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Greg Blue Nate Daniels
Tory Stella
R-Jr. QB Nate Daniels threw for 355 yards and 4 TD in his 2nd career start last week vs. Lock Haven. R-Jr. C Greg Blue made his 19th career start at his 3rd different position on the offensive line.

ESU Football Game Notes vs. Shippensburg

9/11/2012 12:00:00 AM

Complete Game Notes (PDF)

SATURDAY  l  6:05 p.m.  l  EILER-MARTIN STADIUM

Follow:
Warriors "All Access"  l  redzonemedia.com  l  Live Stats  l  Twitter

TV: Live on Blue Ridge TV-13 and ESU Warriors "All Access". Play-by-play man Chris Doty, in his 23rd season, is joined in the booth by Jim Riley (fifth season) with Mike Remish on the sidelines.

Radio: Live on WVPO 840 AM for the 50th season, and redzonemedia.com. Chuck Seese, the 2009 PSAC Heaslip Media Award recipient, is in his 24th season as the voice of the Warriors, with Bob Brittain in his 12th year providing the color commentary. Pre-game begins at 5:30 p.m.


THE MATCH-UP: East Stroudsburg University hosts Shippensburg in the PSAC East opener for both schools at Eiler-Martin Stadium. The Warriors, coming off a 31-0 shutout of Lock Haven in their season opener last Saturday, are looking for their first win in a divisional opener since a 44-41 (OT) victory vs. Shippensburg in 2008. Shippensburg is 2-0 with wins over No. 19 Shepherd (38-28) and Slippery Rock (55-35), the defending PSAC West champions. Ship was picked fifth and ESU was sixth in the PSAC East preseason poll.

UNDER THE LIGHTS: ESU is 6-3 in night games at Eiler-Martin Stadium since lights were installed in 2007 after last Saturday's win over Lock Haven. The Warriors improved to 3-0 in season-opening night games.

MAKING HISTORY: ESU head coach Denny Douds, who set the Division II record for games coached last year, will move into sole possession of 5th on the all-time wins list in DII with his next victory. Last Saturday, Douds recorded his 233rd victory to tie Arnett Mumford, who coached four schools from 1924-61. Douds holds the PSAC record for career wins, which he set in 2008 against Shippensburg. He is 2nd among active DII coaches and 7th among all active college football coaches in career wins. Next Saturday against Cheyney, Douds will become the 15th coach in college football history to coach 400 games.

LAST TIME OUT: The Warriors posted their sixth shutout in 39 season openers under Douds with their 31-0 win over Lock Haven. R-Jr. QB Nate Daniels, making his 2nd career start, threw for 355 yards and 4 TD and R-Sr. WR Jordan Hallman had 7 catches, 179 yards and 3 TD. Daniels threw TD passes of 10, 79 and 61 yards to Hallman and also had a 68-yard TD pass to R-Jr. WR Robert Bleiler. He became the 2nd ESU QB with three 60+ yard TD passes in the same game, joining last year's starter Ray Wagner, who did it vs. C.W. Post.  (Game Recap)

GETTING THEIR FEET WET: ESU had 43 players contribute last week, with 15 seeing their first career action. Of those, three were true freshmen starters - RT Cody Laubach, OLB Mike Kinney and ILB Brandon Pearce. ESU had started just two true freshmen in a season opener in the last 10 years. Laubach and Kinney are both expected to start this week. Pearce will be replaced by Kinney's brother, So. ILB Don Kinney, Jr., who was a backup last week after missing preseason practice time due to injury.

REMEMBERING DEREK: The ESU football family sustained two losses during the summer. Derek Brown, a starting linebacker as a sophomore on last year's team, died on July 5 from injuries sustained in a car accident on June 30. Brown's older brother, Matt, was a four-year letterwinner at tight end and graduated in 2011. Matt Deery, the younger brother of Sr. TB Eric Deery, died in a car accident on August 1. Both were remembered with a moment of silence before the opener on Sept. 8 and the Warriors will wear a #24 decal (Brown's number) on their helmets throughout the season.

PROGRAM WINS: ESU enters the Shippensburg game with 449 wins and can become the 4th PSAC program to reach the 450-win mark. The Warriors are 449-298-19 (.599) in their 85th season of varsity football. The top 3 are West Chester (541), IUP (503) and Slippery Rock (451). IUP is 2-0 and West Chester and Slippery Rock are both 1-1 this year.

THE HEAD COACHES: Denny Douds (Slippery Rock '63), in his 39th season, holds the PSAC record for career wins with a 233-162-3 record. He set the Division II record for games coached with his 394th game on Oct. 22, 2011. He enters the weekend with 398 career games and will coach his 400th game on Sept. 22 when the Warriors host Cheyney. He has coached 95 more games than the second-most in PSAC history. Including 68 games as an assistant coach under Charlie Reese from 1966-73, he has coached in 466 of the 766 games - 60.8 percent - in program history.

