Complete Game Notes (PDF)  l  PSAC Week 11 Notes


SATURDAY  l  12:05 p.m.  l  Eiler-Martin Stadium

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

1 • ESU (5-5) hosts Gannon (6-4) on the final day of the 2015 season. The Warriors can secure a winning season (.500 or better) for the 13th time in the last 16 years, and the 30th time in 42 seasons under head coach Denny Douds.

2 • ESU cut a 24-point halftime deficit to 34-27 midway thru the 4th quarter, but was unable to complete the comeback in a 41-27 loss at West Chester last week. WCU won the PSAC East regular season title and hosts Slippery Rock in the State Game this week.
2a • The Warriors tied school records for their largest comeback (18 points) and largest halftime comeback (14) in a 35-34 win vs. Bloomsburg 2 weeks ago, scoring the go-ahead points on a 2-point conversion from R-Sr. QB Matt Soltes to R-Sr. WR Jon Schnaars with 1:10 remaining.

3 • Head coach Denny Douds holds the PSAC record for career wins (255), ranking t-2nd in DII history, t-18th in NCAA history and 3rd among active coaches.

4 • Douds holds the DII record and leads active coaches in career games (439). He coached his 500th overall game with the Warriors on Sept. 19 (56-12 W vs. Edinboro). Douds has been part of 507 of ESU's 807 games, and 300 of 471 wins, as a varsity program (since 1926).
4a • Douds is in his 42nd season as head coach and 50th at ESU overall.

5 • ESU is 3rd in DII in passing offense (354.2 ypg), 16th in total offense (480.7 ypg) and 22nd in scoring offense (39.1 ppg) thru 10 weeks.
5a • ESU has ranked in the top 5 in DII in passing offense 7 times in school history (1969, 1984, 1996, 1997, 2005, 2006 and 2011).

6 • R-Sr. QB Matt Soltes is 1st in DII in passing (346.5 ypg), 1st in pass TD (36 - tied for all division lead) and 5th in total offense (364.9 ypg).
6a • Soltes is one of 5 QB's in DII history with 3,000 yards total offense in all 4 years of his career. Soltes also holds the DII record for career games with 500 yards total offense (6), and is t-1st in games with 600 yards (2).

7 • Soltes is a 2-time Harlon Hill candidate, joining 2014 winner Jason Vander Laan (QB, Ferris St) as the only active 2-time candidates.
7a • Soltes leads active DII QB's in career total offense per game (348.1 - 2nd in DII history), total offense (13,577), passing yards per game (310.5), pass efficiency (158.1) and pass TD (121). He is 2nd in PSAC history in career pass yards and total offense, and 3rd in career pass TD.

8 • Gannon QB Liam Nadler ranks 3rd among active DII QB's in passing yards (10,803), 4th in TD passes (78), 5th in total offense (11,502) and 5th in TD responsible for (107).

9 • R-Sr. WR Jon Schnaars leads DII in receiving (138.8 ypg), receptions (9.8 per game) and TD (18). His 20 catches and 7 TD vs. Ship are the most in the NCAA this year.
9a • Schnaars set ESU's single-season receptions record (98) last week. In PSAC history, he ranks t-5th in single-season receptions (98), t-11th in yards (1,388) and t-9th in TD (18). In his career, he is 8th in receptions (223), 10th in yards (3,225) and t-7th in TD (41 - 1st among active DII players).

10 • R-Jr. TB Robert Healy is one of 2 NCAA players with 800+ yards rushing (814) and 600+ yards receiving (678).
10a • Healy has set ESU records for career yards from scrimmage (4,203) and career rushing yards (2,760) in the last 2 weeks.


For more ... Complete Game Notes (PDF)

THE SERIES: ESU meets Gannon for the 4th time on the gridiron in the 2015 season finale. The Warriors won the first two meetings, 23-10 at ESU in 2008 and 38-21 at Gannon in 2009, before falling 66-41 on the road last season. ESU (5-5 overall) finished 5th in the PSAC East (4-3), while Gannon (6-4 overall) was 5th in the PSAC West (3-4). The Golden Knights were the PSAC West preseason favorite.

