Box Score  l  Photo Gallery (game)  l  Photo Gallery (halftime)

EAST STROUDSBURG – Lock Haven scored 27 straight points spanning the third and fourth quarters and held off two late East Stroudsburg University scoring drives for a 44-41 win in the PSAC East football opener for both schools on Saturday at Eiler-Martin Stadium.

Redshirt senior tailback Jaymar Anderson had 28 carries for 132 yards and two TD for ESU (1-3, 0-1), which led 14-0 early and 27-13 midway through the third quarter before Lock Haven's run.

Anderson had his eighth career 100-yard rushing game, in his 14th start, and went over the 1,500-yard mark for his career. He had 200 yards and three TD in last year's 37-27 win at Lock Haven on his way to a 1,000-yard season.

Redshirt freshman QB Jake Cirillo made his first career appearance in the fourth quarter for ESU and was 8-for-12 for 123 yards and two TD, throwing scoring passes of 10 and 30 yards to redshirt junior WR Anthony Guarino.

The second pulled ESU within 44-41 with 1:43 left, but LHU (1-3, 1-0) recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock.

Cameron Tobias was 18-for-27 for 243 yards, two TD and an interception, while Chantz Swartz (23 carries, 120 yards, TD; 4 catches, 60 yards) and Ralph Hyland (18 carries, 75 yards, TD; 3 catches, 24 yards) were dual threats out of the backfield for LHU.

Bryan Greene was the top receiver with seven catches for 83 yards.

Nysir Minney-Gratz had an 84-yard punt return TD that tied the game at 27-all late in the third quarter and added two catches for 45 yards and a TD. He had 201 all-purpose yards.

Lock Haven gained 519 yards on 88 offensive plays and had a 4-1 advantage in turnovers, along with Minney-Gratz's punt return TD – the first against ESU since 2005 vs. C.W. Post.

Austyn Carson made three field goals, from 29, 20 and 20 yards – with the last putting LHU ahead 44-34 with 2:56 remaining.

Redshirt sophomore QB Ben Moser started and was 7-for-19 for 112 yards, a TD and two interceptions – the first coming on the final play of the first half – for ESU before Cirillo entered with the Warriors trailing 41-27 in the fourth quarter.

Redshirt junior WR R.J. Sarajian had six catches for 109 yards and a TD for his first career 100-yard receiving game.

ESU led 17-13 at halftime after jumping out to an early 14-0 lead, with Anderson scoring on two of the first three drives – a one-yard run after a nine-play, 66-yard drive on the game's first possession, and an 18-yard run after a 61-yard punt return by freshman WR Rece Bender.

Hyland put LHU on the board after a 14-play, 66-yard drive late in the first quarter. Two field goals by Carson and one by ESU junior Jordan Walters (29 yards) accounted for the rest of the first-half points.

ESU scored the first 10 points of the third quarter to lead 27-13. Walters made a 37-yard field goal after the defense forced a punt, and redshirt junior safety Joshua Taylor had his first career interception that led to a 45-yard TD from Moser to Sarajian with 8:07 left in the third.

Lock Haven embarked on a long 11-play, 79-yard drive capped by a three-yard run by Swartz to make it 27-20, then Minney-Gratz tied it with his punt return TD with 3:09 left in the third.

Another ESU punt led to a five-play, 73-yard drive – aided by three penalties – and the go-ahead score on the first play of the fourth quarter as Tobias hit Greene for a seven-yard TD.

ESU fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and LHU made it 41-27 as Tobias found Minney-Gratz for a 24-yard TD just 51 seconds later – capping a 27-point surge in just over five minutes.

After another ESU turnover, the defense forced a punt an Cirillo was 5-for-6 for 61 yards on his first drive (9 plays, 81 yards), closing with the 10-yard TD pass to Guarino to get within 41-34 with 6:01 remaining.

A good kick return and a penalty set LHU up near midfield, and a 22-yard pass to Minney-Gratz inside the five led to Carson's third field goal of the game and a 10-point cushion.

ESU went 69 yards in seven plays, culminating in Cirillo's 30-yard TD to Guarino, to get within three before Hyland recovered the onside kick and ran out the clock.

ESU travels to Millersville (0-4, 0-1) for a 7:05 p.m. kickoff on Thursday night. The Marauders fell 42-16 at West Chester on Saturday following losses to Pace (23-10), at No. 4 IUP (41-7) and vs. Slippery Rock (57-10) to open the season. The Marauders won 12-0 in a Thursday night game at ESU last fall.