Complete Game Notes (PDF) l PSAC Week 9 Notes


SATURDAY l 2:00 p.m. l REDMAN 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 (6-2, 5-2) travels to No. 6-ranked Bloomsburg (8-0, 7-0) as they continue a series that began in 1927, the Warriors' 2nd year of varsity football. Bloomsburg has won the last 8 games in the series since ESU's 52-39 win at Bloomsburg in the 2nd round of the 2005 NCAA DII Playoffs. BU has won 9 straight regular season meetings.

2 ESU head coach Denny Douds has faced the Huskies 41 times - almost 10 percent of his 426 games coached entering the weekend. Douds has coached more games than any active NCAA coach and last week passed Bear Bryant for 9th on the NCAA all-division list for games coached.
2a Douds has 250 career wins. He is 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.

3 ESU fell to Kutztown, 31-16, last week to put a damper on its PSAC East championship hopes. Bloomsburg can secure the PSAC East's spot in the State Game with a win in either of its last 2 divisional games against ESU or Lock Haven.

4 Last week's loss also ended ESU's 5-game winning streak - its longest single-season streak since going 5-0 to open 2008. It was the 12th single-season winning streak of 5 games under Douds, and the 5th streak of 5 wins since 2004.

5 ESU faces a ranked Bloomsburg team for the 12th time since 2000. BU has been ranked in the top 10 in each of the last 8 meetings.

6 ESU R-Jr. QB Matt Soltes - the PSAC leader in passing, total offense and pass efficiency - left last week's game vs. Kutztown due to injury on ESU's 1st possession of the 3rd quarter. Soltes is not listed in the Warriors' depth chart this week.

7 Soltes is the only QB in Division II to rank in the top 6 nationally in total offense (3rd - 381.8 ypg), passing yards (4th - 347.3 ypg) and pass efficiency (6th - 165.5). He is also t-1st with 32 total TD (30 passing, 2 rushing) and 2nd in TD passes (30). Among active DII players, he is 1st in career total offense per game (342.3), 2nd in career passing per game (298.1) and 2nd in career pass efficiency (163.7). Last week, he eclipsed the 3,000-yard mark for total offense for the 3rd straight year.

8 R-So. TB Robert Healy is the only player in college football with 500 yards both rushing (628) and receiving (521). He had a school-record streak of 12 straight games with 100 yards from scrimmage which came to an end last week. He ranks 16th in DII in yards from scrimmage (143.6) and has 11 TD (6 rushing, 5 receiving).

9 R-Jr. WR Jon Schnaars leads the PSAC with 11 receiving TD. He is one of 3 active Warriors with 1,000 career yards and 20 TD [1,638 yds, 20 TD], along with Sr. WR Dusty Reed (2,498 yds, 24 TD) and R-Sr. TE Steven Jones (1,376 yds, 20 TD)

10 The Warriors are 10-19 against AFCA ranked teams since 2000, and 1-8 against Top 10 teams. Their only Top-10 win came at #2 Bloomsburg in the 2005 NCAA Playoffs (52-39).


For more ... Complete Game Notes (PDF)

THE SERIES: ESU and Bloomsburg have played 78 times since their first meeting in 1927, tied with West Chester for ESU's most frequent opponent. The series is tied, 38-38-2. ESU won the only postseason meeting, 52-39 in the 2nd round of the 2005 NCAA Playoffs. That victory was ESU's most recent, with Bloomsburg winning the last 8 overall and last 9 regular season games since ESU's 30-24 win in 2004.
ESU is playing a ranked Bloomsburg team for the 12th time since 2000. This is the 8th time the Huskies have been ranked in the top 10. BU was No. 2 when ESU won 52-39 in the 2005 NCAA Playoff game.

