GAME NOTES (PDF)

THE MATCH-UP: East Stroudsburg University travels to Cheyney looking to break its first three-game losing streak since 2000 and in search of its first PSAC East victory of the season. The Warriors have the opportunity to set the Division II record for consecutive victories over one opponent in an uninterrupted series, entering the game with 27 straight wins over Cheyney. The Warriors are currently tied with Minn.-Duluth, who won 27 straight against Wisc.-Superior from 1962-89. Notre Dame owns the Division I record with its current 43-game winning streak over Navy. ESU leads the all-time series 50-1 dating to the first meeting in 1954.

Radio Coverage

Live on WVPO 840 AM and redzonemedia.com. Chuck Seese will handle the play-by-play with ESU Sports Information Director Greg Knowlden doing color commentary. Pre-game begins at 12:30 p.m.

INSIDE THE SERIES: ESU has won its last 27 meetings with Cheyney by an average score of 36.6 to 11.2 ... in the last 11 games, dating to a 78-32 win in 1996, ESU has won by an average margin of 50.5 to 14.1 and scored at least 35 points in every game ... Cheyney's only win in the series was a 7-3 victory in 1979 ... ESU won the first 23 games by an average score of 40.3 to 3.4 ... the average score in the 51 games is 37.6 to 7.6.

LAST TIME OUT: Ryan Lehmeier ran for 229 yards and two touchdowns and Damarcus Cleckley added 109 yards and a score to lead Slippery Rock to a 31-24 win at Eiler-Martin Stadium last Saturday. Slippery Rock ran for 332 yards, threw for 220 and held the ball for more than 39 minutes in the contest. Junior quarterback Tim Roken threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another for ESU, and sophomore Sam Shuman caught five passes for 93 yards to lead the ESU offense. Defensively, junior linebacker David Pacchioni had a team-high 12 tackles and two pass break-ups, and senior linebacker Jayson Frank had eight tackles and an interception.

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 207-138-3. 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.

Tim Newsom (West Virginia '92) is in his third season as head football coach at Cheyney and has a career record of 4-24. Newsom played for the Mountaineers in the 1988 national championship game and began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at WVU in 1993-94. He was an assistant coach at Juniata College, James Madison and Savannah State before moving on to Johnson C. Smith in 1997. He was defensive coordinator at Johnson C. Smith for seven years and accepted the head coaching position at Cheyney prior to the 2005 season.

TURN ON THE LIGHTS: ESU played each of its first three games under the lights, including the first home night game in school history on Sept. 15 against IUP. The Warriors will also play night football on Oct. 20 at West Chester (6 p.m.), and 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 junior Tim Roken is fourth in the PSAC and second among PSAC East quarterbacks with 249.2 yards of total offense per game. Roken had 265 yards of total offense last week 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 has run for a touchdown in each of the last two games. His best outing came at Lock Haven, where he threw for 260 yards and four touchdowns.

Redshirt sophomore Tom O'Brien started the season opener at Cal and was 16-of-28 for 91 yards with two interceptions, and was sacked nine times. The Vulcans returned all 11 starters off the PSAC's top defense from a year ago.

THE TAILBACKS: Junior Joe Partridge has been ESU's leading rusher the last three games and made his first start of the season last Saturday vs. Slippery Rock, where he ran for 63 yards on 11 carries. Partridge has run for 237 yards and three TDs and is averaging 5.4 yards per carry. He 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.

THE WIDE RECEIVERS: Redshirt sophomore Sam Shuman had five catches for 93 yards against Slippery Rock and leads the Warriors with 257 receiving yards on 16 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 16 catches for 191 yards and two TDs this year, and caught three passes for 34 yards and a touchdown last week 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 67 catches for 810 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. Giglio scored on a 51-yard play on his first career reception 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 sustained against Slippery Rock. Stem ranks sixth in the PSAC with 143.2 all-purpose yards per game and had at least 100 all-purpose yards in each of the last three games - 119 vs. Slippery Rock, 268 vs. Millersville and 169 vs. IUP. He will finish the season with a 30.9-yard kick return average, second in school history, and will hold the school record with a 29.9-yard career average entering his senior season. Stem also averaged 12.7 yards on seven punt returns in 2007.

THE OFFENSIVE LINE: Sr. LT Mike Habel, a four-year starter and first team All-PSAC East selection, has started 39 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 six sacks over the last four games games. Senior Thomas Sugden moved from right guard to left guard, senior Michael Parshley is the center, and redshirt sophomore Morgan Thomas moved to right guard from right tackle, where he had started all 12 games of his career. Redshirt sophomore Matt Keller has made the first four starts of his career at right tackle. Parshley scored a touchdown at Lock Haven when he recovered a fumble in the end zone.

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 four games - Frank vs. Millersville, Van Alstine vs. IUP, and Lotier and Pacchioni at Lock Haven.

Frank, a first team All-PSAC East selection in 2006, leads ESU with 50 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 46 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 32 tackles, a sack and an interception this year after recording 47 tackles and four sacks last season. He had a team-high 12 tackles last week vs. Slippery Rock and also broke up two passes.

Van Alstine has 35 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 five games, playing primarily on special teams. He has 17 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 (12 tackles, sack) as the only holdover. R-Jr. DE Dave Iobst leads the defensive line with 24 tackles and had six tackles (1.5 TFL) vs. Slippery Rock. R-So. Matthew Faas was also productive against Slippery Rock, with seven tackles and 1.5 sacks, and has 16 tackles (4.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks) this season. R-Jr. DT Jeff Shrive (16 tackles) has also started all five games in 2007. Backup DE Ray Ramirez has 19 tackles and has 12 tackles and two assisted sacks over the last two games.

THE SECONDARY: Freshmen Robert Hartenfels (redshirt), David Castillo and Kevin Schafer all made their first career starts last week against Slippery Rock. ESU went back to its regular starters in the second half, with junior Scott Christy and sophomore Nick Artinger at the corners and sophomore Mike Gnall at free safety. Gnall finished the game with 10 tackles.

The Warriors have nine interceptions through five games after picking off just 13 passes in 11 games a year ago. Four members of the secondary have interceptions this season - Christy, Gnall, Schafer and senior CB Mike Gowen, who started the first three games before suffering an injury against IUP.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Sophomore kicker Greg Knauss leads the PSAC with 1.40 field goals per game this season. He is 7-of-11 on field goals, including a kick of more than 40 yards in each of the last three games. 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 40.1 yards per punt, including a career-long 60-yard punt against Slippery Rock. ESU has a net punting average of 36.4 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.

WARRIORS ON TV: All four of the Warriors' home games will be broadcast on Blue Ridge TV 13, the 17th 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 42 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.