DOUDS' MILESTONES: Douds is one of 13 men 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) on that list.

Entering this week: has coached more games (439) than any active coach in NCAA football ... ranks 1st in DII history in games coached (set in 2011), and 9th in NCAA history ... 3rd in career wins (255) among active NCAA coaches ... 1st in the PSAC in career wins (set in 2008), t-2nd in DII history and t-18th in NCAA history ... 56 career wins since turning 65 - more than 10 of the other 15 PSAC coaches have in their careers.

DOUDS DWARFS PSAC EAST: Douds had 250 career wins entering 2015 ... the other 7 coaches in the PSAC East had combined for 164 wins while coaching in the PSAC - WCU's Bill Zwaan (101), Ship's Mark Maciejewski (31), Bloom's Paul Darragh (21), KU's Jim Clements (6), Cheyney's Chris Roulhac (3), Mill's Greg Breitbach (2) and LHU's Dave Taynor (0) ... Douds had coached 41 seasons in the PSAC entering 2015 (other 7 - combined for 24).

THE HEAD COACHES: Denny Douds (Slippery Rock '63) has a career record of 255-181-3 (.584) in his 42nd season. He is in his 50th 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.

Brad Rzyczycki (Mercyhurst '95) has a career record of 24-19 in his 4th season as head coach at Gannon. He guided the Golden Knights to a share of the PSAC West regular season title (9-2, 7-2) last season after going 3-8 in his first season in 2012, and 6-5 in 2013. He was previously defensive coordinator at Gannon since 2007. He has also coached at Kentucky Wesleyan (2003-06), Saginaw Valley State (2002) and Mercyhurst (1996-2001), his alma mater. He was a 4-year starter at cornerback for the Lakers from 1991-94.

ESU STATISTICAL CHAMPIONS
R-Sr. QB Matt Soltes and R-Sr. WR Jon Schnaars lead DII in at least one statistical category entering the final week.

ESU's NCAA DII statistical champions:
1980 - Mike Lush (1st - Interceptions, 1.20 per game)
1989 - Dennis Mailhot (1st - Punt Returns, 17.8 avg; 1st - Kick Returns, 32.6 avg)
1994 - Matt Seagreaves (1st - Field Goals, 1.5 per game)
1996 - Damian Poalucci (1st - Total Offense, 388.3 ypg)
2001 - Jeremy Hostetter (1st - Punting, 44.4 avg)
2004 - Jimmy Terwilliger (1st - Pass Efficiency, 174.1)
2005 - Jimmy Terwilliger (1st - Total Offense, 354.3 ypg)
2008 - Nick Krut (1st - Punting, 46.0 avg)
2013 - Sam Trunzo (t-1st - Fumble Recoveries, 4)
2014 - Bryan Thomson (t-1st - Blocked Kicks, 6)

TRENDING UP: ESU has notched 2 straight winning seasons (6-5 in 2014, 7-4 in 2013), building on a 5-5 mark in 2012 after consecutive 3-8 seasons in 2010 and 2011. Since 2000, ESU is 106-69 (.606) with a .500+ record in 12 of 15 years.

PROGRAM WINS: ESU has a 471-317-19 (.596) record in its 88th year of varsity football. West Chester (579), IUP (535) and Slippery Rock (483) are the only other PSAC programs with at least 450 wins (Bloomsburg has 449) ... As head coach, Douds is responsible for 54.4 percent of the program's games (439 of 807), and 54.1 percent of its wins (255 of 471) ... Including 68 games and 45 wins as an assistant coach under Charlie Reese from 1966-73, he has coached in 507 of the 807 games (62.9 percent) and 300 of the 471 wins (63.7 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 4 players who have earned All-PSAC East status in their careers:
QB - R-Sr. Matt Soltes (2013 and 2014 2nd team, 2012 Freshman of the Year)
TB - R-Jr. Robert Healy (2013 and 2014 2nd team, 2013 Freshman of the Year)
WR - R-Sr. Jon Schnaars (2014 2nd team)
CB - Sr. Teron Dobbs (2014 2nd team)

