaudy statistics, however, the Warriors' 2011 season is following the exact same script that led to last year's 3-8 finish, with six straight losses following an opening-night rout of Pace heading into Saturday's game with Millersville.

"That's all cool but I'm not much of a numbers guy; I'm more of a letters guy," Wagner said. "I'd trade it all for a win any day. It's very frustrating, and we just have to keep plugging away and see if we can't change things around for the last four games."

Wagner joined former Warrior Damian Poalucci as the only quarterbacks in conference history with multiple 500-yard passing games in their careers. He now leads Division II in total offense and passing yards (381.0 yards a game) and with 2,667 yards already this season, is on the verge of becoming the 19th quarterback in PSAC history to reach the 3,000-yard mark in a season.

"I didn't have very high expectations for me individually, but with the entire offensive line and the receivers we have back, I knew we were going to put up some numbers," said Wagner, who is averaging 43 attempts a game.

By averaging 250 yards over the season's last four games, he would move into fourth on the conference's single-season chart behind two ex-Warriors — Jimmy Terwilliger (4,571 yards in 2005 and 3,826 yards in 2004) and Poalucci (3,831 in 1996).

"Maybe someday, if this keeps going, it'll be cool to look back on this," Wagner said. "But wins would have made everything a lot more worthwhile.

Bombs away: Wagner also leads Division II with a 16.2-yards-per-completion average, and his 16 touchdown passes this year have averaged 39.8 yards, including a school-record 97-yarder to redshirt sophomore Robert Bleiler against Pace.

The Warriors' top six receivers all average over 15 yards a catch, led by Jordan Hallman, who is averaging 25.5 yards on his 22 catches. The redshirt junior had five grabs for 239 yards — second-most in school history — Saturday, including touchdown receptions of 75 and 73 yards.

"He's really stepped up lately as the big-play guy," Wagner said of Hallman, who has 12 catches for 425 yards, a 35.4-yards-per-catch average, over the last three games.

ESU's top trio of sophomore Dusty Reed (105.9 ypg, 47 catches, 741 yards), Bleiler (88.0, 25 catches, 528 yards) and Hallman (80.1, 22 catches, 561 yards) ranks one-two-three in the PSAC East in receiving yards per game, and Reed is the only receiver in Division II with at least 80 yards in every game so far this season.

Stopping the Bullets: Gettysburg went into Saturday's game with Muhlenberg leading Division III in total offense (552 yards a game) and second in scoring (48 points a game), and with a streak of scoring 20 or more points in 27 straight games.

But the Mules held the Bullets to just 14 points, their lowest total since the 2008 opener, and under 400 yards for the first time in 12 games, although it wasn't enough to avoid a 14-10 loss that pretty much ends the Mules' postseason hopes.

The Mules forced five turnovers, blocked two field goals, and stopped a Hail Mary heave at the end of the first half at the Muhlenberg 1-yard line.

"We gave ourselves a chance to win by holding them to 14 points," Muhlenberg coach Mike Donnelly said.

Offensively, however, the Mules couldn't capitalize against a team giving up 42.2 points a game as quarterback Dan Deighan was intercepted twice and they came up empty on a first-and-goal from the Gettysburg 6 while trying to add to an early 10-0 lead.

"It was disappointing we couldn't give ourselves more of a cushion right here," Donnelly said.

The blustery winds were a major factor, Donnelly added. Muhlenberg scored all of its points with the wind at its back in the first quarter; Gettysburg got a 73-yard touchdown pass two plays into the second quarter, and scored the game-winner going into the wind in the third quarter.

"They did more against the wind in the third quarter than we did with the wind," Donnelly said.

Stepping up: Muhlenberg freshman receiver Tyler George has taken advantage of Isaiah Vaughn's absence (high ankle sprain) to establish himself.

The Meyerstown native had four catches for 50 yards against the Bullets, including his first touchdown, a 24-yarder, to cap the opening drive. The 6-foot-3, 188-pounder has 11 catches for 112 yards on the season, all in the last four games.

"He saw his first extended action [Saturday] and did very well," Donnelly said. "He's got a lot of potential and you'll be seeing more of him."

Bouncing back: Since enduring perhaps the worst day of his Kutztown career in a loss at Shippensburg, Golden Bear junior quarterback Kevin Morton has bounced back to complete 89 percent of his passes (42-for-47) over the last two games for 495 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions.

Saturday night, Morton completed 15 of 17 for 190 yards and four touchdowns while playing only the first two quarters of a 49-7 win at Millersville.

Kutztown, which goes to C.W. Post for a key PSAC East game Saturday, has scored 49 points in both games since a 49-7 loss at Shippensburg and is averaging 553.5 yards in the two games.

"I think everybody took that [loss] pretty personal," Kutztown coach Raymond Monica said.

Morton, who was 12 of 30 for 124 yards with four interceptions against Shippensburg, leads the PSAC with a 67.3 completion percentage and 23 TD passes. His rating of 167.0 is second to West Chester's Matt Carroll (174.6) in the conference.

Filling in: When turf toe forced Lehighton's Robbie Frey to sit out last week's game, Monica turned to Curtis Wortham to fill in, and the sophomore from Philadelphia responded with a career-high 199 yards and a touchdown on just 12 carries.

"Curtis has tremendous quickness and he's shifty," Monica said of the 5-foot-5, 153-pounder, who has 445 yards and a team-best 8.7-yard average per carry. "He hides behind the offensive line and just pops out of nowhere."

Monica said Frey "should be OK" for Saturday's trip to C.W. Post.

Greyhounds lose another QB: Already without starter Matt Johnson, Moravian lost back-up quarterback Robbie Moyer when he suffered what coach Jeff Pukszyn termed a "slight concussion" just before halftime of a 20-0 loss at Susquehanna Saturday.

"We'll find out later in the week if he's going to be able to go this weekend," Pukszyn said of the sophomore from East Stroudsburg South.

Pukszyn also said Johnson, who has missed three games with a concussion, will likely miss Saturday's game with Franklin & Marshall as well, opening the door for freshman Chris Souders to make his first career start against the Diplomats if Moyer's not available.

The 5-foot-10, 200-pound Hackettstown, N.J., native completed 3 of 12 passes for 58 yards after Moyer was knocked out late in the first half. Souders was also sacked eight times.

"They were putting a lot of pressure on him, which I would've done myself in the same situation," Pukszyn said. "That said, he handled himself well, and honestly did a good job with everything going on."