Complete Game Notes (PDF)

SATURDAY  l  1:05 p.m.  l  EILER-MARTIN STADIUM

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TV: Live on Blue Ridge TV-13 and ESU Warriors "All Access", and tape delay on the PA SPORTSfever Television Network. Play-by-play man Chris Doty, in his 23rd season, is joined in the booth by Jim Riley (fifth season) with Mike Remish on the sidelines.  Broadcast outlets are: Blue Ridge 13 - Live Saturday at 1 pm, replay 10 pm, replay Sunday at 7 pm; ROOT Sports - Wednesday, 5 pm; Comcast Network - Wednesday, 8 pm  (More replay information)

Radio: Live on WVPO 840 AM for the 50th season, and redzonemedia.com. Chuck Seese, the 2009 PSAC Heaslip Media Award recipient, is in his 24th season as the voice of the Warriors, with Bob Brittain in his 12th year providing the color commentary. Pre-game begins at 12:30 p.m.


THE MATCH-UP: East Stroudsburg University renews its series with West Chester as the Warriors and Golden Rams meet for the 77th time on Saturday at Eiler-Martin Stadium. ESU, 2-2 through its first four games, takes on a West Chester team that is 4-0 against Division II opponents after a season-opening 41-21 loss in the final game of its series with Division I FCS Delaware. The Golden Rams upset No. 6-ranked California on the road, 37-34, last Saturday while ESU fell late at Clarion, 31-27.

HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES: East Stroudsburg's 1964 and 1965 PSAC championship teams will be inducted to the Hall of Fame on Saturday morning. The Warriors went 8-1 and 10-0 to earn the school's only back-to-back titles under head coach Jack Gregory. Included in that record are a pair of wins over West Chester, 13-0 and 13-6, in two of the top games in the state those years. Individual inductees include halfback Barry Roach, ESU's first-ever first team AP Little All-American in 1965, and Thomas Washburn '65, an All-PSAC end on the 1964 team and also a standout on the baseball diamond.

LAST TIME OUT: R-Fr. QB Matt Soltes was 17-for-32 for 256 yards, 1 TD and 1 Int. and ran 21 times for 62 yards in his first career start, but Clarion put together two fourth-quarter scoring drives for a 31-27 win. Jr. WR Dusty Reed had 6 catches for 113 yards and a TD and Jr. K Taylor Groff made a 51-yard field goal, the 2nd-longest of his career and 3rd-longest in school history.  (Game Recap)

MAKING HISTORY: ESU head coach Denny Douds became the first coach in NCAA Division II history, and 15th in college football history, to coach 400 games in ESU's 59-27 win over Cheyney on Sept. 22. Douds is one of five coaches to spend his entire career at one school, joining Eddie Robinson (Grambling), Joe Paterno (Penn State), Roy Kidd (Eastern Kentucky) and Tubby Raymond (Delaware). Douds also moved into 5th in Division II history with 234 career wins, and ESU became the 4th PSAC program with 450 wins.

PROGRAM WINS: Today's game matches two of the four 450-win programs in the PSAC in West Chester (544, 1st) and ESU (450, 4th). ESU has a 450-300-19 (.598) record in its 85th year of varsity football. IUP (505 wins) and Slippery Rock (452) are 2nd and 3rd.  WCU and IUP are 4-1 and Slippery Rock is 2-3 this year.

Douds has a 234-164-3 record in 401 games as head coach at ESU. Including 68 games and 45 wins as an assistant coach under Charlie Reese from 1966-73, he has coached in 469 of the 769 games (61.0 percent) and 279 of the 450 wins (62.0 percent) in program history. As head coach, he is responsible for 52.1 percent of the program's games and 52.0 percent of its wins.

Along with holding the PSAC record for career wins, he has also coached in 98 more games than the second-most in conference history (Millersville's Gene Carpenter, 303).

THE HEAD COACHES: Denny Douds (Slippery Rock '63), in his 39th season, has led the Warriors to 9 PSAC titles and 4 NCAA Playoff appearances since taking over as head coach in 1974. His teams won outright state titles in 1975, 1978 and 1982 before the State Game was discontinued following the 1987 season. His teams have claimed PSAC East divisional titles in 1975, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1991, 2002 and 2003. NCAA Playoff appearances have come in 1991, 2004, 2005 - when the Warriors won the Northeast Region title and advanced to the national semifinals - and 2009. Among active coaches, Douds ranks 2nd in Division II and 7th in all of college football with 234 career wins.

Bill Zwaan (Delaware '79) has a 74-40 record in his 10th season as head coach at West Chester. He guided Widener to a six-year record of 54-14 from 1997-02 and has a career mark of 128-54 (.703). Zwaan has led the Golden Rams to five NCAA Playoff appearances and three PSAC East championships in his first nine seasons at WCU, advancing to the NCAA postseason every year from 2004-08.

DOUDS' FOES: Douds has faced 99 head coaches, including Zwaan, since taking over the Warriors' program in 1974. Lock Haven's John Allen became the 99th on Sept. 8. He will face #100, Marty Schaetzle of Mercyhurst, for the first time in the season finale unless either team advances to the State Game.

Douds will meet Bloomsburg's Danny Hale, formerly of West Chester, for the 26th time on Oct. 13. The match-up between Douds (currently 234 career wins) and Hale (208 wins) will be the 4th match-up of 200-win coaches in Division II history. Douds was also involved in 2 of the first 3, meeting California's John Luckhardt in 2010 and 2011. Besides Hale, Douds' only more frequent opponent was Millersville's Gene Carpenter, who he faced 27 times from 1974-2000.

