Complete Game Notes (PDF) l PSAC Week 5 Notes

SATURDAY l 12:00 p.m. l SETH GROVE 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 11:30 A.m.


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

1 - ESU (3-1, 2-1) travels to Shippensburg (2-2, 1-2) for the 50th meeting between the two schools, and the 7th since Ship moved to the PSAC East in 2008. The Warriors have won 2 straight, while the Red Raiders are coming off consecutive losses for the 1st time since the first 2 games of 2013.

2 - ESU head coach Denny Douds entered the top 10 in NCAA history in career games coached in last week's 48-21 win vs. Lock Haven. Douds has coached 422 games and has 247 wins, a PSAC record which ranks 3rd among active NCAA coaches and also 3rd in DII history.

3 - Douds faces Shippensburg head coach Mark Maciejewski for the 4th time. A 1992 Ship grad, Maciejewski was an AP Little All-America defensive tackle in the 1991 NCAA Playoff game between the two schools at Eiler-Martin Stadium won by Ship, 34-33 (OT). That game was Douds' 183rd at ESU - this weekend marks his 423rd.

4 - ESU is looking for its first win over Shippensburg since a 44-41 (OT) win in 2008, when Douds set the PSAC record with his 213th career victory. The Red Raiders have won 5 straight against ESU and 3 straight at Seth Grove Stadium. ESU's last win at Ship came in 2002 (W 23-21).

5 - This marks ESU's 2nd straight trip to Ship. Last fall, Ship outscored the Warriors 21-14 in the 4th quarter for a 41-31 win. R-Jr. QB Matt Soltes gained 376 total yards (259 passing, 117 rushing) and R-So. TB Robert Healy had 226 yards from scrimmage (career-high 189 rushing) in the loss.

6 - Two of the PSAC's top offenses will be on display on Saturday. Here's the breakdown:
Scoring
ESU - 40.5 ppg (5th PSAC, 26th DII)
Ship - 41.5 ppg (4th PSAC, 22nd DII)
Total Offense
ESU - 532.3 ppg (3rd PSAC, 11th DII)
Ship - 542.5 ypg (2nd PSAC, 8th DII)
Passing
ESU - 379.3 ypg (1st PSAC, 3rd DII)
Ship - 339.5 ypg (2nd PSAC, 10th DII)

7 - The PSAC leaders in total offense will be on display as well:
ESU - Matt Soltes (406.8 ypg - 1st PSAC, 3rd DII)
Ship - Chris Lawshe (328.0 ypg - 2nd PSAC, 12th DII)
7a Soltes also leads the PSAC and ranks 3rd in DII in passing (371.0 ypg). His 1,484 passing yards and 1,627 total yards through 4 games are both the most in ESU history.

8 - R-So. TB Robert Healy is the only player in DII with more than 250 yards rushing (314) and receiving (281). He has a school-record 9 straight games with 100 yards from scrimmage.

9 - Ship Sr. WR Trevor Harman set the PSAC record last week for career receptions (264), ranks 3rd in yards (3,731) and 2nd in TD (55). He leads the PSAC in receptions (10.3/game) and ranks 3rd in yards (107.3 ypg), and Jr. WR Sheldon Mayer leads the PSAC (10th in DII) with 121.8 ypg.

10 - ESU is tied for the PSAC lead with 3.5 sacks per game, and R-Sr. DE Brandon Gattelli and R-Sr. DL Bryan Thomson both have 18 career sacks.


For more ... Complete Game Notes (PDF)

THE SERIES: Shippensburg holds a 30-17-2 lead entering the 50th meeting and is one of just five PSAC programs to have a winning record against ESU, along with IUP (10-6), Slippery Rock (12-3), West Chester (56-22) and Mercyhurst (2-0). Douds is 3-12-1 vs. Ship in his career, posting wins in 1990, 2002 and 2008. Ship holds a 5-1 series lead since moving to the PSAC East in 2008. Three of ESU's 10 overtime games have come against Shippensburg, including the first-ever in the 1991 NCAA Playoffs. Five of the 10 meetings since 2000 have been decided by 5 points or less, but Ship has won the last 3 by 82 combined points.

