EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — Wrapping up a three-game homestand, the ESU football team put on a show for Homecoming weekend in a 27-13 win over the West Chester Golden Rams to improve to 4-1.
Following up a shutout performance last week, the Warriors' defense came to play again versus the Golden Rams. The secondary came up with three interceptions, as junior DB
Harold Hill IV, fifth-year DB
Everette Dingle, and sophomore DB
Leyden Hertz all picked off QB Colin O'Sullivan for West Chester. Hill IV had an exceptional game all-around, breaking up three passes total and recording three solo tackles. Fifth-year DL
Jake Williamson led the Warriors in tackles for loss against Lackawanna, and did so again this week. His 1.5 were tied with junior LB
Camerin Gross for the team lead, while Gross' led ESU with seven tackles and a forced fumble.
ESU had its most productive rushing day through five games so far this season, picking up 318 yards on the ground. Senior RB
Ajani Walker, who broke out last year with 129 yards at West Chester last year, bested that career-high with 154 yards on 15 carries today. Fifth-year RB
Deante Crawford came on late, going for a healthy 66 yards on 10 carries, while
Cade Sawyer was in the game earlier and picked up another 42 yards and a touchdown.
The most noteworthy touchdown of the day came on the ground from senior QB
Harrison Susi. The Coatesville native set the program record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, bringing his career total to 14. He threw for one earlier in the game, hitting senior TE
Damien Padilla for his first career receiving touchdown.
The Golden Rams got on the board first, forcing a punt on ESU's first drive after winning the coin toss and deferring to the second half. They quickly put themselves out in front, as RB Future Robertson broke off a 52-yard rushing touchdown just before the halfway point of the first quarter. The Warriors started the next drive with first downs by sophomore TE
Nolan Buzalka and Sawyer, crossing midfield and getting inside the West Chester 40-yard line. After a run on 3
rd and 5 was stopped for a two-yard gain, the Warriors hurried up to the line of scrimmage to go for it on 4
th and 3. However, West Chester stuffed the inside run, forcing the turnover on downs.
ESU's defense bounced back, getting a stop of its own as Hill IV came up with a breakup on 4
th and 1 to end West Chester's next drive. Junior QB
Matt Machalik entered the game on the next drive, taking over on the ESU 41-yard line. He converted a third-down try by connecting with junior WR
Joey Wilkinson for a 12-yard gain, putting the Warriors in Golden Rams territory as the clock rolled over to the second quarter. After getting into the red zone, he nearly found fifth-year WR
Elijah Ford in the back right corner of the end zone. After initially being ruled a touchdown, officials called it incomplete, upholding the call on the field after an unsuccessful challenge. ESU didn't walk away empty-handed from that drive, though, as senior K
Ty Quintois nailed the 34-yard field goal to put the Warriors on the board early in the period.
Senior DB
Taquan Brittingham and Gross each recorded a PBU on second and third down during the Golden Rams' drive, resulting in a three-and-out, but West Chester would get the ball right back as its defense held serve. Unable to do anything on the following drive, P Jack Corrigan pinned the Warriors on their own one-yard line with a 40-yard punt. Walker broke a handful of tackles in a run up the middle, reaching the second level and turning an inside run into a race down the sideline. He made it to the end zone, but the score was called back on a penalty towards the tail end of the play. With the Warriors on West Chester's 27-yard line, Susi threw a pass over the middle that was intercepted by Elijah Motley for a touchback.
Unfazed by going from a 99-yard touchdown to a turnover, the Warriors got the ball back immediately. Williamson and senior DL
Ashton Blose started the drive with a tackle for loss, as West Chester never got ahead of the chains and punted after three plays. With Machalik back at quarterback, he got sacked by Khalif Kemp, as ESU couldn't bounce back on that drive and punted the ball away themselves. With under a minute remaining in the half, West Chester opened its drive from its own 20-yard line cautiously before picking up a first down. Right after that, Hill IV outmuscled Dylan McKenzie for an interception at the 30-yard line, returning it 21 yards to set up 1
st and Goal for the Warriors. Susi faked a run on the first play, throwing a jump pass to Padilla at the goal line to give ESU its first lead of the day.
The Warriors forced a three-and-out on West Chester's first drive of the second half, as Hill IV forced a fumble on Mikhail Johnson's opening run, then broke up a pass intended for Blake Thomas. ESU's first drive stalled out just outside of field goal range, resulting in its second turnover on downs of the game, but the defense came through with another stop. Penalties plagued West Chester's defense on the next drive, as ESU picked up 30 yards from two separate calls. The Warriors marched down the field, with eight of the nine plays being runs. Walker capped off the drive, scoring from one yard out after Susi was tackled on the goal line.
West Chester's offense put together its first scoring drive since they started the game, using a 38-yard completion to Will Silverman to get things going. Shortly after, O'Sullivan hit Robertson down the left sideline from the ESU 25-yard line for a touchdown, making it 17-13 after K Tommy Pajic's PAT was no good.
Crawford's number was called on the next drive for ESU, getting three straight carries before the clock expired on the third quarter. He picked up another 38 yards on two runs after crossing midfield, getting ESU in a goal-to-go spot. After feeding Crawford all the way down the field, Susi faked the handoff to his running back and rolled left, walking in for the record-breaking touchdown.
ESU padded its lead late in the game with a 40-yard field goal from Quintois, pushing the margin to 14 with 4:05 left to play. O'Sullivan completed two passes to cross the ESU 30-yard line, flirting with disaster as a near interception was dropped in the end zone. He wouldn't catch a second break, as Dingle took advantage of an underthrown ball down the right sideline, returning it all the way up just outside the West Chester red zone. Quintois' attempt from 34 yards out was just wide left, giving the Golden Rams back possession with 1:39 remaining. Hertz squashed any hope for a comeback with an interception near midfield, as ESU outscored West Chester 27-6 after the first quarter for its first win in PSAC play this year.
GAME NOTES
- Winners of the last four meetings between the Warriors and the Golden Rams, ESU's four-game winning streak is its second-longest all-time against West Chester. It had previously won five games in a row from 1975-79, marking the only other time the Warriors have won more than two consecutive games in the matchup.
- Walker's 154 rushing yards were the most by a Warrior since 2019, becoming the first ESU player to record over 150 yards on the ground since Devante Robinson ran for 177 in the season finale against Clarion.
- Susi now owns three records in ESU history, adding career rushing touchdowns (14) to a resume of 711 rushing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in a single season. Standing at 1,142 career rushing yards, he ranks third in that category, trailing HC Jimmy Terwilliger's mark of 1,714 and Matt Soltes' 1,494.
UP NEXT
The Warriors hit the road for consecutive weeks, opening up a two-game road trip against Bloomsburg. ESU takes on the Huskies under the lights at 6 p.m. next Saturday, Oct. 10, from Danny Hale Field at Redman Stadium.
