Complete Game Notes (PDF)  l  PSAC Week 4 Notes  l  Last week's recap (W 56-12 vs. Edinboro)

SATURDAY  l  12:00 p.m.  l  Hubert Jack Stadium

Follow:  redzonemedia.com  l  Live Stats  l  Twitter

Radio: Live on WVPO (ESPN Poconos) 840 AM for the 53rd season, and redzonemedia.com. Chuck Seese, the 2009 PSAC Heaslip Media Award recipient, is in his 27th season as the voice of the Warriors, with Bob Brittain in his 15th year providing the color commentary. Pre-game begins at 11:30 a.m.


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

1 • ESU (1-2) opens PSAC East action with a road trip to Lock Haven (0-3). The Warriors have won the last 6 games in the series, including each of the last 3 years (all at home). This is ESU's first trip to Lock Haven since a 58-13 win in 2007. LHU's last win in the series was in 1989.

2 • ESU head coach Denny Douds was on the sidelines for his 500th game with the Warriors (432nd as head coach) in last Saturday's 56-12 win vs. Edinboro, which also marked the 800th game in program history. Douds has been part of 296 of ESU's 467 wins as a varsity program (since 1926).

3 • Douds has coached in the most games (432) among active NCAA football coaches and is 9th in NCAA history. He holds the PSAC record, ranks 3rd in DII history, 20th in NCAA history and 3rd among active NCAA coaches in career wins (251).
3a • Douds is in his 42nd season as head coach and 50th at ESU overall.

4 • Douds will face LHU 1st-year head coach Dave Taynor for the first time. Taynor will be Douds' 108th opponent as head coach. Douds' teams are 70-37 against first-time foes.

5 • Last week's win vs. Edinboro ended a 6-game losing streak including the last 4 games of 2014. Last year's 48-21 win vs. Lock Haven began a 5-game winning streak. ESU plays the same set of opponents in consecutive weeks this season.

6 • ESU has won 9 PSAC East divisional titles under Douds, posting a 150-95-1 (.616) record in 41 seasons. The Warriors are 23-18 under Douds in PSAC East openers.

7 • R-Sr. QB Matt Soltes is a 2-time Harlon Hill candidate, joining 2014 winner Jason Vander Laan (QB, Ferris St) as the only active 2-time candidates. Soltes leads active DII QB's in career total offense per game (342.5 ypg - 4th in DII history) and career pass efficiency (160.3). In 29 career starts, Soltes leads current DII QB's in games with 300 (20), 400 (10) and 500 (5) yards of total offense.

8 • Soltes was 21-for-31 for 438 yards and 5 TD last week vs. Edinboro. He tied a school record with his 7th career 400-yard passing game (Damian Poalucci, 1994-97).

9 • R-Jr. TB Robert Healy leads active PSAC players in career yards from scrimmage per game (128.2 ypg), 8th among active players in DII. He has 493 yards from scrimmage this season and is the only DII player with 200+ yards rushing (265) and receiving (228) thru 3 weeks. He had 92 rushing yards and 82 receiving yards (53-yd TD) last week.

10 • R-Sr. WR Jon Schnaars had 9 catches for 200 yards (career-high) and 2 TD last week. Schnaars is 6th in DII in receiving yards (149.3) and is the 2nd player in school history with 100+ yards in each of the first 3 games of a season (Evan Prall, 2005).


For more ... Complete Game Notes (PDF)

THE SERIES: ESU is 10-6 against Lock Haven in a series that will be played more frequently in future seasons, as the Bald Eagles moved to the PSAC East in 2013 due to the conference's expansion (adding Seton Hill to the PSAC West). The series dates back to 1926, ESU's first season of varsity football, and the Warriors' 99-0 win that year remains a school record for victory margin. More recently, ESU has won the last 6 meetings - 1999, 2006, 2007, 2012 (31-0), 2013 (52-28) and 2014 (48-21). LHU's last win was 17-7 in 1989. ESU head coach Denny Douds is 6-2 in 8 games against Lock Haven.

