Box Score / Photo Gallery

EAST STROUDSBURG – Freshmen Eric Deery and Kendrick Williams combined to run for 198 yards, redshirt junior quarterback Matt Marshall threw three touchdown passes and East Stroudsburg University held Millersville to a field goal on the final play of the first half in a 44-3 victory on Saturday at Eiler-Martin Stadium.

Deery and Williams just missed producing two 100-yard rushing games, as Deery ran for 102 yards on 18 carries and Williams had 96 yards and a touchdown on 19 attempts. ESU ran for 243 yards, Marshall and redshirt sophomore Ray Wagner threw for 261 yards and four scores and the Warriors went over 500 yards of total offense for the third time this season.

The ESU defense held the Marauders to 227 yards of total offense and forced four turnovers after leading the PSAC with 22 takeaways entering the day. Redshirt junior defensive end Jeff Case had four tackles and three solo sacks, junior outside linebacker Mark Kalo and redshirt sophomore cornerback Shawnte Carroll both had their first career interceptions and senior free safety Mike Gnall and redshirt sophomore linebacker Dennis Lynch recovered fumbles.

The Warriors, ranked No. 8 in last week's NCAA Division II Super Region One rankings, improve to 7-3 (4-3 PSAC East) entering next Saturday's regular season finale vs. Slippery Rock at 1 p.m. at Eiler-Martin Stadium. Millersville, which was coming off a 41-35 (2OT) win over Kutztown, goes to 3-7 (2-5).

ESU rolled up 23 points in the second quarter after a scoreless first 15 minutes, including two touchdowns in a 14-second span midway through the period. Millersville got on the board with a 32-yard field goal by John Banzhof at the end of the half.

Redshirt senior wide receiver Sam Shuman caught two touchdown passes, the first an eight-yard strike from Marshall five seconds into the quarter to complete a nine play, 73-yard drive in just over two minutes. ESU backed Millersville up to its three-yard line with a 47-yard punt by freshman Joseph Janovic following its next possession, and the defense forced a three-and-out.

The Warriors were on the board again three plays later, with Williams carrying all three times for 41 yards and scoring on a 32-yard run on third-and-one to put ESU ahead 14-0.

The ensuing kickoff, knocked down by a heavy wind, was fumbled by Matt Egenrieder and recovered by Lynch at the 21-yard line. Marshall hit redshirt junior wide receiver Ed Kiser for the score on the next play, while redshirt junior Drew Reinhard's extra point hit the left upright to keep the score at 20-0.

Reinhard made a 30-yard field goal with 30 seconds left to cap the Warriors' next possession, a 13 play, 64-yard march that took 5:41 off the clock. Deery had 36 yards on five carries and Williams ran four times for 24 yards on the drive.

Quarterback Bill Shirk drove Millersville to the 15-yard line after a kick return by Jamal Smith to the 44. Shirk hit Smith for gains of 19 and 13 yards, then found tailback Brad Lantz for nine yards to set up Banzhof's field goal as the half expired.

ESU took a 37-3 lead with touchdowns on its first two possessions of the second half. Kiser returned the opening kickoff from the goal line to the 35 and Marshall hit redshirt senior tight end Willie Bell for 28 yards on the first play from scrimmage. The Warriors were in the end zone five plays later as Marshall converted a third-and-eight with a 24-yard pass to freshman wide receiver Bryan Ogden.

ESU went 57 yards in 11 plays for its next score, culminating in a one-yard run by redshirt junior fullback Brent Jones for his fifth touchdown of the season. Williams had the key play in the drive with a 22-yard run on third-and-one.

The Warriors closed the scoring with a four play, 88-yard drive engineered by Wagner midway through the fourth quarter. Ogden hauled in passes of 46 and 14 yards on the first two plays, part of a four catch, 106-yard day. Wagner threw a 17-yard pass to Shuman for the touchdown to wrap up ESU's eighth scoring drive of at least 85 yards this season.

Marshall was 13-for-21 for 178 yards and three touchdowns and Wagner was 4-for-5 for 83 yards and a score in the fourth quarter. Three wide receivers produced career milestones – Kiser had five catches for 50 yards to go over the 1,000-yard mark for his career, both of Shuman's catches went for touchdowns for his fourth career two-TD game and Ogden had his first career 100-yard receiving game.

Redshirt junior outside linebacker Matt Freed had seven tackles, including one for a five-yard loss, and finished the game with 101 tackles. He had 126 tackles last season on his way to first team Daktronics Division II All-America honors and is the first ESU player with 100 tackles in consecutive seasons since Kevin Nagle had three straight years from 1998-2000.

Shirk was 9-for-24 for 122 yards for Millersville. Lantz ran 17 times for 82 yards and Smith had four catches for 62 yards. Banzhof punted 10 times for a 35.1-yard average and made his only field goal attempt. Pat Maloney (15) and Ryan Christian (13) both had double-digit tackles for the Marauders defense.

The Warriors take on Slippery Rock in their Senior Day game next Saturday. ESU is 2-11 all-time against the Rock but earned a 38-21 win on the road last season.