GAME NOTES (PDF)

THE MATCH-UP: The Warriors host Clarion in their home opener at Eiler-Martin Stadium. ESU traveled 1,404 miles round-trip in the first two weeks of the season, picking up wins in Richmond (Virginia Union, 19-6) and Erie (Gannon, 38-21), and will be back on the road the next three weeks following Saturday night's game. Clarion enters with a 1-1 record, winning its season opener 33-21 at Fairmont State and falling to Kutztown 25-6 last weekend.

THE SERIES: ESU holds a 7-3 advantage and has won all six meetings this decade, including a 49-28 victory on the road last season. The Warriors also posted wins in 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2005. Clarion is ESU's second-most frequent PSAC West opponent since 2000 following a seven-game series with Edinboro. The schools have met twice in the PSAC championship game, with ESU winning 49-4 at Clarion in 1978 and Clarion taking a 27-14 victory in Hershey in 1983. Clarion won regular season games in 1986 and 1987.

TV/RADIO COVERAGE
Television: Live on Blue Ridge TV-13. Veteran play-by-play man Chris Doty is joined in the booth by Jim Riley, along with Drenen Tucker on the sidelines.
Radio: 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 6:30 p.m.

PSAC EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK: R-Jr. TB Zach Krise was named the PSAC East Offensive Player of the Week after accounting for 222 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns in ESU's 38-21 win at Gannon on Saturday. Krise ran for 184 yards and two TDs on 29 carries and caught five passes for 38 yards and another score. He ran for 107 yards and two TDs in the season opener at Virginia Union and is the first ESU back with consecutive 100-yard rushing games since Derek Lucas in 2004. Krise enters tonight's game tied for fourth in Division II with 145.5 rushing yards per game.

LAST TIME OUT: Krise, R-Jr. QB Matt Marshall and R-Jr. WR Jeff Giglio helped ESU put up 456 yards of total offense at Gannon. Marshall was 20-for-28 for 269 yards and three touchdowns and hit Giglio seven times for 140 yards and a TD. ESU took control of the game with two scores in a 20-second stretch early in the second quarter. Krise scored on a 14-yard pass from Marshall with 13:27 left, Gannon tailback Jon Richardson lost a fumble that was recovered by Jr. CB David Castillo at the 32-yard line and Marshall hit R-Fr. WR Jordan Hallman for a touchdown on the next play put ESU ahead 21-7. Gannon twice cut the lead to one score before the Warriors put the game away on an 18-yard run by Krise late in the third quarter.

THE HEAD COACHES: Denny Douds (Slippery Rock '63) holds the PSAC record for career wins with a 220-142-3 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.

Jay Foster (Plymouth State '85) is in his fourth season as the head coach at Clarion and has a career record of 5-30. The Golden Eagles were 3-8 last season. Foster was an assistant coach and defensive coordinator for 18 seasons under Dr. George Mihalik at Slippery Rock and helped the Rock to four PSAC West titles.

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.

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.

UNDER THE LIGHTS: ESU is 3-1 in night games at Eiler-Martin Stadium since the 2007 season. The Warriors dropped their inaugural game to IUP (38-23) on Sept. 15, 2007, but won all three games under the lights last year — Virginia Union (14-11), Gannon (23-10) and Cheyney (52-12). Tonight's game is the only true night game on the 2009 schedule.

2009 ROSTER BREAKDOWN: 43 players have participated for the Warriors through the first two games this season, including 14 who saw their first career action for the Warriors.

The Warriors have played six true freshmen - DB Mark Henderson, DB John Mack, DB D'Jon Tillman, 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 returned 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.

PSAC LEADERS: R-Jr. TB Zach Krise, R-Jr. QB Matt Marshall and R-Jr. WR Jeff Giglio all lead the PSAC in at least one offensive category:

KRISE - rushing (1st, 145.5 ypg), all-purpose yds (1st, 169.5 ypg), scoring (t-1st, 5 TD), rush att. (1st, 55)
MARSHALL - pass eff. (1st, 150.2), pass TD (t-1st, 4 TD), passing (3rd, 243.5 ypg), total off. (3rd, 277.5 ypg)
GIGLIO - receiving (1st, 104.5 ypg), receptions (2nd, 6.5 per game), all-purpose yds (2nd, 140.0 ypg)

CENTURY MARK: Krise has eclipsed the 100-yard mark in both games this season, with 107 at Virginia Union and 184 at Gannon, and is the first ESU back with consecutive 100-yard games since Derek Lucas went for 156 yards vs. Clarion and 195 yards at Kutztown in 2004.

Andre Castiglioni had three straight 100-yard games to start the 2001 season (493 yards total) and went over 100 yards in seven of the Warriors' 10 games that year.

FAST START: Krise has made his first two career starts at tailback this season and was ESU's leading returning rusher with 11 carries for 43 yards entering the year. He was primarily a wide receiver his first two years and had three career catches for 38 yards, all against Lock Haven in 2007, and was a defensive back during his redshirt year in 2006. Krise started at wide receiver at Millersville last season.

