Full Games Notes (PDF)

East Stroudsburg's Game Notes:

The Lock Haven University football team is set to make a trip down I-80 to take on East Stroudsburg University.

Week 2: Lock Haven at East Stroudsburg 6:05 p.m.
Eiler Martin Stadium 6,000 – FieldTurf / East Stroudsburg, Pa.

Setting the stage:
Lock Haven enters week two play, coming off a 55-0 loss last Thursday (8/30) at Division I (FCS) Fordham University. The Rams scored touchdowns on their first two and three of their first four possessions to set the tone in the Bronx.

Saturday marks the home opener for East Stroudsburg, who was 3-8 last year. The Warriors return 12 starters, including eight on offense.

The series:
The series is tied at 7-7 and Saturday's matchup will come exactly five years since the last meeting between the two schools.

On September 8, 2007, ESU cruised past the Bald Eagles at LHU's Hubert Jack Stadium, 58-13. The Warriors led 30-13 at halftime and used a 21-point third quarter to put the game away. ESU scored on its first four possessions of the game, racking up 482 total yards of offense, including 260 in the air. ESU QB Tim Roken was 17-for-31 with 260 yards and four touchdowns. LHU only managed 176 yards of total offense on the night. A bright spot came from the play of Haven linebacker Wes Plummer, who made a game-high nine tackles.

Lock Haven's last win over ESU came in 1989

*ESU records show that the Warriors lead the all-time series, 7-6. ESU does not count a Lock Haven win 1925 because East Stroudsburg was not yet a four-year institution.

Watch / Listen / Live Stats:
Saturday's game will be broadcast live by ESPN Williamsport (104.1 PM & 1050 AM). It will also be available online at www.espnwilliamsport.com (stream 1).

- Joe Putnam (play-by-play) and Ian Catherine (analyst)

Saturday's game will air live on Blue Ridge TV-13 and streamed online at http://www.esuwarriors.com/showcase/#mediaarchive for $6.95. 

Live Stats

Fordham game notes:
• R-Sr. QB Jarrett Kratzer made his 14th career start.
• It was the first ever meeting between LHU and Fordham.
• The game marked the 10th time since 2002, where LHU opened with a DI team. It was the sixth time it came in a season opener.
• Tailback Brandon Brader went over 1,200 yards (1,232) for his career.
• Freshman Tashawn Bunch made his first career start at outside linebacker and finished with seven tackles (four solo) and a sack.
• Freshman LB Tony Ballon also significant time on defense for LHU in his first career game.
• Defensively, LHU was led by sophomore safety George Christas, who had seven tackles.

A spot in the record books:
Several Bald Eagles already have a spot in the record books including QB Jarrett Kratzter, who is 10th all-time in pass attempts, completions and average yards per pass.

Brandon Brader's 1,232 rushing yards are also 10th all-time in school history. Pat Cahill (1984-87 is ninth all-time with 1,498 yards.

Kicker Noah Heimer is 10th all-time in PATs made with 26 and ninth in FGs made with nine.

Did you know?
Starting QB Jarrett Kratzer is also 10th all-time in total punting yards. He has 2,165 total punting yards after serving as the team's top-punter in each of the last two seasons.

Allen's second year:
2012 marks the second season for head coach John Allen. The 1996 James Madison graduate was no stranger to LHU when he took over the program in March 2011, as he was previously on the Bald Eagle coaching staff as an assistant from 1996-2003. While at LHU, he assisted in all phases of the game including wide receivers and special teams' coordinator (1996-99), defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator (1999), offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach (2000-03). Allen served as the head coach of NFL Europes Berlin Thunder in 2007 and prior to coming to LHU he was the coordinator for player development at Penn State.

Lock Haven vs. Division I opponents:
Last Thursday's game marked the 10th time since 2002 where Lock Haven has taken on a Division I team and sixth time it had come in a season-opener. Fordham is a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) team. The FCS was formerly known as DI-AA from 1978-2005.  Lock Haven's only wins against Division I opponents came in 1970 and '71 when The Haven beat Delaware State in back-to-back seasons.

