Complete Game Notes (PDF)  l  PSAC Week 7 Notes

SATURDAY l 2:00 p.m. l BIEMESDERFER STADIUM

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Radio: Live on WVPO (ESPN Poconos) 840 AM for the 52nd season, and redzonemedia.com. Chuck Seese, the 2009 PSAC Heaslip Media Award recipient, is in his 26th season as the voice of the Warriors, with Bob Brittain in his 14th year providing the color commentary. Pre-game begins at 1:30 p.m.

1st & 10 ... Complete Game Notes (PDF)

1 • ESU (5-1, 4-1) travels to Millersville (0-6, 0-5) as the two schools continue a series that began in 1948. ESU has won 11 of the last 13 meetings since 2001, including a 66-7 victory in 2013 at Eiler-Martin Stadium.

2 • ESU is seeking its first 5-game, single-season winning streak since opening the 2008 season with a 5-0 record. The Warriors compiled a 7-game winning streak spanning two seasons in 2008 (won last 4) and 2009 (won first 3).

3 • ESU head coach Denny Douds has 249 career wins, tied with Lou Holtz for 20th on the NCAA all-division list. Douds is one victory from becoming the 20th coach in NCAA history, and 3rd in DII history, to win 250 career games. He also ranks 3rd among active NCAA coaches in career wins.
3a • Douds will tie Bear Bryant for 9th on the NCAA all-division list for games coached (425). He entered the top 10 in NCAA history (422) on Sept. 27 in a 48-21 win over Lock Haven.

4 • ESU can secure a winning season - its 12th in 15 years since 2000 - with a victory on Saturday. Douds has posted a .500 or better record in 27 of his 40 seasons at ESU since 1974.

5 • R-Jr. QB Matt Soltes leads the PSAC and ranks 3rd in Division II in passing (359.7 ypg) and total offense (404.2 ypg). He is also t-1st with 26 total TD (24 passing, 2 rushing) and 2nd in TD passes (24). Among active DII players, he is 1st in career total offense per game (344.4), 2nd in career passing per game (297.2) and 3rd in TD passes (79).

6 • Soltes had a career-best 278.7 pass efficiency rating in last week's 49-21 win vs. Cheyney, going 12-for-18 for 258 yards and 5 TD. The QB rating ranks 4th in school history.

7 • R-So. TB Robert Healy is the only player in college football with 300 yards both rushing (501) and receiving (381). He has 11 straight games with 100 yards from scrimmage, a school record, including 98 yards (2 TD) rushing and 48 yards (TD) receiving last week vs. Cheyney. He ranks 13th in DII in yards from scrimmage (147.0 ypg) and has 10 TD (6 rushing, 4 receiving) on 109 touches.

8 • R-Sr. DE Brandon Gattelli leads the PSAC and is t-2nd in DII with 8.5 sacks after a career-high 2.5 sacks vs. Cheyney. He is 2nd among active PSAC players and 7th among active DII players with 22.5 career sacks. Gattelli and R-Sr. DL Bryan Thomson (19.5) are the only teammates in DII's active career top 10.
8a • ESU leads the PSAC and is t-3rd in DII with 4.0 sacks per game (24 in 6 games). The Warriors have 5 sacks in each of the last 3 games.

9 • Jr. CB Teron Dobbs continues to lead the PSAC with 5 interceptions. His 13 career interceptions are t-2nd among active DII players. He is also averaging 18.2 yards on 6 punt returns.

10 • Sr. P Jordan Bair leads the PSAC and ranks 7th in DII in punting average (43.9). He has 8 punts of 50+ yards on 26 punts this season. He has averaged better than 44.5 yards per punt over each of the last 3 games.


For more ... Complete Game Notes (PDF)

THE SERIES: ESU holds a 39-25-1 advantage in 65 meetings with Millersville, including a 66-7 win at ESU in 2013. ESU has won 11 of 13 since 2001 after Millersville held a 14-2-1 advantage from 1984-2000. ESU has scored 60+ points in 3 of the last 4 games, and 40+ in 5 of the last 6. The two schools have played every season since 1948, with the exception of a canceled game in 1955. Greg Breitbach, in his 2nd season, is the Marauders' 4th head coach in the last 14 years after 31 years under Gene Carpenter.

