GAME NOTES (PDF)
THE MATCH-UP: The Warriors make their second-longest road trip of the year during the second week of the season when they travel to Erie to take on Gannon in a PSAC crossover game. ESU won its season opener 19-6 at Virginia Union in Richmond last Thursday, while Gannon came back from a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter for a 35-34 win over Lake Erie.
RADIO COVERAGE: Live on WVPO 840 AM and redzonemedia.com. Chuck Seese, the 2009 PSAC Heaslip Media Award recipient, is in his 21st season as the voice of the Warriors, with Bob Brittain in his 9th year providing the color commentary. Pre-game begins at 5:30 p.m.
THE SERIES: ESU won the first-ever meeting between the two schools last year, 23-10, at Eiler-Martin Stadium. Gannon joined the PSAC as a full member for 2008-09 and went 4-7 (2-5 PSAC West) in its inaugural football season in the conference. Mercyhurst, also located in Erie, entered the PSAC at the same time but will not appear on the ESU schedule until at least the 2012 season.
LAST TIME OUT: R-Jr. TB Zach Krise ran 26 times for 107 yards and a pair of two-yard TDs as ESU won its season opener 19-6 at Virginia Union. R-Jr. QB Matt Marshall completed 14 of his first 15 passes and finished 20-for-32 for 218 yards. The Warriors opened the scoring with a six-yard TD pass from Marshall to R-Jr. WR Ed Kiser to complete a 15 play, 89-yard drive late in the first quarter and Krise gave ESU a 12-0 lead early in the second. The Warriors led 12-6 at halftime and Krise scored again on ESU's first possession of the second half for a 19-6 lead. Krise ran 17 times for 75 yards after halftime and the defense held Virginia Union to 305 yards for the game (109 in the second half) and had four sacks and two fumble recoveries.
THE HEAD COACHES: Denny Douds (Slippery Rock '63) holds the PSAC record for career wins with a 219-142-3 record in his 36th season as head football coach at ESU. Douds is in his 44th season at ESU overall and is one of five active coaches in Division II, and one of just 16 coaches in all of college football, with at least 200 career victories. He has led the Warriors to nine PSAC titles and three NCAA Playoff appearances, including the Northeast Region championship in 2005 when ESU advanced to the national semifinals. For more information on Coach Douds and the ESU coaching staff, please see page 7 of the game notes.
Jim Kiernan (St. Lawrence '90) has a record of 6-17 in his third season as head football coach at Gannon after spending eight seasons as the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at Saginaw Valley State. Kiernan helped the Cardinals to a 69-24 record during his tenure at Saginaw Valley.
PSAC PRESEASON POLL: ESU was picked to finish third in the 2009 PSAC East Coaches Poll, which was released at PSAC media day on August 3. The Warriors, who received one first place vote, were selected behind preseason favorite Bloomsburg and defending PSAC East champion West Chester. C.W. Post was fourth, followed by Shippensburg, Kutztown, Millersville and Cheyney.
In the West, defending PSAC champion and two-time NCAA semifinalist California was picked to defend its title, followed by Edinboro, IUP and Mercyhurst. Slippery Rock, Gannon and Clarion, all on the Warriors' schedule in 2009, were fifth through seventh. The 2009 season will mark the second year of the PSAC State Game, which was held annually from 1960-1987 and returned last season.
WARRIORS ON RADIO: WVPO 840 AM is in its 47th season broadcasting ESU football and will once again carry all 11 games in 2009. Chuck Seese, recently honored as the 2009 PSAC Heaslip Media Award winner to recognize his contributions to ESU and the PSAC, is in his 21st season as the voice of the Warriors. He is joined in the booth by Bob Brittain, who is in his ninth year providing the color commentary.
2009 ROSTER BREAKDOWN: 41 players participated in the season opener, including 12 who saw their first career action for the Warriors.
The Warriors played five true freshmen - DB Mark Henderson, DB John Mack, DE Kevon Brown, WR Bryan Ogden and P Joseph Janovic - after playing only five true freshmen in the past two years. So. LB Mike Bergey was the only true freshman to letter last year, and Jr. CB David Castillo, Jr. OLB Mark Kalo and Jr. LB Kevin Schafer lettered in 2007.