5 TAKEAWAYS FROM 48-21 WIN vs. LOCK HAVEN
1. R-Jr. QB Matt Soltes (21-for-32, 301 yards, 4 TD) moved into 2nd at ESU with 70 career TD passes and 76 total TD (passing rushing). He has 15 TD passes this year, t-2nd in DII, and is responsible for 17 total TD, 4th in DII.
2. R-So. TB Robert Healy had 15 carries for 117 yards and 2 catches for 26 yards, all in the 1st half. Healy gained 100 yards from scrimmage for the 9th straight game, extending his school record, and the 13th time in 15 career games.
3. ESU scored 41 consecutive points in the 1st half - the 25th time the Warriors have scored 40 straight points under Douds, and the 16th time since 2000.
4. R-Sr. TE Steven Jones had a career-high 7 catches for 92 yards and 2 TD, his first 2 of the season. Jones is 2nd among DII tight ends in receiving yards (74.2 ypg) and has 17 career TD.
5. ESU had 5 sacks vs. LHU. The Warriors are tied for 1st in the PSAC with 3.5 sacks per game.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR vs. SHIPPENSBURG
1. ESU pass offense vs. Ship:
ESU ranks 1st in PSAC (3rd DII) with 379.3 ypg ... Ship ranks 16th in PSAC (163rd DII) in pass defense with 335.3 ypg
Shippensburg has allowed 9 TD passes and has just 1 interception in its first 4 games.
2. Ship rush offense vs. ESU:
Ship ranks 3rd in PSAC (41st DII) with 203.0 ypg ... ESU ranks 15th in PSAC (152nd DII) in rush defense with 218.5 ypg
3. Ship Jr. QB Chris Lawshe apprenticed for 2 years behind Zach Zulli, the 2012 Harlon Hill Award winner. In last year's 41-31 loss at Ship, Lawshe was 1-1 for 13 yards, and ran 8 times for 97 yards, including a 67-yard TD in the 4th quarter.
4. In 3 games against ESU, Ship All-America WR Trevor Harman has 19 catches, 337 yards and 5 TD:
2011 - 5 catches, 68 yards, TD ... 2012 - 7 catches, 118 yards, TD ... 2013 - 6 catches, 151 yards, 3 TD
5. In ESU's 63-21 loss to Ship in 2012, Sr. WR Dusty Reed had 11 catches for 198 yards (career-high) and a TD.

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 (422) than any active coach in NCAA football ... ranks 1st in DII history in games coached (set in 2011), and t-10th in NCAA history ... 3rd in career wins (247) among active NCAA coaches ... 1st in the PSAC in career wins (set in 2008), 3rd in DII history and 21st in NCAA history ... 48 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 247-172-3 (.589) 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.

Mark Maciejewski (Shippensburg '92) is 27-12 in his 4th year as head coach and 14th year overall at Shippensburg. He was the AFCA Regional Coach of the Year in 2012, leading the Red Raiders to a 10-0 start and 11-2 overall record, falling to IUP, 41-10, in the State Game. Ship beat Bloomsburg, 58-20, in the 1st round of the NCAA Playoffs before bowing out to national runner-up Winston-Salem, 37-14. As a player, Maciejewski was an AP Little All-America defensive tackle in 1991 and 1992 and played in the 1991 NCAA Playoff game vs. ESU won by Ship, 34-33 (OT), at Eiler-Martin Stadium. That game was Douds' 183rd at ESU.

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 98-60 (.620) 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 104 different head coaches in his career at ESU, and will add 3 more in 2014 - Anthony Johnson (Cheyney), Jim Clements (Kutztown) and Brad Rzyczycki (Gannon) ... He is 69-35 against first-time foes ... 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) ... He has faced Ship's Mark Maciejewski three times (0-3).