5 TAKEAWAYS FROM 31-16 LOSS vs. KUTZTOWN
1. R-Jr. QB Matt Soltes left due to injury with 9:31 left in the 3rd quarter, with ESU trailing 17-9. The Warriors drove inside the Kutztown 10-yard line before Soltes was sacked, fumbled and injured on the play.
2. Soltes was 20-for-31 for 266 yards and a TD before departing. He was 15-24 for 210 yards and a TD in the 1st half.
3. R-Jr. WR Jon Schnaars had a TD catch for the 4th straight game, and the 7th time in 8 games. Schnaars leads the PSAC with 11 receiving TD this season.
4. ESU's negative 45 rushing yards are its fewest in 426 games under head coach Denny Douds.
5. Jr. WR Joe Welk had a 93-yard kick return TD in the 4th quarter. It was ESU's 2nd since 2002 and the Warriors' 11th under Douds (since 1974). Welk is 2nd in the PSAC in kick return average (29.4), coming on 11 returns.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR vs. BLOOMSBURG
1. Bloomsburg dominated West Chester on the scoreboard (41-10) and in total offense (553-284) in last week's win. The Huskies ran for 454 yards (269 yds, 4 TD by Eddie Mateo) and threw for 99 yards.
2. Bloomsburg's defense leads the PSAC in scoring defense (13.8 ppg) and total defense (304.9 ypg). The Huskies are 5th in rushing defense (107.5 ypg), 4th in passing yards allowed (197.4) and 2nd in pass efficiency (107.0).
3. Bloomsburg has led the PSAC in rushing in 7 of the last 10 years and is 3rd with 231.9 ypg in 2014.
4. Bloomsburg leads Division II in turnover margin ( 2.5), with 27 takeaways (14 Int, 13 FR) and just 7 giveaways. The Huskies forced 6 turnovers vs. West Chester and intercepted WCU's Sean McCartney 4 times.
5. ESU is playing an undefeated team (at least 5-0) for the 13th time under Douds. The last win came at Bloomsburg
(11-0) in the 2005 NCAA Playoff s (52-39). Others came in 1996 vs. IUP (5-0, 23-12) and 1979 vs. Millersville (6-0, 12-7).

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.

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 101-61 (.623) with a .500 record in 11 of 14 seasons.

DOUDS' FOES: Douds faces Bloomsburg's Paul Darragh for the 2nd time ... he has coached against 106 different head coaches in his career at ESU and is 70-36 against first-time foes ... he faced Cheyney's Anthony Johnson (W 49-21) on Oct. 11 and Kutztown's Jim Clements (L 31-16) on Oct. 25 ... he will face Brad Rzyczycki (Gannon) for the first time on Nov. 15 ... Douds faced Millersville's Gene Carpenter 27 times, and faced Danny Hale 26 times between his career at WCU and Bloom ... 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 466-309-19 (.598) record in its 87th year of varsity football. West Chester (566), IUP (526) and Slippery Rock (470) are the only other PSAC programs with at least 450 wins ... As head coach, Douds is responsible for 53.7 percent of the program's games (426 of 794), and 53.6 percent of its wins (250 of 466). Including 68 games and 45 wins as an assistant coach under Charlie Reese from 1966-73, he has coached in 494 of the 794 games (62.2 percent) and 295 of the 466 wins (63.3 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 - 37.4 ppg (5th in PSAC, 26th in DII)
Total Offense - 491.3 ypg (3rd in PSAC, 14th in DII)
Passing Offense - 355.1 ypg (1st in PSAC, 7th 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).

UNDER CENTER: R-So. QB Bruce Campbell is listed as ESU's starting QB this week after last week's injury to R-Jr. QB Matt Soltes, who has made 26 consecutive starts since week 4 of the 2012 season.

Campbell has played in 6 games in his career - 3 in 2013, and 3 in 2014. He attempted his first pass Sept. 27 vs. LHU:
5-for-12, 63 yards, 0 TD, 2 Int in 3 games this year
2-for-2, 33 yards vs. Lock Haven
1-for-4, 11 yards, Int vs. Cheyney
2-for-6, 19 yards, Int vs. Kutztown

ESU has had 31 starting QB in 41 years under head coach Denny Douds. First-time starters are 12-19 under Douds.
First-time starters to win on the road were:
1980 - Guy Braccia at Mansfield (28-17)
1993 - James Franklin at Kutztown (45-14)
2007 - Tim Roken at Lock Haven (58-13)