Douds has led the Warriors to 9 PSAC titles and 4 NCAA Playoff appearances since taking over as head coach in 1974, and won outright PSAC championships in 1975, 1978 and 1982 before the State Game was discontinued following the 1987 season. For more on Coach Douds, please see page 14 of the game notes.

Mark Maciejewski (Shippensburg '92) is in his 2nd season as head coach and has a record of 9-4, going 7-4 in 2011 and 2-0 so far this year. He is in his 14th season overall at his alma mater, working under Rocky Rees from 1995-96, 2000-04 and 2006-10. He was an AP All-America defensive tackle in 1991 and 1992 and played in the 1991 NCAA Playoff game vs. ESU won by Ship, 34-33 (OT), at Eiler-Martin Stadium. That game was Douds' 183rd on the sidelines.

DOUDS' FOES: Douds has faced 99 head coaches, including Maciejewski, since taking over the Warriors' program in 1974. Lock Haven's John Allen became the 99th on Sept. 8. He will face #100, Marty Schaetzle of Mercyhurst, for the first time in the season finale unless either team advances to the State Game.

Douds will meet Bloomsburg's Danny Hale, formerly of West Chester, for the 26th time on Oct. 13. The only more frequent opponent was Millersville's Gene Carpenter, who he faced 27 times from 1974-2000.

50 YEARS: This fall marks Douds' 50th season in the coaching profession, 47th at ESU and 39th as head coach. He was an assistant coach at McDowell HS (Erie, Pa.) in 1963-64 and a graduate assistant at West Virginia in 1965 before coming to the Poconos to coach for newly-appointed Charlie Reese in 1966. The 50th anniversary of Douds' final collegiate game at Slippery Rock, a 13-6 win over East Stroudsburg in the PSAC State Game, is on November 17. Also of note, the 1964-65 PSAC champion football teams, coached by Jack Gregory, will be inducted to the ESU Athletic Hall of Fame on October 6. The 1965 State Game, a 26-10 win over Indiana (Douds' hometown team), was the last Warriors game without Douds on the sidelines.

THE SERIES: Shippensburg is one of just four PSAC programs to have a winning record against ESU, holding a 28-17-2 advantage in the series. IUP (10-6), Slippery Rock (11-3) and West Chester (55-21) are the others. Douds is 3-10-1 against Shippensburg in his career, posting wins in 1990, 2002 and 2008. Ship holds a 3-1 series lead since moving to the PSAC East in 2008. Three of ESU's 10 overtime games have come against Shippensburg, including the first-ever in the 1991 NCAA Playoffs. Five of the eight meetings since 2000 have been decided by 5 points or less.

NEW LOOK: Of the 85 players on the roster, only 30 had seen game action entering the season opener. That number is now 45 after the first game of the year. The roster is evenly split between returners (43, including redshirts) and newcomers (42). While ESU returned just 10 starters - 8 on offense and 2 on defense - 16 of the 23 players listed as starters for week 1 had made at least one career start.

WHO'S BACK (OFFENSE): An experienced unit, which returns nearly all of its top skill position players and three offensive linemen, is led by a first-year starter at quarterback in R-Jr. Nate Daniels. The top returners include two veteran tailbacks in seniors Kendrick Williams and Eric Deery and the PSAC's top three returning wide receivers in Jr. Dusty Reed (1st team All-PSAC East, 84.5 ypg), R-Sr. Jordan Hallman (77.6 ypg) and R-Jr. Robert Bleiler (65.9 ypg). Up front, R-Sr. Seve Rivers (2nd team All-PSAC East, 32 starts), R-Sr. Wrenton Wright II (34) and R-Jr. Greg Blue (19) lead the way.

WHO'S BACK (DEFENSE): R-So. DE Brandon Gattelli and R-So. FS Anthony Singlar were the only returning starters off last year's group, which lost 7 senior starters along with Derek Brown's death in early July. Sr. DE Waverly Harris and R-So. DT Bryan Thomson also had starting experience, as did Jr. OLB Darius Jackson - on the other side of the ball. Jackson was a fullback for the Warriors the last two seasons.

WHO'S BACK (SPECIAL TEAMS): Jr. K Taylor Groff and So. Jordan Bair are both back for the Warriors in the kicking game. Groff, a member of the Mitchell Award Watch List for the top kicker in Division I FCS, DII, DIII, NAIA and NJCAA, is 28-for-37 on field goals in his career and approaching several milestones in ESU's record book. Bair was 5th in the PSAC in punting average last season (37.8), his first at ESU.

LEADING THE NEWCOMERS: Three of ESU's 42 newcomers, OL Cody Laubach, OLB Mike Kinney and ILB Brandon Pearce, started in the season-opening win over Lock Haven. They became the 3rd, 4th and 5th true freshmen to start a season opener for the Warriors in the last 10 seasons. Other starters as true freshmen were OL Jeff Kocsis in 2004 at Lenoir-Rhyne and FS Kevin Antol last season vs. Pace.

