EDINBORO Fighting Scots (0-11, 0-7 PSAC West in 2015) at SAINT JOSEPH'S(IN) Pumas (5-6, 3-5 GLVC) 
  Saint Joseph's Game Notes
Radio:  WFSE 88.9 (Streamed on www.edinboronow.com)
TV:  none
Video Stream:  www.glvcsn.com/sjc/

The Game Story
When the Fighting Scots take the field at Saint Joseph's, it will mark the dawning of a new era. Justin Lustig was named Edinboro's 14th head coach in January, and will officially make his debut against the Pumas. The former Ball State assistant coach looks to revive an Edinboro program which has won just three games the last two years. The Fighting Scots were 0-11 a year ago. Saint Joseph's, a member of the Great Lakes Valley Conference, was 5-6 in 2015, including a 30-10 win at Edinboro last year in the season opener for both teams. That marked the first meeting between the schools. Edinboro's trip to Rensselaer, Indiana is the first time the Fighting Scots have played in the Hoosier state.  

The Fighting Scots face a Saint Joseph's team that was 5-6 a year ago, including a 30-10 win over Edinboro in the season opener for both teams. That marked the first meeting between the two teams. Saturday's game in Rensselaer, indiana will be the first time an Edinboro team has played in the Hoosier state.

Saturday's game at Saint Joseph's is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start, but note that is CDT, so in actuality it is a 1 p.m. kickoff for the fans back in the East.  

Road wins have been at a premium for Edinboro lately.  The Fighting Scots enter the 2016 campaign with losses in 12 of their last 13 road games and 14 in the last 16. The lone road win in the last 13 games came in 2014 at Clarion.     

Edinboro owns a 38-43-5 all-time record in season openers. The Fighting Scots have lost their last two season openers -- a 38-24 loss at Carson-Newman in 2014 and a 30-10 loss to Saint Joseph's in 2015. Edinboro last opened the season with a win in 2013, a 35-34 win at Walsh. 

Edinboro was picked to finish eighth in the PSAC West in the coaches' preseason poll after being picked to finish seventh a year ago.  Saint Joseph's was picked to finish seventh in the Great Lakes Valley Conference preseason poll.

The Fighting Scots return a total of 15 starters from 2015 -- seven on offense, six on defense, and two specialists. However, the offense will be without two starters in the opener, including leading rusher Cory Bell, who is out indefinitely with injuries.

Youth is featured on the 2016 roster, along with a touch of seniority. After having just five seniors in 2015, this year's roster has six redshirt seniors and nine seniors. However, 50 of the 83 players on the opening day roster have a year experience or less. That breaks down to 24 freshman, nine redshirt freshmen, and 17 sophomores. 

Both Edinboro and Saint Joseph will have new looks on the ground. With last year's leading rusher, Cory Bell, out with an injury after gaining 522 yards on the ground a year ago, first-year head coach Justin Lustig will turn to redshirt freshman Walter Fletcher and freshman Brandon Rios, along with redshirt junior Rob Bell, a redshirt junior who transferred from California(Pa.) a year ago but did not see any action. In fact, not one running back on the roster enters the season with a carry as a Fighting Scot. Saint Joseph's featured one of the top ground games in the country in 2013 and '14. The Pumas ranked 13th in Division II in rushing in 2014 with 242.6 ypg.  A year ago, they dropped down to 131.8 ypg.  Saint Joseph's enters 2016 without the top three rushers from a year ago, but Mike Anderson returns after rushing for 474 yards in 2014. He was a medical redshirt last year. In addition, head coach Daniel Day has brought in Martez Walker, a transfer from Central Michigan. The senior was the Chippewas' leading rusher in 2015 with 373 yards on 106 carries, along with 19 receptions.

On TV/Radio
The Edinboro-Saint Joseph's game can be heard live on WFSE FM 88.9, with Drew Patrick providing the play-by-play and George Schmidt the commentary. The WFSE stream can be heard at www.edinboronow.com.  In addition, all Edinboro radio broadcasts will be aired by the Keystone Sports Network. The games will be broadcast on WWCB 1370 AM in Corry, Pa. and WLOA 1470 AM in Greenville, Pa. The Keystone Sports Network streams live at www.keystonesports.net.   