TWO TERWILLIGERS: Jimmy Terwilliger, the 2005 Harlon Hill Trophy winner as a junior at ESU, joins the Warriors' coaching staff as defensive backs coach ... He joins his father, Mike Terwilliger, ESU's offensive coordinator, on Denny Douds' staff ... Mike Terwilliger enters his 38th year as assistant coach after 4 years as ESU's starting QB from 1974-77 - Douds' first 4 years as head coach ... Mike was a 2-time 1st team All-PSAC East selection, leading ESU to a 30-4-1 record, the 1975 PSAC championship (10-0) and a tie in the 1976 State Game (9-0-1) ... Jimmy was 36-12 in 4 years as ESU's starting QB from 2003-06 and is the only 4-time 1st team All-PSAC East QB in conference history ... he set 18 DII and 2 NCAA all-division records, tying the all-time mark with 148 career TD passes and setting DII records for passing yards (14,350) and total offense (16,064), among other standards.

ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT: ESU had 3 selections on the Capital One Academic All-District team last week in R-Sr. WR Jon Schnaars, R-So. OL Devon Ackerman and So. FS Chase May. Schnaars is a repeat selection and was Academic All-America 2nd team in 2014.

WARRIORS SENIORS:  ESU will recognize 11 seniors this weekend:
Sam Benson (FB) -- 4-year letterwinner ... 32 career games ... 7 receptions, 57 yards ... 4 carries, 8 yards
Eric Burleson (OL) -- 4-year letterwinner ... 35 career games (24 starts) ... 10 starts each in 2013, 2014
Kaje Cowans (OLB) -- 3-year letterwinner ... 31 career games (27 starts) ... 183 tackles, 16 TFL, 6.5 sacks, 4 FF, 3 FR, 1 Int
Teron Dobbs (CB) -- 4-year letterwinner ... 40 career games (37 starts) ... 13 Interceptions ... 19.5 punt return average
Jon Schnaars (WR) -- 4-year letterwinner ... 2nd at ESU in catches (213), 3rd in yards (3,225), 2nd in TD (41)
Matt Soltes (QB) -- 4-year letterwinner ... 2nd in PSAC history in pass yards (12,109), pass TD (121), total offense (13,577)
Nicholas Spause (OL) -- 2-year letterwinner ... 25 career games (2 starts)
Gerald Van De Cruz (TB) -- 3-year letterwinner ... 188 carries, 736 yards, 24 TD (3rd in school history)
Joe Welk (WR) -- 4-year letterwinner ... 37 career games (15 starts) ... 59 catches, 1,062 yards, 7 TD ... KR TD in 2014
Gerard Wendowski (WR) -- 4-year letterwinner ... 74 catches, 1,143 yards, 9 TD ... 43 catches, 713 yards, 9 TD in 2015
Steven Wright (DL) -- 3-year letterwinner ... 28 games ... 26 tackles, 2 TFL, 1 sack, 1 FR


THE OFFENSE

ESU has routinely fielded one of the top offenses in DII, both in passing offense and total offense. The Warriors are one of 2 teams in DII (along with Colorado Mines) to average 300+ yards passing per game in each of the last 4 years:
2011 - 323.2 ypg ... 2012 - 327.6 ypg ... 2013 - 318.6 ypg ... 2014 - 329.1 ypg

R-Sr. QB Matt Soltes has started 36 of ESU's 42 games since the start of the 2012 season. In that span, ESU ranks:
• 2nd in DII in yards per play (6.7) of 169 teams in the division
• 3rd in DII in passing yards per game (331.7 ypg)
• t-3rd in DII in pass TD (137)
• 5th in DII in total offense per game (484.0 ypg)

