![[Bullet]](../tribullet.gif)
Edinboro Athletic Press Release Index
EAST STROUDSBURG, PA - All year long the Edinboro University football team has built its success on forcing turnovers. The Fighting Scots forced East Stroudsburg into five turnovers in Saturday's NCAA Division II Northeast Regional semifinal game, but it was the one they couldn't corral that spelled defeat. East Stroudsburg scored the winning touchdown with 22 seconds left for a 36-32 win, snapping Edinboro's seven-game winning streak. The Warriors move on to the Northeast Regional championship game against West Chester, a winner over Shippensburg in the other semifinal game.
For the second straight year Edinboro, ranked 21st in the AFCA Top 25, finishes with a 9-3 record, tying the school record for wins. The Fighting Scots were seeded sixth in the region, while East Stroudsburg, now 10-1 and ranked 11th, was the second seed.
Edinboro grabbed a 32-29 lead with 3:21 to play when Justin Bouch (Brackenridge, PA/Highlands) hooked up with freshman tight end Kyle Witucki (Tarentum, PA/Highlands) for a one-yard touchdown pass. The score came after Jim Soltis (Garrettsville, OH/Cardinal) sacked ESU quarterback Jimmy Terwilliger and forced a fumble which he recovered at the Edinboro 44.
The Scots got the ball on the very next play from scrimmage on an Elliott Page (Clairton, PA/Clairton) interception at the Edinboro 33. Edinboro was unable to pick up a first down and was forced to punt, setting up a series of events that broke Edinboro's heart. Matt Barley's (Springville, NY/Springville Griffith Inst.) punt was returned by Ben Culver for 36 yards to the EU 40. East Stroudsburg moved the ball to the 29 where it faced a 4th-and-11. Under pressure, Terwilliger threw the ball up for grabs, with an Edinboro defender in position to record Edinboro's third interception of the day. The ball bounced off the shoulder pads, with Evan Prall making a diving catch for a 15-yard gain and an ESU first down with 54 seconds left. Three straight incomplete passes left the Warriors facing a 4th-and-10 at the EU 17. Eschewing a potential game-tying field goal, Terwillger scrambled to his left and found Culver for a 17-yard touchdown pass with 22 seconds remaining.
As was the case a week ago in a 47-44 win at Bentley, the Fighting Scots found themselves in a back-and-forth contest against one of the nation's top quarterbacks. To make matters worse, Edinboro lost record-setting running back Andre Burke (Wilkinsburg, PA/Valley) with an injury late in the first quarter. Before exiting Burke gained 38 yards on six carries, setting a new school record for yards rushing in a season, but he would not return. The junior finished with 1,713 yards, breaking Gerald Thompson's record of 1,698 yards.
East Stroudsburg jumped to a quick 9-0 lead less than ten minutes into the game. Mark Brubaker kicked a 26-yard field goal to cap a six-minute drive on the opening kickoff. On Edinboro's third play from scrimmage Bouch threw an interception, with the Warriors taking over at the EU 13. Terwilliger scored on a seven-yard run to make it 9-0, but Page blocked Brubaker's extra point.
Edinboro entered the game ranked fourth in Division II in turnover margin with a plus 14 figure, and proceeded to take advantage of ESU miscues. The Warriors lost three fumbles and threw a pair of interceptions, while Edinboro turned the ball over twice. Chris Amico (Webster, NY/West Irondequoit) forced a fumble which Tom Davidson (Geneva, OH/Geneva) returned 14 yards to the ESU 11. A pair of Burke rushes, the second from four yards out, covered that distance, as Edinboro closed the margin to 9-7 on Burke's 19th touchdown.
East Stroudsburg boosted the lead to 16-7 at 10:45 of the second quarter as Terwilliger completed the first of his two touchdown passes to Tim Strenfel, this one covering 31 yards. Edinboro answered right back behind the running of Matt Phillips (Monaca, PA/Monaca), who carried five times for 30 yards. Facing a 4th-and-1 at the ESU 35, Bouch completed a short pass to Ed Brown (West Springfield, PA/Cathedral Prep), with Brown breaking one tackle scoring a touchdown to close the lead to 16-14.
East Stroudsburg lost another fumble two plays later, with Tim Hyde (Wayland, NY/Wayland-Cohocton) recovering at the ESU 36. The Scots managed just one first down, but Kody Robertson (Columbus, OH/Hilliard-Davidson) booted a career-long 47-yard field goal for a 17-16 lead with 3:54 left in the half.
The Warriors had one more opportunity to score late in the half, but Brubaker's 34-yard field goal was blocked.
Edinboro built its lead to 23-16 early in the third quarter when Soltis picked off a Terwilliger pass and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown. Robertson's extra point was wide left.
East Stroudsburg took advantage of Bouch's second interception to pull even, or so it appeared. Anthony Carfagno ran 18 yards for a touchdown, making it 23-22, but Brubaker's extra point was blocked by Amico. Page picked it up and returned it for a defensive PAT, giving Edinboro a 25-22 advantage.
The Warriors put together a 10-play, 62-yard drive to end the third quarter and start the fourth. Terwilliger threw his second touchdown pass of the day to Strenfel, covering seven yards, to give ESU a 29-25 lead., and setting the stage for the final minutes.
Terwilliger enjoyed another outstanding day against Edinboro. The sophomore completed 29 of 44 passes for 319 yards, adding 101 yards rushing on 16 carries. Strenfil hauled in 8 passes for 101 yards. ESU totaled 474 yards.
The Edinboro offense managed just 275 yards with Burke exiting early and Bouch suffering through possibly the worst day of his career. Despite a subpar 11 of 26 effort for 129 yards, he threw for two touchdowns and set a new season record for yards passing with 2,281 yards. Phillips ran for a career-high 112 yards on 26 carries, but the ground game lost its diversity without Burke.
Justin Lipscomb (Roaming Shores, OH/Grand Valley) also set a school record with his first catch of the day. The junior wide receiver not only extended his consecutive games streak with at least one catch to 34 games, but set a new school record for receptions in a season. With 3 catches for 32 yards, Lipscomb ended the year with 53 receptions. Soltis paced the defensive effort with 9 tackles, 3 for losses. He had an interception, a sack, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.
Edinboro ended the season with a school-record 30 interceptions, but it was the potential for number 31 that will gnaw at the Fighting Scots the most.
~ Fighting Scots ~
Edinboro Athletic Press Release Index
Created on ... November 20, 2004