EDINBORO Fighting Scots (0-2, 0-0 PSAC West) at EAST STROUDSBURG Warriors (0-2, 0-0 PSAC East)
 East Stroudsburg Game Notes
PSAC Week 3 Notes
Radio:  WFSE 88.9 (Streamed on www.edinboronow.com)
TV:  ESPN3 via SPORTSfever TV Network

The Game Story
Edinboro will take to the highway for the first time in 2015, facing its second straight PSAC East opponent in East Stroudsburg. Like last week's opponent, Shippensburg, the Warriors were picked to finish third in the Eastern Division in the coaches preseason poll. The Fighting Scots have opened the season at 0-2, dropping a 30-10 decision to Saint Joseph's and a 20-13 game to Shippensburg. Both games were played at Sox Harrison Stadium.  Unlike a year ago when all games against PSAC competition counted, this year the games against Eastern Division opponents will not count in the league standings.

The Fighting Scots have lost seven of their last eight and 9 of their last 11 road games. In addition, they have won just once in their last six trips to Eiler-Martin Stadium, last winning in 2009. 

The Fighting Scots are looking to snap a string of three straight losing seasons. That marks the first time with three consecutive losing campaigns since a stretch of six straight losing seasons from 1997-2002.

Edinboro is staring at another demanding schedule in 2015. Eight of the 11 teams on the 2015 slate posted winning records, with Slippery Rock and Gannon winning nine games, Saint Joseph's and California(Pa.) eight games, and Mercyhurst seven.  The combined record of the eleven 2015 opponents is 65-56, but the combined records of the eight teams with winning records was 59-29. 

East Stroudsburg comes in with a 0-2 record. The Warriors opened the year with a 41-40 loss at LIU Post, then were run over by Slippery Rock a week ago, 34-9. Edinboro faces a monumental task winning on the road against a coach who ranks among the tops all-time, and a quarterback who is a legitimate Harlon Hill candidate. ESU head coach Denny Douds is in his 42nd season at the helm and 50th year as a member of the ESU staff. He owns a 250-178-3 career record, ranking third among all active coaches, and 20th in NCAA history in wins. The Edinboro game will mark his 500th career game as a head coach and assistant at East Stroudsburg.  

Redshirt senior quarterback Matt Soltes is a prolific performer who leads a high-powered East Stroudsburg offense. A top Harlon Hill candidate the last three years, Soltes returns after missing the final three games in 2015 with a knee injury.  Soltes is tied for 10th in PSAC history in both career TD passes (86) and TD's responsible for (92). He moved into sixth in career total offense (10,516) and his career total offense per game (339.2 ypg) is currently first in PSAC history. In addition, he ranks 11th in career passing yards (9,227).  

While six starters return on offense and six more on defense, youth will once again be served in 2015.  The 2015 roster features 38 true freshman and 10 redshirt freshman. Many are expected to see time as head coach Scott Browning and his staff tries to reap the benefits of a strong recruiting class. A year ago a total of 43 games were started by true freshman.

The Edinboro defense displayed great improvement in week number two, holding a Shippensburg offense that scored 64 points in its opening-game win over Seton Hill to just 20 points. It snapped a string of 22 straight games in which the Red Raiders had scored 21-or-more points and scored at least three touchdowns. Even more remarkable is that the defense was missing starting linebackers Mike Shansky and Gabe Tillman. A total of five freshmen started, and ten freshmen saw action on defense.

Edinboro was picked to finish seventh in the PSAC West in the coaches' preseason poll after being picked to finish sixth the previous two years. The Fighting Scots finished in a tie for sixth in 2014. East Stroudsburg was 6-5 a year ago. The Warriors were tied for third, along with last week's opponent -- Shippensburg -- in the PSAC East in the coaches preseason poll.

On TV/Radio
} The Edinboro-East Stroudsburg game can be heard live on WFSE FM 88.9, with Mike Fenner providing the play-by-play and Tyler Trumbauer the commentary. In addition, all Edinboro radio broadcasts will be aired by the Keystone Sports Network. The games will be broadcast on ESPN 92.7 FM in Erie and WWCB 1370 AM in Corry, Pa., in addition to being streamed live.  The East Stroudsburg game is the first of three Edinboro games that will televised by the SPORTSfever TV Network. The game can be seen live on ESPN 3 and ESPN College Extra. 

The All-Time Series 
East Stroudsburg leads 12-6
The Edinboro-East Stroudsburg series first began in 1967, with the Warriors winning the first four games in the series. That included wins in the 1975 (24-20) and 1982 (24-22) PSAC Championship Games. They have since met twice in the NCAA Division II Playoffs, with both contests taking place at East Stroudsburg. In 2004 the Warriors claimed a 36-32 decision, while in 2009 Edinboro prevailed 31-16. The Warriors have won the last two meetings and five of the last six at Eiler-Martin Stadium. 

