MILLERSVILLE, Pa. — The Warriors finished up PSAC East play at Millersville this weekend, winning 54-14 to secure sole possession of the division title as they went 6-0 for the first time since 1982.
It was a balanced day on offense for the Warriors, passing for 260 yards and rushing for 286. QB
Matt Machalik had a productive day overall, completing 14 of his 20 passing attempts for 193 yards while picking up 61 yards on three scrambles. While Machalik spread out his targets evenly throughout the receiving corps, wide receivers
Cam Burti and
David Washington Jr. led the room, combining for nine receptions and 113 yards. ESU shared the wealth in terms of rushing attempts too, giving 10 different players a carry. QB
Harrison Susi had the most attempts with nine, finishing one yard shy of Machalik's total on the ground. The southpaw quarterback was one of five Warriors to get into the endzone, with running backs
Ajani Walker,
Deante Crawford,
Cade Sawyer, and
Will Day finding paydirt.
While ESU's offense had its way, picking up 28 first downs, gaining 546 yards of total offense, and winning the time of possession battle with 36:30, the defense was equally dominant. The Warriors limited the Marauders to 13 first downs and 281 yards of offense, coming up with two takeaways to win the turnover battle as well. DB
Cam Jefferson had another strong day over the middle, coming up with six tackles and a single-game career-best 3.0 TFL. DL
Terrell Reynolds got the only sack of the game for ESU, finishing with a solo one and an assisted TFL, while forcing and recovering a fumble.
After forcing a three-and-out on the game's opening possession, the Warriors got the ball on their own 35-yard line. Burti picked up 18 yards on ESU's first play, but it was Machalik's legs that got ESU into scoring position with a 36-yard scamper. The very next play, Susi ran the ball up the middle from seven yards out to put the Warriors in the lead. Millersville responded with a touchdown of its own, as Tommy Hunsicker hit Isaac Sines on a crossing route that led him to the left pylon, with DB
Everette Dingle coming in to prevent the touchdown by forcing him out of bounds at the 11-yard line. Sines got the ball again on the next play, carrying it this time for a touchdown to even the game two minutes after the Warriors' score.
The next three possessions would build a lead for the Warriors that they would hold onto the rest of the game, driving 70 yards on 11 plays before Walker punched it in from the goal line. On Millersville's second play of its ensuing drive, the Marauders dipped into their bag of tricks and had Sines take a jet sweep handoff and look to pass as he ran towards the left sideline. However, his pass was underthrown and undercut by DB
Leyden Hertz, giving the sophomore cornerback his second interception of the year. WR
Elijah Ford, who set ESU up on the previous drive with a 34-yard catch down the sideline, appeared to break a tackle and score on 3
rd and 6, but after a Millersville challenge, the call was overturned as his elbow hit at the five-yard line. Facing a 4
th and 1, the Warriors kept the offense on the field and were rewarded with a Sawyer touchdown, with the running back bouncing off tackles up the middle for his team-high eighth touchdown of the season.
The Marauders got the game back to within one possession later in the second quarter, as Hunsicker dropped a pass over Caileb Howse's shoulder on a route to the corner of the end zone for a 35-yard touchdown. ESU answered with seven points back, using up most of the remaining clock in the first half while doing so. Though he didn't throw for a touchdown, Machalik had a couple of strikes downfield that immediately led to rushing scores. Before Crawford scored with another one-yard run, Washington Jr. hauled in a back-shoulder catch and came down just before the end zone.
ESU dominated the second half, shutting out Millersville 26-0 after going into halftime with a 28-14 lead. The Warriors chewed up five minutes of game clock before calling on kicker
Ty Quintois for a 27-yard field goal, which bolstered his program-best 73.6% FG%. ESU forced Millersville to punt in three plays, creating chaos on special teams. DB
Montre Wilson broke through the middle of the formation to rush Roger Staron, blocking his punt through the back of the end zone for a safety. The Warriors added another touchdown after getting the ball back, scoring on a 3rd-and-goal from the 23-yard line. Susi snapped the ball in shotgun formation, firing a dart up the seam to TE
Mason Semmel. Semmel caught the ball around three Millersville defenders, who held on for his first career touchdown in his second season.
Another two Warriors got into the end zone for the first time to open the fourth quarter, first as FB
Luke Stevenosky took a short pass from Susi and bowled over a defender to put ESU ahead 47-14. Day closed the scoring for the game with another short-yardage touchdown, scoring from five yards out on ESU's final possession of the game before Millersville ran the clock out after getting the ball back.
GAME NOTES
- ESU clinched sole possession of the PSAC East title with a win, its 14th overall and its first time since 1991 winning the outright division championship. When the Warriors won 35 years ago, they did so with a 5-0-1 record in-conference. You would have to go back to 1982 for their last season with a 6-0 conference record, a feat they accomplished seven times from 1962-1982. HC Jimmy Terwilliger became the fourth Warrior head coach to lead ESU to six wins and no losses in conference play, joining Jack Gregory, Charles Reese, and his predecessor, Denny Douds.
- In another callback to the 1980s, ESU's five different touchdown rushers were its most in over five decades. Not since 1980 against Bloomsburg have the Warriors had five players run for touchdowns. Technically, it's the first time East Stroudsburg University's football team has done so, since the institution went by East Stroudsburg State College until 1983.
UP NEXT
ESU heads west eyeing its 10
th PSAC Championship and first since its 1982 undefeated conference play season, getting a chance at redemption as well against No. 6 Slippery Rock. The Warriors take on The Rock at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 14, at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
