Box Score

SHIPPENSBURG - Redshirt junior quarterback Matt Soltes gained 527 total yards, redshirt junior wide receiver Jon Schnaars tied a school record with 14 catches and East Stroudsburg University's defense forced a turnover in the final minute as the Warriors earned a 37-33 win at Shippensburg in PSAC football on Saturday at Seth Grove Stadium.

In a game that featured four lead changes in the fourth quarter, Soltes hit Schnaars for the go-ahead 27-yard TD with 5:55 left, then the Warriors' defense got two stops with the game in the balance.

Shippensburg took over at its 21-yard line, without a timeout, with 1:41 left and moved to the Warriors' 27-yard line with 30 seconds left. R-Sr. DE Brandon Gattelli sacked Chris Lawshe at the 33, then R-So. DE Ahmad McFarland had a sack and forced fumble on third-and-16 which was recovered by R-Sr. DL Bryan Thomson with one second left to seal the victory.

ESU improves to 4-1 (3-1 PSAC) with its first win over Shippensburg since 2008 (44-41 OT) and first road win at Shippensburg since 2002 (23-21). The Red Raiders (2-3, 1-3) suffered their third straight loss after setbacks to California and Bloomsburg.

Soltes was 33-for-54 for 416 yards and four touchdowns and ran for 111 yards for 527 yards of total offense - his fifth career game over 500 yards, setting a PSAC record he shared with ESU's Damian Poalucci (1994-97). He gained 500 total yards for the second time in three weeks, posting 536 yards in a 47-34 win at Edinboro on September 20.

Schnaars had 14 catches for a career-high 152 yards and two TD. He ties a school record for catches held by Brett Witmer (1997 at Bloomsburg), John Kotarsky (1999 at Mansfield) and Evan Prall (2006 vs. California).

Jr. WR Joe Welk had career-highs with five catches for 129 yards and a TD. R-So. TB Robert Healy had his 10th straight game with 100 yards from scrimmage with 17 carries for 89 yards and seven catches for 52 yards. Schnaars and Healy combined for 21 catches, an ESU record for receptions by two teammates in a single game.

Thomson had eight tackles, a sack and two blocked kicks - knocking away a 30-yard field goal in the first quarter and an extra point in the fourth. Jr. CB Teron Dobbs had two interceptions, giving him five on the season and 13 in his career. Gattelli had 2.0 sacks and McFarland had 1.5 as ESU got to Shippensburg quarterback Chris Lawshe five times.

ESU jumped out to a 13-0 lead, on a seven-yard TD run by Healy on ESU's first drive and a 42-yard TD from Soltes to R-Sr. TE Steven Jones on the first play of the second quarter, and led 16-7 at halftime.

There were 47 points scored in the second half, starting with a 25-yard TD from Lawshe (27-for-47, 315 yards, 3 TD; 17 carries, 59 yards) to Sheldon Mayer (7 catches, 113 yards, 2 TD) with 8:52 left in the third quarter that brought Shippensburg within 16-14.

ESU answered with a long drive and a seven-yard TD pass from Soltes to Schnaars, then Mayer caught a 51-yard TD from Lawshe as the Warriors led 23-20 with 5:18 remaining in the third quarter.

Ship took its first lead, 26-23, on a five-yard TD from Lawshe to Trevor Harman, on the first play of the fourth quarter to set off an eventful final 15 minutes.

ESU reclaimed the lead, 30-26, on a 69-yard TD pass from Soltes to Welk with 11:40 left - then Shippensburg answered for a 33-30 advantage with Andrew Smith scoring on a seven-yard TD run with 7:32 left after the Red Raiders converted a fourth-and-one in their own territory.

The Warriors converted a fourth down of their own on their go-ahead TD drive, with Soltes hitting Schnaars for an eight-yard gain on fourth-and-three from midfield. ESU was in the end zone two plays later, with a pass interference penalty followed by Soltes' fourth TD of the game on a 27-yard pass to Schnaars with 5:55 left. Fr. K Matt Smith's extra point made the score 37-33.

Ship picked up one first down before a sack forced a punt, giving the ball back to the Warriors with 3:59 remaining. ESU ran just over two minutes off the clock, picking up a first down on a nine-yard pass to Schnaars, before the Red Raiders defense held and ESU Sr. P Jordan Bair backed Ship up to its 21-yard line with a 58-yard punt.

Lawshe drove Ship to the ESU 27 with a six-yard completion to Harman (11 catches, 92 yards, TD) on third-and five before the Warriors' defense came up with their two biggest plays of the game on consecutive sacks by Gattelli and McFarland in the final half-minute.

