FULL GAME NOTES
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – For the second straight week, the Lock Haven University football team (0-1) is headed on the road. The Bald Eagles are set to take on Millersville on Saturday (September 11) at 1 p.m.
The Game:
The Bald Eagles are traveling this weekend as they are set to take on Millersville at Biemesderfer Stadium (6,500). Kickoff on Saturday is set for 1 p.m.
The Series:
This is the first meeting between the two schools since 2007 in a series that dates back to 1928, where the two teams tied 6-6.
Lock Haven leads the all-time series 16-7-1, but Millersville won the most recent meeting in '07 19-10.
The Bald Eagles, from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division, meet the Marauders from the East this weekend in what is the first of three PSAC East-West Crossover games.
Next weekend, LHU will host Kutztown then Bloomsburg in the final week of the season to conclude the crossover games.
Watch/Listen/Live Stats:
Millerville University will provide fans live stats from the game as well as a place to watch and listen to the game.
Visit this link for more information.
Lock Haven's last time out:
The Lock Haven University football team (0-1) opened the 2010 season last weekend at VMI (1-0). The Bald Eagles fell to the Keydets 48-6 in front of 6,865 fans.
Lock Haven and VMI had met just once prior to this game. In the 2007 season-opener, the Bald Eagles lost to their Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) opponent 20-0.
The Bald Eagles had 194 yards of offense compared to VMI's 351 and scored their touchdown with 16 seconds left in the opening half of play.
VMI only led 6-0 after the opening quarter with Lock Haven's late first-half strike sending the Bald Eagles into the half down two scores, 20-6.
The Keydets pulled away in the third with three touchdowns.
Jarryd Burkett's (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) 20-yard TD pass to Eddie Celkos (Berlin, N.J./Eastern Regional) capped off a six-play, 61 yard drive. The extra point kick was blocked.
Burkett finished 11-for-19 with 100 yards.
Celkos made four catches for 35 yards.
Brandon Brader (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) also pulled in four catches.
Defensively, Lock Haven was led by Wes Plummer (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) and Kenny Monroe (Williamsport, Pa./Williamsport), who each made nine tackles.
Millersville's last time out:
Millersville looks to bounce back from a 33-28 loss to Assumption.
The Marauders employed an efficient and big-play passing attack against Assumption, totaling 310 yards and three touchdowns through the air. Quarterback Bill Shirk turned in his second career 300-yard game on 22-of-32 passing.
Lock Haven's last time vs. Millersville (9/15/2007):
Bald Eagles Drop Tight Game on the Road 19-10 to Millersville
The Lock Haven University football team (0-3, 0-2 PSAC) fell in a defensive struggle to the Millersville University Marauders (1-2, 1-1 PSAC) 19-10.
The game began with Millersville taking the opening kick and getting nowhere as the Bald Eagle defense was up to the task. Following a partially blocked punt the Bald Eagle offense took to the field and moved deep into Millersville territory.
After a trio of runs from running back Dwight Carroll the Bald Eagles found themselves on the goal line, knocking on the door of the Marauders.
On fourth-and-goal, an Ilio DiPaolo QB sneak would fail to cross the plane of the end zone and stall the drive.
The teams would then go back and forth for the next seven plus minutes until Brendon Pickel would have his punt blocked and returned by Andrew Pugh to break the deadlock.
The remainder of the first quarter would remain the same with Millersville holding a 7-0 lead as the teams' switched ends.
The second quarter would be similar to the first as both teams would battle back and forth but with little scoring.
The second frame would start with Millersville taking the field for an extensive 15-play drive putting the Marauders deep into LHU territory. They would get as far as the Lock Haven 15-yard line where Bill Shirk had his fade-pass intercepted by Kyle Crane (McKeesport, Pa./McKeesport).
The Bald Eagles would go three-and-out on the ensuing drive, but quickly got the ball back as Aaron Pryer forced quarterback Jamal Smith to fumble the ball which was recovered by Jeff Eaton.
Starting on the Millersville 45, the Bald Eagles had great field position to start the drive and they would take advantage of it.
Using an all-rush package, LHU drove the ball to the Millersville eight, before settling for a 25-yard field goal by Marc Domonkos.
The first half would end that way as Millersville took a 7-3 lead into the locker room.
After the intermission both teams came out and continued to play stellar defense until 2:18 to go in the third quarter when Millersville extended their lead to 10-3 off a 34-yard kick by John Banzhof. Both teams would have another drive in the third quarter but neither would produce any points as Millersville would take a 10-3 lead into the fourth quarter.
Millersville moved the ball well at the outset of the fourth as it drove downfield to the Lock Haven 23. The defense for the Bald Eagles would stiffen and not allow another inch as the Marauders would have to settle for another field goal to extend their lead to 13-3.
But the Bald Eagles wouldn't go away.
Freshman quarterback Tyler Golden took over the offense and led a drive downfield for the Bald Eagles. The 73-yard drive would be finalized on a two-yard TD burst up the middle by running back Ibrahim Smith and LHU cut the deficit to three.
Both teams would go back and forth for the remainder of the fourth quarter and Lock Haven got the ball on their own 41 with 37 seconds to play. They would get as far as the Millersville 44 on the drive, which ultimately ended with a Golden fumble that was taken 33 yards to the barn by Jarrod Linn as time expired to finalize the scoring at 19-10.
DiPaolo led the rushing attack with 58 yards on the afternoon. Golden, who played a majority of the second half, led the team in passing yards, as he was 6-of-14 for 80 yards.
Senior Linebacker Corey Gildea led the team with 12 total tackles followed by Adam Andrasko with 10.
Gounaris leads the defense:
Senior Nick Gounaris (Morrisville, Pa./Pennsbury), the Bald Eagles lone captain on this year's squad is the leader for LHU on the defensive side of the ball.
Last year he earned a spot on the PSAC West Second Team Defense, nabbing a spot on the defensive line. Gounaris finished with 47 total tackles, which was fifth-best on the team. Gounaris made 25 solo stops and six tackles for a loss, which ranked as second-best on the team in 2009. He also added two sacks.
Two of Gounaris's best performances came against PSAC West opponents, as he racked up a game-high 11 and eight tackles against Clarion and Edinboro, respectively.
Gibble returns:
A huge key for Lock Haven is the return of senior Ryan Gibble (Millville, Pa./Central Columbia) to the O-line. Gibble a two-time All-PSAC selection yet missed the majority of last year with an injury.
Plummer back on form:
Senior Wes Plummer (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) led LHU last weekend at VMI with nine tackles, picking up right where he left off last season.
He was the Bald Eagles tackle leader from last year and LHU with 62 tackles which included a team-best 38 solo stops.
Bald Eagles back in action:
Lock Haven returns to action next Saturday, September 18 at 7 p.m. when the Bald Eagles host Kutztown in their 2010 home-opener. Then it's back on the road for LHU as they travel to Mercyhurst and California (Pa.).
