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Watch the Postgame Field Dedication Ceremony

EAST STROUDSBURG – Sophomore tailback Kendrick Williams ran for three first-half touchdowns to help East Stroudsburg University defeat Cheyney, 58-14, delivering the 229th win of head coach Denny Douds' career on a day when the playing surface was dedicated in Douds' and former head coach Jack Gregory's honor on Saturday afternoon at Eiler-Martin Stadium.

Williams ran for 79 of his 93 yards and all three scores to give the Warriors a 31-6 halftime lead and redshirt senior quarterback Matt Marshall (12-for-22, 215 yards, 2 TDs) moved into fourth in school history in career total offense as part of a 487-yard output for the ESU offense.

Redshirt senior wide receiver Ed Kiser caught four passes for 133 yards, including a 34-yard touchdown in the first quarter, to turn in his second straight 100-yard receiving game. Williams finished just shy his second consecutive 100-yard game on the ground and sophomore tailback Eric Deery (11 carries, 70 yards) helped the Warriors compile 216 rushing yards to set a season-best for the third straight week.

Immediately following the game, the playing field was christened as Gregory-Douds Field at Eiler-Martin Stadium in honor of former coach Jack Gregory, who led his teams to a 49-11-2 record (.806 winning percentage) and PSAC championships in 1964 and 1965, and Douds, the PSAC's all-time leader in wins and coach of nine PSAC championship and four NCAA playoff squads in his 37 seasons.

At halftime, the Dr. Jake Piatt '61 President's Box was dedicated posthumously in recognition of Dr. Cummings A. “Jake” Piatt, a four-year starter on the line from 1957-60, the former chair of ESU's Professional and Secondary Education Department and a 2007 inductee to the ESU Athletic Hall of Fame.

ESU (3-6, 2-4) was two points away from posting consecutive 60-point games for the first time in school history and jumped on Cheyney (1-8, 1-5) early, scoring touchdowns on its first three possessions to go ahead 21-0 less than 11 minutes into the game.

The Warriors forced a three-and-out on their first defensive series and Williams (six carries, 36 yards) and Deery (three carries, 33 yards) gained every yard on a nine play, 69-yard drive that resulted in Williams' seven-yard TD run. Williams ran for 127 yards and four touchdowns to tie a school record in last week's 65-14 win at Millersville.

Kiser hauled in his touchdown catch on the second play of the Warriors' next possession and Williams scored on a 13-yard run less than three minutes later to make it 21-0. Williams capped his first half with a 22-yard TD run in the second quarter, while Travis Taltoan got the Wolves on the board with a seven-yard TD pass from Chris Anderson with 37 seconds left in the first half.

Freshman kicker Taylor Groff closed the half with a 28-yard field goal, set up by a long kick return by freshman fullback Darius Jackson, a pass interference penalty and passes from Marshall to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Wade Williams and freshman tailback Dusty Reed.

Groff was 3-for-4 on field goals, hitting from 28, 21 and 38 yards, and 7-for-7 on extra points in the game. The freshman is 14-for-19 on field goals on the season, tied for second with Mark Brubaker (2005) with 14 field goals and one behind the school record of 15 set by Ed Detwiler (1991) and Matt Seagreaves (1994).

In the second half, the Warriors used a 43-yard pass from Marshall to Kiser and a 13-yard scramble by Marshall to set up a four-yard touchdown run by redshirt freshman tailback Joe Klebon. Marshall hit Jackson for a six-yard TD about three minutes later following a 21-yard pass from redshirt junior quarterback Ray Wagner to sophomore wide receiver Bryan Ogden on a gadget play.

Groff made two second half field goals and Wagner finished a six play, 47-yard drive with a nine-yard TD pass to Klebon for the game's final points with 5:03 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Taltoan scored Cheyney's only second-half points midway through the third quarter on a 15-yard end around and Anderson ran for the two-point conversion. Anderson was 8-for-18 for 100 yards passing and ran for 15 yards, while Marcus Jones (15 carries, 78 yards) led a ground game that gained 139 yards on 45 carries. Thomas Stewart was the top tackler with 11 stops and had a sack and a forced fumble.

Marshall had 245 yards of total offense and finished the game with 6,799 total yards in his career, passing Bret Comp (6,774 yards, 1989-92) for fourth in school history. He went over the 6,000-yard mark in passing yardage in the first quarter and is closing on Jeremy Palm (1998-02) for third in career passing TDs and fourth in passing yards by ESU quarterbacks.

Redshirt senior outside linebacker Matt Freed and redshirt junior linebacker Taylor Cave led the Warriors with nine tackles apiece and junior safety Herschel Thornton had eight stops. The defense also came up with four sacks, including 1.5 by senior defensive end Alex Figueroa.

Cave and senior cornerback David Castillo both had interceptions – the ninth pick of Castillo's career – and Freed forced a fumble for the second straight week as the Warriors forced three turnovers and held Cheyney to 246 yards.

