ESU Football Media Guide - East Stroudsburg University Athletics

2012 SeasonGame 10 • Nov. 10 • Mercyhurst 52, ESU 45ERIE - ESU rallied from a 21-point 4th-quarter deficitto tie the game at 45-45 with 3:07 left, but Mercyhurstproduced a final scoring drive to escape with a 52-45win in the season finale for both schools at Tullio Field.R-Fr. QB Matt Soltes was 24-for-42 for 394 yards,five touchdowns and three interceptions and ran for69 yards for ESU (5-5), which finishes at .500 or betterfor the 10th time in 13 seasons with an 85-man rosterthat included 67 freshmen or sophomores.Soltes finishes the season with 2,662 passing yardsand 536 rushing yards for 3,158 yards of total offensein 10 games, including 7 starts.He is the fourth player (and third Warrior) in PSAChistory to throw for 2,500+ yards and rush for 500+yards in a season, joining Jimmy Terwilliger in 2006(3,470 total - 2,966 pass, 504 rush), James Franklin in1994 (3,129 - 2,586, 543) and Erik Anderwkavich of LIUPost in 2010 (3,305 - 2,625, 680). The first three were allseniors.Mercyhurst (9-2), which shared the PSAC Westtitle with IUP after a 40-7 win over California last week,got 379 yards passing and 3 TD from QB AnthonyVendemia and used two long scoring plays in the 3rdquarter to open a 45-24 lead before ESU’s comeback.Paris Bruner had a 97-yard kick return TD and 5catches for 144 yards, and Devyn Woods had 9 catchesfor 215 yards and 3 TD, scoring from 44, 13 and 40yards. A 46-yard run by Allen Jones II after a 4th-downstop gave the Lakers their 21-point lead, part of a 21-33rd-quarter run after leading 24-21 at halftime.The Warriors’ defense had three key 4th-quarterstops and Soltes and the offense took advantage.ESU took over on its 40-yard line with 9:48 left andwas in the end zone three plays later, starting with a30-yard pass from Soltes to R-Jr. WR Robert Bleiler.Two personal fouls for roughing the passer gave ESUthe ball at the 8-yard line, and Soltes hit Sr. TB EricDeery for the TD to cut the deficit to 45-31 with 8:24remaining.ESU got the ball back on a sack and forced fumbleby Sr. DE Waverly Harris which was recovered byR-So. DL Bryan Thomson at the 39-yard line. Soltesran for 6 and 14 yards, and flipped a 19-yard TD passto R-Sr. WR Jordan Hallman to make it 45-38 with5:51 left.With Mercyhurst reeling, the Warriors got a 3-andoutto force a punt and regained possession on their47 with 4:13 left. Soltes hit Hallman to convert a3rd-and-five, and ESU dialed up a screen pass on thenext play, with Sr. TB Kendrick Williams covering thefinal 41 yards for the tying points with 3:07 showing.A sack and short run gave Mercyhurst 3rd-and-18at its own 17, but Vendemia hit Woods for 20 yards,then found Bruner for 42 yards down to the 21-yardline. After the Warriors used their second timeout,freshman TB Brandon Brown-Dukes broke free for thego-ahead score with 1:17 remaining.R-Fr. WR Brandon Mercer returned the ensuingkickoff to the 37-yard line, but Soltes scrambled andwas sacked on first down, and the Mercyhurst defensecame up with its third interception of the game, all ondeflected passes, when Nick Jackson picked off Soltes’42nd pass attempt near midfield to end the day.The 21-point comeback would have been thelargest in school history. The Warriors overcame a17-point margin, the second-largest ever, in a 27-26win over Edinboro in last year’s season finale at Eiler-Martin Staidum.ESU, ranked 5th in Division II in total offense (489.1yards per game), threw for 417 yards and ran for 160for 577 yards. Mercyhurst came into the day ranked4th in pass defense with 151.3 yards per game butgave up 153 yards in the first quarter. The Lakers’defense was also 2nd in the PSAC in scoring (21.1 