50 YEARS: This fall marks Douds' 50th season in the coaching profession, 47th at ESU and 39th as head coach. He was an assistant coach at McDowell HS (Erie, Pa.) in 1963-64 and a graduate assistant at West Virginia in 1965 before coming to the Poconos to coach for newly-appointed Charlie Reese in 1966. The 50th anniversary of Douds' final collegiate game at Slippery Rock, a 13-6 win over East Stroudsburg in the PSAC State Game, is on November 17. Also of note, the 1964-65 PSAC champion football teams, coached by Jack Gregory, are being inducted to the ESU Athletic Hall of Fame this weekend. The 1965 State Game, a 26-10 win over Indiana (Douds' hometown team), was the last Warriors game without Douds on the sidelines.

REMEMBERING DEREK: The ESU football family sustained two losses during the summer. Derek Brown, a starting linebacker as a sophomore on last year's team, died on July 5 from injuries sustained in a car accident on June 30. Brown's older brother, Matt, was a four-year letterwinner at tight end and graduated in 2011. Matt Deery, the younger brother of Sr. TB Eric Deery, died in a car accident on August 1. Both were remembered with a moment of silence before the opener on Sept. 8 and the Warriors will wear a #24 decal (Brown's number) on their helmets throughout the season.

THE SERIES: ESU and West Chester have met 76 times, tied with Bloomsburg as the Warriors' most frequent opponent. They have met every year since 1946, with the 65 games in that span making it ESU's longest continuous series. They played twice in one season - 2004 - with West Chester winning 38-37 (OT) in the regular season and 48-38 in the NCAA Playoffs.

The Warriors' most recent win was 21-20 at West Chester's Farrell Stadium in 2009, which included the career debut of then-freshman TB Kendrick Williams (6 carries, 50 yards on go-ahead drive) and the go-ahead TD pass in the 4th quarter from Matt Marshall to then-redshirt freshman WR Jordan Hallman, a 5-yard strike. Since then, Williams has moved to 8th in school history in career rushing (1,905 yards) and Hallman has 83 catches for 1,648 yards and 16 TD.

BEEN HERE BEFORE: This marks the 7th straight year that ESU has played West Chester and Bloomsburg in back-to-back weeks. The last time ESU beat both teams in the same year was the 1991 PSAC East championship and NCAA Playoff season, beating Bloomsburg 20-10 and WCU 28-21 two weeks later.

30 YEARS AGO ... : Along with the 1964-65 PSAC championship teams, ESU's 1982 PSAC championship squad will also be back on campus this weekend. The Warriors went 9-2, capping the season with a 24-22 win at Edinboro in the State Game. One of their two losses was at Division I Lehigh. Andy Baranek (2,067 yards, 17 TD) quarterbacked the team, Dell Walker (605 yards, 9 TD) was the top rusher and Bobby Manez (51 rec, 684 yards, 5 TD), Scott Benoit (46 rec, 687 yards, 8 TD) and TE Ernie Siegrist (42 rec, 657 yards, 3 TD) were the top receivers. Baranek, Manez, future NFL linebacker Mike Reichenbach and DT Larry Sontag were first team All-PSAC East in the 9th of Denny Douds' 39 seasons at ESU.

COMING FULL CIRCLE: Longtime Warriors fans may recall the 1982 game at West Chester which ESU won, 17-9, on its way to the PSAC East and state championships. The go-ahead TD pass, a 73-yard strike, was thrown by freshman backup QB Andy Soltes to Scott Benoit that put the Warriors in front 14-9 with 8:44 left in the 4th quarter.

That game, played Oct. 29, 1982, was exactly 29 years and 11 months before the first career start of Soltes' son, Matt, a redshirt freshman, on Sept. 29, 2012 at Clarion. This weekend, the younger Soltes makes his 2nd career start against West Chester - with the same head coach (Denny Douds) and QB coach (Mike Terwilliger) as his dad 30 years ago.

SOLTES DEBUT: R-Fr. QB Matt Soltes was the first freshman QB to make his first career start on the road in 39 years under Denny Douds, and the 7th starting freshman QB overall. His passing yards (256) and total offense (318) are both the most by a freshman in his first career start, surpassing Jimmy Terwilliger (251 passing, 268 total offense) vs. Lenoir-Rhyne in 2003. Terwilliger played the first half in a 58-0 win in the season opener of ESU's PSAC East championship season, which included a 28-27 win over West Chester. Soltes is the 31st QB to start at least one game under Douds. His passing yardage is the 6th-most in a debut.

FAMILY TRADITION: Soltes and his father, Andy, became the 3rd father-son tandem to throw a TD pass under Douds when R-Jr. FB Thomas Tippett scored on a 49-yard pass vs. Cheyney. Andy Soltes' 73-yard TD pass to Scott Benoit in the 17-9 win at West Chester in 1982 was his only TD, as he suffered an injury in the spring game the following year.

Other QB tandems are Mike and Jimmy Terwilliger and Brian and Matt Marshall.

Mike Terwilliger, ESU's offensive coordinator, was QB for Douds' first four years (1974-77) and has been an assistant coach ever since. He led ESU to a 30-4-1 record in 35 starts and threw 33 TD passes. His son, Jimmy, was a four-year Harlon Hill candidate from 2003-06, the 2005 Harlon Hill Award winner, and tied the NCAA all-division record with 148 TD passes. Jimmy was 36-12, starting all 48 games, and took the Warriors to the NCAA Division II semifinals in 2005.

Brian Marshall was the Warriors' QB in 1981, under Terwilliger's tutelage, and threw 5 TD passes. His son, Matt, was a two-year starter, led ESU to the 2009 NCAA Playoffs and threw 61 TD passes (4th in school history) from 2007-10.

ADDING IT ALL UP: TD passes by family ... Terwilligers 181 (Mike 33, Jimmy 148) ... Marshalls 66 (Brian 5, Matt 61) ... Soltes 3 (Andy 1, Matt 2) ... TD passes by fathers -- 39 ... TD passes by sons -- 211 and counting.

GETTING THEIR FEET WET: ESU's young squad, which includes 67 freshmen or sophomores among its 85 players, continues to gain valuable experience. In the last two weeks, 9 more players saw their first career action, all true freshmen or redshirt freshmen. Of the 55 players who have contributed in the first 4 weeks, 26 have seen their first career action. 14 players have made their first career starts, and 12 are in their first season as full-time starters.