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 (432) 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 (251) among active NCAA coaches ... 1st in the PSAC in career wins (set in 2008), 3rd in DII history and 20th in NCAA history ... 52 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 251-178-3 (.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.

Dave Taynor (Urbana '99) is in his 1st season as head coach at Lock Haven after serving 7 years as head coach at his alma mater from 2008-14. Taynor had a 37-40 record at Urbana, including consecutive Great Lakes Football Conference championships in 2010 and 2011. After moving to the Mountain East Conference, Urbana was 7-4 and finished 2nd in the conference in 2013 led by Harlon Hill regional candidate QB D.J. Mendenhall. Prior to Urbana, he was assistant coach at Tiffin (2006-08), Wisconsin-Stevens Point (2004-06), Culver-Stockton (2001-04), Louisville (1999-01) and Urbana (1999).

TAKEAWAYS vs. EDINBORO
1. ESU head coach Denny Douds coached his 500th overall game at ESU (432nd as head coach). The Warriors improved to 296-199-5 (.597) since Douds arrived as an assistant coach in 1966.
2. R-Sr. TB Gerald Van De Cruz had 3 rushing TD, giving him 17 TD (including 11 from the 1-yard line) in 15 games.
3. Sr. WR Gerard Wendowski (3 catches, 49 yards) had his 1st career TD. Sr. WR Joe Welk (4 for 94 yards) had his 3rd.
4. Jr. S Jimmy Verzicco was named PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week in his 1st career start (8 tackles, 2 PBU). He was the 10th defensive player to make his 1st career start this year for the Warriors.
5. Fr. K Nicolas Ruiz has made the first 17 kicks of his career (5-for-5 FG, 12-for-12 PAT) after making 8 PAT last Saturday. His 5 straight made field goals to open his career are the most in school history.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR at LOCK HAVEN
1. ESU's offense is 2nd in the PSAC and 13th in DII in red zone efficiency (13-for-14, 9 TD) while Lock Haven is 16th (last) in the PSAC and 154th in DII in red zone defense (14-for-15, 9 TD).
2. ESU's defense is 1st in the PSAC and 7th in DII in red zone efficiency (8-for-17, 6 TD), including 4 turnovers on downs, 3 takeaways and a missed FG. Lock Haven's offense is 5-for-6 with 2 TD inside the 20-yard line.
3. LHU's defense has better numbers against the pass than the run, but has allowed 400+ passing yards (407 vs. Clarion) and 350+ rushing yards (375 vs. IUP) in a game this season.
4. In the last 3 meetings (2012-14), ESU has gained 511 rushing yards (170.3 ypg, 4.5 ypc) and 1,151 passing yards (383.7 ypg). The Warriors are 58-for-91 with 12 TD and 2 Int., averaging 19.8 per completion and 12.6 per attempt.
5. R-Sr. QB Matt Soltes had 536 yards total offense (18-for-28, 462 yards passing, 4 TD) in ESU's 55-28 win in 2013.

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 102-66 (.607) with a .500+ record in 12 of 15 years.

DOUDS' FOES: Douds has faced 107 head coaches in his career at ESU ... Dave Taynor (LHU) will be Douds' 108th opponent this week ... Douds is 70-37 against first-time foes ... 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 West Chester's Bill Zwaan (13), SRU's George Mihalik (12) and LIU Post's Bryan Collins (10).

PROGRAM WINS: ESU has a 467-314-19 (.596) record in its 88th year of varsity football. West Chester (573), IUP (529) and Slippery Rock (477) are the only other PSAC programs with at least 450 wins (Bloomsburg has 444) ... As head coach, Douds is responsible for 54.0 percent of the program's games (432 of 800), and 53.7 percent of its wins (251 of 467) ... Including 68 games and 45 wins as an assistant coach under Charlie Reese from 1966-73, he has coached in 500 of the 800 games (62.5 percent) and 296 of the 467 wins (63.4 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.