RETURNING STARTERS: The Warriors return nine starters, four on offense and five on defense, after graduating 15 seniors (14 starters) from last year's team. Five players made their first career starts at Virginia Union - R-So. DL Rudy Cerami, Jr. OLB Mark Kalo, R-Fr. LG Seve Rivers, R-So. RG Zach Sarginger and R-Fr. RT Wrenton Wright II.
CENTURY MARK: R-Jr. TB Zach Krise ran for 107 yards on 26 carries at Virginia Union to become the first ESU player with a 100-yard rushing game since Joe Partridge (105 yards at Kutztown) in the final game of the 2007 season. ESU had at least one 100-yard rushing game since 1990 until the streak was broken last year.
Krise achieved the feat in his first career start at tailback. He lettered at wide receiver his first two seasons and started at Millersville last year after spending his redshirt year as a defensive back.
THE MARSHALL PLAN: R-Jr. QB Matt Marshall picked up where he left off at the end of the 2008 season in last Thursday's opener at Virginia Union. He opened the game by completing 14 of his first 15 passes for 163 yards and finished 20-for-32 for 218 yards and a TD.
Marshall was the PSAC East Offensive Player of the Week in the final two weeks of 2008, when he went 28-for-44 for 572 yards and six TD in 6 1/2 quarters of action against Millersville and Slippery Rock. He started two games (Cheyney, Slippery Rock) and played in two others last season and finished with a quarterback rating of 168.3.
RETURNING ALL-AMERICAN: R-Jr. OLB Matt Freed was a first team Daktronics Division II and third team AP Little All-American in his first year as a starter in 2008. Freed led the PSAC and was tied for sixth in Division II with 11.5 tackles per game and had 126 tackles, 11.0 tackles for a loss, four sacks and four interceptions. He was also a first team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II selection.
Last year against Gannon, Freed had 15 tackles (3.0 TFL), two sacks and two interceptions and was named the d2football.com national Defensive Player of the Week. He was a three-time PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week (Gannon, C.W. Post and Slippery Rock). Freed had 10 or more tackles in eight games and at least 13 tackles five times.
DEPARTED ALL-AMERICAN: The Warriors boasted the top punter in Division II in 2008 in Nick Krut, a first team Daktronics Division II and first team AP Little All-American, who led Division II and ranked second in all divisions of college football with a 46.0-yard average last season. Krut had 15 punts of 50 or more yards and eight of 60 or more yards with a long of 73. He had a career average of 42.4 yards in three years.
NATION'S BEST: ESU led Division II with a 39.7-yard net punting average and has ranked in the top 5 four times in the last nine years. The Warriors also had the top net average of 40.6 in 2004.
WARRIORS ON OFFENSE: ESU's offense displayed the same versatility in the season opener as it did during the 2008 season, when the Warriors led the PSAC in passing (289.9 ypg) and were third in scoring (35.2 ppg).
The Warriors utilized R-Jr. Zach Krise at tailback and wide receiver, lined up R-Sr. Willie Bell at tight end, fullback and out wide, played Sr. OL Dan Finnegan and R-Fr. OL Blair Gower at tight end and also put the 6-1, 285-pound Gower at fullback. Last year the Warriors rolled out a two-tight end formation with Finnegan and OL David Biever and ran the ball effectively, rushing for at least 140 yards in six of the team's 11 games.
ESU ran for 143 yards at Virginia Union and has won 11 straight games when hitting the 140-yard mark.
THE WIDE RECEIVERS: R-Sr. Sam Shuman, R-Jr. Jeff Giglio and R-Jr. Ed Kiser all averaged at least 16 yards per catch last season as ESU led the PSAC in passing at 298.9 yards per game.
Shuman had career-highs in receptions and yards last season and has four career 100-yard receiving games, including two in 2008. He led ESU with 36 catches for 534 yards in 2007, when he was second team All-PSAC East and named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II team while majoring in Pharmacy.
Giglio tied for 4th in the PSAC with 10 receiving TDs and was 7th with 68.1 yards per game last year. He finished the year with 301 yards over the final two games (5 catches, 139 yards, 2 TD at Millersville; 8 catches, 162 yards, TD at Slippery Rock) for the first two 100-yard games of his career. He had 15 catches for 383 yards and 5 TD with Marshall at quarterback last season.
Kiser averaged 18.5 yards on 24 catches and hauled in a 96-yard TD pass from Roken at Millersville, the second-longest pass play in school history. He held the school record in the 400m (49.49) until it was broken last year and contributed to three school record-setting relay teams for the Warriors.
