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EDINBORO, PA – Heartbreaking. Devastating.
Crushing. The list of adjectives could go on and on, but the
bottom line is East Stroudsburg once again dealt Edinboro a
last-second defeat. While the memory will linger, the Fighting
Scots’ 23-21 loss to the Warriors will weigh on their minds,
but it won’t end their season. That was the case a year ago
when Edinboro traveled to East Stroudsburg in November for a
semifinal Northeast Regional Playoff game and came away a 36-32
loser.
Not that the way the losses came about aren’t
eerily similar. A year ago the Warriors scored a touchdown on
fourth down with 22 seconds remaining to conclude Edinboro’s
season at 9-3. This time around, East Stroudsburg’s Mark
Brubaker drilled a 42-yard field goal with five seconds remaining
to spoil a brilliant Fighting Scot comeback.
The contest was a matchup of two highly-ranked
squads, as the Fighting Scots came in ranked 12th by the AFCA and
10th by D2Football.com. East Stroudsburg was eighth according to
the AFCA and fifth in the D2Football.com poll. Both teams were
picked as preseason favorites in their respective PSAC divisions.
For once, this was a game that lived up to its
pre-game hype. It certainly didn’t look that way when Jimmy
Terwilliger, one of the favorites to win the Harlon Hill Award,
stepped back and hit Ben Culver for an 85-yard touchdown pass on
the very first play from scrimmage. Twenty seconds into the game,
and already the Fighting Scots trailed 7-0.
After bedeviling the Fighting Scots in three
previous contests, Terwilliger was off to a fast start. But on
this day the Fighting Scot defense would constantly harass the
record-setting junior, limiting him to 14 completions in 32
attempts. He did throw for 317 yards despite being sacked three
times.
Edinboro came back to knot the score at 7-7 on
a seven-yard pass from Justin Bouch to Ryan Valasek with 5:36
remaining in the first quarter. The Scots drove 46 yards in seven
plays, keyed by a 29-yard pass from Bouch to Kyle Witucki. The
senior quarterback went 4-for-5 on the drive.
East Stroudsburg came back to reclaim the lead
on its next possession, as Brubaker kicked the first of his three
field goals, this one from 38 yards out as time expired in the
first quarter. The Warriors overcame a 3rd-and-30 situation, as
Evan Prall outjumped two Edinboro defenders to pull in a 36-yard
pass down to the EU 17.
Bouch threw an interception on Edinboro’s
very next play from scrimmage, and the warriors were back in
business at the EU 37. The defense stepped up and held ESU to a
36-yard field goal from Brubaker, as East Stroudsburg’s lead
moved to 13-7. Seth Fragale and Jim Soltis sacked Terwilliger
during the series.
The second half began with a three-and-out
series for the Fighting Scots, and when the Terwilliger-to-Prall
combination clicked for a 10-yard touchdown pass, the Warriors
were up by 13 points at 20-7. The 7-play, 73-yard drive featured a
pair of big plays for the Warriors. Facing a 2nd-and-15 at the ESU
22, Terwilliger and Prall combined in a 28-yard completion.
Moments later, the Warriors were staring at a
3rd-and-13 at their own 47, but Prall came up with another big
play. The junior hauled in 8 passes for 172 yards, including a
43-yarder down to the Edinboro 10 on ESU’s next play. He
scored on the very next play, a diving grab in the right corner of
the end zone.
Showing plenty of resiliency, the Edinboro
defense continued to pound Terwilliger, and the ground game
started to come alive as the Scots began their comeback bid. The
bid got off to an aborted start, as Rodney Stevenon’s 52-yard
kickoff return went for naught when Kody Robertson’s 47-yard
field goal attempt came up short.
Terwilliger threw three straight incompletions
on the next series, and Edinboro took over at its own 24. Bottled
up all day, Ulysee “Spud” Davis came alive with runs of
four and 21 yards. The redshirt freshman had gained just 25 yards
on 11 previous carries, although he would finish the afternoon
with 21 rushes for 87 yards.
With a 1st-and-10 at the ESU 48, Bouch hit
Jordan Bobitski on a crossing pattern at the 35, with the senior
breaking a tackle and going down the far sideline untouched for a
48-yard touchdown reception. Robertson’s extra point closed
the score to 20-14 with 7:24 left in the third period.
The rest of the third quarter featured just one
first down for both teams, as the defense took over. The Scots put
together a drive into East Stroudsburg territory at the start of
the fourth quarter, but a penalty and a sack forced the Scots into
a punt.
Taking over with 8:22 to play at its own 22
yard line, Edinboro put together its best drive of the afternoon,
as Davis and Kelvin Collins pounded away at a tiring Warrior
defense. Davis carried six times for 34 yards, while Collins, a
bruising 230 pound transfer from Bowie State, added three rushes
for 20 yards.
With just over two minutes to play, and the
ball sitting at the ESU 15, Bouch parlayed a beautiful play fake
into a 15-yard scoring pass to Jeff Dinger in the left corner of
the end zone. It was the senior quarterback’s third touchdown
of the day, capping a 20 of 34 performance for 207 yards.
Robertson’s extra point gave the Fighting Scots their first
lead at 21-20 with 2:08 to play., capping a 12-play, 78-yard
drive.
Unfortunately, that proved to be too much time
for Terwilliger. East Stroudsburg’s winning drive began at
the 27. Terwilliger completed three passes in the 8-play, 48-yard
march, the last a 14-yarder LeRyan Dallas down to the EU 25 with
ten seconds showing on the clock. A year ago on fourth down, ESU
coach Denny Douds eschewed Brubaker and a potential tying field
goal at the end of the game. This time he called on his senior
kicker, with Brubaker’s booming kick easily good from 42
yards out with just five seconds left.
East Stroudsburg held a narrow margin
statistically, as well. The Warriors totaled 361 total yards,
although they were held to just 44 yards rushing on 32 attempts.
Edinboro fared a little better on the ground with 104 yards on 31
rushes. The Fighting Scots finished with 311 total yards.
Ben Stroup paced an impressive effort by the
Fighting Scot defense. The junior linebacker recorded a
career-high 12 tackles, including three for losses and 1 ½
sacks. Jim Soltis matched his career-high with 9 tackles and a
fumble recovery, with Seth Fragale adding 7 tackles, 2 ½ for
losses and a sack. After intercepting three passes in the season
opener against WVU Tech, Chris Avery came up with his fourth
pickoff, giving him 17 career interceptions. That is two shy of
Steve Russell’s career record of 19.
Edinboro is off this coming Saturday before
returning to action on Saturday, September 17, hosting Tiffin. |