THE MARSHALL PLAN: R-Jr. QB Matt Marshall is 4-0 and is averaging 291.5 passing yards and 315.3 yards of total offense in his first four career starts with 10 TD and 5 interceptions. He has started hot in both of the first two games this season, completing 14 of his first 15 passes (for 163 yards) at Virginia Union and 11 of his first 13 passes (for 136 yards) at Gannon.

Marshall leads the PSAC in pass efficiency rating (150.2) this season and had a rating of 168.3 in four games last year. He 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 6 TD in 6 1/2 quarters of action against Millersville and Slippery Rock, and threw for 314 yards and 3 TD in his first career start vs. Cheyney.

OFFENSIVE VERSATILITY: ESU used 19 players on offense last week, including seven wide receivers/tight ends and three offensive linemen at tight end. Sr. Dan Finnegan and R-Fr. Blair Gower were both in on the first snap at tight end and Jr. Mike Dimitriou saw action at tight end and on the offensive line. Finnegan's number has been changed to 48 (from 68) and has been the Warriors' primary fullback in front of R-Jr. TB Zach Krise.

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 has gone over 100 yards in three of the last four games after catching seven passes for 140 yards and a TD at Gannon. He finished 2008 with 301 yards over the final two games and had 15 catches for 383 yards and 5 TD with Marshall at quarterback last season. For the year, Giglio tied for 4th in the PSAC with 10 receiving TDs and was 7th with 68.1 yards per game.

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 32 career games (2 at LT, 17 at RG, 13 at RT) and made the switch to left tackle this season. 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 has started all 13 games in his career 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) have all made their first two career starts this season.

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.

MAGIC NUMBER = 140: ESU has won its last 12 games when running for at least 140 yards. The Warriors had six games with 140 yards rushing last season and have topped the mark in both games this year (143 at Virginia Union, 187 at Gannon). The last loss with at least 140 rushing yards was a 49-28 setback vs. West Chester in 2006.

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 lead the PSAC in third down conversions at 57.7 percent (15-of-26) and were second in the PSAC in third down offense (46.1 percent) last season.

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.

Freed has 19 tackles (2.0 TFL) and a sack this season. He made 11 tackles at Gannon and has 10+ tackles in nine of his 13 career starts. He was a three-time PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week (Gannon, C.W. Post and Slippery Rock) and was named the d2football.com national Defensive Player of the Week with 15 tackles, 2 sacks and 2 interceptions against Gannon last year.

WARRIORS ON DEFENSE: ESU is 3rd in the PSAC in scoring defense (13.5 ppg) and 4th in total defense (287.5 ypg) and has forced five turnovers (two interceptions, three fumble recoveries) through the first two games.

Freed was the only first-year starter at linebacker last year and was the only returning starter in 2009. All four linebackers have made an impact in the first two games and are ESU's top four tacklers. Freed leads the way with 19 tackles, followed by Jr. ILB Kevin Schafer (16 tackles, 1.5 TFL, sack, FF), Jr. OLB Mark Kalo (12 tackles, 1.0 TFL, sack) and R-So. ILB Taylor Cave (10 tackles, 0.5 sack, Int.).

Schafer has started 4 career games and made 2 starts at free safety as a true freshman in 2007. Cave started at C.W. Post last year and Kalo has made his first 2 career starts this season.

THE DEFENSIVE LINE: R-Sr. Matthew Faas (22 career starts) and R-Jr. Jeff Case (12 starts) are both returning starters at defensive end for the Warriors. R-Sr. Keith Galinsky and R-So. Rudy Cerami are both first-year starters at defensive tackle and R-So. Cody Berry tied for the team lead with 4 sacks last season.

Case had 7 tackles (2.5 TFL), a sack and a fumble recovery at Virginia Union and 3 tackles and a forced fumble at Gannon, and had 33 tackles (5.0 TFL) last season. Faas has 5 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble this year and had 35 tackles, led ESU's defensive linemen with 9.0 TFL and tied for the PSAC lead with 4 fumble recoveries a year ago.

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 last season. He has started 18 straight games since midway through his freshman year.

THE SECONDARY: ESU is second in the PSAC in pass defense efficiency (94.5 quarterback rating) and hasn't allowed a touchdown pass this season. Senior safeties Nicholas Artinger (20 career starts) and Mike Gnall (9 starts) join Castillo to give ESU experience in the secondary. Artinger had his 4th career interception at Gannon and 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 has started both games at cornerback and has made three career starts. Freshmen Mark Henderson and John Mack have both contributed at cornerback and nickel back. Henderson has 2 tackles and a pass breakup, and Mack has 4 tackles, a pass breakup and recovered a fumble at Virginia Union.

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.

ON SPECIAL TEAMS: R-Jr. K Drew Reinhard and Fr. P Joseph Janovic are both in their first seasons as starters for the Warriors on special teams with the departure of Krut and two-year starting kicker Greg Knauss, who set school records with a 53-yard field goal and five field goals in a game.

Both kickers have had up-and-down starts to the 2009 season. Janovic averaged 35.7 yards on three punts and landed two inside the 20 in the season opener but averaged just 22.0 yards on three punts at Gannon. Reinhard was 5-for-5 on PAT's and made a 22-yard field goal in the fourth quarter last week after going 1-of-3 on PAT's and missing a 34-yard field goal at Virginia Union.

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.

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.

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

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 title 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.