3,000 - 1,000: R-Sr. QB Matt Soltes and R-Jr. TB Robert Healy are the only active teammates in DII to account for 3,000+ yards total offense (Soltes) and 1,000+ yards from scrimmage (Healy) in each of the last 2 years:
• 2014 - Soltes (3,054 total yards), Healy (1,378 yards from scrimmage)
• 2013 - Soltes (3,716 total yards), Healy (1,333 yards from scrimmage)

12,000 - 4,000: Soltes and Healy are the only set of active teammates in NCAA football with 12,000 career yards total offense and 4,000 career yards from scrimmage:
• Matt Soltes 13,577 total yards -- Robert Healy 4,203 yards from scrimmage

RECORD-SETTING: Soltes holds 4 DII and multiple PSAC and ESU records:
• DII - 4 seasons with 3,000 yards total offense (5th player)
• DII - 6 career games with 500+ yards total offense
• DII - 2 career games with 600+ yards total offense (t-1st)
• DII - 12 career games with 5+ TD pass TD (t-1st)
• ESU/PSAC - 666 yards of total offense, 2012 at LIU Post
• ESU/PSAC - 211 consecutive passes without an interception, 2013
• ESU/PSAC - 3 career games with 500+ yards passing
• ESU/PSAC - 9 pass TD in a game, 2015 vs. Ship (t-1st)
• ESU - 13 career games with 400+ yards total offense
• ESU - 9 career games with 400+ yards passing
• ESU - 5 career games with 100+ yards rushing by QB (t-1st)
• ESU - 40 completions in a game, 2015 vs. Ship
   [38, Steve Mummaw, 1970 at Lafayette]
• ESU - 70 pass attempts in a game, 2015 vs. Ship
   [59, Tim Roken, 2008 vs. Ship]
• ESU - 78 offensive plays in a game, 2015 vs. Ship
   [72, James Franklin, 1994 at Millersville]
• ESU - 7+ TD passes in 2 straight games (t-1st)
• ESU - 5+ TD passes in 5 straight games
• ESU - 4+ TD  passes in 5 straight games (t-1st)
• ESU - 400+ yards total offense in 4 straight games
• ESU - 400+ passing yards in 2 straight games (t-1st)
• ESU - top 2 marks in completion % (record 85.3 vs. Clarion, 2013)

DUAL THREAT: Soltes ranks 2nd at ESU and 4th in PSAC history in career rushing yards by a QB (1,468) and has 5 career 100-yard rushing games.
• 2012 - 536 rushing yards (#2 QB rusher in PSAC)
• 2013 - 472 rushing yards (#2 QB rusher in PSAC)
• 2014 - 276 rushing yards (7.5 games - #5 QB rusher in PSAC)
• 2015 - 184 rushing yards (#6 QB rusher in PSAC)

500+ PASSING, 100+ RUSHING - NCAA History
One of 2 QB's in NCAA history with 500+ passing, 100+ rushing yards
• Matt Soltes - 535 passing, 131 rushing at LIU Post (2012)
• Zac Dysert (Miami OH) - 516 passing, 108 rushing at Akron (2012)

400+ PASSING, 100+ RUSHING - PSAC History
• Matt Soltes - 416 passing, 111 rushing at Shippensburg (2014)
• Matt Soltes - 535 passing, 131 rushing at LIU Post (2012)
• Jeff Petrucci (California) - 406 passing, 111 rushing vs. Edinboro (1968)

FAMILY TRADITION: Soltes and his father, Andy, are one of 3 father-son tandems to throw a TD pass for the Warriors under Douds. Other tandems are Mike and Jimmy Terwilliger, and Brian and Matt Marshall. Andy Soltes' only career TD pass was the game-winner in a 17-9 win at West Chester during the 1982 PSAC championship season.

ADDING IT ALL UP: TD passes by family ... Terwilligers 181 (Mike 33, Jimmy 148) ... Soltes 122 (Andy 1, Matt 119) ... Marshalls 66 (Brian 5, Matt 61) ... TD passes by fathers -- 39 ... TD passes by sons -- 330 and counting.