PROGRAM WINS: ESU has a 463-308-19 (.598) record in its 87th year of varsity football. West Chester (564), IUP (525) and Slippery Rock (469) are the only other PSAC programs with at least 450 wins.

As head coach, Douds is responsible for 53.4 percent of the program's games (422 of 790), and 53.3 percent of its wins (247 of 463). Including 68 games and 45 wins as an assistant coach under Charlie Reese from 1966-73, he has coached in 490 of the 790 games (62.0 percent) and 292 of the 463 wins (63.1 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)

PSAC and NCAA DII rankings:
Scoring - 40.5 ppg (5th in PSAC, 26th in DII)
Total Offense - 532.3 ypg (3rd in PSAC, 11th in DII)
Passing Offense - 379.3 ypg (1st in PSAC, 3rd in DII)

R-Jr. QB Matt Soltes
1. Only returning Harlon Hill candidate in Super Region 1 ranks 3rd in DII in passing (371.0) and total offense (406.8)
2. 1st among active DII QB's in career total offense/game (340.0 ypg) - 8,501 yards in 25 games (22 starts)
3. One of 2 active DII QB's with 7,000 career passing yards (7,350), 1,000 career rushing yards (1,151)
4. Has the top 7 total offense performances among active PSAC QB's (all 450 yards)
5. 1 of 3 active NCAA QB's with 4 games of 500 total yards (Connor Halliday, Wash St and Taylor Heinicke, ODU)

Sr. WR Dusty Reed
1. 2nd among active PSAC players in career receptions (158), yards (2,421)
2. 5th at ESU in career receptions, 7th in yards, 5th in TD (24)
3. 1st ESU player with 4 receiving TD (4 at Edinboro) since Evan Prall in 2006 (5 vs. Kutztown)
4. 9 career 100-yard receiving games - t-3rd at ESU behind Evan Prall (22) and Tim Strenfel (16)
5. Looking to become 1st ESU WR to be named 1st team All-PSAC East 3 times in his career

R-So. TB Robert Healy
1. Only player in DII with 250 yards rushing (314), receiving (281) through first 4 weeks
2. 3rd in PSAC, 14th in DII in yards from scrimmage (148.8 ypg) and 6 TD (3 rush, 3 rec) on 74 touches
3. 100 yards from scrimmage in 13 of 15 career games at ESU (9 straight - school record)
4. 2 TD catches of 50 yards in 2014 (62, 57 yards) - long catch of 37 yards in 2013
5. 2013 PSAC East Freshman of the Year (ESU FR record 1,129 rushing yards, 1,333 yards from scrimmage)

SOLTES THROUGH 22 STARTS: R-Jr. QB Matt Soltes has made 22 career starts for the Warriors - including 7 as a redshirt freshman in 2012, and all 11 games in 2013.

In his 22 career starts, Soltes is averaging 370.9 yards of total offense, with 7,065 passing yards and 1,094 rushing yards. He is 459-for-758 passing with 69 TD and 20 Int., and has carried 223 times and scored 6 rushing TD.

SOLTES AMONG DII'S BEST:
Soltes' career rankings among active DII quarterbacks:

Total Offense - 6th (8,501 yards) - 1st among DII juniors
Passing Yards - 6th (7,350 yards) - 1st among DII juniors
Passing TD - 4th (70 TD) - 1st among DII juniors
Pass Efficiency - 2nd (162.3)
Total Offense/Game - 1st (340.0 ypg)
Passing Yards/Game - 2nd (294.0 ypg)

7,000 PASSING, 1,000 RUSHING: Soltes is the 1 of 2 active DII QB's to throw for 7,000 yards and run for 1,000 yards:
7,350 pass yds; 1,151 rush yds - SOLTES
7,087 pass yds; 1,647 rush yds - Steven Laurino, LIU Post