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Morning Call: Wilson atones, helps ESU stun West Chester
Express-Times: ESU knocks off West Chester, 35-28

Highlights: Wilson game-winning 33-yd TD from Soltes
Hallman 9-yd TD pass from Soltes  l  Reed 24-yd TD pass from Soltes
Williams 1-yd TD run  l  Tippett 1-yd TD run
Jackson interception  l  Dobbs interception

EAST STROUDSBURG - Freshman wide receiver Tim Wilson took a short pass from redshirt freshman quarterback Matt Soltes for a 33-yard touchdown with five seconds left as East Stroudsburg University knocked off West Chester, 35-28, in PSAC East football on Homecoming Saturday at Eiler-Martin Stadium.

On a day when the Warriors' 1964 and 1965 State Championship teams were inducted to the Hall of Fame and the 1982 PSAC championship team celebrated its 30th anniversary, Soltes drove the Warriors 68 yards in five plays over 1:01 after West Chester rallied from a 14-point deficit just minutes earlier.

Soltes was 30-for-37 for 366 yards and three touchdowns and set ESU's single-game completion percentage record (81.1) in his second career start. He hit 14 of his first 15 passes, was 18-for-22 in the first half and 5-for-5 on the game-winning drive. His father Andy, a backup freshman quarterback on the 1982 team, threw the go-ahead 73-yard TD pass to Scott Benoit in the fourth quarter of a 17-9 win at West Chester.

The Warriors' late drive capped stellar performances on both sides of the ball. ESU (3-2, 2-1) held the ball for 42:37, running 82 plays for 508 yards, while limiting West Chester to 17:23 of possession and 45 plays for 313 yards. The Warriors forced five turnovers, four in the first half, and gave it up just twice.

West Chester (4-2, 2-1) entered unbeaten in Division II competition after an opening 41-21 loss at Division I FCS rival Delaware and upset then-No. 6-ranked California, 37-34, on the road last Saturday.

Wilson's catch, his second of the game and the fourth of his career, would have set up a game-winning field goal attempt by junior kicker Taylor Groff which never came. Wilson slipped a tackle inside the 30-yard line and was in the end zone a moment later.

The play came seven minutes after Wilson bobbled a punt that West Chester recovered at the five-yard line, and Rondell White's touchdown run the next play brought the Golden Rams within 28-21 with 6:52 remaining.

ESU gained one first down on its ensuing possession but was forced to punt, with West Chester taking over on its 23-yard line. Mike Mattei drove the Rams 77 yards in nine plays, aided by a roughing the passer penalty on third-and-five from the 13, and tossed a five-yard TD to Erick Brundidge. The extra point by Shawn Leo tied it at 28-all.

Junior wide receiver Dusty Reed, who had a career-high 13 catches for 139 yards, returned the kickoff 19 yards to the 32 to set the Warriors up with about 40 yards to get into field goal position.

Soltes was 5-for-5 on the drive with Wilson and Reed doing most of the work. He started with a six-yard pass to redshirt freshman Jon Schnaars, then picked up the first down with a 14-yard pass to Wilson. He hit Reed for nine and then six yards to move it to the 33, where the Warriors called timeout with 14 seconds left. Soltes hit Wilson on a hitch, and he sped past defensive backs Nate Pagan and Brandon Pepper to find the end zone untouched.

Soltes, who was 17-for-32 for 256 yards and ran for 62 more in his first career start last week at Clarion, a 31-27 loss, engineered the Warriors' first home win over West Chester since redshirt freshman Jimmy Terwilliger threw for 366 yards to beat the Golden Rams, 28-27, in 2003. ESU's most recent win in the series was 21-20 at West Chester in 2009 with Matt Marshall at the helm.

With the Warriors going to a running and short passing game that netted 142 yards on 45 carries and just seven incompletions on 37 attempts, ESU held the ball for 22:58 in the first half and played even with the Golden Rams on the scoreboard at 14-14.

West Chester struck first with a six play, 85-yard drive finishing with a one-yard run by tailback Rondell White (15 carries, 51 yards) with 2:02 left in the first quarter.

ESU answered on its next possession, going 84 yards in nine plays sparked by two passes to Schnaars for 14 and 19 yards and a 29-yarder to redshirt junior Robert Bleiler, who went over 1,000 yards for his career. Senior tailback Kendrick Williams punched it in from one yard out to make it 7-7 with 12:00 left in the second quarter.

The deadlock lasted for just 21 seconds, as Mattei dialed up a 73-yard flea flicker to Sean Beahan for a 14-7 West Chester lead.

While ESU didn't score on its ensuing trip, an 11 play, 44-yard drive that ended with a missed field goal, the defense forced the third of its four first-half turnovers with an interception by junior outside linebacker Darius Jackson that gave ESU possession at the West Chester 48.