The All-Time Series 
Saint Joseph's leads 1-0
Edinboro and Saint Joseph's met for the first time last year. The Pumas came away with a 30-10 win at Sox Harrison Stadium in the season opener for both teams.

Last Year's Game 
Saint Joseph's(In.) 30, Edinboro 10 
Edinboro opened the 2015 season with a 30-10 loss to Saint Joseph's(Ind.) on a Thursday night in front of a crowd of 4,172 at Sox Harrison Stadium. On a hot and humid night a veteran Saint Joseph's squad wore down a young Edinboro squad which played a number of true freshmen. The Pumas scored the last 20 points of the game after Edinboro tied the score at 10-10 early in the third quarter on a 32-yard field goal by Austin Reese. Justin Kempka accounted for Edinboro's touchdown, catching a two-yard pass from Jake Sisson. Saint Joseph's, one of the top rushing teams in Division II in 2014, would end the night with 235 yards on the ground, while Edinboro managed 100 yards, most of that on the final series. Saint Joseph's finished with 430 total yards, while Edinboro had 315 yards. Most of that came through the air behind sophomore Sisson, who was making his second career start. Sisson completed 26 of 42 passes for 215 yards, but threw four interceptions.  Darren Massey tied David Bostic's school record for receptions in a game with 13, good for 100 yards.  Alex Caratelli, a former transfer from Robert Morris playing in his first game at Edinboro, added 5 receptions for 56 yards, and Connor Hollenbeck caught 5 balls for 49 yards. Ja'maal Eveillard led Edinboro in rushing with 66 yards on six carries, all in the final series of the game. Cory Bell got the start at tailback and gained 42 yards on 13 rushes.     
  
The Coaches
Justin Lustig (Bucknell '00) took over as Edinboro's 14th head coach on January 11, 2016. This marks Lustig's first head coaching position after serving as an assistant coach at Ball State since 2011. A native of western Pennsylvania who played his high school football at nearby Cathedral prep, Lustig also has served as an assistant coach at Louisiana-Lafayette, Eastern Illinois, Christopher Newport, and Villanova.  Lustig has been a part of four teams that earned bowl eligibility in eight years at the FBS level. He was an assistant on five teams that won conference championships in 14 years in the profession, including six NCAA playoff appearances and two bowl games. Five of the teams he has been associated with have been ranked in the top 25. Finally, he has helped develop 37 all-conference performers, including 12 at Ball State. Most recently, Lustig was the sepcial teams coordinator/ running backs coach at Ball State since 2011, along with earning the title of assistant head coach prior to the 2015 season. The Cardinals played in two bowl games during Lustig's tenure. They faced UCF in the Beef O'Brady's Bowl in 2012, then earned a spot in the 2013 GoDaddy Bowl against Arkansas State. Ball State finished with a 10-3 record in 2013 and 9-4 in 2012. In addition, Ball State posted wins over four BCS conference teams -- Indiana twice, South Florida, and Virginia.      

Daniel Day (Seton Hill '09) joined the Saint Joseph's coaching staff in July of 2011 as the offensive line coach. On December 5th, 2014 Day was promoted to serve as the 19th head football coach in school history. The Pumas finished 2015 with a 5-6 mark on the season.  SJC was known in 2015 for taking care of the ball, finishing 19th in the nation in turnover margin. The Pumas forced 20 fumbles, while recovering 14. The defense also intercepted an impressive 13 passes.  Day's roots are in eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. A native of Youngstown, Ohio, he enjoyed a successful playing career at Seton Hill. As the Pumas' offensive line coach, he helped SJC rank 28th in Division II in 2013 with 224 rushing yards per game. In 2014 the Pumas ranked 13th nationally with 242.6 yards per game while standing 16th in Division II against the run. The offensive line allowed just 15 sacks.
  
Lustig Comments ... on the Fighting Scots
"We have come a long way since our arrival in January, I am pleased with the  personality this team has developed. They understand that hard work and attention to detail is the way we will progress. I am excited to see our team compete against a very good St. Joe's team."

Lustig Comments ... on the Pumas
"St. Joes is a well-coached team with talented players at multiple positions. Coach Day has done a great job with this team in only his second year. They are fundamentally very sound, and they give great effort play in and play out."




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