Box Score
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. - Senior quarterback Tim Roken hit wide receiver Doug Ogden for a 63-yard touchdown on the final offensive play of the first half to close a 35-point second quarter that propelled East Stroudsburg University to a 48-42 win at C.W. Post on Saturday afternoon.
The Warriors (7-2, 4-2) trailed 14-3 before putting five touchdowns on the board with the wind at their backs to take a 38-21 halftime lead. The steady, strong wind played a significant role throughout the game, with just 20 of the game's 90 points scored going into the wind.
Senior tailback Joe Partridge capped a 10-play, 80-yard drive with a nine-yard scoring run and Roken hooked up with redshirt sophomore wide receiver Jeff Giglio twice for 54 yards on the next possession, including a 25-yard scoring play that gave ESU a 17-14 lead.
Redshirt sophomore outside linebacker Matt Freed put the Warriors ahead 24-14 with a 30-yard interception return for a touchdown after an exchange of punts, part of a 10-tackle day that also included a sack and forced fumble in less than a half of action.
ESU cashed in on another short field to stretch the lead, with a spectacular 33-yard catch by Giglio the key play leading to a three-yard run by senior fullback Jesse Reider with 2:51 left in the half.
C.W. Post (2-7, 2-4) finally answered the Warriors' 28-point run with an 80-yard scoring drive culminating in a 12-yard pass from Nick Georgetti to Chris Harris with 15 seconds left, but gave the Warriors just enough time to put another score on the board. Roken threw in the direction of redshirt sophomore Ed Kiser, and the ball was deflected into the hands of Ogden, who caught the ball at the 25-yard line and walked into the end zone for a 17-point halftime lead.
Roken was 19-for-30 for 343 yards and two touchdowns, his third 300-yard game of the season, and Ogden hauled in eight passes for a career-high 194 yards and his 17th career touchdown.
The Pioneers scored quickly to open the second half, with Georgetti finding Paul Jennings for a 23-yard touchdown on fourth-and-two to pull within 38-28, but the Warriors responded with a 14 play drive that ran nearly seven minutes off the clock with the offense going into a blustery wind.
Reider moved to tailback when Partridge left the game with an injury and carried seven times for 34 yards on the drive, Roken scrambled for five yards to pick up a first down on fourth-and-four, and Knauss made a 34-yard field goal to extend the lead to 41-28 with six minutes left in the third quarter.
The Warriors had a 53-yard field goal blocked early in the fourth quarter and C.W. Post went 65 yards in six plays to make it a six-point game on a five-yard run by tailback Jason Gwaltney. A transfer from West Virginia, Gwaltney ran 16 times for 114 yards, including a 50-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.
Roken's 33-yard pass to Ogden sparked ESU's final scoring drive, with Reider going in from one yard out to give ESU a 48-35 lead with 5:23 left.
Georgetti orchestrated one more touchdown march for the Pioneers and Gwaltney took a swing pass 16 yards for a touchdown with 2:02 remaining. ESU redshirt freshman wide receiver Adam Thomas recovered the onside kick and the Warriors iced the game with one more completion from Roken to Ogden, gaining 11 yards on third-and-seven, to seal the victory.
Georgetti was 27-for-44 for 330 yards and four touchdowns, and Jennings had 11 catches for 113 yards for the Pioneers.
ESU kept its NCAA playoff hopes alive and will wrap up its PSAC East schedule with a 1:30 p.m. kickoff next Saturday at Millersville.
Game Notes:
* ESU head coach Denny Douds won his 216th career game, giving him half of the 432 wins in program history
* ESU won its fifth straight game vs. C.W. Post and improved to 7-2 in the all-time series
* the Warriors won 66-49 in their last visit to Hickox Field in 2005, when Jimmy Terwilliger set a PSAC record with nine touchdown passes
* ESU held the ball for 34:42, including 19:25 in the second half, its biggest advantage of the season
* the 492 yards of total offense and 149 rushing yards were the third-most this year
* Reider nearly matched his career total of 25 carries, running 21 times for 76 yards, and has five rushing TDs this season
* Giglio leads ESU's talented receiving corps with seven touchdowns
* Roken became the seventh quarterback in ESU history to surpass the 2,000-yard mark for a season, with 2,018 yards and 15 touchdowns this year
* Roken went over 3,500 career passing yards and Ogden went over 1,500 career receiving yards
* Freed had nine of his 10 tackles in the first half, set up a 22-yard field goal by Knauss with a sack and forced fumble, and had his third interception of the season
* he became the third ESU player to have 100 tackles in a year since 2000 and has 105 tackles in nine games
* R-Jr. DE Matthew Faas had his fourth fumble recovery of the season, tied for the most in the PSAC
* Knauss, who holds the school record with a 53-yard field goal, attempted field goals of 52 and 53 yards going with the wind
* Nick Krut, the nation's leading punter, averaged 46.5 yards on two punts - a 33-yarder into the wind, and a 60-yarder with the wind that just bounced into the end zone in the fourth quarter
* Krut has a 60-yard punt in six of ESU's nine games this year