ppg)and total defense (325.6 ypg).Defensively, ESU held Brown-Dukes (122.1 yardsper game) to 74 yards on 17 carries and limited theLakers, the PSAC’s 3rd-ranked rushing offense with214.6 yards per game, to 99 yards on 38 carries.The Warriors sacked Vendemia 8 times, but heaveraged 15.8 yards per attempt when he was ableto throw. Mercyhurst gained 478 yards, including 379passing.Eight players caught passes from Soltes, led byBleiler (6 catches, 137 yards, TD) and Hallman (7catches, 97 yards), who went over the 100-catch markfor his career. Williams had four catches for 58 yardsand a TD and Jr. WR Dusty Reed had three catches for50 yards. Deery and R-So. TE Steven Jones (16 yards)also caught TD passes.Bleiler scored on the first play from scrimmage,taking a short pass 75 yards for a touchdown, to setthe tone for a game that had 1,055 yards of totaloffense.Mercyhurst took its first lead at 10-7, getting a16-yard TD run from Vendemia and 27-yard field goalfrom Steven Wakefield after the Warriors’ defense heldfollowing a turnover.ESU responded with an 86-yard, 11-play drivecapped by a 1-yard plunge by R-Jr. FB ThomasTippett to go ahead 14-10 early in the second quarter.Woods had TD catches of 44 and 13 yards aroundSoltes’ toss to Jones as Mercyhurst led 24-21 athalftime.The Lakers pushed their lead to 30-21 on theirsecond possession of the second half when Woodstook a short pass for a 40-yard TD after an ESU punt.Thomson blocked the extra point, tying school recordswith his 6th block of the season and 8th of his career.Jr. OLB Darius Jackson returned the block for anapparent defensive two-point conversion, but the playwas called back due to a block in the back.ESU cut into the deficit with a 33-yard field goal byJr. K Taylor Groff, his 15th of the season, to make it30-24 midway through the third quarter. So. P JordanBair aided the drive with a 23-yard pass to R-So. FSAnthony Singlar on fourth-and-six from the 29.But Bruner returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yardsfor a TD, and Jones’ 46-yard TD run after a 4th-downstop seemed to put the game out of reach at 45-24.ESU punted on its next two possessions, but thedefense allowed the Warriors to get back in it beforeMercyhurst pulled it out in the final two minutes.ESU 7 14 3 21 45Mercyhurst 10 14 21 7 52ESU - Bleiler 75 pass from Soltes (Groff kick)MER - Vendemia 16 run (Wakefield kick)MER - Wakefield 27 field goalESU - Tippett 1 run (Groff kick)MER - Woods 44 pass from Vendemia (Wakefield kick)ESU - Jones 16 pass from Soltes (Groff kick)MER- Woods 13 pass from Vendemia (Wakefield kick)MER - Woods 40 pass from Vendemia (Wakefield kickblocked)ESU - Groff 33 field goalMER - Bruner 97 kickoff returnMER - Jones 46 run (Wakefield kick)ESU - Deery 8 pass from Soltes (Groff kick)ESU - Hallman 19 pass from Soltes (Groff kick)ESU - Williams 41 pass from Soltes (Groff kick)MER - Brown-Dukes 21 run (Wakefield kick)ESUMUFirst Downs 24 20Passing C-A-I 25-43-3 16-24-1Passing Yds 417 379Rushing Yds (Att) 160 (37) 99 (38)Total Net Yds 557 478Fumbles/Lost 1/0 1/1Penalties/Yds 8/48 4/39Punts/Avg. 5/38.6 7/41.1Rushing — ESU: Soltes 14-69, Deery 12-62, K. Williams8-22, Tippett 2-4, Daniels 1-3; MU: Brown-Dukes 17-74,Jones II 7-58, Gallop 1-0, Team 2-(-3), Vendemia 11-(-30).Passing — ESU: Soltes 24-42-3 for 394, Bair 1-1-0 for23; MU: Vendemia 16-24-1 for 379.Receiving — ESU: Hallman 7-97, Bleiler 6-137, K.Williams 4-58, Reed 3-50, Tippett 2-28, Singlar 1-23,Jones 1-16, Deery 1-8; MU: Woods 9-215, Bruner 5-144,Bartizal 1-14, Jones II 1-6.Tim Wilson celebrates the game-winningtouchdown vs. West Chester.Bryan Thomson2012 PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year38 ESU Football Media Guide