5 TAKEAWAYS FROM 49-21 WIN vs. CHEYNEY
1. R-Jr. QB Matt Soltes was 12-for-18 for 258 yards and 5 TD - including 11-for-16 for 206 yards and 5 TD in the 1st half. His 278.7 pass efficiency rating was the 4th-highest single-game mark in school history.
2. Soltes threw 5+ TD passes for the 6th time in 24 starts. He had 5 TD passes in the 1st half for the 2nd time (2013 vs. Millersville).
3. R-So. TB Robert Healy scored 3 TD on 11 touches, gaining 146 yards from scrimmage. Healy has 10 TD (6 rushing, 4 receiving) on 109 touches in 2014 after scoring 7 TD on 189 touches in 2013. He has 17 career TD in 17 games.
4. ESU ran just 43 offensive plays, tied for the fewest under Douds (1974 vs. Slippery Rock - 1st career game). The Warriors gained 410 yards and scored TD's on 7 of their first 9 possessions.
5. R-Sr. DE Brandon Gattelli (2.5 sacks) spearheaded a defense that had 5 sacks for the 3rd straight game.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR vs. MILLERSVILLE
1. ESU has the PSAC's No. 1-ranked pass offense (367.0 ypg - 5th in DII), No. 2 total offense (528.0 ypg - 7th in DII) and No. 3 scoring offense (41.3 ppg - 18th in DII).
2. Millersville ranks 16th in the PSAC in 3 major defensive categories - scoring (50.7), rushing (283.3) and total (495.8).
3. ESU ranks 9th in DII in offensive pass efficiency (163.4). Millersville is 155th in defensive pass efficiency (156.9).
4. ESU built a 54-0 halftime lead and led 60-0 in the 3rd quarter of last year's 66-7 victory. The Warriors have scored 60+ points in 3 of the last 4 meetings against Millersville:
ESU since 2010 - 55.0 points and 521.0 yards (208.0 rushing, 313.0 passing)
Mill since 2010 - 16.5 points and 254.8 yards (128.3 rushing, 126.5 passing)
5. In last year's win, QB Matt Soltes was 13-for-22 for 197 yards and 6 TD, and TB Robert Healy ran for 158 yards. Healy scored on a 58-yard TD rush on the 1st play from scrimmage.

PSAC CHANGES: PSAC crossover games vs. Slippery Rock (Sept. 13) and Edinboro (Sept. 20) counted towards the PSAC's divisional standings for the first time in 2014, creating a 9-game PSAC schedule. The final crossover game (Nov. 15 vs. Gannon) will not count. The State Game, in its 7th year after returning in 2008, will be played that weekend.

DOUDS' MILESTONES: Last year, Douds became the 13th man to reach 40 seasons as head coach in NCAA football history, the 9th to coach 40 years at one school, and the 5th to spend all of his 40+ year career at the same institution. He joins Eddie Robinson (Grambling, 1941-42, 45-97), John E. Dorman (Upper Iowa, 1905-06, 09-42, 45-59), Joe Paterno (Penn State, 1966-2011) and Jim Malosky (Minn.-Duluth, 1958-97).

Entering this week: has coached more games (424) than any active coach in NCAA football ... ranks 1st in DII history in games coached (set in 2011), and 10th in NCAA history ... 3rd in career wins (249) among active NCAA coaches ... 1st in the PSAC in career wins (set in 2008), 3rd in DII history and t-20th in NCAA history ... 50 career wins since turning 65 - more than 10 of the other 15 PSAC coaches have in their careers.

DOUDS DWARFS PSAC EAST: Douds' 244 career wins entering 2014 were almost double the PSAC win total (130) of the other 7 coaches in the PSAC East - WCU's Bill Zwaan (90), Ship's Mark Maciejewski (25), Bloom's Paul Darragh (10), LHU's John Allen (4), Mill's Greg Breitbach (1) and Cheyney's Anthony Johnson and KU's Jim Clements (0) ... Douds coached 40 seasons in the PSAC entering 2014 (other 7 - combined 19).

