GAME NOTES (PDF)
THE MATCH-UP: East Stroudsburg University takes its PSAC East championship aspirations to West Chester in a critical conference match-up for the Warriors. A victory would hand the Golden Rams their first PSAC East loss of the season and put ESU in position to claim at least a share of the championship with wins in its final two games.
Radio Coverage
Live on WVPO 840 AM and redzonemedia.com. Chuck Seese will handle the play-by-play with Bob Brittain doing color commentary. Pre-game begins at 5:30 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT: Junior tailback Joe Partridge set the ESU single-game rushing record with 284 yards, and tied another record with four touchdowns, in the Warriors' 42-6 win at Cheyney on Saturday. The victory was ESU's 28th straight over Cheyney, setting the Division II record for consecutive wins over one opponent. Redshirt sophomore quarterback Tom O'Brien, making his second career start, threw the first two touchdown passes of his career to freshman wide receiver Jon Clouse.
MORE PARTRIDGE: Broke the school record previously held by Andre Myers (267 yards vs. Mansfield, 1998) . . tied rushing touchdown record with four TDs, shared by Stewart Ford (1999 vs. Glenville State), Johnny Lee Davis (1990 vs. Cheyney) and Danny Roskos (1946 vs. Montclair) . . tied Myers for fourth in ESU history with 34 carries in a game . . ran for 103 yards in the first quarter and 109 yards in the second quarter ... had 24 carries for 212 yards and four TDs at halftime ... broke the record with a 12-yard run midway through the third quarter ... became the 10th Warrior to run for more than 200 yards in a game . . recorded his first career 100-yard rushing game as well . . entered the game with 237 yards and three TDs in 2007 . . averaging 6.7 yards per carry and 104.2 yards per game.
THE HEAD COACHES: Denny Douds (Slippery Rock '63) is in his 34th season as head football coach at ESU, and his 42nd season at ESU overall. Last season, Douds became just the 10th active college football coach to pass the 200-win plateau and enters today's game with a career record of 208-138-3. Douds has led the Warriors to nine PSAC titles and three NCAA Playoff appearances, including the Northeast Region championship in 2005 when ESU advanced to the national semifinals.
Bill Zwaan (Delaware '79) is in his fifth season as head coach at West Chester and has a record of 42-18 at WCU, and 96-39 overall. He has guided the Golden Rams to three straight NCAA Division II playoff appearances, including the school's first-ever national semifinal berth in 2004. He was also head coach at Widener for six seasons, going 54-21.
TURN ON THE LIGHTS: Tonight's game is ESU's fourth night game of the season. The Warriors played each of their first three games under the lights, including the first home night game in school history on Sept. 15 against IUP. The lights will also be on at Eiler-Martin Stadium on Oct. 27 for a 2 p.m. game vs. Bloomsburg that will be featured as the PSAC Game of the Week as part of the conference's television package with PA SPORTSfever.
RETURNING ALL-PSAC PLAYERS: The Warriors return three players who earned All-PSAC East honors in 2006, including one first-teamer on both sides of the ball. On offense, senior LT Mike Habel entered the season with 34 starts on the offensive line in his career at ESU. Senior LB Jayson Frank (1st team) and junior OLB David Pacchioni (2nd team) lead a group of five experienced linebackers. Frank had a team-leading 86 tackles last season, and Pacchioni made 47 tackles with four sacks.
WHO'S GONE: Five ESU seniors were named All-PSAC East last season. QB Jimmy Terwilliger, WR Evan Prall and DE Greg Thoman were on the first team, and TB Matt Brunetti and DT Andrew Marsteller were on the second team.
ESU lost 10 starters in all off last year's team. WR Wes Lindsay and RG David Biever were also starters on offense, while DE John Vetter, CB Mike Macksoud and S Michael Wiggins were members of the defense. K Eric Petters is also no longer on the team.
SCHOOL RECORD FOR KNAUSS: Sophomore kicker Greg Knauss broke ESU's 19-year old school record with a 53-yard field goal on the final play of the first half against IUP on Sept. 15. The previous record was held by Todd McNamee, who made a 50-yard field goal vs. Southern Connecticut State in 1988.
THE QUARTERBACKS: Redshirt sophomore Tom O'Brien made his second career start at Cheyney, going 8-of-15 for 114 yards and two touchdowns. His first start came in the season opener at Cal, where he was 16-of-28 for 91 yards and two interceptions, and was sacked nine times. The Vulcans returned all 11 starters off the PSAC's top defense from a year ago.
Redshirt junior Tim Roken had started the previous four games for ESU before being held out of the Cheyney game due to injury. Roken is fourth in the PSAC and second among PSAC East quarterbacks with 249.2 yards of total offense per game. He had 265 yards of total offense vs. Slippery Rock (236 passing, 29 rushing) and has thrown for at least 200 yards in three of his four starts. He is averaging 231.5 yards passing per game with nine touchdowns and just four interceptions, and also ran for a touchdown in each of his last two starts. His best outing came at Lock Haven, where he threw for 260 yards and four touchdowns.
