Box Score

PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. – Redshirt senior quarterback Matt Marshall threw for 337 yards and a career-high five touchdowns, hitting five different receivers, and the defense forced five turnovers and had nine sacks as East Stroudsburg University opened the 2010 season with a 57-0 win at Pace University on Saturday afternoon.

The shutout is ESU's fifth in a season opener under head coach Denny Douds, and the 57 points are the third-most in the first game of the year in 83 seasons of varsity football.

Marshall went 22-for-33 and had the sixth 300-yard passing game of his career. His five TD passes came in a span of less than 19 minutes, as he went 9-for-11 for 185 yards from the final minute of the second quarter until early in the fourth quarter.

A safety on a bad snap on a punt was the only scoring of the first quarter, freshman kicker Taylor Groff hit a 29-yard field goal early in the second quarter for a 5-0 lead and sophomore tailback Eric Deery scored on a two-yard run for the Warriors' first touchdown with just over five minutes left in the half.

ESU went into intermission with a 26-0 lead after Marshall's first two TD passes. The senior quarterback cashed in on a nine play, 70-yard drive with an eight-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Bryan Ogden with 52 seconds left in the half, and again with a 26-yard scoring toss to redshirt senior wide receiver Ed Kiser with 10 seconds to play after a sack and forced fumble by redshirt junior defensive tackle Cody Berry.

The Warriors scored on their first drive of the second half, capitalizing on a short field after a four-yard punt with redshirt senior wide receiver Jeff Giglio catching a nine-yard TD pass from Marshall.

The score remained 33-0 going into the fourth quarter when ESU hit paydirt on consecutive offensive plays in a span of 25 seconds. Redshirt freshman tailback Joe Klebon went 68 yards for a TD on a screen pass, junior defensive end Brett Moss forced a fumble that was recovered by redshirt senior outside linebacker Matt Freed, and Marshall hit freshman tailback Dusty Reed with a 44-yard pass down the seam for a 47-0 lead with 12:18 remaining.

Senior defensive end Richard Peter, a two-year letterwinner for the Warriors after playing his freshman year at Pace, scored the game's final touchdown on a 20-yard fumble return after a sack by freshman linebacker Don Kinney, Jr. Groff's 33-yard field goal with 1:04 to play completed the scoring.

ESU had exactly 500 yards of total offense, 380 passing and 120 rushing, and held Pace to 155 yards on 69 plays. The Warriors outgained the Setters 168-1 in the second quarter and 207-20 in the fourth quarter while scoring 24 points in both periods.

The Warriors scored points on eight of their final 11 offensive possessions after coming up empty (three punts, three fumbles) in the first quarter. Pace's 19 possessions resulted in six punts, four turnovers on downs, four fumbles, one interception, a safety, a missed field goal and the end of each half.

Eight players accounted for the Warriors' nine sacks for a defense that was in the top 25 in the country with 2.75 sacks per game last season. Berry and senior linebacker Kevin Schafer both had solo sacks and assisted on another.

ESU also had eight players contribute to five turnovers. Junior linebacker Mike Bergey had a first-quarter interception, redshirt junior linebacker Bryan Billger and redshirt freshman wide receiver Robert Bleiler teamed up on a punt return fumble in the second quarter and Berry had his sack, forced fumble and recovery late in the first half. Moss stripped quarterback Joe Romanick and Freed recovered in the third quarter and Peter's return for a TD after Kinney's sack completed the turnover story in the fourth.

A total of 17 players contributed to a PSAC-best 33 turnovers last season, and ESU was 11th in Division II in the turnover department.

The Warriors also committed five turnovers and lost four fumbles. Three of the fumbles came in the first quarter, two inside the 10-yard line, to keep the offense off the board before Groff scored his first career points on a field goal following the Setters' special teams miscue on a punt return.

The freshman kicker was 7-for-7 on extra points and 2-for-3 on field goals in his collegiate debut, missing only on a 43-yard attempt after the Warriors didn't get the hold down.

Deery (16 carries, 63 yards), Klebon and Reed all scored their first career touchdowns, with Klebon and Reed catching TD passes in their first career action. ESU ran for a 4.3-yard average, with 120 yards on 28 carries, and didn't allow a sack.

Redshirt junior quarterback Ray Wagner was 3-for-4 for 43 yards in relief of Marshall, and the Warriors' quarterbacks connected with 10 different receivers. Five players caught TD passes for the first time since week 10 vs. Bloomsburg in 2006.

Giglio (64 yards), Kiser (60 yards) and Bleiler (57 yards) all had five catches and Reed, Ogden and freshman fullback Darius Jackson caught two passes each. Klebon, redshirt sophomore wide receivers Jordan Hallman and Wade Williams and redshirt senior fullback Brent Jones also had receptions.

ESU hosts IUP in its home opener next Saturday at 6 p.m. in the first of four straight games against the preseason favorites in the PSAC.

Game Notes:
* Marshall had 363 yards of total offense, replicating his 360-yard performance vs. Edinboro in the NCAA Playoffs in the Warriors' final game last season. His 337 passing yards were the third-most of his career. His previous career-high in TD passes was four, both against Slippery Rock in 2008 and 2009.
* Deery had two 100-yard games last season (Cheyney, Millersville) but scored his first career TD on Saturday.
* Klebon's 68-yard TD on a screen pass was ESU's longest play from scrimmage.
* R-Fr. WR Robert Bleiler started and had five catches for 57 yards in his first career game, along with three tackles on special teams.
* Giglio's TD catch was the 15th of his career, Kiser's TD was his 10th. Giglio went over the 100-catch mark for his career (101) and Kiser has 24 consecutive games with at least one reception.
* ESU had 500 yards of total offense in three games last season.
* The Warriors' high in passing yards last year was 430 (at Kutztown), followed by 316 (vs. Clarion). Marshall and Wagner combined for 380 yards on Saturday.
* The first-quarter safety was the Warriors' first since 2008, when OLB David Pacchioni sacked Bloomsburg quarterback Dan Latorre in the end zone.
* The defense's nine sacks are the most in at least a decade at ESU. Three players had sacks in their first career games for the Warriors – Jr. DE Brett Moss, Fr. OLB Derek Brown and Fr. LB Don Kinney, Jr.
* Freed led the PSAC with 10 sacks last season but didn't register a sack on Saturday. He still had six solo tackles and moved into 5th in school history in career tackles with 285, passing DL Greg Thoman (280, 2002-05).
* The Warriors forced five turnovers and had two 5+ turnover games in 2009 – 5 in a loss to C.W. Post, and 7 in a win vs. Slippery Rock.
* ESU's 18 interceptions and 15 fumble recoveries last season were both the most in the PSAC.
* ESU previously had season-opening shutouts under Douds in 2003 (58-0 vs. Lenoir-Rhyne), 1989 (24-0 at Southern Conn. St.), 1976 (14-0 at Montclair) and 1975 (7-0 at Slippery Rock).
* ESU won 72-17 at Bentley in 2005 in its highest-scoring opener. The second-most points was the 58-0 drubbing vs. Lenoir-Rhyne, followed by Saturday's 57-0 win.
* Douds won his 227th career game and coached in his 376th career game. Chris Dapolito made his collegiate head coaching debut for Pace.
* The Warriors have 27 shutouts in 37 seasons under Douds.