The Warriors host Shippensburg on Senior Day next Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. from Gregory-Douds Field at Eiler-Martin Stadium.


Game Notes
* Denny Douds has coached in 216 of the 318 games played at Eiler-Martin Stadium since it was opened in 1938. Douds joined the Warriors coaching staff as an assistant in 1966 and became the eighth head coach in school history in 1974. He has coached in more than 60 percent (452-of-752) of the games played in school history and has a 229-152-3 record in 384 games as head coach.
* ESU is 54-1 in the all-time series with Cheyney and holds the Division II record for consecutive wins over one opponent in an uninterrupted series, winning 31 straight against the Wolves since a 7-3 loss in 1979.

* ESU has outscored its last two opponents, 123-28. The 95-point combined margin of victory is the fifth-largest in school history and the most since 1968:
1968 - 96 - Delaware State (47-7) and Bloomsburg (70-14)
1968 - 100 - Cheyney (63-0) and Mansfield (37-0)
1962 - 107 - Kutztown (52-7) and Cheyney (68-6)
1926 - 120 - Lock Haven (99-0) and Lafayette Frosh (21-0) - 3rd and 4th games in program history

* ESU just missed the first consecutive 60-point games in program history. The Warriors scored 50+ points in consecutive games for the first time since hitting the mark in four straight games in 2005 (final game of regular season, first 3 games of NCAA Playoffs).

* 5 of ESU's 7 touchdown drives were accomplished in 1:24 or less. The Warriors' TDs were scored in 0:17, 1:00, 1:00, 1:05, 1:24, 2:56 and 3:09. The three field goal drives covered 0:30 (end of 1st half), 1:36 and 1:54.
* ESU's average starting field position was the Cheyney 48. The Wolves had a net 16.9-yard average on seven punts. Both ESU kick returns went into Cheyney territory and the Wolves' third kickoff went out of bounds.

* So. TB Kendrick Williams' 7 rushing TDs in the last two weeks are the most in school history. Williams ran for 4 TDs at Millersville last week (18 carries, 127 yards) and 3 TDs vs. Cheyney (16 carries, 93 yards).
* Williams had 4 rushing TDs in his first 14 career games before the last two weeks. He has run for 941 yards and 11 TDs and has 1,251 yards from scrimmage and 13 total TDs in 16 career games.

* R-Sr. QB Matt Marshall is currently 4th at ESU in career total offense (6,799 yards) and is 56 yards behind Jeremy Palm for 3rd.
* Marshall is 5th with 6,165 yards passing and is 226 yards behind Palm for 4th.
* He is 4th with 59 career TD passes and is three behind Palm for 3rd.
* He is 4th with 454 completions and is 31 behind Bret Comp for 3rd.
* Marshall ranks 2nd in both career pass efficiency rating (147.9) and completion percentage (60.7), trailing only Jimmy Terwilliger.

* R-Sr. WR Ed Kiser had his 2nd straight 100-yard game and the 5th 100-yard game of his career. He has 10 catches for 281 yards and 3 TDs in the last two weeks, and is 133 yards away from 2,000 for his career.
* 10 players caught passes from Marshall and Wagner. At least 8 players have caught a pass in all nine games this season.
* Fr. FB Darius Jackson caught a TD pass for the second straight week.
* R-Fr. TB Joe Klebon scored his second rush TD in as many weeks and has 5 TDs this season - 2 rushing and 3 receiving.

* R-Sr. OLB Matt Freed just missed his fifth straight 10-tackle game with 9 stops. He has 10+ tackles in 22 of his 32 career starts and has 373 career tackles, 3rd in school history.
* Freed has 94 tackles this season and can become the 3rd ESU player with three straight 100-tackle seasons, joining fellow All-America linebackers Jeff Johnson (1975-78) and Kevin Nagle (1997-00).
* Sr. DE Alex Figueroa's 1.5 sacks give him 4.0 sacks in the last three games. He has 6.0 sacks, 7.0 TFL and 34 tackles on the season.
* R-Jr. LB Taylor Cave's interception was his first of the season and 4th of his career. He has at least one pick in each of his first three seasons.
* Sr. CB David Castillo has 3 interceptions this year and 9 in his career. He also has 32 career pass breakups for a total of 41 passes defensed in 36 starts.
* Jr. FS Herschel Thornton had 8 tackles and has 6+ tackles in eight of the Warriors' nine games.

* Fr. K Taylor Groff is one field goal away from tying the school record of 15 set by Ed Detwiler in 1991 and tied by Matt Seagreaves in 1994. His 14 field goals are an ESU freshman record, breaking the mark of 13 set by Detwiler in 1989.
* Groff is 10-for-10 under 40 yards, 4-for-8 between 40-49 yards and 0-for-1 over 50 yards (58-yard attempt at C.W. Post).
* He leads all PSAC kickers with 77 points, going 14-for-19 on field goals and 35-for-37 on extra points.

* The Warriors did not attempt a punt for the first time since achieving the feat twice in 2006 (Cheyney, Kutztown).