ESU has had just 6 players (true freshmen or redshirt freshmen) start every game of the season since 2003, all on offense. They are R-Sr. OL Wrenton Wright II in 2009, OL Dan Caffrey in 2008, OL Morgan Thomas in 2006, OL Jeff Kocsis in 2004 and QB Jimmy Terwilliger and WR Evan Prall in 2003.

BUILDING DEPTH: ESU graduated 10 senior starters off last season's team. The bulk of the Warriors' returners are in the sophomore class, where 9 players are listed as starters on the season-opening depth chart. Out of the 19 sophomores on the roster, 17 have seen game action, including 6 as true freshmen last year. Another returner, So. LB Don Kinney, Jr., lettered as a true freshman in 2010 and returned to the team this season.

FAST STARTERS: ESU and Shippensburg both rank in the top 10 in Division II in pass offense in the early season statistical rankings. Shippensburg is 8th with 372.0 yards per game, and ESU 9th with 355.0 yards per game.

Both quarterbacks, Ship's Zach Zulli (8th, 370.0) and ESU's Nate Daniels (9th, 355.0), are among 5 PSAC quarterbacks who rank in the top 12 in the nation in passing. Kutztown's Kevin Morton is 6th (384.0), Gannon's Liam Nadler is 10th (343.5) and California's Peter Lalich is t-11th (337.0). All 5, except Daniels, have played in 2 games this season.

NATIONAL LEADERS: Through the Warriors' first game, Daniels leads Division II in pass efficiency (230.9) and R-Sr. WR Jordan Hallman leads DII in receiving (179.0 ypg). Hallman is also tied for 2nd in scoring with 18.0 ppg, catching 3 TD passes from Daniels in the opener.

FOR OPENERS: Daniels' 355 passing yards rank 4th by an ESU QB in a season opener. Damian Poalucci threw for 527 at New Haven in 1996, 429 vs. American International in 1995 (his first career start), and Ray Wagner threw for 375 vs. Pace last year (also in his first career start). Poalucci led the nation in passing in 1996 and Wagner was 6th in 2011.

QUICK TURNAROUND: ESU and Shippensburg met in the 10th game of the 2011 season, and are back at it in the Warriors' 2nd game in 2012. This marks the first time in 10 years that the Warriors have played the same opponent twice within 4 games, when they played Mansfield twice within 3 games in 2001-02.

YOU LOOK FAMILIAR: ESU R-Sr. QB Steven Adams started 10 games for Shippensburg as a sophomore in 2010, including a 20-17 comeback win at ESU on Nov. 6. Adams threw for 343 yards and hit Mike Frenette, the Raiders' starting tailback, for a 15-yard TD on 4th down with 24 seconds left for the winning points. Adams threw for 2,205 yards and 17 TD and was 5-5 as a starter.

AND WE'RE OFF ... : R-Jr. QB Nate Daniels is off to a strong start after throwing for 355 yards and 4 TD in the season opener.

ESU has led the PSAC in passing in 7 of the last 10 years, and the Warriors' quarterback has been in the top 3 in the PSAC in total offense all 10 seasons. The Warriors were 5th in DII in passing last year.

Daniels surpassed his career yardage total entering the game on his final pass of the night, hitting Hallman for a 61-yard TD. He was 17-for-36 for 329 yards, 2 TD and 2 Int. while attempting passes in 4 games in 2011.

Daniels made his 1st career start at Shippensburg last year but left the game due to injury during the 1st quarter after going 0-for-3.

In high school, Daniels was 1st team All-Berks County, the county's Offensive Back of the Year and a 2nd team All-State (AAAA) specialist at Muhlenberg HS. He was the only QB in Berks County history with two 2,000-yard seasons and threw for 4,724 career yards and 43 TD.

R-Fr. Matt Soltes was 1st team All-West Jersey and 2nd team All-State Group 3 as a senior at Vernon HS (NJ). Soltes' father, Andy, lettered at quarterback in 1982 and led the Warriors to a 17-9 comeback win at West Chester.

IN THE FRONT ROW: The Warriors lost 78 career starts from center Dan Caffrey (45) and LT Zach Sarginger (33), but count 89 career starts among this year's starters:

LT -- R-Sr. Wrenton Wright II (6-3, 295)
• 34 career starts - 28 at right tackle, 6 at left tackle
• started all 11 games at right tackle as a junior
• started 5 games at left tackle, 5 at right tackle in 2010
• started all 12 games at right tackle in 2009

LG -- So. Pete Wolmart (6-3, 310)
• 3 career starts, making first appearance at LG vs. LHU
• 2 starts as a freshman, both at left tackle
• missed rest of season due to injury
• 2nd team All-State Group 4 at Randolph HS (NJ)

C -- R-Jr. Greg Blue (6-2, 290)
• 19 career starts - 1 at center, 9 at LG, 9 at RG
• started 9 games at left guard as a sophomore
• started 9 games at right guard as a freshman
• first ESU center besides Dan Caffrey since 2007