Five true freshmen have made starts this year, already the most in at least 10 seasons. Three true freshmen started the season opener vs. Lock Haven - RT Cody Laubach, OLB Mike Kinney and ILB Brandon Pearce. Only two true freshmen had started in a season opener, total, in the last 10 years - OL Jeff Kocsis in 2004 at Lenoir-Rhyne and FS Kevin Antol last season vs. Pace.

Laubach has started all 4 games and Pearce, Kinney, OLB Greg Jones and DB Teron Dobbs have all made 2 starts. ESU has had just 6 players (true freshmen or redshirt freshmen) start every game of the season since 2003, all on offense. They are R-Sr. OL Wrenton Wright II in 2009, OL Dan Caffrey in 2008, OL Morgan Thomas in 2006, OL Jeff Kocsis in 2004 and QB Jimmy Terwilliger and WR Evan Prall in 2003.

NEW LOOK: Of the 85 players on the roster, only 30 had seen game action entering the season opener. That number is now 56 after the fourth game of the year. The roster is evenly split between returners (43, including redshirts) and newcomers (42). Of the 36 players who are listed as sophomores and above, 33 have seen game action.

BUILDING DEPTH: ESU graduated 10 senior starters off last season's team. The bulk of the Warriors' returners are in the sophomore class, where 9 players are listed as starters on this week's depth chart. Out of the 18 sophomores on the roster, 17 have seen game action, including 6 as true freshmen last year. Another returner, So. LB Don Kinney, Jr., lettered as a true freshman in 2010 and returned to the team this season.

2 x 500 RELAY: Among teams ranked in the top 50 in passing in Division II, ESU is one of four schools to have two QB's throw for at least 500 yards along with Kutztown, Grand Valley St. and Texas A&M-Kingsville.

R-Jr. Nate Daniels started the first 3 games and is 30-for-54 for 563 yards, 6 TD and 3 Int. He was 17-for-26 for 355 yards and 4 TD in the season opener vs. Lock Haven (4th-most yards in an opener in school history). He was 9-for-20 for 131 yards, 1 TD and 3 Int. in a 63-21 loss to Shippensburg, and 4-for-8 for 77 yards and a TD vs. Cheyney. He did not take any snaps at QB at Clarion but remained the holder on PAT and FG. He has made 4 career starts, making his first start last year at Shippensburg.

R-Fr. Matt Soltes is 32-for-64 for 541 yards, 2 TD and 1 Int. and has 29 carries for 116 yards. He has thrown passes in all 4 games and made his first start at Clarion. He was 7-for-10 for 171 yards and a TD vs. Cheyney in his most action as a backup, entering in the 2nd quarter.

Against Shippensburg, Daniels (131 yards) and Soltes (114 yards) became the 5th pair of QB's to throw for 100 yards in the same game. Daniels (182) and Ray Wagner (172), a Harlon Hill candidate, did it last year vs. Millersville after Wagner left due to injury.

It also marked just the 2nd time in school history that two QB's attempted 20 passes in the same game.

AIRING IT OUT: ESU has led the PSAC in passing in 7 of the last 10 years, and the Warriors' quarterback has been in the top 3 in the PSAC in total offense all 10 seasons. The Warriors were 5th in DII in passing (323.2 ypg) and Wagner was 6th in DII individually (293.3) last year, both figures that led the PSAC ... IN 2012: ESU ranks 6th in the PSAC and 34th in DII with 276.0 yards per game.

BIG PLAY OFFENSE: ESU is averaging 6.89 yards per play, 3rd in the PSAC. The Warriors are averaging 9.36 yards per pass attempt (1,104 on 118) and 4.73 yards per rushing attempt (638 on 135). ESU ranks 7th in the PSAC and 42nd in DII with 435.5 yards per game.

WARRIORS STRETCH THE FIELD IN 2011 ...
Among Division II schools with at least 15 completions per game, ESU led the nation with 15.6 yards per catch during the 2011 season. The Warriors generated 35 plays of 30+ yards in 11 games, with 12 going for touchdowns.

... AND 2012: The Warriors are 2nd in Division II averaging 17.8 yards per catch and have 9 plays of 30+ yards, including 5 TD.  Soltes had 6 completions of 20+ yards with a long of 33 at Clarion.

WILLIAMS CONTINUES ADVANCE: Sr. TB Kendrick Williams is 8th on ESU's career rushing list with 1,905 yards and is 95 yards from becoming the 7th player with 2,000 career rushing yards. He is also 6th in all-purpose yards (3,176) and 12th in yards from scrimmage (2,368).

Williams had his 5th career 100-yard game in week 3 vs. Cheyney, running for 151 yards on 11 carries for an average of 13.7 yards per carry, 2nd-best at ESU.

Last week at Clarion, he had 13 carries for 56 yards and scored his 19th career rushing TD. Williams 21 total TD's are 10th-most in school history.

WILLIAMS IN 2011: Last year, Williams ranked 4th in the PSAC and 35th in Division II with 140.5 all-purpose yards per game. His season total of 1,405 yards was 7th in school history and included 541 yards rushing, 140 yards receiving and 724 yards on kick returns.

He was named 2nd team All-PSAC East as a sophomore in 2010, running for 668 yards and 9 TD. He had 436 yards rushing and 245 yards receiving (681 total) in 7 games as a freshman in 2009, making his debut in the 6th game of the season at West Chester and helping the Warriors reach the NCAA Playoffs.

Notable career statistics
All-Purpose yards -- 3,176 (6th)
Rushing yards -- 1,905 (8th)
Yards from scrimmage -- 2,368 (12th)
Rushing attempts -- 406 (7th)
Rushing TD -- 19 (6th)
Total TD -- 21 (t-10th)
100-yard rush games -- 5

THERE GOES DEERY: Sr. TB Eric Deery went over 1,000 career rushing yards with his career-high 167 yards on 19 carries vs. Cheyney. Deery ran for 163 yards in the 2nd half, 4th-most in a half in Douds' 39 years.

