Last Time Out: At Edinboro on Thurs., Aug. 29, ESU held Edinboro to 267 yards of offense and forced three turnovers to lead the Warriors to a 24-12 win. The Warrior offense rushed for 206 yards, while Quarterback Sean McTaggart tossed a pair of touchdown passes and found six different receivers for a total of 150 yards passing. Full Recap.
The Series: ESU and Pace meet for the third consecutive season and the sixth time overall on Thursday night. The Warriors hold a 4-1 lead, including a dominant 62-9 victory in the 2023 edition. The Setters’ lone victory came in 2022 at then Pace Stadium, defeating the Warriors, 31-16 after taking a 14-0 lead after 90 seconds. In the most recent meeting at Eiler-Martin Stadium, ESU led 20-6 at halftime and pulled away after outscoring the Setters, 42-3, in the second half in the dominant victory. In total, ESU outgained Pace, 455-205 in 2023.
Recipe for Success: Just as it did last season, the Warriors controlled the turnover margin in its first game against Edinboro, with their defense forcing a pair of interceptions and a fumble recovery to change possession on the opening snap. Cornerbacks Malachi Bowman and Adewale Obayanju each snatched their second career interceptions, while Aidan Hayward jumped on a fumble on the first play of scrimmage. The Warriors ranked sixth nationally in turnover margin a season ago, forcing 29 turnovers (7th nationally) while only conceding 12 turnovers (16th nationally).
One-Two Punch: Tyriq Lewis and Tahir Mills combined for 174 yards rushing against Edinboro, as the dynamic duo look to be one of the league’s most formidable rushing duos in the conference once again. Mills (96 yards) and Tyriq Lewis (78 yards) averaged over 7.0 yards per carry against Edinboro. The two tailbacks combined for 1,320 yards and 13 touchdowns, helping the Warriors to rank third in the PSAC in rushing offense.
Ball Hawk Harris: TJ Harris, a two-time All-PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week in 2023, made a case for the award in his first game of 2024. Harris led ESU in tackles (10) and pass breakups (2) against the Fighting Scots. He added a tackle-for-loss, as the redshirt senior looks to make a case for his first All-PSAC East selection.
Can’t Defend All of Them: The Warriors continued its trend with balance at wide receiver against Edinboro, with six Warriors recording a reception. No receiver caught more than three passes, or had more than 35 yards receiving to account for McTaggart’s 150 passing yards.
Campbell Trophy: ESU wide receiver John Siggins was nominated for the William V. Campbell Trophy, which honors a college football player with the best combination of academics, community service and on-field performance by the National Football Foundation. It is considered by many to be the “Academic Heisman”. Siggins, a nursing major with a 3.51 GPA, is involved with numerous charitable organizations, including Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Northeastern Pennsylvania, Be The Match, Salvation Army, East Stroudsburg United Methodist Church soup kitchen, Dr. Seuss Read Across America, 570 Youth Sports, Youth Sports and Recreation for Life Time Fitness and is a member of ESU's Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA). An All-PSAC East Second Team selection a season ago, Siggins led the Warriors deep receiving corps with 442 yards receiving and seven touchdowns. He posted at least 50 yards receiving in five contests, while bring down a pair of touchdowns in wins over Millersville and California (Pa.). Siggins was previously nominated for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.
Golden Anniversary: ESU offensive coordinator Mike Terwilliger is in his 50th consecutive season and 51st year as a Warrior. Since joining Denny Douds’ first roster as a freshman quarterback in 1974, Terwilliger has held roles of quarterback (1974-77), quarterback’s coach (1978-2000) and offensive coordinator (2001-present) each of the past 50 seasons. As a quarterback, Terwilliger led ESU to a 30-4-1 record in 35 games as a starter, including back-to-back undefeated seasons in 1975 and 1976. A two-time All-PSAC East First Team selection, he garnered Little All-America honorable mention in 1975. Terwilliger has held a role in 519 of the 886 ESU football contests (58.5%) since the program began in 1926.
Back-to-Back: The Warriors look to punch its ticket to the NCAA Playoffs for the second consecutive season and sixth time overall, seeking back-to-back trips for the first time since 2004-05, when then quarterback Jimmy Terwilliger led ESU to a combined 21-5 record. Terwilliger was honored as the top player in NCAA Division II in the 2005 season as the Harlon Hill Trophy recipient, leading the Warriors in the NCAA Semifinals for the first time in program history.
Record Watch: As the 2024 season begins, tailback Tyriq Lewis ranks 19th all-time in career rushing yards with 1,509 yards in his career. He’ll look to join the eight-member 2,000-yd rushing club this season. Justin Cook enters his junior season on pace as one the top kick returners in program history. After posting the second most return yards in a single season in 2023, Cook ranks sixth all-time in career kick return yards (1,211), trailing Chris Gerhard’s record of 2,008 yards by 797.
Up Next: After taking on Pace, the Warriors will head home for its home opener on Sat., Sept. 14 against Gannon. The opening kickoff at Eiler-Martin Stadium is set for 6:05 p.m.