SOLTES PSAC EAST OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Soltes has been named PSAC East Offensive Player of the Week 9 times in his career, tied with Jimmy Terwilliger (2003-06) for the most in school history.  
• 2012 10-6 - at West Chester (373 total yards)
• 2012 10-27 - at LIU Post (666 total yards)
• 2012 11-3 - at Millersville (382 total yards)
• 2013 10-5 - vs. Clarion (481 total yards)
• 2014 9-6 - at LIU Post (467 total yards)
• 2014 9-20 - at Edinboro (532 total yards)
• 2014 10-4 - at Shippensburg (527 total yards)
• 2015 9-26 - at Lock Haven (429 total yards)
• 2015 10-10 - at Cheyney (435 total yards)

ESU's scoring in Soltes' 36 career starts
• 20+ points (33) ... 30+ (26) ... 40+ (17) ... 50+ (7) ... 60+ (5)

HEALY, SCHNAARS ONE OF DII'S TOP TANDEMS: R-Jr. TB Robert Healy and R-Sr. WR Jon Schnaars have accounted for 2,880 combined yards (rushing + receiving), the 2nd-most among 2 teammates in DII football. Healy has 1,492 yards from scrimmage (814 rushing, 678 receiving) and Schnaars leads DII players with 1,388 receiving yards. They have accounted for 60.0 percent of ESU's rushing and receiving yards this season.

R-Sr. WR JON SCHNAARS CAREER (223 catches, 3,225 yards, 41 TD)
• ESU history: 2nd in catches ... 3rd in yards ... 2nd in TD
• PSAC history: 8th in catches ... 10th in yards ... t-7th in TD

SCHNAARS CAMPBELL TROPHY SEMIFINALIST
• Schnaars is a semifinalist for the Campbell Trophy, awarded by the National Football Foundation, for scholar-athlete success
• He is ESU's 5th semifinalist in the last 7 years (t-3rd in DII)
• One of 20 semifinalists in 2015 (1 of 2 in PSAC - Kutztown QB Chad Barton)
• Other ESU semifinalists: 2014 DL Bryan Thomson; 2013 WR Robert Bleiler; 2010 LB Matt Freed; 2009 WR Sam Shuman
• 2014 Academic All-America 2nd team

SCHNAARS IN 2015 (98 catches, 1,388 yards, 18 TD)
98 catches - 1st in ESU history (88, Evan Prall, 2005)
1,388 yards - t-2nd in ESU history
18 TD - 2nd in ESU history

• Ranks 1st in DII in catches (9.8 rpg), yards (138.8 ypg) and TD (18)
• 6 catches, 120 yards vs. LIU Post
• 7 catches, 128 yards, TD at Slippery Rock
• 9 catches, 200 yards, 2 TD vs. Edinboro
• 9 catches, 88 yards, TD at Lock Haven
• 20 catches, 218 yards, 7 TD vs. Ship (PSAC records for catches, TD)
• 11 catches, 148 yards, 3 TD at Cheyney
• 9 catches, 127 yards, 2 TD vs. Millersville
• 10 catches, 147 yards, TD at Kutztown
• 7 catches, 125 yards vs. Bloomsburg
• 10 catches, 87 yards, TD at West Chester (66-yard TD pass)

ESU RECORDS vs. SHIP
Schnaars tied a school record with 14 receptions in ESU's 37-33 win at Shippensburg in 2014, then shattered the record and set a PSAC record with 20 catches in a 69-67 (5OT) loss in 2015.
20 (218 yards, 7 TD) - Jon Schnaars vs. Shippensburg, 2015
14 (152 yards, 2 TD) - Jon Schnaars at Shippensburg, 2014
14 (186 yards, 1 TD) - Evan Prall vs. California, 2006
14 (230 yards, 2 TD) - John Kotarsky at Mansfield, 1999
14 (202 yards, 1 TD) - Brett Witmer at Bloomsburg, 1997