RG -- R-Sr. Seve Rivers (6-3, 300)
• 2nd team All-PSAC East last season
• 32 career starts - 18 at left guard, 14 at right guard
• 23 consecutive starts (most on team)
• started all 11 games at right guard in 2011

RT -- Fr. Cody Laubach (6-5, 305)
• first true freshman OL to start opener since 2004
• 1st team All-Lehigh Valley Conference at Emmaus HS
• Morning Call All-Area 2nd team
• McDonald's Lehigh Valley All-Star Game

THE GROUND GAME: ESU has two proven, veteran tailbacks in seniors Kendrick Williams and Eric Deery. The duo has combined for more than 2,500 rushing yards, 500 receiving yards and 23 TD in their careers for the Warriors.

R-Jr. FB Thomas Tippett is also a returning starter and has made 8 starts. He had 2 catches for 29 yards vs. Lock Haven after posting 15 catches for 149 yards in 2011. He has 1 career rushing TD.

WILLIAMS CONTINUES ADVANCE: Williams is climbing ESU's career rushing, all-purpose yardage and scoring charts during his final season.

He enters this week with 1,691 career rushing yards, jumping from 14th to 11th last week. He can move into ESU's career top 10 with 23 yards vs. Shippensburg. He is 88 yards from moving into 9th and 100 from moving into 8th.

7. 1,914 -- Greg Vaughn, 2000-03
8. 1,791 -- Andre Myers, 1996-99
9. 1,779 -- Jim Snyder, 1977-80
10. 1,714 -- Jimmy Terwilliger, 2003-06
11. 1,691 -- Kendrick Williams, 2009-pres.

Later this season, Williams can become the 7th player in school history with 2,000 career rushing yards. He came into the year 934 yards from the school record.

WILLIAMS IN 2011: Last year, Williams ranked 4th in the PSAC and 35th in Division II with 140.5 all-purpose yards per game. His season total of 1,405 yards was 7th in school history and included 541 yards rushing, 140 yards receiving and 724 yards on kick returns.

He was named 2nd team All-PSAC East as a sophomore in 2010, running for 668 yards and 9 TD. He had 436 yards rushing and 245 yards receiving (681 total) in 7 games as a freshman in 2009, making his debut in the 6th game of the season at West Chester and helping the Warriors reach the NCAA Playoffs.

Notable career statistics
All-Purpose yards -- 2,962 (7th)
Rushing yards -- 1,691 (11th)
Yards from scrimmage -- 2,154 (16th)
Rushing attempts -- 372 (tied for 10th)
Rushing TD -- 16 (1 away from a tie for 7th)
Total TD -- 18 (3 away from a tie for 10th)
100-yard rushing games -- 4

THERE GOES DEERY: Deery is closing in on 1,000 career rushing yards, entering this week with 903 yards.

He was ESU's 2nd-leading rusher last year with 76 carries for 413 yards and 3 TD. He finished the season with 187 yards and 2 TD over the last two games - 81 yards on 7 carries at Shippensburg, and 106 yards on 11 carries vs. Edinboro.

Deery's career total includes 3 100-yard games. He ran for 121 yards at Cheyney in his first career game in 2009, and had 102 yards vs. Millersville later that season. He was ESU's first true freshman with a 100-yard game since 1997.

In his career, Deery has just over 1,000 all-purpose yards. He has run for 903 yards, 3 TD and an average of 4.8 yards per carry, has 127 yards receiving and 50 yards on kick returns.

AIRING IT OUT
R-Sr. WR Jordan Hallman had his 5th career 100-yard receiving game last week - 7 catches, 179 yards and 3 TD - and scored on plays of 10, 79 and 61 yards. Hallman is the 2nd player in school history to have two TD's of 50+ yards in a game, twice in his career.

Hallman was the only receiver in Division II with back-to-back 200-yard games last year, with 5 catches for 239 yards and 2 TD vs. C.W. Post, and 8 catches for 221 yards and 2 TD vs. Millersville. The 460 yards receiving in consecutive weeks are also the most in school history.

Hallman had TD catches of 73 and 75 yards in last year's C.W. Post game. He also caught a 72-yard TD pass - from Daniels - against Millersville.

Hallman averaged 24.4 yards per catch last season, 4th in school history. He had 35 catches for 854 yards, including 13 plays of 30+ yards. He has 81 catches for 1,557 yards and 15 TD in his career, and became the 21st player in school history with 1,500+ receiving yards last week.

WARRIORS WR RANK 1-2-3 AMONG PSAC RETURNERS
At wide receivier, ESU had the top 3 returners in the PSAC in yards per game in Jr. Dusty Reed (84.5 ypg, 4th overall in PSAC), R-Sr. Jordan Hallman (77.6, 5th) and R-Jr. Robert Bleiler (65.9, 8th).

