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EAST STROUDSBURG - East Stroudsburg University scored 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter, capped by a two-point conversion pass from redshirt senior quarterback Matt Soltes to redshirt senior wide receiver Jon Schnaars with 1:10 remaining, as the Warriors upended Bloomsburg, 35-34, in PSAC East football on Saturday afternoon at Eiler-Martin Stadium.

ESU (5-4, 4-2) trailed 21-3 midway through the second quarter, 24-10 at halftime and 34-20 after the third quarter and tied school records for the largest overall comeback (18 points) and halftime comeback (14 points) in program history.

ESU's win is its first over Bloomsburg (5-4, 4-2) since winning 52-39 on the road in the second round of the NCAA Division II Playoffs in 2005. It marks the first regular season win since a 30-24 road win in 2004.

The Warriors took advantage of two short fields in the fourth quarter to complete their rally. ESU recovered a fumble by Lawrence Elliott, Jr. (28 carries, 234 yards, 3 TD) at the 30-yard line and Soltes scored on a seven-yard TD run to get within 34-27 with 10:32 remaining.

The Warriors forced Bloomsburg into a pair of three-and-outs and took over at the BU 36-yard line with 3:00 remaining. Soltes completed a pair of passes to Schnaars and redshirt junior tailback Robert Healy gained 13 yards to the three before redshirt senior tailback Gerald Van De Cruz punched it in to make it 34-33 with 1:10 left.

Head coach Denny Douds left the offense on the field, and Soltes rolled right and found Schnaars with a floated pass along the sideline for the two-point conversion.

Bloomsburg quarterback Tim Kelly threw four straight incompletions after taking over at the 18-yard line with 59 seconds left. Healy had a five-yard run and ESU picked up the game-sealing first down on a 12-men on the field penalty on the Bloomsburg defense.

BU entered tied for the PSAC East lead with Shippensburg and West Chester at 4-1. ESU's win gives Shippensburg an opportunity to represent the PSAC East in the State Game with a win at Kutztown next Saturday.

Soltes, second in DII in passing (372.0 ypg) and total offense (387.2 ypg) and the NCAA all-division leader in TD passes (33), was 20-for-37 for 263 yards and two interceptions, and had seven carries for 21 yards, including his first rushing TD of the season.

Schnaars, DII's top receiver (81 receptions, 1,176 yards, 17 TD) entering the weekend, had seven catches for 125 yards, including five for 99 yards in the fourth quarter. He tied Evan Prall's single-season record for receptions (88) set in 2005.

Healy set ESU's career rushing record and had a career-high 27 carries for a season-high 131 yards and his ninth career 100-yard rushing game. He added three catches for 24 yards for 155 yards from scrimmage.

Healy finished the afternoon with 2,644 career rushing yards, surpassing the record of 2,579 held by Rick Sterner (1988-92).

ESU's defense limited Bloomsburg to 20 yards on 12 plays in the fourth quarter after the Huskies gained 383 yards on 52 plays in the first 45 minutes.

Senior cornerback Teron Dobbs had a 64-yard punt return touchdown after the Warriors got a three-and-out to start the second half.

Elliott answered with a 61-yard TD run two plays later to give Bloomsburg a 31-17 lead, but the Warriors yielded just three points the rest of the way.

Bloomsburg led 14-0 after the first quarter and 21-3 following Elliott's one-yard TD run, the second of his three rushing TD, with 5:08 left in the second quarter.

ESU responded with a 70-yard TD drive, capped by the first of two rushing TD by Van De Cruz (seven carries, 24 yards), to make it 21-10 with 1:21 left in the first half.

Tyler Smith made a 44-yard field goal for Bloomsburg with 14 seconds left in the half for a 24-10 halftime lead.

Freshman kicker Nicolas Ruiz made two field goals for ESU, a 22-yarder in the first quarter and a 39-yarder in the third quarter. Smith also connected on two field goals for BU, making a 23-yarder late in the third quarter after an ESU defensive stand.

Senior wide receiver Gerard Wendowski had five catches for 72 yards and senior wide receiver Joe Welk added three catches for 34 yards for the Warriors.

Dobbs' 64-yard punt return TD was ESU's first since Evan Prall had two punt return TD's in 2006.

Junior safety Jimmy Verzicco made eight tackles and forced the fumble by Elliott in the fourth quarter to lead the ESU defense.

Kelly was 10-for-23 passing for 125 yards and had three carries for 10 yards and a TD for Bloomsburg. Elliott gained 234 of BU's 278 rushing yards, averaging 8.4 yards per carry.

Mark Collins had two interceptions in the first half for the Huskies and ended a streak of 137 passes without an interception for Soltes on ESU's first possession.


GAME NOTES
* ESU rallied from an 18-point deficit (28-10) in a 43-41 win at Southern Connecticut State in 1991.
* ESU rallied from a 14-point halftime deficit for the 6th time, most recently 21-7 in a 44-41 (OT) win vs. Shippensburg in 2008.

* ESU's 14-point 4th-quarter deficit is the 2nd-biggest comeback in school history. The Warriors trailed 28-10 in the 4th quarter of their 43-41 win at SCSU in 1991.

* ESU won on a 2-point conversion in the final 2 minutes for the 2nd time under Douds.
* The Warriors beat West Chester, 28-27, in 2003 as Jimmy Terwilliger threw a 17-yard TD pass to John Jeffries with 47 seconds left, and hit Evan Prall for the 2-point conversion.

* Douds moves into a tie for 2nd in career wins (255) in DII history.  He ties Jim Malosky (Minn.-Duluth, 1958-97).
* Douds moves into a tie for 18th in career wins in NCAA history.
* Douds has coached in 438 games, a DII record and 9th in NCAA history.

* Healy set ESU's career rushing record (2,644), surpassing the record of 2,579 yards set by Rick Sterner (1988-92).
* Healy moved into 2nd at ESU in career yards from scrimmage (4,029) and is 114 yards from ESU's career record (4,143) held by Evan Prall (2003-06).
* Healy had his 9th career game with 100 rushing yards, 2nd in school history (Andre Castiglioni, 14 - 1999-01).
* Healy has 698 rushing yards and 620 receiving yards this season. He was one of 2 players in DII with 500 yards rushing and receiving entering the week.

* Schnaars has 88 catches, 1,301 yards and 17 TD this season.
* He tied Evan Prall (2005) for ESU's single-season record for receptions.
* He ranks 3rd at ESU in single-season receiving yards, and t-2nd in single-season TD.
* He ranks t-7th in PSAC history in single-season receptions, 18th in yards and t-11th in TD.

* Schnaars has 213 catches, 3,138 yards and 40 TD in his career.
* He ranks 2nd at ESU in catches, 3rd in yards and 2nd in TD.
* He ranks 12th in PSAC history in career catches, 11th in yards and 8th in TD.

* Soltes has 11,883 career passing yards, 13,310 yards total offense, 118 pass TD and 125 TD responsible for.
* Soltes ranks 3rd in PSAC history in passing yards, 2nd in total offense, 4th in pass TD adn 4th in TD responsible for.

* Soltes has 3,239 passing yards, 3,382 yards total offense, 33 pass TD and 1 rushing TD this season.
* He was 2nd in DII in passing yards and total offense entering the week.

* Van De Cruz has 24 career rushing TD, 3rd in school history. He has 12 rushing TD this season.
* 23 of his 24 career rushing TD have been scored inside the 5-yard line, including 16 from the 1-yard line.