2010 vs. VMI (season-opener) L, 48-6
2007 vs. VMI (season-opener) L, 20-0
2007 vs. Youngstown State (week 4) L, 35-3
2006 vs. #17 Southern Illinois (season-opener) L, 49-0
2005 vs. JMU (week 2) L, 56-0
2005 vs. Towson (week 3) L, 70-0
2004 vs. JMU (week 2) L, 62-7
2003 vs. Towson (season-opener) L, 50-19
2002 vs. Northeastern (season-opener) L, 48-0

*all games were played on the road
*Northeastern cut the program in 2009

Brader back, running game key:
Redshirt-junior Brandon Brader returns to carry the load for Lock Haven's running game. Last year he rushed for 942 yards on 253 carries. His 94.2 yards/game were the fifth-best in the PSAC and his 942 total yards were the most of any Bald Eagle since the 1999 season. Brader was a second-team All-PSAC selection last year.  His 253 carries was the most by an individual back in the PSAC.

Krazter starting under center:
Senior Jarrett Krazter entered preseason camp with the starting job to lose and has looked solid in running the offense throughout camp. The six-foot-five-inch, 220 pound athletic QB made four starts for Lock Haven last year, which included the last three games of the season. He was 58-for-134 passing with four TDs and eight interceptions. Krazter rushed for Lock Haven's only TD on the ground last year.

Trio of All-PSAC selections:
Along with Brader, two other All-Conference selections from a year ago return including junior guard Anthony Herko and senior defensive tackle Skyler Wool.

Herko was the leader on the offensive line last year for LHU as he started all 10 games.

Wool, who was nominated for the Gene Upshaw Division II Linemen of the Year award last year returns after a breakout 2011 season. Wool got the starting nod in week two and never looked back last year; making 31 tackles (22 solo), 5.5 TFL, one sack and he added a fumble recovery.

Experienced O-Line:
A huge key for LHU up front is the experience on the offensive line. Lock Haven's five returning linemen combined for 40 starts. This year the offensive line averages 6-2, 274 pounds.

• After making 10 starts at tackle last year, Jonathan Engroff (senior) will move to guard this year.

• Center Kurt Ledebur (senior) made all 10 starts last year.

D-FENCE:
Lock Haven returns 10 starters on defense in 2012.
• LHU returns nine of its 10 tackle leaders from a year ago including starting safety Mark Olivo (junior), who made 47 stops last year (30 solo).
• Lock Haven's three starting linebackers (Matt Kirchner, James Goins & Ryan Good) combined for 99 tackles last year.
• Ryan Good, a returning captain and starter at linebacker made 43 tackles last season. He started the first eight games of the year before an injury forced him out the last two contests. Good was credited with three tackles-for-a-loss, two forced fumbles and one sack in those eight games.

Captains:
Jarrett Krazter / Ben Snyder / Ryan Good / Brandon Brader / Skyler Wool

Heimer on Fred Mitchell Award watch list:
A huge key on special teams for Lock Haven will be the leg of placekicker Noah Heimer. Heimer has been placed on the 2012 Fred Mitch Award watch list after a strong 2011 season. The Fred Mitchell Award honors collegiate place kickers in Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), Division II, III, National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) that were nominated by their colleges for excellence on the football field and in the community.

• Heimer led the team in scoring in 2011 with 32 points.  He connected on 8-of-14 field goals and 8-of-11 PATs.

• Heimer was a perfect 4-for-4 on field goals of 20-29 yards and was 4-for-7 on field goals from 30-39 yards.  His field goal percentage was eighth best in the PSAC in 2011 at 57.1%.

All streaks come to an end:
It's no secret that the Bald Eagles are looking snap a losing streak in 2012. The Bald Eagles are winless in each of the last four seasons and riding a 43-game losing skid, which is the longest active losing streak in the nation. LHU is looking for its first winning season since 1981 (6-5/5-5 in 1982). Lock Haven's last win came during the 2007 season finale at Clarion (17-14 OT).

The road ahead:
The Bald Eagles will be spending the first three weeks away from the nest. Following Saturday's clash with ESU, Lock Haven hits the road to open PSAC West play at IUP (Saturday, Sept. 8 at 4 p.m.). LHU returns home to host Edinboro on Saturday, September 22 (3 p.m.). Lock Haven is slated to play 11 games in 2012, including five at home.