EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — The East Stroudsburg football team got back in the win column with a decisive 45-21 win over Millersville Saturday evening at Eiler-Martin Stadium.
In a game that initially took a little bit for the Warriors to get going, ESU broke play open in the second quarter. The Warriors outscored Millersville 28-0 in the quarter, forcing three turnovers, all by interception. Redshirt junior S Everett Dingle started the momentum shift with a 40-yard interception return for a touchdown, and redshirt sophomore S
Raquane Matthews picked off Millersville QB Brett Nye two more times before the end of the half. ESU would generate another turnover in the fourth quarter, with redshirt freshman DB
Cam Jefferson forcing a fumble and redshirt freshman
Harold Hill IV being there for the recovery.
Matthews led the Warriors in total tackles with nine, six different Warriors registered at least .5 tackles for loss, with junior DL
Ashton Blose and
Terrell Reynolds and redshirt freshman DL
Ryan Epps each recording 1.5.
On the offensive side of the ball, redshirt sophomore QB
Harrison Susi filled in as the started under center, recording 219 total yards with one passing touchdown and two on the ground. The backfield trio of redshirt freshmen
Ajani Walker and
Cade Sawyer redshirt junior
Deante Crawford combined for an additional 152 yards of rushing, with Crawford and Sawyer finding the endzone. Sophomore
Jaylen Andrews caught two passes for 44 yards and a touchdown as well.
The Warriors got off to a shaky start, going three-and-out on their first two offensive possessions as the Marauders marched down the field on both of theirs to jump out to a 14-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game. On Millersville's third possession, redshirt sophomore P
Adam Noll flipped the field on Millersville, pinning the Marauders on their own 12-yard line after a 64-yard punt. ESU got a stop thanks to a sack from Epps and redshirt junior DL
Trenton Dunnick to get a stop on third down. A pass to redshirt senior WR
Evan Roche for 13 yards after the catch got the drive started, and Susi and Crawford would carry the ESU offense the rest of the way, rushing for 34 yards the next four plays for the score.
An offensive facemask penalty on Millersville wiped out what would have been a 22-yard run to start the Marauders' next drive, bringing the game to the end of the first quarter. Once the ball was snapped to begin the second, it was all Warriors from that point on. Nye never saw Dingle as the defensive back dropped in coverage over the middle, cutting in front of a pass and weaving his way down the left side of the field through his blockers to tie the game on a 40-yard interception return.
Three plays later after a stuff for no gain and an incompletion, Matthews joined in on the turnover action, making a diving interception on an overthrown intermediate pass to set the Warriors up on the Millersville 38-yard line. Susi and the Warriors didn't waste any time cashing in on the change of possession, finding Andrews on a corner route for the front left pylon to put East Stroudsburg in the lead.
The Warriors' defense would go on to force its third-straight interception, with Matthews getting in front of another pass from Nye down the right sideline to give the ESU possession at midfield. This time, Sawyer took over as the lead back, starting the drive with an eight-yard gain. After Susi completed two passes to move the sticks and get closer to the red zone, Sawyer broke a run off through the left side of the defense 26 yards for the touchdown. In a span of 3:40, East Stroudsburg went from trailing 14-7 to jumping ahead 28-14.
The Marauders kept the ball out of Dingle's and Matthews' hands on their next drive, starting on their own 12-yard line after redshirt freshman FB
Luke Stevenosky made a big play after Millersville opted to try returning the ensuing kickoff from its own endzone. Through short gains, the Marauders made their way near midfield, but a sack on second down by redshirt sophomore DL
Jamori Stepheny put Millersville in a third-and-long situation that it was unable to convert. Lining up on their own 40-yard line to punt, the Marauders tried a fake with punter Trent McDowell throwing it to the flat to Elijah Davis, but junior DB
Zakai Hendricks sniffed it out and forced the turnover on downs.
Starting on the Millersville 47-yard line, Susi and Walker traded rushes until reaching the endzone with 1:50 remaining in the half, with the score going into the break 35-14.
The Warriors opened the third quarter with a 15-play, 64-yard drive that had a touchdown called back by penalty but still ended in points for ESU. Junior K
Ty Quintois made his only attempt for a 23-yard field goal, also making all of his six of his PATs, recording six touchbacks on kickoffs and allowing only 28 return yards on the two Millersville did put in play.
Tommy Hunsicker took over at quarterback for the Marauders in the second half, leading Millersville down the field for a touchdown to make it 38-21 with 3:26 remaining in the quarter. After it looked like the Marauders were going to get possession back with two minutes left in the frame, a muffed punt was recovered by Sawyer on Millersville's 36-yard line to put the Warriors' offense back in business. It took ESU eight plays to make up the remaining distance to the endzone, with Susi navigating through the middle of the field for the score to make it 45-21.
Despite each team forcing a turnover, with Jefferson chasing down Hunsicker from behind on a scramble and Hill IV bringing it out close to midfield, and then the Marauders forcing a fumble on the very next play, neither team added anything to the scoreboard the rest of the way.
GAME NOTES
- With East Stroudsburg's three interceptions to start the second quarter, it is the first time since Nov. 7, 2009 that the Warriors picked off an opposing quarterback for three straight drives, doing so against Slippery Rock in a 54-28 win. It's the first time since against Mercyhurst on Sept. 16, 2017 that ESU forced three interceptions in a quarter.
- Susi picked up his first career win as starting QB for the Warriors in the victory.
- The Warriors' offensive line did a perfect job in protecting Susi in the pocket, preventing the Marauders from recording a sack and allowing just one tackle for loss. It's the fourth time this season East Stroudsburg has shut a defense out from registering a sack, accomplishing the feat against Gannon, West Chester, and Bloomsburg
- Dingle's 40-yard interception returned for a touchdown was the seventh interception of his career, first to be returned for a score. It was also his second career interception against Millersville.
- Matthews now leads the Warriors with three interceptions on the season. It's the first multi-interception game of the season for an ESU defender, the first since Dingle recorded two against Shippensburg last season on Nov. 2.
- The five turnovers are the most for the Warriors since Sept. 17, 2022 in a 22-7 win at Seton Hill.
UP NEXT
The Warriors wrap up their 2025 season next week against Clarion, hosting the Golden Eagles for Senior Day at 1:05 p.m. at Eiler-Martin Stadium.