PREVIOUS PSAC RECORDS
Receptions (18) - Chris Pelczarski (Millersville, 1991) and Trevor Harman (Ship, 2012)
Receiving TD (5) - Fred Temoney (Cal, 1994), Mike Washington (West Chester, 2005), Evan Prall (ESU, 2006) and Trevor Harman (Ship, 2012)

R-Sr. QB Matt Soltes
1. One of 2 active 2x Harlon Hill candidates in DII [3rd ESU 2x candidate - Jimmy Terwilliger (4), Damian Poalucci (2)]
2. 5th QB in DII history with 3,000 yards total offense in all 4 seasons (2nd ESU QB - Jimmy Terwilliger, 2003-06)
• also Scott Eyster (Delta St, 2003-06), Steven Gachette (SW Baptist, 2007-10), Bo Cordell (Tusculum, 2009-10, 12-13)
3. 1st among active DII QB's in career total offense per game (348.1 ypg - 2nd in DII history)
4. Career pass efficiency (158.1) ranks 1st among active DII QB's, 2nd at ESU, 3rd in PSAC history
5. Career total offense (13,577 yards) ranks 1st among active DII QB's, 2nd at ESU, 2nd in PSAC, 10th in DII history
6. Career passing yards (12,109 yards) ranks 2nd among active DII QB's, 2nd at ESU, 2nd in PSAC, t-11th in DII history
7. Career pass TD (121) ranks 1st among active NCAA QB's, 2nd at ESU, 3rd in PSAC, t-6th in DII history
• 12 career games with 5+ pass TD (t-DII record)
8. Career TD responsible for (128) ranks 2nd among active DII QB's, 2nd at ESU, 4th in PSAC history
9. DII record for career games with 500+ yards total offense (6) and t-1st for games with 600 yards total offense (2)
10. One of 3 active NCAA QB's with 10,000 career passing yards, 1,000 rushing yards
• also Vernon Adams (Oregon), Trevone Boykin (TCU)
11. 10th DII QB with 10,000 career passing yards (11,883) and 1,000 rushing yards (1,427)

R-Jr. TB Robert Healy
1. ESU career records for rushing yards (2,760) and yards from scrimmage (4,203)
2. 1st ESU player with 2,000 career rushing yards (2,760) and 1,000 receiving yards (1,443)
3. 13th in DII in yards from scrimmage per game (149.2 ypg) thru 10 weeks
4. One of 2 NCAA players with 800+ yards rushing (814) and 600+ yards receiving (678) thru 10 weeks
5. One of 2 players in DII with 500+ yards rushing (817), receiving (561) in 2014
6. 1st among active PSAC players in career yards from scrimmage (4,203), per game (131.3)
7. 100+ yards from scrimmage in 26 of 32 career games - ESU record (200+ in 4 games - t-1st at ESU)
8. 1,300+ yards from scrimmage all 3 seasons (2013 - 1,333 ... 2014 - 1,378 ... 2015 - 1,492)

R-Sr. WR Jon Schnaars
1. 1st in DII in receiving yards (138.8 ypg), receptions (9.8 rpg) and receiving TD (18) thru 10 weeks
2. PSAC records for receptions (20) and receiving TD (7) vs. Shippensburg in week 5 (218 yards)
3. Ranks 1st among active DII receivers in career TD (41), 3rd in yards (3,225) and 5th in receptions (223)
4. Ranks 2nd at ESU in career receiving TD (41), 2nd in receptions (223) and 3rd in yards (3,225)
5. 32 receiving TD in last 21 games (at least 1 TD in 18 of those 21 games)
6. 100+ yards in 8 of 10 games in 2015 (had streak of 5 straight - tied ESU record, Evan Prall, 2006)
7. 200+ yards in 2 games in 2015 (218 vs. Ship, week 5 and 200 vs. Edinboro, week 3)


Complete Game Notes (PDF)