THE TAILBACKS: Junior Joe Partridge is coming off a record-setting game at Cheyney, where he broke the school record with 284 rushing yards and tied a record with four rushing touchdowns. He has been ESU's leading rusher in the last four games. Partridge made his first start of the season vs. Slippery Rock and ran for 63 yards on 11 carries. He is averaging 104.2 yards per game and 6.7 yards per carry, and has scored seven TDs this season.
Partridge was the projected starter entering the season but missed the season opener due to injury. He returned against Lock Haven and ran for 95 yards and two TDs in the second half in his first action of the season. Partridge had 424 all-purpose yards (249 rushing, 165 receiving) and four TDs as the backup tailback in 2006.
Redshirt freshman Brant Quick started the first four games at tailback, running for 54 yards on 21 carries in his first career start at Cal, and ran 22 times for 115 yards and a touchdown the following week at Lock Haven. He carried seven times for 62 yards in the second half against Cheyney.
THE WIDE RECEIVERS: Freshman Jon Clouse had the first four catches of his career for 76 yards and two TDs (15 and 29 yards) to lead ESU at Cheyney. Clouse has started the last two games after being held out of the first four as a potential redshirt.
Redshirt sophomore Sam Shuman had five catches for 93 yards against Slippery Rock and leads the Warriors with 274 receiving yards on 18 catches this season. He has also scored three TDs, including three catches for 88 yards and two TDs vs. IUP in the home opener. Shuman is averaging 16.1 yards per catch this season and averaged 15.2 yards per catch as a freshman (31 catches, 472 yards).
Senior Doug Ogden has 17 catches for 206 yards and two TDs this year, and caught three passes for 34 yards and a touchdown vs. Slippery Rock. He was ESU's leading returning receiver entering the year, with 39 catches for 494 yards and six touchdowns in 2006. He has 68 catches for 825 yards and nine TDs in his career at ESU.
Redshirt freshman Jeff Giglio leads ESU with a 21.7 yards per catch average (six catches, 130 yards) and has two plays of at least 50 yards this season - a 51-yard TD on his first career catch at Lock Haven, and had a 53-yard catch against Slippery Rock.
Junior Drew Stem leads ESU with 21 catches but is expected to miss the remainder of the season with a broken arm which he suffered against Slippery Rock. Stem is fourth in the PSAC with 143.2 all-purpose yards per game. He had at least 100 all-purpose yards in his last three games - 119 vs. Slippery Rock, 268 vs. Millersville and 169 vs. IUP. His kick return average of 30.9 ranks second in ESU history, and he will hold the career record with a 29.9-yard average entering his senior season.
THE OFFENSIVE LINE: Sr. LT Mike Habel, a four-year starter and first team All-PSAC East selection, has started 40 games in his career and is the leader of the offensive line. The Warriors reshuffled their line after giving up nine sacks at Cal and have given up just eight sacks over the last five games.
Sr. G Thomas Sugden, Sr. C Michael Parshley and So. G/T Morgan Thomas have also started all six games on the offensive line. R-So. Matt Keller has started four games at right tackle and Jr. Anthony Glover has started two games at guard for ESU.
THE LINEBACKERS: ESU returned all four starters at linebacker from 2006 in outside linebackers Jr. Steve Van Alstine and Jr. David Pacchioni, and inside linebackers Sr. Jayson Frank and Sr. Dave Lotier. Jr. Fred Rice led ESU with 132 tackles as a freshman in 2005 and missed all but three games in 2006 to receive a medical redshirt.
All four of the starting linebackers have an interception through the first six games - Frank vs. Millersville and Slippery Rock, Van Alstine vs. IUP, and Lotier and Pacchioni at Lock Haven.
Frank, a first team All-PSAC East selection in 2006, leads ESU with 56 tackles and had eight tackles and his second interception of the season vs. Slippery Rock. He had 14 tackles (2.5 TFL), a sack and an interception against Millersville, made 12 tackles against IUP, and had eight tackles and a sack in both of the first two games. Frank led ESU with 86 tackles last season.
Lotier is second on the team with 53 tackles and has 2.0 sacks. He led ESU with 13 tackles vs. IUP and has six career interceptions in 20 starts. He returned a pick 42 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter at Lock Haven.
Pacchioni was a member of the All-PSAC East second team in 2006 and has 33 tackles, a sack and an interception this year after recording 47 tackles and four sacks last season. He had a team-high 12 tackles vs. Slippery Rock and also broke up two passes.
Van Alstine has 39 tackles this season (10 vs. Slippery Rock) and 2.5 tackles for a loss. He returned an interception 71 yards to set up the Warriors' first touchdown against IUP.
Rice has seen limited action through the first six games, playing primarily on special teams. He has 19 tackles this season, including seven stops at Lock Haven.