THE HEAD COACHES: Denny Douds (Slippery Rock '63) has a career record of 249-172-3 (.591) in his 41st season. He is in his 49th season at ESU overall, including 8 years as an assistant coach from 1966-73. He has led the Warriors to 9 PSAC titles and 4 NCAA Playoff appearances since taking over as head coach in 1974. His teams won outright state titles in 1975, 1978 and 1982 before the State Game was discontinued following the 1987 season. His teams have claimed PSAC East divisional titles in 1975, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1991, 2002 and 2003. NCAA Playoff appearances have come in 1991, 2004, 2005 - when the Warriors won the Northeast Region title and advanced to the national semifinals - and 2009.

Greg Breitbach (Montana-Western '94) has a career record of 1-16 in his 2nd season at Millersville. The Marauders beat Cheyney, 30-12, for their only win in 2013. He took over for Greg Colby (11-44 in 5 years) prior to the 2013 season. He was formerly offensive coordinator at North Dakota for 5 years. In 7 total years at UND, he helped the Bison post a 49-30 record, including 2 NCAA Division II Playoff appearances (2006-07) before transitioning to DI FCS. He has also coached at Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Lewis & Clark and alma mater Montana-Western.

TRENDING UP: ESU notched a 7-4 record in 2013, building on a 5-5 campaign in 2012 after consecutive 3-8 seasons in 2010 and 2011. Since 2000, the Warriors are 100-60 (.625) with a .500+ record in 11 of 14 seasons.

PRESEASON POLLS: ESU was picked 2nd in the PSAC East preseason poll behind defending regional champion West Chester - the highest the Warriors have been picked since they were the preseason favorite in 2005 ... ESU was 4-3 in the PSAC East in 2012 and 2013, and is seeking its 1st divisional title since 2002 and 2003 ... ESU received votes in the AFCA DII preseason poll - the 5th time in the last 10 years it has been ranked or received votes in the preseason poll.

DOUDS' FOES: Douds has coached against 105 different head coaches in his career at ESU and is 70-35 against first-time foes ... he faced Cheyney's Anthony Johnson (W 49-21) on Oct. 11 and will also face Jim Clements (Kutztown) and Brad Rzyczycki (Gannon) for the first time this fall ... Douds faced Millersville's Gene Carpenter 27 times, and faced Danny Hale 26 times between his career at West Chester and Bloomsburg ... Among active coaches, his most frequent opponents are WCU's Bill Zwaan (12), SRU's George Mihalik (9) and LIU Post's Bryan Collins (9).

PROGRAM WINS: ESU has a 465-308-19 (.599) record in its 87th year of varsity football. West Chester (565), IUP (526) and Slippery Rock (469) are the only other PSAC programs with at least 450 wins.

As head coach, Douds is responsible for 53.5 percent of the program's games (424 of 792), and 53.5 percent of its wins (249 of 465). Including 68 games and 45 wins as an assistant coach under Charlie Reese from 1966-73, he has coached in 492 of the 792 games (62.1 percent) and 294 of the 465 wins (63.2 percent) in program history. There have been at least 4 head coaches at every other PSAC school since Douds was named head coach in 1974.

RETURNING ALL-PSAC EAST: ESU has 7 players who have earned All-PSAC East status in their careers:
QB - R-Jr. Matt Soltes (2013 2nd team, 2012 Freshman of the Year)
TB - R-So. Robert Healy (2013 2nd team, 2013 Freshman of the Year)
WR - Sr. Dusty Reed (2011 and 2012 1st team)
TE - R-Sr. Steven Jones (2013 1st team)
DL - R-Sr. Bryan Thomson (2012 and 2013 1st team, 2012 Defensive Player of the Year)
LB - Sr. Cody Simcox (2013 2nd team)
P - Sr. Jordan Bair (2013 2nd team)

THE OFFENSE

PSAC and NCAA DII rankings:
Scoring (41.3 ppg) - 3rd in PSAC, 18th in DII
Total Offense (528.0 ypg) - 2nd in PSAC, 7th in DII
Passing Offense (367.0 ypg) - 1st in PSAC, 5th in DII

In the 2013 DII rankings, ESU was 7th in total offense (508.1), 11th in passing (318.6) and 12th in scoring (40.8 ppg).