The trio combined for 130 catches, 2,442 yards and 17 TD last year, averaging 18.8 yards per catch. They also had 9 of the Warriors' 11 100-yard receiving games.
• vs. LHU -- 13 catches, 288 yards, 4 TD

WARRIORS STRETCH THE FIELD IN 2011 ...
Among Division II schools with at least 15 completions per game, ESU led the nation with 15.6 yards per catch during the 2011 season. The Warriors generated 35 plays of 30+ yards in 11 games, with 12 going for touchdowns.

... AND 2012: The Warriors averaged 20.9 yards per catch in their season opener vs. Lock Haven - 3rd-best in DII so far this season. They have 4 plays of 30+ yards, including 3 TD.

DUSTY REED, 2011 TEAM MVP
Reed was voted ESU's MVP by his teammates as a sophomore last year, compiling 1,355 all-purpose yards, 9th in school history.

He set ESU sophomore records with 62 catches and 929 yards, and added 101 yards on 13 carries and 325 yards on kick returns. On the final play of the season vs. Edinboro, he caught a game-tying 21-yard TD pass from Wagner, with the extra point giving ESU a 27-26 victory.

Last week vs. Lock Haven, Reed had 3 catches for 28 yards and 2 carries for 12 yards.

Reed led the PSAC East in yards per game (84.5), was 1st team All-PSAC East and 3rd team Football Gazette All-Region. He was named to the BSN Preseason All-America 3rd team this summer.

REED'S FAMILY TIES
Reed is the nephew of former ESU All-America center Pat Flaherty, the offensive line coach of the New York Giants. Flaherty has won two Super Bowl rings in the last five years, in 2007 and 2011. He was inducted to the ESU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004 and was the starting center for quarterback Mike Terwilliger, ESU's offensive coordinator who is in his 35th season as an assistant coach under Denny Douds.

MR. CONSISTENT
Reed displayed remarkable consistency during the 2011 season. Among his accomplishments:

• 86+ yards in 8 of 11 games
• 100+ yards in 4 games
• 4+ catches in 8 games
• first ESU WR with 7 catches in 5 straight games
• first ESU WR with 8 catches in 3 straight games
• 75+ all-purpose yards in all 11 games
• 100+ all-purpose yards in 8 games

Reed's 62 catches were tied for 6th in school history, and his 929 yards receiving were just outside the top 10.

He holds records for most receptions (93) and yards (1,306) through a sophomore season, and currently has 96 catches for 1,334 yards and 13 TD.

Reed can become the 20th ESU receiver with 100 career catches with 4 receptions this weekend.

BIG PLAY BLEILER
Robert Bleiler caught a long TD pass in the season opener for the 2nd straight year last week vs. Lock Haven. He scored the Warriors' first TD of the season, turning a short pass into a 68-yard TD in the 1st quarter.

Last year vs. Pace, Bleiler had 3 catches for 172 yards and 2 TD, all in the 2nd quarter - including a 97-yard TD from Ray Wagner that is the 2nd-longest pass play in school history.

Bleiler had 2 games of 150+ yards last year, with 172 vs. Pace and 7 catches for 153 yards at Kutztown. He also had 4 catches for 91 yards and a TD vs. C.W. Post and finished 3rd in the PSAC East (behind Reed and Hallman) and 8th in the PSAC with 65.9 yards per game. Bleiler had 33 catches for 659 yards, averaging 20.0 per catch.

WHO'S NEXT
The Warriors have a host of players available to catch passes after their top three returners of Reed, Hallman and Bleiler. Among the top candidates at the next level:

So. Ray Dominguez
• 14 catches, 198 yards in 10 games (7 starts)
• 7 catches, 111 yards vs. Bloomsburg

R-Jr. David Radziak
• 6 catches, 110 yards in 6 games

R-Fr. Jon Schnaars
• 58 catches, 1,006 yards, 12 TD at Central Dauphin

R-Fr. Brandon Mercer
• ESU freshman records in 60m (7.02), 100m (10.74) in track & field
• Member of PSAC champion 4x100 relay

THE TIGHT END
R-So. Steven Jones is the only tight end on the Warriors' roster. He had 1 catch for 34 yards last week after recording 13 catches for 154 yards and 3 TD last season. He already has 3 catches of 20+ yards in his career.  Jones was named 2nd team All-State on La Salle College HS's AAAA state championship team in 2009.

INSIDE THE WARRIORS DEFENSE
A very young ESU defense had no choice but to grow up during the season opener. With only 2 returning starters, the Warriors had 6 players make their first career start, and another (Jr. OLB Darius Jackson) making his first on the defensive side of the ball after moving over from fullback.

Two more players are expected to make their first career starts this week in sophomore linebackers Don Kinney, Jr. and Cody Simcox. Kinney, Jr. played in all 11 games as a freshman in 2010 before spending last year away from football. Simcox is a transfer from Division I FCS Maine, where he played tight end last season. He was a 2nd team All-State linebacker at Wilson West Lawn in 2010.

