KU Football Fact Sheet #10-2007      KU vs. ESU
*For a PDF version of this release (CLICK HERE) 

Golden Bears to Host Warriors on Senior Day

The Game

        The Kutztown University football team will host East Stroudsburg University on Saturday, Nov. 3.  It will be senior day, as KU plays its final home game of the 2007 season. Kickoff in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division contest is set for 1:05 p.m. at University Field.

        Kutztown is now 4-5 after a homecoming heartbreaking loss to Edinboro, 35-28.  KU is 1-2 in the PSAC East.  The Golden Bears have wins against Clarion (35-13), Shippensburg (28-16), American International (55-20) and Cheyney (40-21).  The other losses were to Southern Connecticut State (52-30), Slippery Rock (45-9), Bloomsburg (49-32) and West Chester (21-0).

        East Stroudsburg is 2-6 overall, 1-3 in the PSAC East, after last week’s 35-26 loss against Bloomsburg.  The Warriors’ two wins have come against Lock Haven (58-13) and Cheyney (42-6).  Their other losses have been to California (PA) (26-3), Indiana (PA) (38-23), Millersville (36-24), Slippery Rock (31-24) and West Chester (30-15).

Senior Day

        Saturday will be the final home game in the careers of nine Golden Bear seniors.  They are RB Travis Barron (Coatesville/Bishop Shanahan), FS Brian Bingnear (Boothwyn/Chichester), OL Mike Casciano (Birdsboro/Twin Valley), LB Tom Cressman (Sellersville/Pennridge), CB Justin Gibbs (Pottstown/Pottstown), SS Cory Porrino (Orwigsburg/Blue Mountain), WR Elfren Quiles (New Britain, CT/New Britain), DE Scott Smith (New Oxford/Delone Catholic) and QB Kyle Spotts (Tamaqua/Tamaqua).

Electronic Coverage

        The game will be broadcast live on WEEU, AM 830, based out of Reading.  Mitch Gerhart and Matt Santos will call the action. The pre-game show begins at 12:50 p.m.  A live Webcast will be available at kubears.com via redzonemedia.com. 

The Coaches

        Kutztown’s second-year coach, Raymond Monica (North Alabama, ’90), is 8-11 in his career, after finishing 4-6 in his inaugural season. He has already equaled his win total from 2006.  Monica came to the Golden Bears from Division I-A Temple University, where he spent eight seasons as defensive coordinator.  Prior to Temple, Monica coached for nine seasons at the University of North Alabama, during which time the Lions won three NCAA Division II national championships from 1993-95.   He is 0-1 against East Stroudsburg.

        Denny Douds (Slippery Rock, ’63) is in his 34th season at ESU.  He owns a 208-140-3 career record.  Douds is 22-11 all-time against Kutztown.

The Series

        This game marks the 61st meeting between Kutztown and East Stroudsburg, dating back more than 100 years to 1904.  East Stroudsburg holds a 41-17-1 advantage in the series, including the last six matchups.  In last year’s season finale, ESU won 56-16 at Eiler-Martin Stadium. Jimmy Terwilliger passed for eight touchdowns for the Warriors. Dave Lotier had 10 tackles and an interception.  For KU, Kyle Spotts passed for 174 yards and a TD before leaving with an injury.  Elfren Quiles had 99 yards and two scores on seven catches.  Scott Smith had seven tackles.  KU’s last win over ESU was in 2000 (17-16).  KU’s last win at home in the series was in 1999 (24-10).

Notable

        KU has the fewest penalty yards/game in the PSAC (49.2)...Including this year’s loss to Edinboro, KU has lost its last four homecoming games...KU is 2-5 in home finales since 2000, but two of the losses have been by one point and another by two...Kutztown will play all 11 games this season on artificial turf, a first for the program….Dontay Wilson became the first KU runner with consecutive 100-yard games since 2004 (Tony Bria)...Elfren Quiles is the first KU player with over 1,000 receiving yards in a season...RB Travis Barron (sr. Coatesville/Bishop Shanahan) was named KU’s homecoming king on Saturday.

Tracking the Golden Bears

        OFFENSE: The Golden Bear offense was spectacular in the first half, then sputtered until late in the second half against Edinboro.  KU racked up 296 yards, with scoring drives of 97, 92 and 58 yards, to lead 21-14 by halftime.  In the second half, KU fell behind 35-21, managing just 29 yards before three late drives accounted for 150 yards.  QB Kyle Spotts (sr. Tamaqua/Tamaqua) completed 22-of-46 passes for 253 yards and two scores.  He ran for a career-high 56 yards and a TD.  In fact, Spotts gained a total of 98 yards, but was sacked five times for minus-42 yards.  Spotts, however, was picked off twice, once inside the 5-yard line with seconds to go in the game.  RB Dontay Wilson (jr. Stamford, CT/Stamford) ran for 147 yards, including a 68-yard touchdown, on 16 carries.  TE Dan Onorato (jr. Malvern/Malvern Prep) snagged his first two collegiate TDs, finishing with career highs of seven catches for 80 yards.  WR Elfren Quiles (sr. New Britain, CT/New Britain) had seven grabs for 88 yards. 

