GAME NOTES
The Series: It will be the 57th meeting between the PASSHE institutions, first meeting in 1926. The Raiders currently lead the series by a mark of 36-18-2 and have earned wins in the last six contests dating back to the five-overtime thriller at Eiler-Martin Stadium in 2015. It was 2014 when ESU last defeated the Raiders at Seth Grove Stadium. Matt Soltes, a redshirt junior at the time, accounted for 527 yards of offense and Jon Schnaars broke a school record with 14 receptions in a 37-33 win.
Most Recent Meeting: Last season, the Warriors nearly broke the six-game skid against SU, as Rece Bender posted a career-day with 277 all-purpose yards. ESU led 23-14 after three quarters, with three Bartholomew field goals, a 66-yd touchdown from Bender and a rushing touchdown from Gunner Anglovich. Ship opened the fourth quarter with a touchdown to slice the deficit to two points after an interception was returned by the Raiders deep into the ESU defensive zone. Shippensburg completed a 42-yard pass in the final five minutes to setup the eventual game-winning 31-yd field goal.
Last Time Out: Clinging to a 27-21 lead after three quarters, ESU held on to defeat Bloomsburg with a goal-line stand, preventing the Huskies to score from the two-yard line on four consecutive plays to end its three-game losing streak. Freshman tailback Tahir ‘Tubby’ Mills exploded for 116 yards, including a 37-yd touchdown to open the scoring in the first quarter. Jake Cirillo added a rushing touchdown, while Devin Bartholomew booted a pair of field goals through the up-rights (49, 40). ESU’s scoring closed with a program-record 100-yd kickoff return touchdown from freshman Justin Cook.
Goal Line Stand: The Warriors, who entered the Bloomsburg game with three consecutive losses by a combined 13 points, looked as if they might suffer a similar fate, with the Huskies driving down the field down six points with just over five minutes left. On 3rd and 5 from the ESU 12-yard line, the Warriors were charged with a pass interference penalty, setting up the Huskies with 1st and goal from the Warriors’ 2-yd line. Needing just a pair of yards for the probable game-winning touchdown, ESU buckled down with four consecutive stops. Bloomsburg rushed with its quarterback on all four plays, with Jacob Keane credited with tackles on the first two plays, while Jahan Worth earned the stop on 3rd down and Ray Simmons led the charge on the 4th and 1 to seal the goal-line stand victory with 47 seconds left and no timeouts remaining.
Cook-in’ Up Records: Freshman Justin Cook’s first collegiate touchdown will be hard to forget and will forever be enshrined in the ESU football record book, becoming the first Warrior to record a 100-yd kickoff return for a touchdown. He shatters Rece Bender who set the record with a 99-yd return at Lock Haven in 2021. Cook is one of five players in NCAA Division II with an 100-yd kickoff return and is the third from the PSAC, with Ronnie Brown of Shepherd and Redd Douglas of Shippensburg also taking one back from the end zone. He is the lone freshman in NCAA Division II, and one of four first-year players rom NCAA FBS (2), FCS (1) DII (1) and DII (0), to record 100-yd kickoff return.
Trust in Tubby: With veteran backfield presences in Gunner Anglovich, Devante Robinson and Tyriq Lewis missing time due to injury, fellow true freshman Tahir ‘Tubby’ Mills has not missed a beat as the primary ball carrier. He is now the leading Warrior rusher this season after totaling 116 yards against Bloomsburg. The native of Ridley, Pa. was an all-state selection at Ridley, the program’s leading rusher with 2,521 career yards and 36 touchdowns.
Why Tubby?: “I always had a passion for running the ball, but I didn’t exactly have the physique to do it, you can say I was a little chubby kid,” said Mills, who wears the No. 4 because he’s the youngest of four boys. “I played o-line and d-line. That’s where I got the nickname ‘Tubby,’ because I was a chubby kid. You can say I run angry.” via easternpafootball.com
Defensive Serge: Sergei Felizor has put together a career-year in the Red and Black through eight weeks and has consistently led the Warriors in tackles. Over the past three contests, he was reached double-figures in tackles, and has accounted for a total of 40 tackles during that span. He caused a critical fumble as Bloomsburg neared the end zone in the first half. The New Jersey native now ranks 16th in tackles per game (9.8) and sixth in the PSAC and second in the PSAC East behind Shippensburg’s Matt Feeney (10.1).
Another One: ESU placekicker Devin Bartholomew has continued his impressive season, as he was named the PSAC East Special Teams Athlete of the Week for the second time this season after making a pair of 40-yd plus field goals (49-40) and both PATs in the win against Bloomsburg. On the season, the Parkland High School alumnus is 14-17 on field goal attempts (82.4%) and is 5-of-7 from beyond 40 yards, along with a mark of 9-10 from inside 40 yards. Bartholomew ranks 18th in NCAA Division II in field goal percentage, second in field goals per game (1.75) and 35th in total points scored this season. He is now 52-52 over the past two seasons on extra-point attempts, extending the Warriors' consecutive made streak to 94, dating back to Nov. 10, 2018.
A Look Ahead: After traveling to Shippensburg, ESU will play its final home game on Sat., Nov. 5 against currently nationally ranked and undefeated Shepherd. The Senior Day battle against the Rams is set to begin at 1:00 p.m.