Entering the season, most of the returning experience was on the line, especially at defensive end, with returning starter R-So. Brandon Gattelli and Sr. Waverly Harris, R-So. Sam Trunzo and So. Tarik Haddad forming the rotation for the second straight year.

Gattelli started 8 games last year, leading the defensive ends in tackles (38) and TFL (6.5) and leading the defensive line in sacks (3.5). Harris started 3 games and had 29 tackles, 4.0 TFL and 2.0 sacks. Trunzo and Haddad also played in all 11 games.

At tackle, R-So. Bryan Thomson and R-Sr. Sam Hull moved into the starting spots. Hull, a 3-year letterwinner, made his 1st career start and Thomson made his 2nd career start. Thomson had 29 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles, along with 2 blocked extra points. R-So. Josh Przywara and R-So. Jon Noble (a transfer from Shippensburg in 2009) are also on the depth chart.
The linebackers are completely new with the graduation of inside linebackers Mike Bergey and Taylor Cave, outside linebacker Bryan Billger, and the death of Derek Brown this summer.

So. James Lancellotti and Fr. Brandon Pearce were the starters at inside linebacker last week, both the first starts of their careers. Both are expected to be key special teams contributors and also play from scrimmage with Don Kinney, Jr. and Cody Simcox in the lineup.

At outside linebacker, Jr. Darius Jackson and Fr. Mike Kinney played well
against Lock Haven in their first career starts. Jackson started 5 games at fullback over the last two years and scored 3 TD, 2 receiving and 1 rushing.

Fr. Greg Jones had an active preseason camp, moving from tailback to safety before landing at outside linebacker. He could also step in as the nickel back. Jones was named 3rd team All-State in New Jersey, running for 2,080 yards and 33 TD as a senior. He returned the opening kickoff 20 yards against Lock Haven.

In the secondary, R-So. FS Anthony Singlar is the only returning starter and had his 1st career interception last week. Singlar made 5 starts at safety last year, one of three players to hold the role and was ESU's top returning tackler with 51.

The cornerback spots are held by R-So. Andrew Coyle, who saw some time at nickel back last year, and Sr. Brandon Phillips, who saw his first career action. Both made their first career starts last week.

WARRIORS IN 2011
ESU ranked 16th in the PSAC and 138th in Division II in total defense last season, yielding 451.3 yards per game. Part of that was a product of being on the field for 76.1 plays per game, as ESU held the ball for just 24:43 per game and didn't have a time-of-possession advantage all season. Offensively, ESU's 41 turnovers were the most in DII and was in the bottom third of DII in red zone efficiency. Taken together, ESU allowed its most yards per game and points per game (29.4) since 1999.

BROTHER ACT
Fr. OLB Mike Kinney (12 tackles) and So. LB Don Kinney, Jr. (8 tackles, 3.0 TFL) combined for 20 tackles against Lock Haven in the season opener. They are separated by two years, as Don lettered for the Warriors as a true freshman in 2010 before spending last year away from football.

Both were high school standouts at Loyalsock, teaming up on the Lancers' 2008 Eastern Conference championship team (when Don was a junior and Mike was a freshman) and 2009 District championship team, when Mike was the Williamsport Sun-Gazette Area Player of the Year as a sophomore. Don was a three-time All-District first team selection and Mike was named to the first team all four years. Mike was also a two-time All-State selection, named to the 2nd team as a sophomore and 1st team as a junior.

GROFF AMONG NATION'S BEST KICKERS
Jr. K Taylor Groff opened the 2012 season by going 1-for-2 on field goals vs. Lock Haven, hitting from 37 yards on ESU's first possession and later missing from 49 yards.

Groff is as a member of the Watch List for the Fred Mitchell Award for the nation's top small college kicker. Among his career highlights:

Career - 28-37 - 18-20 inside 40 - 10-17 over 40
• 11-for-12 (5-for-6 over 40) on FG to tie game or give ESU lead
• 6-for-6 (2-for-2 over 40) on FG in final 1:00 of 1st half

2011 Season - 11-14 - 5-7 inside 40 - 6-7 over 40
• 6 FG of 40+ yards - tied for the most in school history with Joey Pingitore (1983)
• the rest of the PSAC's kickers were 9-for-31 from 40+ yards
• made the 2 longest FG in the PSAC (52 and 48 yards)
• 52-yard FG at Kutztown is 2nd-longest in ESU history
• made two 43-yard FG vs. Millersville, becoming the first ESU kicker with two 40+ FG in a game since Ed Detwiler made 3 vs. California in 1992
• missed first 3 games due to injury

2010 Season - 16-21 - 12-12 inside 40 - 4-9 over 40
• ESU record with 16 field goals
• perfect inside 40 yards
• one of two kickers in DII to make a FG in every game
• 87 points were 2nd-most in school history

ESU Career Field Goal Percentage
1. 75.7 -- Taylor Groff (28-37)
2. 67.2 -- Mark Brubaker (39-58)