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 29 of ESU's 35 games since the start of the 2012 season. In that span, ESU ranks:
• 2nd in DII in yards per play (6.8) of 167 teams in the division
• 7th in DII in passing yards per game (326.3 ypg)
• 7th 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)

10,000 - 3,000: Soltes and Healy are the only active teammates in DII, and one of two tandems in NCAA football, with 10,000 career yards total offense and 3,000 career yards from scrimmage

ESU (Matt Soltes 10,961 total yards -- Robert Healy 3,204 yards from scrimmage)
Oregon (Vernon Adams 12,320 total yards -- Byron Marshall 3,168 yards from scrimmage)

HEALY, SCHNAARS ARE DII'S TOP TANDEM: R-Jr. TB Robert Healy and R-Sr. WR Jon Schnaars have accounted for 941 of ESU's 1,420 yards (rushing + receiving) thru 3 games (66.3 percent) - the largest percentage among the 42 DII teams currently averaging 450+ yards per game. Only 7 of the 42 schools, including ESU, have 2 players that have gained at least 50 percent of their team's yards this season (also Kutztown 55.0%, Gannon 50.0% from the PSAC).

RECORD-SETTING: Soltes holds 6 ESU records and 4 PSAC records:
• ESU/PSAC - 666 yards of total offense, 2012 at LIU Post
• ESU/PSAC - 211 consecutive passes without an interception, 2013
• ESU/PSAC - 5 career games with 500+ yards total offense
• ESU/PSAC - 2 career games with 500+ yards passing (t-1st)
• ESU - 7 career games with 400+ yards passing (t-1st)
• ESU - top 2 marks in single-game completion % (record 85.3 vs. Clarion)

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. 1st among active DII QB's in career total offense per game (342.5 ypg - 4th in DII history)
3. Career pass efficiency (160.3) ranks 1st among active DII QB's, 2nd at ESU, 3rd in PSAC history
4. Career total offense (10,961 yards) ranks 2nd among active DII QB's, 2nd at ESU, 6th in PSAC history
5. Career passing yards (9,665 yards) ranks 2nd among active DII QB's, 2nd at ESU, 8th in PSAC history
6. Career pass TD (91) ranks 2nd among active DII QB's, 2nd at ESU, 8th in PSAC history
7. Career TD responsible for (97) ranks t-3rd among active DII QB's, 2nd at ESU, t-8th in PSAC history
8. PSAC record (t-DII record) with 5 career games with 500+ yards total offense (also Bo Cordell, Tusculum, 2009-13)
9. 1st among active DII QB's in career games with 300 (20), 400 (10) and 500 (5) yards of total offense
10. One of 2 active NCAA QB's (with Oregon's Vernon Adams) with 9,000 career passing yards, 1,000 rushing yards

R-Jr. TB Robert Healy
1. Can become 1st ESU player with 2,000 career rushing yards (2,211) and 1,000 receiving yards (993)
2. Can become 3rd active DII player with 2,000 rushing yards, 1,000 receiving yards
3. 11th in DII in yards from scrimmage per game (164.3 ypg) thru 3 weeks
4. Only DII player with 200+ yards rushing (265), receiving (228) thru 3 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 per game (128.2)
7. 100+ yards from scrimmage in 20 of 25 career games
8. Top 2 ESU seasons in yards from scrimmage by back (1,378 in 2014, 1,333 in 2013)
9. 23 career TD in 25 games (14 rushing, 9 receiving) -- 14 TD on 201 touches in 2014
10. 2,211 career rushing yards - 5th at ESU (368 from school record - 2,579 by Rick Sterner, 1988-92)

R-Sr. WR Jon Schnaars
1. 2nd in PSAC (6th in DII) in receiving yards (149.3 ypg) thru 3 weeks
2. 9 catches, 200 yards (career-high), 2 TD vs. Edinboro last week
3. 2nd ESU receiver with 100+ yards in first 3 games of a season (joining Evan Prall, 2005)
4. Ranks 8th among active DII players in career yards (2,285 - 2nd in PSAC) and t-4th in TD (26 - 1st in PSAC)
5. Ranks 9th at ESU in career receptions (147), 8th in yards (2,285) and 5th in TD (26)
6. 17 receiving TD in last 14 games (at least 1 TD in 12 of those 14 games)

Complete Game Notes (PDF)