1ST AND 10: ESU is averaging 25.5 1st downs per game - just off its school record of 25.6 in 2013.

On 1st down plays this year ...
R-Jr. QB Matt Soltes: 177.9 pass efficiency rating (69-for-110; 1,093 yds; 13 TD, 4 Int.)
R-So. TB Robert Healy: 7.8 yds per touch (71 plays, 554 yds) ... 7.5 avg rushing (51-382) ... 8.6 avg receiving (20-172)

R-Jr. QB Matt Soltes
1. Only returning Harlon Hill candidate in Super Region 1 - 3rd in DII in total offense (404.2), 3rd in passing (359.7)
2. T-1st in DII in total TD (26 - 24 passing, 2 rushing) and 2nd in passing TD (24)
3. Among 41 DII QB's with 20.0 completions/game - ranks 1st in yds per completion (15.9), 2nd in yds per att (9.4)
4. Among top 10 passing QB's in DII - ranks 1st with 267 rushing yards
5. 1st among active DII QB's in career total offense/game (344.4) - 9,299 yards in 27 games (24 starts)
6. Ranks 2nd in ESU history in career total offense and 10th in PSAC history
7. Has the top 8 total offense performances among active PSAC QB's (all 450+ yards)
8. PSAC-record 5 games with 500+ yards total offense - t-1st in DII since 2001 (Bo Cordell, Tusculum, 2009-13)

R-So. TB Robert Healy
1. Only player in NCAA with 300+ yards rushing (501), receiving (381)
2. 3rd in PSAC, 13th in DII in yards from scrimmage (147.0 ypg)
3. 33 plays of 10+ yards on 109 touches (19 rush, 14 rec)
4. 10 TD (6 rush, 4 rec) on 109 touches - 7 TD on 189 touches as a freshman
5. 100+ yards from scrimmage in 15 of 17 career games at ESU (11 straight - school record)
6. 2013 PSAC East Freshman of the Year (ESU FR record 1,129 rushing yards, 1,333 yards from scrimmage)

Sr. WR Dusty Reed
1. 2nd among active PSAC players in career receiving yards (2,421), 3rd in receptions (158)
2. 5th at ESU in career receptions, 7th in yards, 5th in TD (24)
3. 9 career 100-yard receiving games - t-3rd at ESU behind Evan Prall (22) and Tim Strenfel (16)
4. Looking to become 1st ESU WR to be named 1st team All-PSAC East 3 times in his career

SOLTES THROUGH 24 STARTS: R-Jr. QB Matt Soltes has made 24 career starts for the Warriors - including 7 as a redshirt freshman in 2012, and all 11 games in 2013.

In his 24 career starts, Soltes is averaging 373.2 yards of total offense, with 7,739 passing yards and 1,218 rushing yards. He is 504-for-830 passing with 78 TD and 21 Int., and has carried 239 times and scored 6 rushing TD.

SOLTES AMONG DII'S BEST: Soltes' career rankings among active DII quarterbacks:
Total Offense - 3rd (9,299 yards) - 1st among DII juniors
Passing Yards - 5th (8,024 yards) - 1st among DII juniors
Passing TD - 3rd (79 TD) - 1st among DII juniors
Pass Efficiency - 2nd (163.8)
Total Offense/Game - 1st (344.4 ypg)
Passing Yards/Game - 2nd (297.2 ypg)
Total Offense/Play - 1st (8.4)

8,000 PASSING, 1,000 RUSHING: Soltes is the only active DII QB to throw for 8,000 yards and run for 1,000 yards:
• 8,024 pass yds; 1,275 rush yds