Complete Game Notes (PDF)

SATURDAY  l  1 p.m.  l  Slippery Rock, Pa.  l  Mihalik-Thompson Stadium

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1st & 10 ...  Complete Game Notes (PDF)

1 • ESU (4-6) travels to Slippery Rock (6-4) for the 2016 season finale for both schools.  The Warriors were slated to play at California prior to the Vulcans winning the PSAC West and the right to host Kutztown, the PSAC East winner, in the State Game.

2 • The Warriors recognized 8 seniors prior to kickoff last week, including 4 players who have been 4 or 5-year members of the program.

3 • ESU head coach Denny Douds is the 8th coach in NCAA history (all divisions) to coach 450 career games. Douds ranks 4th on the list of games coached at one school.
3a • Games coached at 1 school:
1. 607 - John Gagliardi (St. John's MN)
2. 588 - Eddie Robinson (Grambling)
3. 548 - Joe Paterno (Penn State)
4. 450- Denny Douds (East Stroudsburg)
5. 446 - Roy Kidd (Eastern Kentucky)

4 • Douds (Slippery Rock '63) faces his alma mater for the 14th time. The Rock is 10-3 against Douds (13-3 vs. ESU overall). Douds' final collegiate game for the Rock was the 1962 State Game against ESU, won by SRU, 13-6. Douds was a 2-way lineman and an All-PSAC, All-State and NAIA All-America selection.

5 • Douds, in his 43rd season, ranks16th on the NCAA all-division wins list (260). Douds holds the PSAC record for career wins and ranks 2nd among active NCAA coaches.

6 • Douds' 43 seasons as a head coach are 10th in NCAA history, and his 43 seasons at ESU are t-5th at one school.

7 • R-Sr. TB Robert Healy set ESU's single-season rushing record (1,163 yards) last week. He had one carry, a 3-yard quarterback sneak in the 3rd quarter, to break the mark set by Andre Castiglioni  (2000). He was injured on the final play of the 1st half the previous week and did not return.

8 • Healy in the 2016 NCAA Division II statistical rankings (last week & this week):
2nd (172.6) - 5th (155.6) - yards from scrimmage
9th (128.9) - 16th (116.3) - rushing yards
t-2nd (18) - t-4th (18) - rushing TD
t-4th (19) - t-5th (19) - total TD

9 • Healy set multiple ESU career yardage records:
1st - rushing (3,993)
1st - yards from scrimmage (5,908)
1st - all-purpose yards (5,908)

Additional ESU career rankings:
t-2nd - rushing TD (32)
4th - total TD (44)

10 • ESU threw for 468 yards and set school records for pass completions (45) and pass attempts (71).  R-Jr. QB Tim DiGiorgio was 36-60 for 347 yards and 3 TD, and R-Sr. QB Bruce Campbell was 9-11 for 121 yards and 2 TD.
• Jr. WR Tim Wilson - 13 rec, 146 yds, 3 TD
• Fr. WR Javier Buffalo - 10 rec, 94 yds, TD


THE SERIES: Slippery Rock holds a 13-3 advantage in the all-time series, but ESU's three victories have all been significant. In 1975, ESU won 7-0 at the Rock to open a 10-0, PSAC championship season under 2nd-year head coach Denny Douds ... In 2008, ESU won 38-21 at Slippery Rock to finish a 9-2 season ... In 2009, ESU beat the Rock 54-28 at home to earn its most recent trip to the NCAA Division II Playoffs ... this is the 1st meeting between Douds and SRU's Shawn Lutz ... George Mihalik retired following the 2015 season, going 197-111-4 in 28 seasons ... he held a 9-2 edge in the series vs. ESU ... Douds' 1st career game was a 47-20 loss at SRU in 1974 ... after a 5-5 season, ESU was 19-0-1 in 1975-76.