Deery enters this week with 1,123 yards on 219 carries, an average of 5.1 yards per carry, and 7 TD. He was ESU's 2nd-leading rusher last year with 413 yards.

Deery has 440 yards and 4 TD in his last 6 games, dating to the last 2 games of 2011. He ran for 81 yards on 7 carries at Shippensburg, and 106 yards on 11 carries vs. Edinboro. He has 4 career 100-yard games, including 2 as a true freshman in 2009.

BALANCING ACT: Williams (65.0 ypg, 5.9 avg) and Deery (63.3 ypg, 6.8 avg) are 16th and 17th in the PSAC in rushing yardage. ESU's 4.7 yards per carry are tied for 5th-best in the PSAC.

PUNCHING IT IN: R-Jr. FB Thomas Tippett has scored 3 TD in the first 4 games, 2 rushing and 1 receiving. He took a short pass from Soltes for a 49-yard TD vs. Cheyney and scored on 1-yard TD runs against Shippensburg and Clarion. Tippett is ESU's 4th-leading receiver with 8 catches for 112 yards and has 6 carries for 16 yards. He has 4 career TD (3 rushing) overall.

SPREADING IT AROUND: Current ESU pass catchers have combined for 350+ catches (383) and 5,500+ yards (5,791) during their careers at ESU.

R-Sr. WR Jordan Hallman and Jr. WR Dusty Reed, who both have more than 1,500 career yards, lead a veteran receiving corps. R-Jr. WR Robert Bleiler went over 50 career catches vs. Cheyney and can go over 1,000 career yards this week.

WARRIORS WR RANK 1-2-3 AMONG PSAC RETURNERS
At wide receiver, ESU had the top 3 returners in the PSAC in yards per game in Jr. Dusty Reed (84.5 ypg, 4th overall in PSAC), R-Sr. Jordan Hallman (77.6, 5th) and R-Jr. Robert Bleiler (65.9, 8th).

The trio combined for 130 catches, 2,442 yards and 17 TD last year, averaging 18.8 yards per catch. They averaged 11.8 catches and 222.0 yards per game.
This year: 9.8 catches, 199.0 yards per game
• vs. LHU -- 13 catches, 288 yards, 4 TD
• vs. Ship -- 12 catches, 212 yards, 1 TD
• vs. Cheyney -- 7 catches, 170 yards, 1 TD
• at Clarion -- 7 catches, 126 yards, 1 TD

REED ROLLS ON: Jr. WR Dusty Reed had his 6th career 100-yard receiving game in his 26th career game last week at Clarion, with 6 catches for 113 yards and a 23-yard TD from Soltes early in the 3rd quarter.

Reed is 2nd in the PSAC and leads the PSAC East with 90.5 yards per game, with 21 catches for 362 yards and 2 TD. He set career-highs with 11 catches for 198 yards vs. Shippensburg.

Reed is in ESU's career top 20 in catches (114 - 16th) and yards (1,668 - 18th) and is 15 catches and 296 yards from the top 10 in each category.

He has a catch in 16 straight games and 2+ catches in 23 of 26 games after coming to ESU as an All-State tailback.

Reed was voted ESU's MVP by his teammates in 2011, setting ESU sophomore records with 62 catches and 929 yards. He compiled 1,355 all-purpose yards, 9th in school history, adding 101 yards on 13 carries and 325 yards on kick returns. On the final play of the season vs. Edinboro, he caught a game-tying 21-yard TD pass from Wagner, with the extra point giving ESU a 27-26 victory.

Reed led the PSAC East in yards per game (84.5), was 1st team All-PSAC East and 3rd team Football Gazette All-Region. He was named to the BSN Preseason All-America 3rd team this summer.

MR. CONSISTENT: Reed displayed remarkable consistency during the 2011 season. Among his accomplishments:

• 86+ yards in 8 of 11 games
• 100+ yards in 4 games
• 4+ catches in 8 games
• first ESU WR with 7 catches in 5 straight games
• first ESU WR with 8 catches in 3 straight games
• 75+ all-purpose yards in all 11 games
• 100+ all-purpose yards in 8 games
• set ESU records for receptions (93) and yards (1,306) through a sophomore season

REED'S FAMILY TIES: Reed is the nephew of former ESU All-America center Pat Flaherty, the offensive line coach of the New York Giants. Flaherty has won two Super Bowl rings in the last five years, in 2007 and 2011. He was inducted to the ESU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004 and was the starting center for quarterback Mike Terwilliger, ESU's offensive coordinator who is in his 35th season as an assistant coach under Denny Douds.

GOING DEEP: R-Sr. WR Jordan Hallman has 9 catches for 270 yards and 4 TD this year, including scoring plays of 79 and 61 yards vs. Lock Haven and 63 yards vs. Cheyney. He has 6 career TD's of 50+ yards, including 4 from R-Jr. QB Nate Daniels.

Hallman is averaging 19.9 yards per catch in his career, 3rd in school history. He averaged 24.4 yards per catch in 2011, with 35 catches for 854 yards and 13 plays of 30+ yards.

Hallman opened 2012 with 7 caches for 179 yards and 3 TD vs. Lock Haven. He had 2 catches for 91 yards and a TD vs. Cheyney, and was held without a catch against Shippensburg and Clarion.

Hallman was the only receiver in Division II with back-to-back 200-yard games last year, with 5 catches for 239 yards and 2 TD vs. C.W. Post, and 8 catches for 221 yards and 2 TD vs. Millersville. The 460 yards receiving in consecutive weeks are also the most in school history.

BIG PLAY BLEILER: R-Jr. WR Robert Bleiler is averaging 18.0 yards per catch in his career, going over 50 catches vs. Cheyney with a chance to go over 1,000 yards this week. (54 rec, 970 yds)

Bleiler has two 100-yard games in his career, both for more than 150 yards. He had 172 yards vs. Pace and 153 yards at Kutztown in 2011.