ESU Career Field Goals
1. 50 -- Ed Detwiler (1989-92)
2. 39 -- Mark Brubaker (2002-05)
3. 30 -- Matt Seagreaves (1994-96)
4. 29 -- Joey Pingitore (1982-84)
5. 28 -- Taylor Groff (2010-pres.)
     28 -- J.D. Stern (1996-99)

ESU Career Field Goals of 40+ Yards
1. 12 -- Ed Detwiler
2. 10 -- Taylor Groff
3. 8 -- Joey Pingitore

NET PUNTING
So. Jordan Bair was 5th in the PSAC in punting average (37.8) and 6th in net punting (32.9) as a freshman. He had his two longest punts of the season, 51 at Shippensburg and 53 vs. Edinboro, in the last two weeks.

ESU has been a regular among the Division II leaders in net punting, ranking in the top 5 in three of the last eight years. The Warriors led the nation in 2004 (40.6) and 2008 (39.7) and ranked 3rd in 2006 (36.0).

RULE CHANGE
The NCAA has instituted two rule changes on kickoffs for the 2012 season. The kickoff spot has been moved up 5 yards (to the 35-yard line), and the touchback spot has been moved up 5 yards (to the 25-yard line).

The Warriors ranked 10th in the PSAC with an opponents' average drive start at the 33-yard line last season.

In 2010, ESU led the PSAC in kickoff coverage, with an average drive start of the 26-yard line. Groff had 11 touchbacks on 65 kickoffs, and his rate of 17% was more than triple the 5% rate of the rest of the PSAC. In 2011, Groff had 3 touchbacks on 37 kickoffs (8%).

GREGORY-DOUDS FIELD AT EILER-MARTIN STADIUM
• Field renamed to honor coaches Jack Gregory and Denny Douds after ESU's 58-14 win vs. Cheyney on Oct. 30, 2010
• Gregory had 49-11-2 (.806) record from 1959-65 and won 1964 and 1965 PSAC championships
• Douds has been ESU's head coach since 1974
• Eiler-Martin Stadium has been the home of the Warriors since 1938
• John R. Eiler was an outstanding athlete at the school in the early 1930s and later athletic director and a championship soccer coach
• Gene Martin was the Warriors' head football coach from 1942-57 and the school's long-time Dean of Men
• The Warriors have a 121-70 home record (.634) under Douds and a 41-27 home record (.603) since 2000

Renovations include:
• New home bleachers were added in 1960
• The current press box was installed in 1988
• The track was resurfaced and expanded to 8 lanes in 2005
• Lights were added prior to the 2007 season
• FieldTurf was installed prior to the 2008 season

FAMILY AFFAIR
Two Warriors have fathers who played for Coach Douds:
• R-Sr. DL Sam Hull - father Chris, four-year letterwinner at DE from 1984-87
• R-Fr. QB Matt Soltes - father Andy lettered at QB in 1982, threw game-winning TD at West Chester

In addition, two Warriors have relatives who played for ESU under Douds:
• Jr. WR Dusty Reed - uncle Pat Flaherty was All-America center in 1976 and is currently the offensive line coach of the NY Giants
• R-So. CB Andrew Coyle - father is cousin of Tim Bishop, an All-East WR in 1984 and All-PSAC pitcher, 2B and OF in baseball

At least six other father-son combinations have earned letters since Douds arrived in 1966:

• Falcone - Michael, LB '73; Bryan, LB '00-02
• Jackson - Steven, C '69-71; Greg, TE '98-99
• McNamee - Doug, DB/WR '64-66, Todd, K/P '85-88
• Stem - Willard, FS '72-75; Drew, WR '05-08
• Terwilliger - Mike, QB '74-77 (Douds' first 4 seasons, entering 35th year as asst. coach); Jimmy, QB '03-06 (Harlon Hill Award in 2005)
• Marshall - Brian, QB '81; Matt, QB '08-10 (3rd in career total offense)

UNDER THE LIGHTS
ESU is 6-3 in night games since lights were installed in 2007:
9-15-07 -- L 23-38 vs. IUP
8-28-08 -- W 14-11 vs. #25 Virginia Union
9-6-08 -- W 23-10 vs. Gannon
9-27-08 -- W 52-12 vs. Cheyney
9-12-09 -- W 45-31 vs. Clarion
9-11-10 -- L 17-23 vs. IUP
9-1-11 -- W 56-14 vs. Pace
9-17-11 -- L 19-22 vs. #21 California
9-8-12 -- W 31-0 vs. Lock Haven

WARRIORS FROM 2000-09
• The Warriors wrapped up their winningest decade in school history in the 2000's, going 77-34 for a .694 winning percentage
• They had nine winning seasons in 10 years, made three NCAA Playoff appearances, won PSAC East titles in 2002 and 2003, and had a school-record 11 wins in 2005
• ESU has an all-time record of 449-298-19 (.599)

