Box Score
EAST STROUDSBURG - Senior tailback Joe Partridge led a productive offense with 27 carries for 97 yards and the Warriors' defense limited Kutztown to a third-quarter field goal as East Stroudsburg University posted a 27-3 victory on Senior Day on Saturday afternoon at Eiler-Martin Stadium.
The Warriors, the No. 7-ranked team in Division II's Super Regional 1, improve to 6-2 (3-2 PSAC East) and end their six-game home schedule on their new FieldTurf with a 5-1 record.
Partridge went over the 1,500-yard mark for his career and had 105 of the Warriors' 314 yards of total offense. Senior wide receiver Drew Stem had seven punt returns for 108 yards, including a career-long 37-yard runback to set up ESU's final touchdown. Defensively, redshirt sophomore outside linebacker Matt Freed, the nation's fifth-leading tackler, had nine tackles (2.0 TFL) and a sack.
ESU led 13-0 at halftime on a 14-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Tim Roken to redshirt sophomore Jeff Giglio with 3:01 left in the first quarter, and two second-quarter field goals from junior kicker Greg Knauss.
Knauss connected from 23 yards just over a minute into the second period, then made a season-long 44-yarder with four seconds remaining in the first half. Knauss made five field goals of at least 40 yards last season, including a game-winning 40-yard kick with 18 seconds left in ESU's 24-23 win at Kutztown.
The Golden Bears got on the board late in the third quarter with a nine-play, 69-yard drive but had to settle for a 23-yard field goal by Matt Dineen. Quarterback Shane Martin had an apparent six-yard touchdown run called back on an illegal block after tailback Dontay Wilson (14 carries, 109 yards) set the offense up with a 41-yard run.
ESU regained the momentum with a 72-yard march as Roken found his rhythm in the passing game. Partridge had a 17-yard run to go over 1,500 career yards, then Roken hit redshirt freshman tailback Russell Johnson for 17 yards and redshirt junior wide receiver Sam Shuman for 46 yards to the one-yard line. Senior fullback Jesse Reider found the end zone two plays later to give the Warriors a 20-3 lead.
Stem's 37-yard punt return was the key play on a nine-play, 50-yard drive that finished the scoring. The Warriors kept the ball on the ground and were aided by a facemask penalty after Partridge converted a third-and-one, and Johnson scored from six yards out to seal the victory. Johnson had nine carries for a career-high 51 yards.
Twelve of ESU's 15 seniors were starters, six on each side of the ball, along with punter Nick Krut, who entered with a Division II-best 46.3-yard punting average. Krut punted five times for 41.4 yards, landing two inside the 20, and had a career-long 73-yard punt that just rolled into the end zone for a touchback in the second quarter. The senior from Abington Heights has 20 punts of 50 or more yards in his three seasons at ESU, including two on Saturday.
Senior linebackers Fred Rice and Steve Van Alstine both had seven tackles and David Pacchioni made four stops. The Warriors sacked Martin three times, all for losses of 10 or more yards, with the sacks credited to Freed and defensive ends Cody Berry and Matthew Faas.
Sophomore cornerback David Castillo, the PSAC's leader in pass breakups, had two more to give him 11 on the season, along with two interceptions. He has broken up two passes in each of the last four games.
Kutztown gained just 204 yards, a season-low against the Warriors' defense, and was 2-of-13 on third down conversions. ESU has held five of its eight opponents under 20 percent on third down situations this season.
Meanwhile, the offense picked up 10 of its 18 third-down opportunities and went 6-for-7 in the second half. Roken was 11-for-24 for 154 yards and Giglio and redshirt sophomore Ed Kiser both had three receptions.
ESU closes the regular season with three straight road games, at C.W. Post (12 p.m.), Millersville (1:30 p.m.) and Slippery Rock (1 p.m.), over the next three weekends.
