Complete Game Notes (PDF)  l  PSAC Week 2 Notes

SATURDAY  l  7:00 p.m.  l  Mihalik-Thompson Stadium

Follow:  redzonemedia.com  l  Live Video (ncaa.com)  l  Live Stats  l  Twitter

TV:  NCAA DII Showcase Game of the Week on American Sports Network (Sinclair Broadcasting). Locally on WQMY (Wilkes-Barre - Blue Ridge channel 16, HD channel 617; Comcast channel 11; HD channel 811).  Other statewide outlets: WJAC-2 (Johnstown) and WPNT (Pittsburgh).  Also streaming live worldwide on ncaa.com.

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 6:30 p.m.


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

1 • ESU (0-1) travels to No. 21 Slippery Rock (1-0) for the NCAA Division II Showcase Game of the Week. This week's storylines include the coaches - ESU's Denny Douds and SRU's George Mihalik - who are both Slippery Rock graduates, and two players - ESU R-Sr. QB Matt Soltes and SRU Jr. TB Shamar Greene - who were both named to the regional list of Harlon Hill candidates in 2014.

2 • Douds (SRU '63) (250 career wins) and Mihalik (SRU '74) (186 wins) are the two winningest active coaches in the PSAC. Douds is 1st and Mihalik is 4th on the PSAC all-time wins list. Douds ranks 2nd and Mihalik 4th in career wins among active DII coaches.

3 • Douds faces his alma mater for the 13th time. The Rock is 9-3 against Douds (12-3 vs. ESU overall). Douds' final collegiate game for the Rock was the 1962 State Game against ESU, won by SRU, 13-6. Douds was a 2-way lineman and an All-PSAC, All-State and NAIA All-America selection.

4 • Douds has coached in the most games (430) among active NCAA football coaches and ranks 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.
4a • Douds is in his 42nd season as head coach and 50th at ESU overall, including 8 years as an assistant coach from 1966-73. This week's game is his 499th on the sidelines at ESU.

5 • Slippery Rock is the defending PSAC champion, posting a 28-26 win vs. Bloomsburg in a rematch of the 2013 State Game. ESU fell to defending Northeast-10 champion LIU Post, 41-40, on Thursday night.

6 • This week's game is the first of 5 scheduled regular season meetings between 2014 Harlon Hill candidates in Soltes and Greene.

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. Soltes leads active DII QB's in career total offense/game (343.1 - 4th in DII history).

8 • Greene ranks 10th among active DII players in career rushing yards/game (96.9). He had 22 carries for 116 yards and a TD (3 catches, 14 yards) in SRU's 39-13 win at New Haven. Greene ran for 1,482 yards in 2014, including 186 in SRU's 56-24 win at ESU.

9 • R-Jr. TB Robert Healy leads active PSAC players in career yards from scrimmage/game (127.0 ypg). He had 211 yards (90 rush, 121 rec) vs. LIU Post, ranking 1st in the PSAC and 8th in DII thru week 1.

10 •  R-Sr. WR Jon Schnaars had 6 catches for 120 yards vs. LIU Post. He entered ESU's career top 10 in receptions (131) and has 1,957 receiving yards and 23 TD (14 in 2014).


For more ... Complete Game Notes (PDF)

THE SERIES: Slippery Rock holds an 12-3 advantage in the all-time series, but ESU's three victories have all been significant. In 1975, ESU won 7-0 at the Rock to open a 10-0, PSAC championship season under 2nd-year head coach Denny Douds ... In 2008, ESU won 38-21 at Slippery Rock to finish a 9-2 season ... In 2009, ESU beat the Rock 54-28 at home to earn its most recent trip to the NCAA Division II Playoffs ... this is the 11th meeting between Douds and SRU's George Mihalik, the only 2 coaches in the PSAC who are also faculty members at their respective schools ... Mihalik holds an 8-2 edge ... Douds' 1st career game was a 47-20 loss at SRU in 1974 ... after a 5-5 season, ESU was 19-0-1 in 1975-76.

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 (430) 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 (250) among active NCAA coaches ... 1st in the PSAC in career wins (set in 2008), 3rd in DII history and 20th in NCAA history ... 51 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 250-177-3 (.585) 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.

