The Road to 1K: ESU became just the fifth PSAC program to reach 500 wins in program history last week against Lock Haven. The Warriors (500-359-19) join West Chester (629), IUP (598), Slippery Rock (548) and Shepherd (544) as programs with at least 500 victories.
PSAC All-Time Wins
- West Chester (629)
- IUP (598)
- Slippery Rock (548)
- Shepherd (544)
- East Stroudsburg (500)
- Shippensburg (483)
- Bloomsburg (481)
- California (436)
- Clarion (408)
- Edinboro (400)
- Millersville (385)
- Kutztown (383)
- Lock Haven (301)
- Mercyhurst (203)
- Gannon (161)
- Seton Hill (40)
Last Week: Trailing 14-7 and 21-14, the East Stroudsburg University football team never panicked, settling in for a 35-21 road win to damper Lock Haven's Homecoming and picked up its 500th win in program history in the process on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Hubert Jack Stadium. After completing his lone pass of the contest during the opening drive for 14 yard, Warrior quarterback Charlie McKee did not return to the contest, as Sean McTaggart posted an impressive performance of completing 15-24 passes for 241 yards and four touchdowns and an interception. McTaggart also led ESU on the ground game, rushing for 42 of ESU's 143 rushing yards on the afternoon. Mason Peterson added 39 yards on the final drive of the game on eight carries. Tyriq Lewis added 37 yards and a touchdown. Justin Cook led the Warriors with 62 yards of receiving on five receptions. Randy Fizer caught a touchdown pass and finished with 56 yards on two catches. John Siggins tallied 55 yards and a touchdown on four catches, DJ Thomson added a 22-yd catch to set up a Tyriq Lewis rushing touchdown. Jonathan Post also caught a receiving touchdown, with his first touchdown of the season on a 15-yd strike from McTaggart. Defensively, linebackers Sergei Felizor (8) and Matthew Davis (6) led the Warriors with a combined 14 tackles. Felizor recorded a sack and two tackles for loss and forced a fumble, while Davis also tallied a TFL.
The Series: All-time, ESU holds a 44-25-1 record against the Golden Bears during the previous 70 meetings. Despite the 19-game lead in the all-time series, Kutztown has gotten the best of ESU lately, with wins in eight consecutive games dating back to 2014. KU has edged ESU in each of the past two meetings by a single possession. With the score tied at 14-14 with 2:41 remaining in the game, KU drove down the field, with a 67-yd completion from Eric Nickel to Jerome Kapp setup KU with a go-ahead touchdown with just 44 seconds to go. An ESU interception ended the hopes of a comeback. Last season at Eiler-Martin Stadium, ESU held a 17-14 and 20-17 in the fourth quarter, but a 15-yd touchdown pass with 1:46 put the Golden Bears up for good in a 24-20 win. Matt DeLaurentis nearly tossed a game-winning touchdown pass with ESU at the Kutztown 10-yd line, but three consecutive incompletions resulted in a turnover on downs.
A look at the Bears: After an 0-2 start, including a loss to No. 23 Assumption, KU has evened its record with a wins against Mercyhurst, along with upsetting No. 13 Shepherd on the road last week in the PSAC East opener. QB Judd Novak has completed 59.46 percent of his passes this season, averaging 218 passing yards per game, tossing five touchdowns and two interceptions. Darryl McNeil-Davis is the leading rusher, posting almost 75 yards per game and has reached the endzone four times. Novak’s favorite receiver so far in 2023 has been Kurtis Ravenel Jr., who averages 78 yards per game and is one of two Golden Bears with multiple receiving scores on the campaign. LB Brandon Hile leads the squads in tackles and has forced two fumbles in four contests this season. Drew Hensor has forced a fumble and picked off two quarterbacks in the secondary.
So Far, So Good: ESU looks to improve to 5-0 for the first time since 2019. ESU will look to close the season strong, as the Warriors fell in five of its last six contests to close 2019. If the Warriors successfully defeat Kutztown, it will look to improve to 6-0 for the first time since 2004, when ESU started the campaign 7-0, before an ovetime loss to West Chester ended its winning streak.
Pacing the PSAC: Through four weeks, ESU continues to lead the PSAC in 3rd down conversion (.558, 7th nationally) completion percentage (2nd nationally, 73.6%), defensive touchdowns (3, 3rd nationally), fumbles recovered (5, 9th nationally), rushing offense (205.5 ypg, 20th nationally), rushing defense (68.2 ypg, 12th nationally), scoring offense (41.2 ppg, 13th nationally), team passing efficiency (193.91, 3rd nationally), turnover margin (1.50, 15th nationally), turnovers gained (9, 21st nationally) and is one of 28 teams to not lose a game in NCAA Division II through four weeks (161 teams).
Quarterback Factory: Due to injuries at quarterback, ESU has used Aaron Tobias, Charlie McKee and Sean McTaggart, with all three having success passing and running the ball. The three Warrior gunslingers have completed 67-91 passes on the season (73.64%) for 840 yards, 13 touchdowns and just two interceptions. Against Seton Hill, Charlie McKee scampered on a 69-yd rushing touchdown, which is the longest by an ESU QB since at least 1969. Additionally, Sean McTaggart is the Warriors’ second-leading rusher, with 108 yards.
Feed Tyriq: Tyriq Lewis has been a force when running the ball, who leads the PSAC with 7.04 yards per carry (10th nationally) and rushing touchdowns (4), while ranking third in total rushing yards (373) and rushing yards per game (93.2 ypg). Hw has rushed for at least 86 yards in three of four games this campaign, including a pair of 120+ rushing performances against Pace and Seton Hill. In his career, the redshirt junior now has 1,058 rushing yards and eight rushing touchdowns.
Up Next: The Warriors return home for Homecoming next Saturday. The matchup with Millersville is set for a 6:05 p.m. kickoff at Eiler-Martin Stadium.
