Box Score / Photo Gallery

EAST STROUDSBURG – East Stroudsburg University scored on three of its first five offensive plays, the defense returned three interceptions for touchdowns and redshirt sophomore cornerback Shawnte Carroll set a school record with four interceptions, including two for scores, as the Warriors beat Slippery Rock 54-28 and moved closer to securing an NCAA Division II playoff berth on Saturday afternoon at Eiler-Martin Stadium.

ESU (8-3) was ranked No. 6 in the NCAA Division II Super Regional One entering the day which saw No. 4 Bentley fall 23-21 at Stonehill and No. 5 Bloomsburg suffer its third straight loss, a 10-7 overtime defeat against Gannon. The six playoff entrants from Super Regional One, along with the rest of the 24-team Division II championship field, will be announced on Sunday between 3:00 and 3:30 p.m. on ESPNews.

The Warriors stunned Slippery Rock (6-5) with 20 points in the first 4:23 of the game, including two touchdowns before the Rock ran an offensive play. ESU scored touchdowns on five of its eight possessions in the first half, then saw an opportunistic defense that led the PSAC with 26 takeaways entering the game bring three interceptions back for touchdowns and record seven total turnovers, including six interceptions. The Warriors finish the regular season as the PSAC leader in both interceptions (18) and fumble recoveries (15) for a conference-high 33 takeaways.

Carroll tied a Division II record with three interceptions in the fourth quarter, which he shares with three other players. He shared the school record of three interceptions in the game with four other players – Matt Crispell (2004), Roger Straub (1992), Bill Scott (1986) and Mike Lush (1980) – for 2:15 of game action and broke it with 3:02 remaining.

All-American outside linebacker Matt Freed recorded a career-high 20 tackles, including 4.0 tackles for a loss and 2.0 sacks, to give him 121 tackles (15.0 TFL) and 8.0 sacks on the season. Senior free safety Nicholas Artinger had two interceptions, with a 45-yard return for a touchdown in the third quarter, to give him a PSAC-leading seven interceptions on the season.

Redshirt junior quarterback Matt Marshall was 5-for-5 for 162 yards and three TDs in the first five minutes, hitting freshman wide receiver Bryan Ogden for 24 yards on the first play for scrimmage, redshirt freshman wide receiver Jordan Hallman for 12 yards on the second snap and freshman tailback Kendrick Williams for 22 yards and the game's first touchdown just 1:05 into the contest.

Akeem Satterfield fumbled the ensuing kickoff and redshirt sophomore linebacker Bryan Billger fell on the ball at the 24-yard line. ESU was in the end zone on the next play, a 24-yard pass from Marshall to Hallman, while redshirt junior kicker Drew Reinhard's extra point was blocked to keep the score 13-0 with 13:41 on the clock.

Slippery Rock put together an eight play, 35-yard drive, riding tailback Damarcus Cleckley (30 carries, 169 yards) on the first five plays, before the drive stalled and Kyle Witman punted the ball into the end zone for a touchback.

Marshall completed the scoring barrage with an 80-yard pass to redshirt junior wide receiver Ed Kiser, his third TD pass in as many plays, as Kiser outran the secondary after hauling in the pass just over midfield. Eight of the game's 12 touchdowns covered at least 20 yards, including seven of the Warriors' eight scores.

Slippery Rock got back in the game on its next two possessions to make the score 20-14 before the Warriors scored three more second-quarter touchdowns to take a 40-14 lead into halftime. Cleckley barreled in from two yards out to cap a nine play, 58-yard drive with 6:00 left in the first quarter, and a blocked punt set up a seven-yard TD run by Ryan Lehmeier with 12:49 on the clock in the second quarter.

The Rock had the ball with a chance to take the lead with 11:00 to go in the half, but ESU forced a three-and-out, with Freed sacking Rocco Colavecchia on third down. Senior free safety Mike Gnall returned the punt 14 yards to the 47-yard line and Williams scored on the next play to put ESU ahead 27-14 with 9:03 remaining.

The Warriors defense held on the next series thanks to a touchdown-saving tackle by freshman defensive end Kevon Brown on the kickoff, as he tracked down A.J. Saunders at the 10-yard line after a 75 yard return. Sophomore linebacker Mike Bergey broke through for a third-down sack and SRU kicker C.J. Bahr missed wide left on a 32-yard attempt.

Marshall proceeded to drive the offense 80 yards in six plays, with the bulk of the yardage coming on a 49-yard pass to Hallman which gave the Warriors first-and-goal. Hallman hauled in a six-yard pass on second down and put ESU ahead 33-14 following Reinhard's extra point.

Carroll had the first of his record-setting four interceptions two plays after the ensuing kickoff, picking off a Colavecchia pass at the 36-yard line and returning it for the score with 2:59 left in the half. The defense came up big again at the end of Slippery Rock's final drive of the half, as Freed tracked down Cleckley for a three-yard loss on fourth-and-goal from the three-yard line in the final minute.

Both of ESU's second-half touchdowns were defensive scores, the first on Artinger's 45-yard return less than two minutes into the third quarter and the second a 40-yard return by Carroll with just over five minutes left in the game.

Marshall was 12-for-24 for 284 yards and four touchdowns after his unbelievable start in the first five minutes. He went over the 2,500-yard mark for the season with his 80-yard TD pass to Kiser, joining Jimmy Terwilliger (2003-06), Damian Poalucci (1996-97) and James Franklin (1994) as ESU quarterbacks who have reached that plateau. Marshall currently ranks seventh in school history with 2,637 passing yards and 2,891 yards of total offense and is sixth with 24 passing touchdowns.

Hallman had five catches for a career-high 102 yards and is the fifth ESU player with a 100-yard receiving game this season. Williams had 139 all-purpose yards and a pair of touchdowns, with 11 carries for 83 yards and two catches for 56 yards, and is averaging more than 110 all-purpose yards per game in his first five career starts.

Freed's 20 tackles (13 solo) are tied for the fourth-most in Division II this season. He had 14 solo tackles three weeks ago at Kutztown, tied for the most in Division II. Bergey (12 tackles, 1.5 sacks) and redshirt sophomore linebacker Taylor Cave (11 tackles, 0.5 sacks) were also in double figures in tackles. Redshirt junior defensive end Jeff Case had a sack for the fourth straight game and has 7.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for a loss this season.

Cleckley led a Slippery Rock rushing attack that gained 279 yards on 61 carries and controlled the clock for 35:49, but the Rock's two quarterbacks – Colavecchia (0-4, 3 Int.) and Ryan O'Rourke (5-17, 93 yards, 3 Int.) combined to go 5-for-21 with six interceptions in the passing game. Satterfield fell just short of the 100-yard mark with 17 carries for 98 yards, all in the second half.

ESU has won eight games 12 times in 36 years under head coach Denny Douds, a 1963 graduate of Slippery Rock. The Warriors have made three NCAA playoff appearances (1991, 2004 and 2005) and won the Northeast Region and advanced to the national semifinals in 2005.