GREENSBURG, Pa. — After capitalizing on early turnovers to build its lead, the ESU football team held on to defeat the Seton Hill Griffins in the 2026 season opener, 27-20.
The Warriors' offensive success came from their work on the ground, outgaining Seton Hill 258-101 in that category. Senior QB
Harrison Susi led the way in that area, rushing for 118 yards on 22 attempts for his third career 100-yard game. Susi handed the ball off to senior RB
Ajani Walker and fifth-year RB
Deante Crawford a combined 24 times, as Walker gained 73 yards on 4.9 YPC and Crawford added 51 yards on 5.7 YPC. Crawford also found paydirt late in the game, scoring what would end up as the difference in the final score. ESU only totaled 80 passing yards, with six different receivers catching one pass each. Senior WR
Cam Burti came down with the lone touchdown through the air, hauling in a 19-yard reception for his third career score.
Senior DL
Ashton Blose stood out on the defensive line, matching his career-high with 11 total tackles. He assisted sophomore DL
Matthew Smith on the Warriors' first sack of the season, with Smith leading ESU on the night with 1.5 total. Junior DL
Ryan Epps was the other Warrior to get to the quarterback, as ESU had three sacks and five tackles for loss. Sophomore DL
Sincer Fairey made a difference on special teams, forcing two fumbles on kickoffs that set up ESU scoring drives. Junior DB
Armonie Torres tracked down a late interception, helping ESU win the turnover battle, 3-1.
Neither offense got the start they were looking for, but each defense forced a three-and-out on the opening possessions. When ESU got the ball back, Susi moved the chains on third and six, finding
Jalen Cook on the outside for a 13-yard completion and the Warriors' first first down of the year. From that point on, ESU continued to hammer the run, utilizing Susi's legs as the Griffins couldn't contain him. He'd rush for 50 yards the rest of the drive and get the Warriors down to the five-yard line, where senior K
Ty Quintois nailed a 23-yard field goal to go up 3-0 with 1:46 remaining in the first quarter.
ESU jumped out to a three-possession lead in the blink of an eye, starting the surge on special teams. Fairey knocked the ball out of the return man Zach Schrockman's hands on consecutive return attempts, setting the Warriors up at the Seton Hill 21-yard line each time. On a third-and-medium, Susi took the snap from the 15-yard line and weaved his way up the middle of the defense for ESU's first touchdown. After the second forced fumble and on third down again, Burti beat his man working towards the pylon and fought through a facemask penalty, putting ESU up 17-0 with 14:48 before the half.
The Griffins' offense was unable to get anything going after three straight ESU possessions ending in points, as Blose and Smith combined for a sack to end their drive near midfield. However, their defense came up with a timely turnover, as De'Mario Manning intercepted Susi in the end zone. The Griffins wouldn't make it into the ESU red zone, but still got on the board just before the two-minute timeout. Rayyan Bataineh was accurate on the 52-yard field goal attempt, setting a program record for the longest field goal.
The Warriors tried to respond with a two-minute drill, moving into Seton Hill territory on a 32-yard completion down the sideline to
Joey Wilkinson. However, the drive stalled and eventually ended on a turnover on downs after the Warriors thought they drew the Griffins offsides on a fourth-and-five.
With 1:11 before the break, Seton Hill's tempo offense found a rhythm after Boden St. Marie hit Schrockman down the right sideline for a 28-yard gain. Two plays later, the Griffins were in a goal-to-go situation, eventually ending with Demetri Whitehead coming in for a two-yard rushing touchdown.
The Griffins opened the second half with possession, but a pair of false starts on third down helped the Warriors' defense get off the field quickly. ESU picked up 28 yards on the ground in its first four plays of the next drive, but a false start led to the drive stalling at the Seton Hill 37-yard line. Not to be outdone by Bataineh, Quintois nailed a 50-plus-yard field goal of his own, making one from 55 yards out to put the Warriors back up by two possessions just under six minutes into the second half.
Both defenses forced three-and-outs on the next two drives as the Griffins, down 10, took over from their own 25-yard line. Ahmad Ward ran to the right into a wall of ESU defenders, but spun out of a tackle and reversed his run to the left for a gain of 16 yards. On the next play, St. Marie hit Ryan Keith on a slant that just made it to his receiver, as Keith bounced off a tackler and finished the play for a 59-yard touchdown.
As the clock turned over into the final 15 minutes of regulation, the Griffins crossed midfield and threatened the Warriors' lead. Needing a stop, Smith broke through and sacked St. Marie eight yards behind the line of scrimmage, leading to a punt that gave ESU possession on its own three-yard line with 13:36 to go.
In a game-defining and -sealing drive, the Warriors went on to put this one away with a 17-play, 97-yard march down the field that took up 10:57 of game time. While the theme of the drive was no negative plays as they ground down the Griffins' defense, Crawford broke off a couple of runs to move the chains before eventually punching it in from two yards out with 2:39 remaining.
The defense did its job, getting the ball back as Torres picked off St. Marie over the middle, allowing the offense to churn more clock. The Griffins got a stop, only using two timeouts as the second two-minute timeout helped them save their third and final one for their next drive. Seton Hill opted to take the field goal first, as Bataineh made a 34-yard attempt with 35 seconds remaining, but Burti easily secured the onside kick attempt to put the game to bed.
GAME NOTES
- With his first-quarter rushing touchdown, Susi tied HC Jimmy Terwilliger's program record of 13 career rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.
- Quintois' 55-yard attempt was 13 yards longer than his previous personal best and was the second-longest made field goal in ESU history.
- The Warriors are now 5-2 in their season-opening game under Terwilliger, including a 3-1 record when starting the year on the road.
- With Fairey's two forced fumbles tonight, ESU has had a player cause two fumbles in a game in each of the last four seasons. The last three Warriors to accomplish the feat were Cam Jefferson in 2025 at West Chester, Terrell Reynolds in 2024 against Shepherd, and Khalil Scott in 2023 at Shepherd.
- Susi became the first ESU player to rush for over 100 yards for the first time since Tyriq Lewis did so in 2023, rushing for 121 yards at home against Pace.
- The Warriors' 80 passing yards were their fewest in a win since they defeated Glenville State, 10-0, on Sept. 16, 2000.
- With the win, ESU remains perfect against Seton Hill with a 6-0 record. The only team the Warriors have a better undefeated record against is Trenton, whom ESU beat 13 times between 1926-1972.
UP NEXT
The Warriors are back on the road again next week, traveling east this time to take on Pace. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 4, from Pleasantville, N.Y.