AIR IT OUT: Shuman completed a 52-yard pass to Kiser in the second quarter at Virginia Union and is 4-for-5 for 166 yards passing in his career at ESU. He was 3-for-3 for 114 yards last year, completing passes of 57 yards at Bloomsburg, 41 yards at Slippery Rock and 16-yard TD pass at Millersville.
IN THE FRONT ROW: R-Sr. Morgan Thomas has started 31 career games (17 at RG, 13 at RT) and made his first career start at left tackle at Virginia Union. He was second team All-PSAC East last year and was named a preseason honorable mention All-American by CDSdraft.com this summer. R-So. Dan Caffrey returns as the Warriors' center and started all 11 games after moving from the defensive line, where he spent his redshirt season. R-So. Zach Sarginger (right guard), R-Fr. Seve Rivers (left guard) and R-Fr. Wrenton Wright II (right tackle) all made their first career starts in the season opener.
ESU started the same five players on the offensive line in 10 of its 11 games last season, with graduate student Ryan Ehrie (Syracuse) lining up at left tackle, Keith Weaver (1st team All-PSAC East, 2nd team All-Region) at left guard, Caffrey at center, Thomas at right guard and Matthew Keller (two-year starter) at right tackle. The quintet combined for 82 career starts at the end of the season.
RED ZONE SUCCESS: ESU led the PSAC in red zone offense last season, scoring points on 44 of its 48 possessions inside the 20-yard line (92%). The Warriors scored 32 touchdowns (72% of its posssessions) and kicked 12 field goals.
THIRD DOWN SUCCESS: The Warriors were second in the PSAC in third down offense (46.1 percent) last season.
2008
1-2 yards: 72% (26-36)
3-5 yards: 64% (14-22)
6+ yards: 33% (31-95)
2009
1-2 yards: 100% (4-4)
3-5 yards: 100% (2-2)
6+ yards: 25% (2-8)
WARRIORS ON DEFENSE: Returning All-American Matt Freed led the Warriors with 8 tackles and had one of their four sacks at Virginia Union. The defense also picked up a pair of fumble recoveries and limited the Panthers to 6 points and 305 yards (105 rushing, 200 passing).
Freed was the only first-year starter at linebacker last year and is the only returning starter this season. Jr. OLB Mark Kalo made his first career start at Virginia Union, Jr. ILB Kevin Schafer made his first start at linebacker and R-So. ILB Taylor Cave made his second start after starting against C.W. Post last year. Schafer started two games at free safety as a true freshman in 2007. The linebackers were in on 2.5 of the Warrior's 4 sacks at Virginia Union and Schafer had a sack and forced fumble in the second quarter to set up ESU's second TD of the game.
THE DEFENSIVE LINE: R-Sr. Matthew Faas (21 career starts) and R-Jr. Jeff Case (11 starts) are both returning starters at defensive end and both made an impact at Virginia Union. Case had 7 tackles (2.5 TFL), a sack and a fumble recovery and Faas had 2 tackles, a forced fumble and a pass breakup.
Last season, Faas had 35 tackles, led ESU's defensive linemen with 9.0 TFL and tied for the PSAC lead with 4 fumble recoveries, while Case had 33 tackles and 5.0 TFL. R-So. DE Cody Berry tied for the team lead with 4 sacks.
R-Sr. Keith Galinsky and R-So. Rudy Cerami are both first-year starters at defensive tackle. Cerami had 3 tackles and assisted on a sack in the opener.
BREAK IT UP: Jr. CB David Castillo was second in the PSAC with 15 passes defended (three interceptions, 12 pass breakups) and had a 64-yard interception return for a touchdown vs. Gannon. He has started 16 straight games since midway through his freshman year.
THE SECONDARY: Senior safeties Nicholas Artinger (19 career starts) and Mike Gnall (9 starts) join Castillo to give ESU experience in the secondary. Artinger started 10 games last year while Gnall made seven starts as a sophomore in 2007. Gnall is currently out of action due to injury.
R-So. Shawnte Carroll made his second career start and freshmen Mark Henderson and John Mack saw their first career action in the season opener at Virginia Union. Henderson had a pass breakup on a third down play and Mack had 2 tackles and a fumble recovery in the third quarter.