        Kutztown’s offense averages 403.9 yards per game, including 145.0 rushing and 258.9 passing.  Spotts has completed 163-of-318 passes for 2,322 yards.  The yards are the fourth most in a season at KU.  He averages 258 yards per game, with ranks third in the PSAC.  Spotts has 18 TD passes and 12 interceptions.  Quiles leads all NCAA Division II players in receiving yards per game (130.6).  He has 55 catches for 1,045 yards and seven TDs.  Quiles has 1,861 yards in two seasons at KU, 257 yards short of the school’s career record.  Onorato is the team’s second leading receiver, with 225 yards and two TDs on 23 catches.  Alex Zukus (r-fr. Tuscarora/Tamaqua) has 19 catches for 229 yards and two scores.  Wilson has rushed for 485 yards and four touchdowns on 88 carries.  Cory McFadden (so. Freemansburg/Bethlehem Catholic) has 220 yards and a score on 59 carries. 

        KU’s offensive line consists of center Evan Reese (so. Centre Hall/State College), guards Shane Kadlac (r-fr. Toms River, NJ/Toms River East) and Darrell Martin (jr. Stroudsburg/Stroudsburg), and tackles Mike Casciano (sr. Birdsboro/Twin Valley) or Steve Frymoyer (r-fr. West Lawn/Wilson) and Tyler Romberger (so. Muir/Williams Valley). 

        DEFENSE: KU’s defense was led by LB David Cressman (so. Sellersville/Pennridge), who had 14 tackles in his first start of the season vs. Edinboro.  He added a tackle for loss.  Safety Mike Gardier (so. Dunmore/Dunmore) had 10 tackles, while LB Tom Cressman (sr. Sellersville/Pennridge) had nine tackles, with one for loss.  DE Kevin Branco (jr. Hellertown/Saucon Valley) had two sacks among his five tackles.  DE Scott Smith (sr. New Oxford/Delone Catholic) had six tackles with one sack.  Safety Brian Bingnear (sr. Boothwyn/Chichester) and CB Justin Gibbs (sr. Pottstown/Pottstown) had seven tackles apiece. 

                Through eight games, Kutztown’s defense allows an average of 394.2 yards per game, including 165.2 rushing and 229 passing.  The Golden Bears are tied for the lead among PSAC East teams with 23 sacks (West Chester).  Tom Cressman paces the team with 81 tackles, including eight for loss and two sacks.  He has recovered three fumbles and has two interceptions.  Brian Bingnear (sr. Boothwyn/Chichester) has 78 stops, with two for loss, three interceptions and five breakups.  Gibbs has notched 59 tackles and has two interceptions and six breakups.  Gardier has 57 tackles, with four for loss and two sacks, along with five breakups.  Porrino has chipped in 45 tackles with four for loss and two picks.  Branco leads the team with six sacks for 44 yards and 10 tackles for losses of 49 yards.

                SPECIAL TEAMS: KU’s special teams highlight vs. Edinboro was the recovery of an onside kick with one minute remaining in the game.  Gardier came up with the loose ball, after Sam McKellar (jr. Allentown/Dieruff) jarred the ball loose from the Edinboro player. Ryan Nye (jr. Bernville/Holy Name) averaged 40.4 yards on five punts and was 4-for-4 on PAT kicks.  Wilson had 55 yards on three kickoff returns. 

        On the season, KU averages a PSAC East best 22.3 yards per kickoff return.  Wilson leads that charge with a 25.8 average of 25 kick returns.  His 646 total yards are a KU single-season record.   Nye averages 41.9 yards on 36 punts.  He is also 2-for-3 on field goals with a long of 33 and 9-for-10 on PAT kicks.  Spotts is KU’s holder, while Pat Healey (r-fr. Washington Twp., NJ/Washington Twp.) serves as the long snapper.

Scouting the East Stroudsburg Warriors

        East Stroudsburg will play its season finale on Saturday, as the Warriors have just nine games on their 2007 schedule.  ESU is coming off the 35-26 loss to Bloomsburg, a game in which the Warriors led 20-6 early in the third quarter before Bloomsburg rallied for the victory.  QB Tim Roken passed for 245 yards and four touchdowns.  WR Doug Ogden had three catches for 88 yards and two scores.  WR Sam Shuman had five grabs for 66 yards and a score.  LB Jayson Frank had 13 tackles, with two for loss.

        Through eight games, the Warriors average 317.2 yards, including 105.8 rushing and 211.5 passing.  Roken has completed 114-of-225 passes for 1,453 yards and 13 TDs, with six interceptions.  Shuman has 428 yards and four TDs on 30 catches, while Ogden has 23 grabs for 325 yards and four scores.  RB Joe Partridge leads the ground game with 593 yards and seven touchdowns on 105 carries. 

        The Warrior defense allows an average of 353.2 yards per game, including 188.2 rushing and 165 passing.  Frank leads the defenders with 80 tackles, among them are seven for loss and three sacks.  He also has two interceptions.  LB Dave Lotier has 67 hits, with three for loss and two sacks.  LB Steve Van Alstine has 51 stops with four for loss.  LB David Pacchioni has 44 tackles with seven behind the line and 1.5 sacks.  DE Dave Iobst has nine tackles for loss and two sacks.

        On special teams, Drew Stem averages 12.7 yards on seven punt returns and 30.9 yards on 14 kickoff returns.  Greg Knauss leads the PSAC with 12 field goals on 17 attempts.  He has a long of 53.  Nick Krut averages 40.5 yards on 44 punts.

Kelly’s Sports, Ltd.

Player of the Game

        Dontay Wilson is this week’s Kelly’s Sports, Ltd., Player of the Game.  Wilson ran for 147 yards, including a 68-yard touchdown scamper, on 16 carries.  He averaged 9.2 yards per rush.