ESU gained 629 total yards on 87 plays, with Soltes throwing for 416 yards and the Warriors running for 213 yards on 32 carries. Shippensburg gained 535 yards on 97 plays and Lawshe had 374 yards of total offense. Blair Brooks had 20 carries for 101 yards and Harman (11-92, TD) and Mayer (7-113, 2 TD) were the top receivers.

ESU (4-1, 3-1) hosts Cheyney (0-5, 0-4) on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Eiler-Martin Stadium.


GAME NOTES
* ESU head coach Denny Douds improved to 248-172-3 in his 41st season. He coached his 423rd game, moving into sole possession of 10th-most in NCAA football history.
* Douds is one win from tying Lou Holtz for 20th on the NCAA's all-division wins list (249).
* Douds ranks 3rd among active NCAA coaches in career wins, and 3rd in DII history.
* Douds has won 49 games since turning 65 years old in 2006.

* Soltes had his 5th career game with 500 total yards, the most in PSAC history.
* Soltes has 500 yards in 4 of his last 10 games.
* He entered the week 3rd in DII in passing (371.0 ypg) and total offense (406.8 ypg).
* Soltes is averaging 380.0 passing ypg and 430.8 ypg total offense after Saturday.
* His 1,900 passing yards and 2,154 total yards through 5 games are both the most in ESU history.
* Previously, Damian Poalucci threw for 1,851 yards in 1996, and Jimmy Terwilliger had 1,980 total yards in 2005.

* Soltes has 2 of the 3 games in PSAC history with 400 passing yards and 100 rushing yards.
* He had 535 passing yards and 131 rushing yards in 2012 at LIU Post (PSAC record and NCAA all-division freshman record 666 yards total offense).
* Jeff Petrucci (California) had 406 passing yards and 111 rushing yards vs. Edinboro in 1966.
* Soltes' 500/100 game at LIU Post in 2012 is one of 2 in NCAA history.

* Soltes moved into 2nd at ESU in career total offense:
1. 16,064 - Jimmy Terwilliger (2003-06)
2. 9,028 - MATT SOLTES (2012- )
3. 8,569 - Damian Poalucci (1994-97)

* Soltes has 400 total yards in 9 of his 23 career starts. Terwilliger had 11 in 48 starts.

* Soltes moved into #2 in career TD passes last week. He has 74 career TD passes and 19 this season. Jimmy Terwilliger holds the ESU, PSAC and NCAA DII records with 148 career TD passes.

* Schnaars had his 2nd 100-yard receiving game (152 yards) of the season and the 5th of his career. He had 7 catches for 107 yards at Edinboro two weeks ago.
* Welk had his 1st career 100-yard receiving game (129 yards) and also had a career-high 5 catches. His previous bests were 3 catches for 67 yards last week vs. Lock Haven.
* Jones had his 18th career TD catch, t-10th in school history.

* Healy had 100 yards from scrimmage for the 10th straight game, extending his school record, and the 14th time in 16 career games.
* He was the only player in DII with 250 yards rushing and receiving entering the week.
* Healy has 403 yards rushing and 333 yards receiving through 5 weeks. His 736 yards from scrimmage through 5 games are the most in school history. Andre Castiglioni had 723 yards in 2000.

* Schnaars (14) and Healy (7) combined for 21 receptions, an ESU record for catches by two teammates in a single game.
* ESU receivers combined for 19 catches 4 times previously:
2006 at Bloomsburg - Sam Shuman (10), Evan Prall (9)
1996 at Mansfield - Brett Witmer (10), Mike Mancuso (9)
1994 vs. Millersville - Mike Mancuso (10), Dennis McWhite (9)
1982 at Millersville - Ernie Siegrist (11), Scott Benoit (8)

* Gattelli has 6.0 sacks this season and 20.0 in his career.
* Thomson has 4.0 sacks this season and 19.0 in his career.
* ESU is the only school with two players among DII's top 10 active players in career sacks.
* ESU has 19 sacks in 5 games. The Warriors were t-1st in the PSAC with 3.5 sacks per game last week.

* Thomson extended his school record for career blocked kicks to 14. He has blocked 9 PAT and 5 FG in his career, and 2 PAT and 2 FG in 2014.

* Jr. CB Teron Dobbs had 2 interceptions, giving him 5 this season and 13 in his career.
* Dobbs entered the week ranked 3rd among active DII players with 11 career Int.