ON SPECIAL TEAMS: The departure of All-American punter Nick Krut (46.0-yd avg. in 2008) and two-year starting kicker Greg Knauss, who set school records with a 53-yard field goal and five field goals in a game, leave both spots open going into the 2009 season. R-Jr. K Drew Reinhard and Fr. P Joseph Janovic will both see their first career action this fall.
Janovic averaged 35.7 yards on three punts and landed two inside the 20 in the season opener, while Reinhard was 1-of-3 on PAT's and missed a 34-yard field goal.
PSAC DOMINANCE: In the past 10 years, ESU has had seven first team All-PSAC East punters and six first team kickers. Denny Douds has coached 14 first team kickers and 13 first team punters in his 35 seasons at ESU.
ESU'S RECORD WHEN . . : ESU is 51-4 when scoring at least 30 points and 60-9 when allowing less than 30 points since the start of the 2000 season. The Warriors have a 70-30 record in that time.
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON: Two members of this years team have fathers who earned letters for the Warriors under Coach Douds. They join at least five other father-son combinations who have been affiliated with ESU football since Douds arrived in 1966.
R-Fr. DE Sam Hull - father Chris was a four-year letterwinner at DE from 1984-87
R-Jr. QB Matt Marshall - father Brian was the Warriors' leading passer in 1981
* Michael Falcone lettered at linebacker in 1973, his son Bryan earned 3 letters at linebacker from 2000-02
* Steven Jackson lettered at center from 1969-71, his son Greg lettered at tight end in 1998 and 1999
* Doug McNamee (DB/WR) was a co-captain on the 1966 team, his son Todd was a four-year letterwinner as a kicker and punter from 1985-88
* Willard Stem was an All-American safety in 1975, his son Drew was a two-year starter at wide receiver and kick returner in 2007 and 2008
* Mike Terwilliger was the starting quarterback for Douds' first four years as head coach and has been an assistant coach since 1978, his son Jimmy was a four-year starter at QB and won the Harlon Hill Award as the top player in Division II in 2005
WARRIORS ON TV: Blue Ridge TV-13 will broadcast ESU football for the 22nd year this season, with all five home games airing live across the region. Veteran play-by-play man Chris Doty is joined by color commentator Jim Riley and sideline reporter Drenen Tucker. ESU also expects to announce a partnership with PA SportsFever, which has broadcast five games over the past two seasons.
AND WE GO TO...OVERTIME: ESU broke a four-game losing streak in overtime games with its 44-41 win vs. Shippensburg on Sept. 20, 2008, which gave head coach Denny Douds the PSAC record with his 213th career victory. ESU is 3-6 all-time in overtime contests.
PSAC CHAMPIONSHIPS: ESU has won a share of nine PSAC titles under head coach Denny Douds, and 15 in school history. The most recent championships came in 2002 and 2003, when the Warriors tied for the PSAC East championship. Outright PSAC titles came in 1964, 1965, 1975, 1978 and 1982. ESU has a 204-97-1 (.677) record in PSAC games for the third-best winning percentage since the first on-the-field championship was awarded in 1960.
EILER-MARTIN STADIUM: Eiler-Martin Stadium has been home to the ESU football program since 1938 and was named in honor of John R. Eiler, an outstanding athlete at the school in the early 1930s and later athletic director and a championship soccer coach, and Gene Martin, the Warriors' head football coach from 1942-57 and the school's long-time Dean of Men. The stadium has been upgraded several times since its construction. New home bleachers were added in 1960, the current press box was installed in 1988, the track was resurfaced and expanded in 2005, lights were added in 2007 and FieldTurf was installed prior to the 2008 season. The Warriors have a 114-59 record at Eiler-Martin Stadium under head coach Denny Douds and a 34-16 home record since the start of the 2000 season.
ACADEMIC ACCOLADES: ESU has led the PSAC with 10 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II selections in each of the last two years and produced two Academic All-Americans in 2008-09, men's basketball player Chris Bach and track & field athlete Paul Wagner. ESU also led the conference with five "Top 10" honorees last year. R-Jr. OLB Matt Freed was first team Academic All-District last year and will have an opportunity to become the fifth ESU football player to be named an Academic All-American. Matt Crispell (DB, 2004) and Ernie Siegrist (TE, 1984) were both first team Academic All-Americans and Ed Detwiler (K-P, 1992) and Warren Brown (LB, 1979) were mentioned on the second team.