Soltes fired off four straight completions to move to the West Chester six-yard line, and six plays later (after a WC pass interference on third down), redshirt junior fullback Thomas Tippett went over the pile from one-yard out for a 14-14 tie with 21 seconds left in the first half.

Both teams traded three-and-outs to start the third quarter before ESU erased much of the rest of the period to take a 21-14 lead. The Warriors went 78 yards in 14 plays, using 7:30, sparked by a 15-yard scramble by Soltes on third-and-14. They were aided by a pass interference penalty on third-and-23 from the 28, converted a third-down on a two-yard run by Tippett, and got in the end zone on redshirt senior Jordan Hallman's diving nine-yard TD catch with 3:40 remaining in the third.

West Chester's fifth turnover of the game came on its next possession after White had his most successful series of the day, catching a 17-yard pass and then breaking up the middle for 14 yards before a fumble forced by sophomore cornerback Ray Dominguez was recovered by sophomore linebacker Cody Simcox at the 17-yard line.

Eight plays and 83 yards later, ESU extended its lead to 28-14 on a 24-yard TD pass from Soltes to Reed, which came five plays into the fourth quarter and followed runs by Williams of 20 and 24 yards.

The Warriors' defense forced stops on West Chester's next two drives, getting a three-and-out and a third-down stop with a sack by senior defensive end Waverly Harris and redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Jon Noble, to kick it back to ESU with just over seven minutes left.

Rich Bruno's 52-yard punt drove Wilson back inside the 10-yard line, and after bobbling an over-the-shoulder catch, West Chester recovered at the five-yard line and White made it 28-21 on the next play.

While West Chester got a stop and score to pull even at 28-28, ESU and Soltes had just enough time to knock off the Golden Rams.

Game Notes
* ESU head coach Denny Douds coached his 402nd game and gained his 235th win, moving into a tie for fourth on the all-time Division II list.
* Douds coached his 40th game against West Chester in his 39th season. The rivals met once in the postseason, winning 48-38 in the NCAA Playoffs in 2004.
* ESU won its Homecoming game for the first time since 2006. The Warriors improve to 24-15 in Homecoming games under Douds.

* ESU inducted its 1964 and 1965 teams into the Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday morning. The 1964 team went 8-1, including a 13-0 shutout at West Chester, and beat Indiana 27-14 in the State Game. The 1965 team went 10-0, the Warriors' first-ever 10-win, unbeaten, untied season, including a 13-6 win over West Chester and a 26-10 win over Indiana in the State Game.
* The win over Indiana in 1965 was the Warriors' last game without Douds on the sideline. Head coach Jack Gregory left for Navy, with Charlie Reese assuming head coaching duties and Douds joining the staff as assistant coach.

* ESU's five defensive turnovers forced were: an interception by R-So. CB Andrew Coyle on the 3rd play of the game, a fumble by White forced by R-So. FS Anthony Singlar and recovered by R-So. DE Brandon Gattelli later in the 1st quarter, Jackson's interception in the 2nd quarter, Fr. CB Teron Dobb's second interception of the year on the next-to-last play of the 1st half, and White's fumble forced by Dominguez and recovered by Simcox in the 3rd quarter.

* Soltes broke the single-game completion percentage record of 81.0 set by Tom Taylor (17-21) at Southern Connecticut in 1989.
* Soltes' 256 passing yards last week at Clarion were a record for an ESU freshman in his first career start. His 366 yards vs. West Chester are tied for 3rd by a freshman at any point in his freshman season. Jimmy Terwilliger had games of 380 yards (vs. Mansfield), 376 yards (vs. Bloomsburg) and 366 yards (vs. West Chester), all at home, in 2003.
* Soltes' 30 completions are the most-ever by an ESU freshman.

* ESU was 12-for-17 on 3rd down, with Soltes going 9-for-10 for 119 yards with 8 conversions.

* Reed's 13 catches surpassed his career-high of 11 (for 198 yards) vs. Shippensburg on Sept. 15. They are 1 off the single-game record held by three players - Evan Prall (2006 vs. Lock Haven), John Kotarsky (1999 vs. Mansfield) and Brett Witmer (1997 at Bloomsburg).

* Seniors Kendrick Williams (20 carries, 59 yards, TD) and Eric Deery (13 carries, 58 yards) combined for 117 of ESU's 142 yards rushing. R-Jr. FB Thomas Tippett had 6 carries for 20 yards and Soltes ran 5 times for a net of 7 yards.
* ESU's 45 rushing attempts (for 142 yards) are the most since running 47 times for 243 yards in a 44-3 win vs. Millersville in 2009.

* The last time ESU held the ball for longer than 43:27 was the final game of the 2002 season. The Warriors had possession for 44:40 in a 34-7 win over Kutztown to wrap up their PSAC East regular season title.