Homecoming: Homecoming Weekend 2022 in the Poconos is upon us. Among the activities on campus include Warrior Madness in Memory of Ryan Smith and the annual Homecoming Bonfire featuring a pep rally and food trucks on Friday evening For a full list of events and activities, see above for the full schedule of events.
Free Admission: Fans can attend the game for free by donating a pair of new or used shoes to ESU Volleyball’s Soles4Souls Shoe Drive at the Eiler-Martin Stadium entrance. Soles4Souls is a non-profit organization that turns unwanted shoes and clothing into opportunity, by keeping them from going to waste and putting them to good use – providing relief, creating jobs and empowering people to break the cycle of poverty. As of 2022, Soles4Souls has distributed over 80 million pairs of shoes and pieces of clothing to those in need. Donation boxes are spread throughout Koehler Fieldhouse, Dansbury Commons, and the ESU Bookstore for those wishing to donate at a different time.
Know the Foe: The Golden Rams enter Saturday’s matchup with a 3-3 overall record and an identical 1-2 record against PSAC East opponents. Both teams also enter the week on a two-game losing skid, as the Golden Rams dropped a couple of close matchups to Bloomsburg (21-16) and Shippensburg (20-13). In the PSAC, WCU sports the best 3rd-down defense, allowing foes to pick a first down on just 26.2 % of opportunities. The Golden Ram defense also ranks high in total sacks (4th, 2.83) and tackles for loss (2nd, 8.2). Individually, WCU’s defense is led by 2021 All-PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year Jackson Taylor, who ranks eighth in the country in tackles for loss and 7th in the conference in total tackles. Zach Liggitt paces the conference with 0.92 sacks per contest. Ja’Den McKenzie and Phil Poquie are a dynamic tandem in the backfield offensively for WCU. The two combine to average over 100-yds per game.
The Series: Saturday’s contest marks the 86th meetings between the two rival programs. The Warriors seek its first win over WCU since 2012, a stretch of eight consecutive wins by the Golden Rams. In the latest matchup in 2021, West Chester built a 28-7 first half lead before the Warriors scored a couple of fourth quarter touchdowns for a final score of 42-24.
Last Time Out: Trailing 20-0 in the second half, the East Stroudsburg University football team came back to cut the deficit to a single possession following redshirt sophomore quarerback Aaron Tobias' first two career touchdown passes, but ultimately fell to Millersville, 20-14, at Biemesder Stadium.
Long Distance Relationship: Aaron Tobias’ 97-yd connection with freshman Beau Heyser last week against Millersville is tied for the third longest in program history, matching Ray Wagner’s 97-yd completion to Robert Bleiler in 2011. The only two longer passing plays in program history are Matt Soltes to Bleiler in 2013 against Lock Haven and Bret Comp to Ken Kopetchny against Mansfield in 1990, with both passes going 99 yards.
Worth-Y: Duquesne transfer Jahan Worth registered an impressive 16 tackles against Millersville this past week, which is tied for the most tackles for a Warrior since Anthony Singlar tallied 17 tackles against Slippery Rock on Sept 13., 2014. Worth is expected to fill in as a starter with Paul Carreras suffering an injury. The Allentown, Pa. native nearly doubled his season output in tackles in the contest, and now has 33 tackles on the season. As a Duquesne Duke, Worth was a two-time All-Northeast Conference in the fall and spring season of 2021.
Bart has a Boot: Devin Bartholomew extended his personal streak to and ESU’s consecutive PATs made streak to 88 with a pair of extra points converted. Bartholomew has made all 46 of his attempts, while Jordan Walters’ closed his career at ESU by making all 40 of his attempts during his senior season and the final two of his junior campaign. The Warriors have not missed a point-after-attempt since Nov. 10, 2018, a span of 1,436 days from Saturday.
Looking Ahead: After Homecoming, the Warriors hit the road for a pair of PSAC East matchups to close October against Bloomsburg (Oct. 22) and Shippensburg (Oct. 29). ESU returns home for Senior Day at Eiler-Martin Stadium on Sat., Nov. 5 against nationally-ranked Shepherd.
