Box Score
CLARION - Senior quarterback Tim Roken threw for 420 yards and five touchdowns and head coach Denny Douds earned his 212th career win to tie the PSAC record as East Stroudsburg University improved to 3-0 with a 49-28 win at Clarion on Saturday afternoon.
Douds matches Millersville's Gene Carpenter as the winningest coach in conference history and has a record of 212-140-3 in 35 seasons as the head coach at ESU. Douds will have an opportunity to break the record against Shippensburg in the PSAC East opener next week at 4 p.m. at Eiler-Martin Stadium.
Roken was 23-of-34 for the game and 15-of-20 for 283 yards and four touchdowns in the first half as the Warriors built a 35-7 halftime lead. He also ran for a three-yard score in the second quarter and had 435 yards of total offense for the game.
Redshirt junior Sam Shuman had nine catches for 141 yards and two touchdowns and senior Drew Stem gained 132 yards on seven catches for the first two 100-yard receiving games for the Warriors this season.
ESU set the tone for the game on the first play from scrimmage when Roken hit senior Doug Ogden for a 44-yard gain, and the Warriors were in the end zone four plays later on a seven-yard pass to redshirt sophomore Ed Kiser 1:45 into the game. Junior Greg Knauss added the first of his seven extra points.
Clarion answered with a 13 play, 86-yard drive to tie the score at 7-7. The Golden Eagles converted a third-and-one near midfield with an 18-yard pass from Gino Rometo to Matt Foradora, and Tyler Hueth found the goal line on a four-yard run on fourth-and-one to complete the drive.
The rest of the first half was all Warriors, as ESU scored on four of its next five possessions. Roken threw touchdown passes of 34 yards to Ogden, 14 yards to redshirt sophomore Jeff Giglio and 34 yards to Shuman and also scored on a three-yard run to cap an 80-yard drive with 1:44 left in the first half.
The defense set up ESU's third touchdown with a fumble recovery at the 33-yard line by redshirt sophomore linebacker Matt Freed that was forced by senior linebacker Fred Rice. Freed (13 tackles) and Rice (12) both hit double figures for the third straight game, and Freed entered as the PSAC leader with 14 tackles per game.
The Warriors went 89 yards on 12 plays on their first possession of the second half to take a 42-7 lead. Roken threw for 93 yards on the drive, including a 44-yard bomb to Stem, as ESU overcame three penalties, and redshirt freshman tailback Russell Johnson scored his first career touchdown on a one-yard run.
Rometo threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Foradora on Clarion's next possession, while the Warriors completed their scoring with a 14-yard strike from Roken to Shuman with 11:32 left.
The Golden Eagles added fourth quarter touchdowns on runs by Nick Sipes (four yards) and Rometo (one yard) and put up 290 yards of offense in the second half to finish with a slight edge (460-458) for the game. Sipes (118 yards) and Eddie Emmanuel (105 yards) both topped 100 yards rushing, and Rometo was 22-for-35 for 238 yards.
Senior punter Nick Krut averaged 57.5 yards on four punts, including kicks of 59, 61 and 63 yards. Junior Nicholas Artinger and redshirt sophomore Rob Hartenfels both had interceptions, and seniors Steve Van Alstine and David Pacchioni and redshirt freshman Cody Berry had sacks for the Warriors defense.
The win gives ESU a 3-0 start for the fifth time since 2000. The Warriors have won their first four games in a season four times in 34 years under Douds.