The Last Meeting 
East Stroudsburg 47, Edinboro 34 
After falling behind 20-7 after one quarter Edinboro would rally tp take a 21-20 lead thanks to a one yard touchdown pass from Cody Harris to Nick Helmick and a spectacular six yard TD run by Harris. However, the Fighting Scots would be forced to punt in the final minute and East Stroudsburg scored on a 57-yard pass with 15 seconds remaining for a 27-21 halftime lead. The Warriors would go up 34-21 early in the third quarter but Edinboro would knot the score with a pair of touchdown connections from Harris to Darren Massey. The first covered 28 yards and the second two yards with 13 minutes, 58 seconds left in the game. Less than two minutes later ESU went up 40-34, with Jim Wilson blocking the extra point. Edinboro would drive to the ESU eight with just over seven minutes to play, but on 4th-and-3 Harris' pass to Massey fell short. The Warriors would tack on a sixth Matt Soltes touchdown pass with 46 seconds to play. The game featured over 1,000 yards in total offense as ESU totalled 590 yards, including 502 yards through the air, and Edinboro ended with 448 yards. Harris completed 26 of 37 passes for 268 yards and 4 TDs, with Massey hauling in 10 passes for 103 yards and 3 TDs. Freshman TB Anfreenee Williams paced a resurgent ground game with 139 yards on 18 carries. 

Last Week 
Shippensburg 20, Edinboro 13 
A battered Edinboro defense playing numerous freshmen held the high-powered Shippensburg offense to less than 21 points for the first time in 22 straight games, but the Red Raiders rallied from a 13-3 halftime deficit to claim a 20-13 win at Sox Harrison Stadium.  A defensive unit which started five freshman and played as many as ten first-year performers turned in an outstanding goal line stand in the fourth quarter.  They held the Red Raiders without a score on seven plays from inside the three, including four straight plays at the one. But on their next possession, the Red Raiders drove 55 yards for the winning touchdown with just over three minutes to play. Edinboro scored all of its points in the second quarter on field goals of 27 and 43 yards by Austin Reese, sandwiching a 51-yard catch and run by Darren Massey from Jake Sisson.  Edinboro would control the time of possession (34:06 to 25:54), but was outgained by Shippensburg, 430 yards to 345. The Fighting Scots threw for 286 yards, as Sisson completed 18 of 32 passes for a career-high 257 yards. Massey hauled in 12 passes for a career-high 195 yards. The ground game was held to 59 yards on 34 attempts. 
     
Slippery Rock 34, East Stroudsburg 9 
For the second year in a row, 21st-ranked Slippery Rock's ground game was too much for East Stroudsburg. After rushing for a school-record 456 yards a year ago, SRU gained 414 yards on 63 rushes and finished with 577 yards of total offense. The Warriors scored on their first possession of the game as Nicolas Ruiz kicked a 23-yard field goal. After that it was all Slippery Rock, as The Rock led 17-3 at the half and 24-3 after three quarters. Matt Soltes hooked up with Jon Schnaars for an eight-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. Soltes completed 18-of-44 passes for 236 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Schnaars caught 7 passes for 128 yards, while Robert Healy gained 83 yards rushing. The normally high-powered ESU offense was held to 309 total yards. 
          
The Coaches
Scott Browning (Ohio State '81) took over as Edinboro's 13th head coach on January 5, 2006, and in his first six seasons he tied the record for most wins by a coach during that period.  Browning is in his tenth season with a 57-45 record, and is in his 30th season as a member of the Edinboro staff.  With the season-opening 35-34 win over Walsh in 2013, he became the third coach at Edinboro to reach 50 wins, joining Tom Hollman and Bill McDonald.   The 2014 win over Clarion was his 55th, moving him into sole possession of second place in career victories.  Browning was certainly no stranger to Fighting Scot football when he was hired as head coach, serving as an assistant coach for the previous twenty years. While at Edinboro he has coached the offensive linemen, defensive backs and running backs, along with serving as the offensive coordinator.  Browning became the first head coach at Edinboro to debut with a win since McDonald in 1969 when the Fighting Scots opened the 2006 season with a 28-14 win at West Chester.  He went on to lead Edinboro to a 6-5 finish, the most wins ever by a first-year coach.  That was followed by a 7-4 finish in 2007.  His next two Fighting Scot editions recorded a school-record tying nine wins.  In 2008 Edinboro ended the year at 9-2 and was ranked 20th in the final AFCA Top 25.  The Fighting Scots had a 9-4 record in 2009, making the NCAA playoffs for the first time in his tenure.  Edinboro would end the year 24th in the AFCA poll.  The Boro posted back-to-back 7-4 finishes in 2010 and 2011.  The 4-6 finish in 2012 represented Browning's first losing season as head coach.  

Denny Douds (Slippery Rock '53) has been the head coach at East Stroudsburg for 42 years and is in his 50th year as a member of the ESU staff. The Edinboro game marks Douds' 500th game at ESU. He owns a 250-178-3 career record, ranking third among active coaches and among Division II coaches, and 20th in NCAA history in wins. The 431 games coached leads all active NCAA coaches. He has led the Warriors to PSAC Championships in 1975, '78 and '82, plus Eastern Division crowns nine times. Four of his teams have been selected to play in the NCAA playoffs. Douds is one of five coaches in college football history to coach 40+ years and spend his entire career at the same school.

Browning Comments ... on the Fighting Scots
"We had a golden opportunity against Shippensburg. We just didn't finish. Offensively, we struggled and didn't score any points in the second half. We have to find a way to get into the end zone. Defensively, the goal line stand really picked us up. We came out and got a couple first downs, which were huge. It really killed us when we lost Jake (Sisson). We didn't rep Jon Girvin much. He had missed time with an injury and just moved back to quarterback."

Browning Comments ... on the Warriors
"East Stroudsburg is good. They're like us -- 0-2 -- but they have played two good teams. Slippery Rock is loaded. They lost to a very good football team, in the rain, which I don't think helped. It's time for us to keep growing up."

         


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