George Mihalik (Slippery Rock '74) has a career record of 186-109-4 (.629) in his 28th season at Slippery Rock. He graduated from the Rock just a few months before Douds, a 1963 SRU grad, coached his first game as ESU's head coach in the fall of 1974. Mihalik has coached Slippery Rock to 7 PSAC West titles (1997-2000, 2011, 2013-14) and 5 NCAA DII Playoff appearances (1997-99, 2013-14). He quarterbacked SRU to the 1972 and 1973 PSAC championships and has been a member of the SRU football program for 43 of the last 44 seasons as a player, assistant coach or head coach, taking over in 1988.

TAKEAWAYS vs. LIU POST (Recap)
1. ESU led 40-28 with 7:26 remaining before falling 41-40. Warriors trailed 35-23 entering the 4th quarter in a 43-35 win at LIU Post in the 2014 season opener.
2. R-Sr. QB Matt Soltes became the 8th QB in PSAC history with 10,000 career yards total offense (7th - 10,294). He had 300+ yards (366 - 347 passing, 19 rushing) for the 19th time in 27 career starts.
3. R-Jr. TB Robert Healy (211 yards from scrimmage) had 100+ yards for the 18th time in 23 career games.
4. Healy (121) and R-Sr. WR Jon Schnaars (120) are one of 2 tandems in DII with 120+ receiving yards in week 1.
5. Fr. K Nicolas Ruiz set an ESU freshman record with 4 field goals, going 4-for-4 (25, 42, 32, 30) in his 1st career game. Ruiz and Garrett Owens (Oregon St) were the only NCAA kickers to go 4-for-4 last weekend.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR vs. SLIPPERY ROCK
1. ESU is 10-21 vs. AFCA ranked opponents since 2000. The Warriors have dropped their last 11 vs. ranked opponents since a 14-11 win vs. #25 American International in the 2008 season opener.
2. Slippery Rock ran for 456 yards, 4th-most ever allowed by ESU, in its 56-24 win last year. SRU's 78 rushing attempts were the most ever defended by an ESU team under Denny Douds.
3. Greene is one of several talented SRU backs. In 2014, he had 42% of the Rock's carries and 58% of its rushing yards.
4. SRU was 6th in the PSAC in pass efficiency defense (125.0) in 2014, while Soltes has a career mark of 161.2. Soltes was 20-for-47, 297 yards, 1 TD and 3 Int. vs. SRU last fall. New Haven was 12-30 for 219 yards, 1 TD and 1 Int. last week.
5. Rock R-So. DE Marcus Martin was 3rd in DII in sacks (1.33) in 2014 with more than half (16) of SRU's team sacks (31).  

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 101-65 (.608) with a .500+ record in 12 of 15 years.

DOUDS' FOES: Douds has faced 107 head coaches in his career at ESU ... He will face one new head coach this season in Dave Taynor (Lock Haven) on Sept. 26 ... 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 (10) and LIU Post's Bryan Collins (10) ... Douds has a 2-8 record vs. Mihalik entering this week.

PROGRAM WINS: ESU has a 466-313-19 (.596) record in its 88th year of varsity football. West Chester (572), IUP (528) and Slippery Rock (475) are the only other PSAC programs with at least 450 wins (Bloomsburg has 442) ... As head coach, Douds is responsible for 53.9 percent of the program's games (430 of 798), 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 498 of the 798 games (62.4 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 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 27 of ESU's 33 games since the start of the 2012 season. In that span, ESU ranks:
• 2nd in DII in yards per play (6.9) of 167 teams in the division
• 5th in DII in total offense per game (486.8 ypg)
• 7th in DII in passing yards per game (325.7 ypg)

RETURNING STARTERS: ESU's 9 returning starters on offense include ESU's top 2 rushers (Healy 817 yards, Soltes 276 yards) and 4 of the top 6 receivers:
R-Sr. WR Jon Schnaars - 58 rec, 807 yds, 14 TD
R-Jr. TB Robert Healy - 46 rec, 561 yds, 6 TD
Sr. WR Joe Welk - 20 rec, 423 yds, 1 TD
Sr. WR Gerard Wendowski - 14 rec, 182 yds

2014 PSAC RANKINGS (starting QB Matt Soltes missed final 3.5 games due to injury):
Scoring - 34.3 ppg (6th in PSAC, t-47th in DII)
Total Off - 450.2 ypg (5th in PSAC, 36th in DII)
Passing - 329.1 ypg (2nd in PSAC, 11th in DII)
Rushing - 121.1 ypg (10th in PSAC, 126th in DII)

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)

RECORD-SETTING: Soltes holds 5 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 - top 2 marks in single-game completion % (record 85.3 vs. Clarion)

Complete Game Notes (PDF)