DOUDS' FOES: Douds will face his 110th head coach in his career at ESU ... Paul Hamilton (Brevard) was Douds' 109th opponent in the season opener ... Douds is 72-37 against first-time foes ... Douds faced Millersville's Gene Carpenter 27 times, and faced Danny Hale 26 times between his career at West Chester and Bloomsburg ... Among active coaches, his most frequent opponent is West Chester's Bill Zwaan (15).

RETURNING ALL-PSAC EAST: ESU has 4 players who have earned All-PSAC East status in their careers:
TB - R-Sr. Robert Healy (3-time All-PSAC East [1st team 2015, 2nd team 2013-14], 2013 Freshman of the Year)
OL - So. Michael Fleming (2015 2nd team - first ESU FR OL named All-PSAC East since 1975)
DE - R-Sr. Ahmad McFarland (2015 2nd team)
LB - R-Jr. Sekou Jones (2015 2nd team)

TAKEAWAYS FROM 66-41 LOSS vs. LOCK HAVEN
1. ESU's team passing completions (45) and attempts (71) broke school records set in last year's 69-67 (5OT) loss vs. Shippensburg - when Matt Soltes was 40-for-70.
2. Jr. WR Tim Wilson had career-highs with 13 catches, 146 yards and 3 TD
• 5th 100-yard game of season (5th in PSAC with 92.3 ypg)
3. Fr. WR Javier Buffalo (10 rec, 94 yds, TD) tied an ESU freshman record with 10 catches
• Tied mark set by Sam Shuman (2006) at Bloomsburg
• 17 rec, 313 yds, 3 TD in last 5 weeks (3 rec, 29 yds, TD in first 3 weeks)
4. R-Sr. TB Robert Healy completed his career by setting ESU's single-season rushing record
• set ESU season records for rushing yards (1,163) and rushing TD (18) in 8.5 games

WHAT TO LOOK FOR at SLIPPERY ROCK
1. SRU Sr. RB Shamar Greene (4,275) and Healy (3,993) are 1-2 among active PSAC players in career rushing yards
• Greene suffered a season-ending injury on Oct. 1 and Healy is not in ESU's 2-deep this week (injury Oct. 29)
2. Sr. QB Don King III, a transfer from Sam Houston State, returned last week to throw for 322 yards vs. Seton Hill
• injured in 37-35 loss vs. Edinboro (Oct. 22) and missed 27-23 loss at Clarion last week
3. Sr. LB Bob Vernick (57 tkl, 4 Int.) and R-Jr. DE Marcus Martin (61 tkl, 17.5 TFL, 9 sacks) lead a Slippery Rock defense that ranks 2nd in the PSAC (9th in DII) in rushing defense (87.9 ypg).

WARRIORS SENIORS: 8 Warriors are set to play their final game this weekend:
QB Bruce Campbell - 21 games (10 starts) ... 91-for-173, 1,401 yds, 11 TD passing (202 yds, TD rushing) as a senior
WR Varney Dassin - 11 games in last 2 years ... 5 rec, 46 yds as a senior
TB Robert Healy - 3-time All-PSAC East (2013 FR of the Year), 2015 1st team, 2-time All-Region
* ESU career records for rushing yards (3,993), yards from scrimmage (5,908) and all-purpose yards (same)
S Maurice Jackson - 7 career starts in 2 seasons (4 this year) ... 46 tackles, 5 TFL, 2 sacks, FR as a senior
DE Ahmad McFarland - 2015 All-PSAC East 2nd team ... 30 career starts (consecutive) ... 20.5 career TFL, 9.5 sacks
OL Fran McMenamin - 30 career starts in 3 seasons following 2 tours in Afghanistan with U.S. Marine Corps
FB Sean Roth - 3-year letterwinner ... 2015 Redshirt Award recipient ... 31 games (16 starts), 3 TD
FS Jimmy Verzicco - 19 career starts ... 2nd on team in tackles (62), 1st in Int (3) and FR (3) as junior