Box Score

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The year was 1994 and the East Stroudsburg University football team headed to Easton to face the Lafayette Leopards. The Warriors opened their season with a 31-14 win. Flash forward to 2019 where the Warriors traveled to Staten Island on Saturday night and defeated Wagner College, 24-14 for the first time in program history.
 
The Warriors (1-0) answered an opening-drive touchdown from the Seahawks with a score of their own as redshirt junior Devante Robinson found the end-zone from the one-yard line to knot the score 7-7.
 
ESU gained momentum on both offense and defense in the second quarter as the Warriors outscored the Seahawks 14-0. The Warriors would jump ahead of Wagner following a seven-play 81-yard drive that spanned just over two minutes. Robinson reeled in a 20-yard pass from redshirt sophomore quarterback Jake Cirillo to put ESU up 14-7.
 
Robinson would once again find his way into the end-zone with nine minutes left in the second quarter. The opportunity would be set up by the ESU defense as redshirt senior Joshua Taylor forced a fumble that would be picked up by redshirt freshman Jahmere Crumpton and taken to the Wagner 10-yard line. That allowed Cirillo to hand the ball off to Robinson, who worked his way through the Seahawk defense and into the end-zone to make it 21-7.
 
Wagner closed the gap on its first possession of the third quarter after forcing ESU to punt the ball. The Seahawks would go on a nine-play 76-yard drive that took almost seven minutes off the clock to make it 21-14. That would be the only scoring in the quarter as Wagner held the football for almost 11 minutes, compared to just four minutes for ESU.
 
The game would come down to a tense fourth-quarter showdown as the Seahawks worked their way to ESU's 37-yard line before having to punt. The Warriors started their first drive of the quarter at the 7:20 mark and would eat up almost six and a half minutes of game clock before sending senior kicker Jordan Walters in for his first field-goal attempt of the season.
 
Following a timeout by the Warriors, Walters connected from 45 yards out to give ESU a 24-14 advantage with 1:13 left in the contest. Wagner, starting on their own 35-yard line with 1:05 left would go four plays and move the ball just eight yards before turning the ball over on downs following a run that would be stopped for no gain by junior defensive lineman Keanan Baines.
 
The Warriors took a knee with 43 seconds left on the clock to run out the clock and preserve the 24-14 victory in Jimmy Terwilliger's first official game as the head football coach of East Stroudsburg University. Following the game, Terwilliger handed the game-ball to East Stroudsburg University President Marcia G. Welsh, Ph.D.
 
Cirillo finished the game 11-for-21 with 138 yards passing to go along with one touchdown and one interception. Sophomore wide receiver Rece Bender caught two passes for 52 yards, including a 41-yard reception. Robinson finished with three catches for 43 yards and rushed for 37 yards, while Cirillo ran the ball 10 times for 90 yards.
 
ESU heads to Seton Hill on Saturday, September 14 for a 2 p.m. matchup with the Griffins in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. The Warriors welcome the Edinboro Fighting Scots to Eiler-Martin Stadium on Saturday, September 21 for the 2019 home opener beginning at 1:05 p.m.