THE DEFENSIVE LINE: The ESU defensive line has three new starters from a year ago, with Jr. DT Miguel Rivera (14 tackles, sack) as the only holdover. R-Jr. DE Dave Iobst leads the defensive line with 26 tackles and 5.5 TFL. R-So. Matthew Faas leads the defensive line with 2.5 sacks and has 18 tackles and 4.5 TFL. R-Jr. DT Jeff Shrive (18 tackles) has also started all six games in 2007. Jr. DE Ray Ramirez has 21 tackles and R-Fr. DE Jeff Case had his first two career sacks last week at Cheyney.
THE SECONDARY: Fr. CB David Castillo has started the last two games and had his first career interception on the final play of the first half at Cheyney. Fr. FS Kevin Schafer also made his second career start and shared time with So. FS Mike Gnall, who started the first four games of the season. Jr. CB Scott Christy made his second start of the season as well. So. CB Nick Artinger has made four starts and Sr. CB Mike Gowen started the first three games before suffering an injury against IUP.
SPECIAL TEAMS: Sophomore kicker Greg Knauss leads the PSAC with 1.17 field goals per game this season. He is 7-of-12 on field goals and had made a kick of more than 40 yards in three straight games before missing his only attempt (37 yards) at Cheyney. Knauss set the ESU school record with a 53-yard field goal on the final play of the first half against IUP, and made three field goals in the game.
In the punting game, junior Nick Krut is averaging 39.9 yards per punt, including a career-long 60-yard punt against Slippery Rock. ESU has a net punting average of 36.5 yards and was third in Division II in net punting last year (36.0). Senior LB Brock Williard is in his fourth year as the long snapper.
The Warriors' kick blocking unit has also excelled, as ESU has blocked four of its opponents 21 extra-point attempts this season. Dave Lotier has two blocks (at Cal, vs. Slippery Rock), along with Fred Rice (at Cal) and David Pacchioni (at Cheyney).
WARRIORS ON TV: All four of the Warriors' home games will be broadcast on Blue Ridge TV 13, the 20th season that Blue Ridge will broadcast ESU football. Chris Doty handles play-by-play and Blue Ridge Sports Director Bob Capasso is the color commentator. Additionally, the Oct. 27 match-up with Bloomsburg is the PSAC Game of the Week on PA SPORTSfever TV, which will be broadcasting a PSAC game across the state each week during the 2007 season. The broadcast outlets in the Poconos are WQMY-53 (channel 16 on Blue Ridge Cable) and WSWB-38 (channel 11 on Blue Ridge).
WARRIORS ON RADIO: WVPO 840 AM has broadcast ESU football for 45 years, with Chuck Seese and Bob Brittain forming the broadcast team once again in 2007. WESS 90.3 FM, ESU's campus radio station, will also broadcast selected games.
TERWILLIGER AND PRALL: QB Jimmy Terwilliger, the 2005 Harlon Hill Award recipient as the most outstanding player in Division II, started all 48 games in his career at ESU before graduating last May. Terwilliger left with 15 ESU and 14 NCAA records, including tying the NCAA all-division record with 148 touchdown passes. He also set Division II standards for passing yards (14,350) and total offense (16,064). Terwilliger was a three-time recipient of the PSAC East Offensive Player of the Year (2003, 2004 and 2006), and set PSAC records with 4,571 passing yards, 4,960 yards of total offense and 50 passing touchdowns as ESU won the Northeast Region championship in 2005.
WR Evan Prall set PSAC records with 4,093 receiving yards and 50 touchdowns in his career at ESU from 2003-06. He teamed with Terwilliger for 164 catches, 2,940 yards and 40 touchdowns over his final two seasons and also holds ESU's all-purpose yardage record with 5,682 all-purpose yards when adding in more than 1,000 yards as a kick returner and 500 yards as a punt returner. Prall made it to the final cut with the New York Jets before being released following their final preseason game.
PSAC CHAMPIONSHIPS: ESU has won a share of nine PSAC titles under head coach Denny Douds, and 15 in school history. The most recent championships came in 2002 and 2003, when the Warriors tied for the PSAC East championship. Outright PSAC titles came in 1964, 1965, 1975, 1978 and 1982. ESU has a 197-92-1 (.681) record in PSAC games for the third-best winning percentage since the first on-the-field championship was awarded in 1960.
ESU IN THE DIVISION II PLAYOFFS: ESU has made three appearances in the Division II Playoffs, with the first coming in 1991, followed by back-to-back trips in 2004 and 2005. The Warriors are 4-3 all-time in playoff games. Their first Division II Playoff victory was a 36-32 win over Edinboro in 2004, while the 2005 playoff run included wins over Southern Connecticut State (55-33), Bloomsburg (52-39) and C.W. Post (55-28) to earn the Northeast Region championship. The run finally ended with a 55-20 loss to eventual national champion Grand Valley State.
PSAC PRESEASON POLL: ESU was picked to repeat last year's third-place finish in the PSAC East in the 2007 PSAC Coaches Poll, which was released in early August. The Warriors went 4-2 in the East last season. West Chester was the top choice, followed by 2006 champ Bloomsburg, with Millersville (4th), Kutztown (5th) and Cheyney (6th) rounding out the list. In the West, Cal was picked first with IUP and Slippery Rock tied for second. ESU played all three teams in 2007.