He averaged 20.0 yards per catch last year, with 33 catches for 659 yards. He was 3rd in the PSAC East (behind Reed and Hallman) and 8th in the PSAC with 65.9 yards per game.

THE TIGHT END: R-So. Steven Jones has 4 catches for 90 yards, with 3 for 56 at Clarion and 1 for 34 vs. Lock Haven. He had 13 catches for 154 yards and 3 TD in 2011. He already has 5 catches of 20+ yards in his career.  Jones was 2nd team All-State on La Salle College HS's AAAA state championship team in 2009.

FAST FRESHMAN: R-Fr. WR Brandon Mercer had a 94-yard kick return for a TD vs. Cheyney, ESU's first since 2002, and is 7th in Division II averaging 34.1 yards on 9 returns. He had 6 for 163 yards (27.2 avg.) vs. Shippensburg and 3 for 144 yards (48.0 avg.), including the TD, vs. Cheyney.

Mercer was a track standout in 2012, setting ESU freshman records in the 60m (7.02) and 100m (10.74) and running on ESU's PSAC champion 4x100m relay.

IN THE FRONT ROW: The Warriors lost 78 career starts from center Dan Caffrey (45) and LT Zach Sarginger (33), but count 104 career starts among this year's starters:

LT -- R-Sr. Wrenton Wright II (6-3, 295)
• 37 career starts - 28 at right tackle, 9 at left tackle
• started all 11 games at right tackle as a junior
• started 5 games at LT, 5 at RT in 2010
• started all 12 games at right tackle in 2009

LG -- So. Pete Wolmart (6-3, 310)
• 6 career starts, 4 at left guard this season
• 2 starts as a freshman, both at left tackle
• missed rest of season due to injury
• 2nd team All-State Group 4 at Randolph HS (NJ)

C -- R-Jr. Greg Blue (6-2, 290)
• 22 career starts - 4 at center, 9 at LG, 9 at RG
• started 9 games at left guard as a sophomore
• started 9 games at right guard as a freshman
• first ESU center besides Dan Caffrey since 2007

RG -- R-Sr. Seve Rivers (6-3, 300)
• 2nd team All-PSAC East last season
• 35 career starts - 18 at LG, 16 at RG
• 26 consecutive starts (most on team)
• started all 11 games at right guard in 2011

RT -- Fr. Cody Laubach (6-5, 305)
• first true freshman OL to start opener since 2004
• 1st team All-Lehigh Valley Conference at Emmaus HS
• Morning Call All-Area 2nd team
• McDonald's Lehigh Valley All-Star Game

HIGHS AND LOWS: ESU allowed just 10 sacks on 435 pass attempts during the 2011 season, including just 4 in 396 attempts for starting QB Ray Wagner.

Last week at Clarion, the Golden Eagles recorded 9 sacks on 32 pass attempts. R-Fr. QB Matt Soltes had 21 carries for 62 yards - 12 carries for 110 yards of positive yardage, and 9 for 48 yards of negative yardage. Soltes had 7 carries of at least 10 yards.

The last time ESU allowed at least 9 sacks in a game was 9 in a 26-3 loss at California in the 2007 season opener. The most sacks allowed by an ESU team under Douds was 13 against Clarion in a 27-14 loss in the 1983 State Game in Hershey.

INSIDE THE WARRIORS DEFENSE
A very young ESU defense has just 2 returning starters and has seen 12 players make their first career starts over the first four weeks.

Of the 22 players on the depth chart, there are:
SR -- 2 starters
JR -- 1 backup
SO -- 6 starters, 5 backups
FR -- 3 starter, 5 backups

THE RETURNERS: ESU's 2 returning defensive starters ...
DE -- R-So. Brandon Gattelli (12 starts, 8 games last year)
FS -- R-So. Anthony Singlar (9 starts, 5 games last year)

FIRST-YEAR STARTERS: ESU's first-year starters on defense ...
DE -- So. Tarik Haddad (vs. Cheyney)
DT -- R-So. Bryan Thomson (5 starts, all 4 games this year)
DT -- R-Sr. Sam Hull (all 4 games)
OLB -- Jr. Darius Jackson (all 4 games, 5 starts at FB in last 2 years)
OLB -- Fr. Mike Kinney (1st 2 games)
OLB -- Fr. Greg Jones (last 2 games - vs. Cheyney, at Clarion)
ILB -- Fr. Brandon Pearce (vs. Lock Haven, Cheyney)
ILB -- So. Cody Simcox (last 3 games)
ILB -- So. Don Kinney, Jr. (2 games - vs. Shippensburg, at Clarion)
ILB -- So. James Lancellotti (vs. Lock Haven)
CB -- Sr. Brandon Phillips (1st 3 games)
CB -- R-So. Andrew Coyle (3 games - vs. Lock Haven, vs. Ship, at Clarion)
CB -- Fr. Teron Dobbs (last 2 games - WR in preseason camp)

DEPTH AT END: Entering the season, most of the returning experience was on the line, especially at defensive end. Returning starter R-So. Brandon Gattelli is joined by Sr. Waverly Harris, R-So. Sam Trunzo and So. Tarik Haddad to form the rotation for the second straight year.

Gattelli started 8 games last year, leading the defensive ends in tackles (38) and TFL (6.5) and leading the defensive line in sacks (3.5). Harris started 3 games and had 29 tackles, 4.0 TFL and 2.0 sacks. Trunzo and Haddad also played in all 11 games.

UP THE MIDDLE: Two first-year starters, R-So. Bryan Thomson and R-Sr. Sam Hull, anchor the interior of the front 4. Thomson had 29 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles in 2011. Hull, a 3-year letterwinner, has played in 24 career games and made his first 4 starts. The backups, R-So. Josh Przywara and R-So. Jon Noble (a transfer from Shippensburg in 2009), both have sacks.

