EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. (Sept. 19, 2015) – East Stroudsburg scored on seven of its first eight possessions on Saturday afternoon to hand Edinboro a 56-12 defeat in a PSAC crossover contest at Eiler-Martin Stadium. It marked Edinboro's first road game of 2015 as the Fighting Scots fell to 0-3 for the second straight season. East Stroudsburg is now 1-2.
 

A year ago Matt Soltes burned the Fighting Scots for 502 yards and six touchdowns passing. The senior enjoyed another outstanding day after an inauspicious start. On the second play from scrimmage a bad shotgun snap sailed over Soltes' head, with Sam Breese recovering at the ESU 10.
 
Unfortunately, on Edinboro's first play Cory Bell fumbled, with the Warriors recovering at their own 18. It marked the first of three Edinboro turnovers. After that it was the Soltes Show, as he would complete 21-of-31 passes for 438 yards with 5 TDs and an interception.
 
East Stroudsburg would piece together drives of 82 and 69 yards in the first quarter for a 14-0 lead, and tacked on 59, 80 and 67-yards drives in the second quarter for a 35-0 lead.  The Warriors totaled 337 yards in the first 30 minutes, while Edinboro had 114 yards.
 
Soltes guided a 15-play, 82-yard drive to start the scoring, with Gerald Van De Cruz scoring the first of his three touchdowns on a one-yard run. After a three-and-out, Soltes lofted a long pass down the middle to tailback Robert Healy for a 53-yard touchdown pass and a 14-0 lead with 4:51 to play in the first quarter.
 
Another three-and-out – Edinboro did not have a first down in the first quarter – led to a six-yard touchdown pass from Soltes to Gerard Wendowski, the senior's first career touchdown reception, on the first play of the second quarter.
 
Edinboro would put together an impressive drive, aided by several ESU penalties, on its next series. Bell ran for 41 yards in the drive, but on 3rd-and-goal from the seven Sisson was picked off in the end zone.
 
Van De Cruz would cap the ensuing 8-play, 80-yard drive with a two-yard scoring run with 5:16 left in the half for a 28-0 advantage. Soltes would tack on his third touchdown pass of the afternoon on 40-yard strike to Joe Welk with just under two minutes left in the half. It capped a half in which he threw for 287 yards.
 
After completing just 8-of-21 passes for 56 yards in the first half, Sisson completed four straight passes to start the second half. The 4-play, 73-yard march ended with Sisson's 41-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Alex Caratelli down the left sideline. It was the first touchdown at Edinboro for Caratelli. Austin Reese's extra point was blocked, leaving the Fighting Scots trailing, 35-6.
 
That would be as close as Edinboro would get, as the Warriors reached the end zone on their next two possessions. Soltes threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Jon Schnaars on a 3-play, 74-yard drive, and Van De Cruz followed with his second one-yard dive for his third touchdown run.  That left the score 49-6 with 6:47 remaining in the third quarter.
 
Edinboro answered with a 90-yard march that began with a 21-yard run by Bell, along with runs of 18 and 15 yards by Sisson. Sisson would go out with an injury, and Jon Girvin scored on a six-yard run on his first play in the game.
 
East Stroudsburg would register the lone points of the fourth quarter following an Edinboro fumble. Soltes threw his fifth touchdown pass, a 56-yard catch-and-run to Schnaars.
 
The Warriors ended with 565 total yards while Edinboro was held to a season-low 283 yards. Soltes accounted for 438 of those yards. Edinboro threw for 154 yards and ran for a season-high 129 yards.
 
Sisson, making just his fourth career start, completed 14-of-28 passes for 141 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Girvin was 1-of-6 for 13 yards.  Bell paced the ground game with seven carries for 56 yards, with Sisson adding 43 yards on four scrambles.
 
Caratelli caught 3 passes for 57 yards, with Connor Hollenbeck adding 3 catches for 19 yards. Darren Massey, who entered the game as the leading receiver in Division II with 25 receptions in the first two games, was held to a pair of catches for 37 yards.
 
As usual, East Stroudsburg put up some big numbers in addition to Soltes. Schnaars caught 9 balls for 200 yards, with Welk hauling in 4 passes for 94 yards. Healy ran for 92 yards on 13 carries and caught 4 passes for 84 yards.
 
The young Edinboro team did feature a pair of firsts, as defensive backs Aaron Rogers and Hayes Wallman both recorded their first career interceptions. Wallman's was a highlight-reel pickoff along the sideline. Another freshman defensive back, Mitch Thomas, set the single-game record for kickoff returns with eight. He finished with 175 return yards. He also led the Scots with 8 tackles.
 
Edinboro returns home this coming Saturday, September 26, hosting California(Pa.) in a 12 noon kickoff at Sox Harrison Stadium.