ESU IN THE NCAA PLAYOFFS
• ESU has played in the NCAA Division II Playoffs four times, most recently in 2009 when they fell to Edinboro, 31-16, in the first round
• The Warriors have also played in the postseason in 1991, 2004 and 2005, when they advanced to the national semifinals
• ESU has a 4-4 record in four postseason trips

PSAC PRESEASON POLL
• ESU was picked to finish 6th in the 2012 PSAC East Coaches Poll
• The Warriors were selected behind Kutztown, Bloomsburg, LIU Post, West Chester and Shippensburg and ahead of Millersville and Cheyney

WARRIORS ON RADIO
• WVPO 840 AM is in its 50th season broadcasting ESU football and will once again carry all 10 games in 2012
• Chuck Seese, the 2009 PSAC Heaslip Media Award winner,  is in his 24th season as the voice of the Warriors
• He is joined in the booth by Bob Brittain, who is in his 12th year providing the color commentary

WARRIORS ON TV
• Blue Ridge TV-13 will broadcast ESU football for the 26th year this season, with all five home games airing live across the region
• Play-by-play man Chris Doty (23rd year) is joined by color commentator Jim Riley (5th year) and sideline reporter Mike Remish (3rd year)

WARRIORS ON SPORTSFEVER TV
• ESU will play 3 games on state-wide and national television this season through a partnership with SPORTSfever TV
• The Warriors' games at Clarion (Sept. 29), vs. West Chester (Oct. 6) and at LIU Post (Oct. 27) will be broadcast, tape-delay, on Blue Ridge cable, the Comcast Network and ROOT Sports (formerly Fox Sports Pittsburgh)
• Broadcast times will be announced

At the end of the 2012 season, SPORTSfever will have broadcast 16 games over the last six seasons.

ESU WARRIORS ALL ACCESS
• All five broadcasts on Blue Ridge TV-13 will be available online through ESU Warriors “All Access” at www.esuwarriors.com
• The single-season package ($24.95) gives access for all football content, live and archived, through August 31, 2013
• The single-day package ($6.95) gives access for a 24-hour period

AND WE GO TO...OVERTIME
• ESU is 4-6 all-time in overtime contests and has won its last two games in OT, 27-20 at Kutztown in 2009 and 44-41 vs. Shippensburg in 2008
• The win vs. Shippensburg gave head coach Denny Douds the PSAC record with his 213th career victory

OVERTIME GAMES
1991 - L 34-33 vs. Shippensburg (NCAA Playoffs)
1996 - W 27-20 vs. Kutztown
1999 - L 33-27 at Shepherd (2OT)
2000 - W 35-28 vs. Shepherd
2000 - L 33-26 vs. Millersville
2000 - L 17-14 vs. Shippensburg
2004 - L 38-37 vs. West Chester
2005 - L 31-24 vs. Bloomsburg
2008 - W 44-41 vs. Shippensburg
2009 - W 27-20 at Kutztown

PSAC CHAMPIONSHIPS
• ESU has won a share of nine PSAC titles under head coach Denny Douds, and 12 in school history
• The most recent championships came in 1991, 2002 and 2003, when the Warriors won the PSAC East championship
• Overall PSAC titles came in:
   1942, 1954, 1964, 1965, 1968, 1975, 1976, 1978 and 1982
• ESU has a 199-108-1 (.648) record in PSAC games entering 2012 for the 3rd-best winning percentage since the first on-the-field title was awarded in 1960

JAMES FRANKLIN UPDATE (Bio  l  Twitter)
• James Franklin '95, a two-year starter at QB and a Harlon Hill candidate in 1994, is in his 2nd season as head coach at Vanderbilt
• Franklin led the Commodores to a 6-6 regular season record in 2011 and their 2nd straight bowl game, the AutoZone Liberty Bowl
• Vandy is 0-2 this year, falling to #9 South Carolina and Northwestern
• Next up, the 'Dores host Presbyterian on Sept. 5 at 12:30 p.m. ET

ACADEMIC ACCOLADES
• ESU has produced 55 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District selections over the last 5 years, 2nd-most in the PSAC
• ESU led the PSAC with 15 selections in 2010-11 and 10 selections in 2007-08 and 2008-09
• ESU has 19 PSAC "Top 10" award winners over the last 5 years, also 2nd-most in the PSAC
• 5 student-athletes were Academic All-America selections in 2011-12 — Rose Mascoli and Corinne Fitzgerald (women's cross country/track & field), Dan Johnson and Ian Melhorn (men's cross country/track & field) and Nemanja Nikolic (men's soccer)

The football program has had 5 Academic All-Americans:
2010 - Matt Freed, LB, 1st team
2009 - Matt Freed, LB, 1st team
2004 - Matt Crispell, DB, 1st team
1992 - Ed Detwiler, P, 2nd team
1984 - Ernie Siegrist, TE, 1st team
1979 - Warren Brown, LB, 2nd team
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