BLOCK THAT KICK: Thomson has a blocked kick in each of the last 2 weeks. He blocked the extra point that Jr. OLB Darius Jackson returned for a defensive 2-point conversion vs. Cheyney, then followed by blocking a 21-yard field goal at Clarion. He also had 2 blocked PAT's in 2011, including one returned for a defensive 2-point conversion. He is halfway to the school record for blocked kicks (8), set by defensive tackle Matt Delancey (1993-96), currently a strength coach at the University of Florida.

BRAND NEW LB'S: Among ESU's 7 starters at linebacker so far this season, only 2 had played a snap for the Warriors entering the year - So. Don Kinney, Jr. (in 2010) and So. James Lancellotti.

INSIDE: Kinney, Jr. and So. Cody Simcox, a transfer from Maine, are the starters. Simcox has started the last 3 games after coming off the bench in the opener due to injury. He was a tight end on Maine's Division I FCS quarterfinal team last year, and was a 2nd team All-State linebacker at Wilson West Lawn HS in 2010. He has 19 tackles this season.

Kinney, Jr. has made 2 starts, vs. Shippensburg in week 2 and at Clarion last week. He missed the Cheyney game due to injury. He played in all 11 games as a freshman in 2010 before spending last year away from football. He has 26 tackles (4.0 TFL) in 3 games, including 13 last week at Clarion.

Fr. Brandon Pearce has made 2 starts, in the season opener vs. Lock Haven and week 3 vs. Cheyney, making 9 tackles with 4.5 TFL, a sack and 2 forced fumbles. Lancellotti started the opener after playing in 4 games on special teams in 2011.

OUTSIDE: Jr. Darius Jackson (4 starts), Fr. Greg Jones (2 starts) and Fr. Mike Kinney (2 starts) have rotated at outside linebacker this season. Jackson moved to defense in the spring after playing in 21 games, including 5 starts, at fullback over two years. He scored 3 TD, 2 receiving and 1 rushing. Jackson added his 1st career defensive TD vs. Cheyney, a 54-yard interception return, and also had a defensive 2-point return. He has 20 tackles, 3.0 TFL and a forced fumble.

Kinney had 13 tackles at Clarion and 12 tackles vs. Lock Haven in his first career start. His 27 tackles in 3 games are 2nd-most on the team. He left the Shippensburg game and missed Cheyney due to injury.

Jones has started the last 2 weeks and is penciled in across from Kinney in this week's two-deep. He has 22 tackles overall and had 8 tackles and his first career sack at Clarion.

He had an active preseason camp, moving from tailback to safety before landing at outside linebacker. He also returned the opening kickoff 20 yards vs. LHU and has played on the punt return team. During his high school career at Colonia (N.J.), Jones was named 3rd team All-State, running for 2,080 yards and 33 TD as a senior.

SWITCHING IT UP: The Warriors started R-So. Andrew Coyle and Fr. Teron Dobbs at cornerback at Clarion, their 3rd combination in 4 weeks. Coyle and Sr. Brandon Phillips started the first 2 games and Phillips and Dobbs started week 3 vs. Cheyney.

Dobbs and So. Ray Dominguez are both converted wide receivers, with Dobbs moving over before week 2 (Shippensburg) and making his first career start in week 3 vs. Cheyney. He had an interception and 2 pass breakups. Dominguez, an All-Lackawanna Conference DB at West Scranton, had 14 catches for 198 yards in 9 games (6 starts) at WR as a freshman.

Coyle has made 3 starts and has 19 tackles, 2 pass breakups and a blocked kick. Phillips had 9 tackles and a pass breakup in the first 3 games before missing the Clarion game due to injury.

At safety, R-So. Anthony Singlar is 2nd in the PSAC and leads the PSAC East with 10.3 tackles per game (41 in 4 games) and has an interception (vs. Lock Haven), 2 pass breakups and a fumble recovery. He made 5 starts at safety last year, one of three players to hold the role, and was ESU's top returning tackler with 51.

BROTHER ACT
So. LB Don Kinney, Jr. and Fr. OLB Mike Kinney both started at linebacker against Shippensburg and are ESU's 2nd- and 3rd-leading tacklers. Mike has 27 tackles and Don has 26. Both missed the week 3 game vs. Cheyney before returning to both make 13 tackles at Clarion.

They are separated by two years, as Don lettered for the Warriors as a true freshman in 2010 before spending last year away from football. Both were high school standouts at Loyalsock, teaming up on the Lancers' 2008 Eastern Conference championship team (when Don was a junior and Mike was a freshman) and 2009 District championship team, when Mike was the Williamsport Sun-Gazette Area Player of the Year as a sophomore. Don was a three-time All-District first team selection and Mike was named to the first team all four years. Mike was also a two-time All-State selection, named to the 2nd team as a sophomore and 1st team as a junior.

GROFF AMONG NATION'S BEST KICKERS
Jr. K Taylor Groff hit a 51-yard field goal at Clarion, tying the school record with his 12th FG of 40+ yards. It was also his 4th FG of 48+ yards, and one yard off his career-long of 52 at Kutztown in 2011. He has made the 2nd- and 3rd-longest field goals in school history.

Groff is 5-for-9 this year with misses from 38 (blocked) at Clarion, 49 vs. Lock Haven, 53 vs. Shippensburg and 50 vs. Cheyney. He has made from 24, 37, 39, 41 and 51.