The most recent first-time starter to win his ESU debut was Ray Wagner (2011 vs. Pace, 56-14)

An ESU QB has thrown for 200 yards in his first career start 8 times under Douds:
429 - Damian Poalucci vs. AIC, 1995 (25-39, 429 yds, 4 TD)
375 - Ray Wagner vs. Pace, 2011 (13-20, 375 yds, 6 TD)
314 - Matt Marshall vs. Cheyney, 2008 (17-26, 314 yds, 3 TD, 1 Int)
260 - Tim Roken at Lock Haven, 2007 (17-31, 260 yds, 4 TD, 1 Int)
256 - Matt Soltes at Clarion, 2012 (17-32, 256 yds, 1 TD, 1 Int)
251 - Jimmy Terwilliger vs. Lenoir-Rhyne, 2003 (14-18, 251 yds, 4 TD)
234 - James Franklin at Kutztown, 1993 (15-25, 234 yds, 3 TD)
220 - Charlie Diskin vs. Montclair, 1983 (19-26, 220 yds, 1 TD, 3 Int)

R-Jr. QB Matt Soltes
1. Only returning Harlon Hill candidate in Super Region 1 - 3rd in DII in total offense (381.8), 4th in passing (347.2)
2. Only DII QB ranked in top 6 in pass efficiency (6th - 165.5), total offense and passing yards
3. T-1st in DII in total TD (32 - 30 passing, 2 rushing) and 2nd in passing TD (30)
4. 1st among active DII QB's in career total offense/game (342.3) - 9,928 yards in 29 games (26 starts)
5. Ranks 2nd in ESU history in career total offense and 7th in PSAC history
6. Career total offense (9,928 yards) - only 5 DII QB's have had 10,000 yards total offense in their first 3 years
7. 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 500 yards rushing (628), receiving (521)
2. 3rd in PSAC, 16th in DII in yards from scrimmage (143.6 ypg)
3. 117 rushing yards, 115 receiving yards at Millersville - 2nd ESU player with 100/100 under Douds (425 games)
4. 40 plays of 10 yards on 153 touches (21 rush, 19 rec)
5. 11 TD (6 rush, 5 rec) on 153 touches - 7 TD on 189 touches as a freshman
6. 100 yards from scrimmage in 16 of 19 career games at ESU (had 12 straight - school record)
7. 2013 PSAC East Freshman of the Year (ESU FR record 1,129 rushing yards, 1,333 yards from scrimmage)

R-Jr. WR Jon Schnaars
1. Leads PSAC with 11 receiving TD (8 TD in last 4 games)
2. Leads ESU with 48 catches and 608 yards
3. 14 catches (tied school record), 152 yards (career-high), 2 TD in 37-33 win at Shippensburg in week 5
4. Moving up ESU career charts in catches (18th - 115), receiving yards (21st - 1,638) and receiving TD (T-7th - 20)

SOLTES THROUGH 26 STARTS: R-Jr. QB Matt Soltes has made 26 career starts for the Warriors - including 7 as a redshirt freshman in 2012, and all 11 games in 2013.

In his 26 career starts, Soltes is averaging 368.7 yards of total offense, with 8,359 passing yards and 1,227 rushing yards. He is 548-for-900 passing with 84 TD and 22 Int., and has carried 260 times and scored 6 rushing TD.

SOLTES AMONG DII'S BEST: Soltes' career rankings among active DII quarterbacks:
Total Offense - 4th (9,928 yards) - 1st among DII juniors
Passing Yards - 5th (8,644 yards) - 1st among DII juniors
Passing TD - 2nd (85 TD) - 1st among DII juniors
Pass Efficiency - 2nd (163.7)
Total Offense/Game - 1st (342.3 ypg)
Passing Yards/Game - 2nd (298.1 ypg)
Total Offense/Play - 1st (8.3)

8,000 PASSING, 1,000 RUSHING: Soltes is one of 2 active DII QB's to throw for 8,000 yards and run for 1,000 yards:
8,644 pass yds; 1,284 rush yds - SOLTES
8,130 pass yds; 1,927 rush yds - Steven Laurino, LIU Post