Groff is as a member of the Watch List for the Fred Mitchell Award for the nation's top small college kicker. Among his career highlights:

Career - 32-44 - 20-23 inside 40 - 12-21 over 40
• 14-for-15 (7-for-8 over 40) on FG to tie game or give ESU lead
• 7-for-7 (2-for-2 over 40) on FG in final 1:00 of 1st half

2011 Season - 11-14 - 5-7 inside 40 - 6-7 over 40
• 6 FG of 40+ yards - tied for the most in school history with Joey Pingitore (1983)
• the rest of the PSAC's kickers were 9-for-31 from 40+ yards
• made the 2 longest FG in the PSAC (52 and 48 yards)
• 52-yard FG at Kutztown is 2nd-longest in ESU history
• made two 43-yard FG vs. Millersville, becoming the first ESU kicker with two 40+ FG in a game since Ed Detwiler made 3 vs. California in 1992
• missed first 3 games due to injury

2010 Season - 16-21 - 12-12 inside 40 - 4-9 over 40
• ESU record with 16 field goals
• perfect inside 40 yards
• one of two kickers in DII to make a FG in every game
• 87 points were 2nd-most in school history

ESU Career Field Goal Percentage
1. 72.7 -- Taylor Groff (32-44)
2. 67.2 -- Mark Brubaker (39-58)

ESU Career Field Goals
1. 50 -- Ed Detwiler (1989-92)
2. 39 -- Mark Brubaker (2002-05)
3. 32 -- Taylor Groff (2010-pres.)
4. 30 -- Matt Seagreaves (1994-96)

ESU Career Field Goals of 40+ Yards
1. 12 -- Ed Detwiler
     12 -- Taylor Groff
3. 8 -- Joey Pingitore

NET PUNTING
So. Jordan Bair is 12th in the PSAC in punting average (36.3) after ranking 5th (37.8) as a freshman. He was 6th in the PSAC in net punting (32.9), but ranks last (29.2) so far this year.

ESU has been a regular among the Division II leaders in net punting, ranking in the top 5 in three of the last eight years. The Warriors led the nation in 2004 (40.6) and 2008 (39.7) and ranked 3rd in 2006 (36.0).

RULE CHANGE
The NCAA has instituted two rule changes on kickoffs for the 2012 season. The kickoff spot has been moved up 5 yards (to the 35-yard line), and the touchback spot has been moved up 5 yards (to the 25-yard line).

Jr. Taylor Groff has 9 touchbacks on 26 kickoffs this year, including 7 of 15 in the last two weeks. The Warriors' average opponents drive start is at the 25-yard line, almost 10 yards better than last year's average of the 33-yard line.

In 2010, ESU led the PSAC in kickoff coverage, with an average drive start of the 26-yard line. Groff had 11 touchbacks on 65 kickoffs, and his rate of 17% was more than triple the 5% rate of the rest of the PSAC. In 2011, Groff had 3 touchbacks on 37 kickoffs (8%).

In his career, Groff has 23 touchbacks on 128 kickoffs (18%).

TIME OF POSSESSION ADVANTAGE
ESU held the time of possession edge vs. Shippensburg, maintaining possession for 31:50. It was ESU's first advantage in 18 games, since a 38-31 loss vs. Kutztown in 2010. ESU has lost its last 3 games when holding a TOP advantage.

Against Cheyney, ESU held the ball for 26:23 in rolling up 10.8 yards per play (582 yards on 54 plays). The Warriors held the ball for just under 30 minutes (29:52) in their 31-27 loss at Clarion.

GREGORY-DOUDS FIELD AT EILER-MARTIN STADIUM
• Field renamed to honor coaches Jack Gregory and Denny Douds after ESU's 58-14 win vs. Cheyney on Oct. 30, 2010
• Gregory had 49-11-2 (.806) record from 1959-65 and won 1964 and 1965 PSAC championships
• Douds has been ESU's head coach since 1974
• Eiler-Martin Stadium has been the home of the Warriors since 1938
• John R. Eiler was an outstanding athlete at the school in the early 1930s and later athletic director and a championship soccer coach
• Gene Martin was the Warriors' head football coach from 1942-57 and the school's long-time Dean of Men
• The Warriors have a 122-71 home record (.632) under Douds and a 42-28 home record (.600) since 2000

Renovations include:
• New home bleachers were added in 1960
• The current press box was installed in 1988
• The track was resurfaced and expanded to 8 lanes in 2005
• Lights were added prior to the 2007 season
• FieldTurf was installed prior to the 2008 season

UNDER THE LIGHTS
ESU is 6-4 in night games since lights were installed in 2007:
9-15-07 -- L 23-38 vs. IUP
8-28-08 -- W 14-11 vs. #25 Virginia Union
9-6-08 -- W 23-10 vs. Gannon
9-27-08 -- W 52-12 vs. Cheyney
9-12-09 -- W 45-31 vs. Clarion
9-11-10 -- L 17-23 vs. IUP
9-1-11 -- W 56-14 vs. Pace
9-17-11 -- L 19-22 vs. #21 California
9-8-12 -- W 31-0 vs. Lock Haven
9-15-12 -- L 21-63 vs. Shippensburg

WARRIORS FROM 2000-09
• The Warriors wrapped up their winningest decade in school history in the 2000's, going 77-34 for a .694 winning percentage
• They had nine winning seasons in 10 years, made three NCAA Playoff appearances, won PSAC East titles in 2002 and 2003, and had a school-record 11 wins in 2005
• ESU has an all-time record of 450-300-19 (.598)

ESU IN THE NCAA PLAYOFFS
• ESU has played in the NCAA Division II Playoffs four times, most recently in 2009 when they fell to Edinboro, 31-16, in the first round
• The Warriors have also played in the postseason in 1991, 2004 and 2005, when they advanced to the national semifinals
• ESU has a 4-4 record in four postseason trips

FAMILY AFFAIR
Two Warriors have fathers who played for Coach Douds:
• R-Sr. DL Sam Hull - father Chris, four-year letterwinner at DE from 1984-87
• R-Fr. QB Matt Soltes - father Andy lettered at QB in 1982, threw game-winning TD at West Chester

In addition, two Warriors have relatives who played for ESU under Douds:
• Jr. WR Dusty Reed - uncle Pat Flaherty was All-America center in 1976 and is currently the offensive line coach of the NY Giants
• R-So. CB Andrew Coyle - father is cousin of Tim Bishop, an All-East WR in 1984 and All-PSAC pitcher, 2B and OF in baseball

At least six other father-son combinations have earned letters since Douds arrived in 1966:

• Falcone - Michael, LB '73; Bryan, LB '00-02
• Jackson - Steven, C '69-71; Greg, TE '98-99
• McNamee - Doug, DB/WR '64-66, Todd, K/P '85-88
• Stem - Willard, FS '72-75; Drew, WR '05-08
• Terwilliger - Mike, QB '74-77 (Douds' first 4 seasons, entering 35th year as asst. coach); Jimmy, QB '03-06 (Harlon Hill Award in 2005)
• Marshall - Brian, QB '81; Matt, QB '08-10 (3rd in career total offense)

PSAC PRESEASON POLL
• ESU was picked to finish 6th in the 2012 PSAC East Coaches Poll
• The Warriors were selected behind Kutztown, Bloomsburg, LIU Post, West Chester and Shippensburg and ahead of Millersville and Cheyney

WARRIORS ON RADIO
• WVPO 840 AM is in its 50th season broadcasting ESU football and will once again carry all 10 games in 2012
• Chuck Seese, the 2009 PSAC Heaslip Media Award winner,  is in his 24th season as the voice of the Warriors
• He is joined in the booth by Bob Brittain, who is in his 12th year providing the color commentary

WARRIORS ON TV
• Blue Ridge TV-13 will broadcast ESU football for the 26th year this season, with all five home games airing live across the region
• Play-by-play man Chris Doty (23rd year) is joined by color commentator Jim Riley (5th year) and sideline reporter Mike Remish (3rd year)

WARRIORS ON SPORTSFEVER TV
• ESU will play 3 games on state-wide and national television this season through a partnership with SPORTSfever TV
• The Warriors' games at Clarion (Sept. 29), vs. West Chester (Oct. 6) and at LIU Post (Oct. 27) will be broadcast, tape-delay, on Blue Ridge cable, the Comcast Network and ROOT Sports (formerly Fox Sports Pittsburgh)
• Broadcast times are available on esuwarriors.com

At the end of the 2012 season, SPORTSfever will have broadcast 16 games over the last six seasons.

ESU WARRIORS ALL ACCESS
• All five broadcasts on Blue Ridge TV-13 will be available online through ESU Warriors “All Access” at www.esuwarriors.com
• The single-season package ($24.95) gives access for all football content, live and archived, through August 31, 2013
• The single-day package ($6.95) gives access for a 24-hour period

AND WE GO TO...OVERTIME
• ESU is 4-6 all-time in overtime contests and has won its last two games in OT, 27-20 at Kutztown in 2009 and 44-41 vs. Shippensburg in 2008
• The win vs. Shippensburg gave head coach Denny Douds the PSAC record with his 213th career victory

OVERTIME GAMES
1991 - L 34-33 vs. Shippensburg (NCAA Playoffs)
1996 - W 27-20 vs. Kutztown
1999 - L 33-27 at Shepherd (2OT)
2000 - W 35-28 vs. Shepherd
2000 - L 33-26 vs. Millersville
2000 - L 17-14 vs. Shippensburg
2004 - L 38-37 vs. West Chester
2005 - L 31-24 vs. Bloomsburg
2008 - W 44-41 vs. Shippensburg
2009 - W 27-20 at Kutztown

PSAC CHAMPIONSHIPS
• ESU has won a share of nine PSAC titles under head coach Denny Douds, and 12 in school history
• The most recent championships came in 1991, 2002 and 2003, when the Warriors won the PSAC East championship
• Overall PSAC titles came in:
   1942, 1954, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1975, 1976, 1978 and 1982
• ESU has a 200-109-1 (.647) record in PSAC games for the 3rd-best winning percentage since the first on-the-field title was awarded in 1960

JAMES FRANKLIN UPDATE (Bio  l  Twitter)
• James Franklin '95, a two-year starter at QB and a Harlon Hill candidate in 1994, is in his 2nd season as head coach at Vanderbilt
• Franklin led the Commodores to a 6-6 regular season record in 2011 and their 2nd straight bowl game, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl
• Vandy is 1-3 this year with a win over Presbyterian and losses to #9 South Carolina, Northwestern and #5 Georgia
• Next up, the 'Dores travel to Missouri in Oct. 6

WARRIORS IN THE PROS/DIVISION I
James Franklin is one of 9 former ESU players or graduate assistant coaches in the NFL or Division I college football:
• Pat Flaherty '78: NY Giants, offensive line coach, 2x Super Bowl champion
• Vic Fangio '80: SF 49ers, defensive coordinator
• Joe Marciano (GA): Houston Texans, special teams coordinator
• Joe Baker (GA): Dallas Cowboys, assistant secondary coach
• John Glenn '05: Seattle Seahawks, assistant special teams coach
• James Franklin '95: Vanderbilt, head coach (Packers, Chiefs in NFL)
• Brent Pry (GA): Vanderbilt, co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach
• Harry Hiestand '83: Notre Dame, offensive line - also Tennessee, Bears (NFL)
• Marshall Roberts M'03: Liberty, special teams coordinator/cornerbacks

ACADEMIC ACCOLADES
• ESU has produced 55 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District selections over the last 5 years, 2nd-most in the PSAC
• ESU led the PSAC with 15 selections in 2010-11 and 10 selections in
2007-08 and 2008-09
• ESU has 19 PSAC "Top 10" award winners over the last 5 years, also 2nd-most in the PSAC
• 5 student-athletes were Academic All-America selections in 2011-12 — Rose Mascoli and Corinne Fitzgerald (women's cross country/track & field), Dan Johnson and Ian Melhorn (men's cross country/track & field) and Nemanja Nikolic (men's soccer)

The football program has had 5 Academic All-Americans:
2010 - Matt Freed, LB, 1st team
2009 - Matt Freed, LB, 1st team
2004 - Matt Crispell, DB, 1st team
1992 - Ed Detwiler, P, 2nd team
1984 - Ernie Siegrist, TE, 1st team
1979 - Warren Brown, LB, 2nd team