The Lock Haven University football team is set to kick off the 2013 season at home on Saturday, September 7.

Lock Haven hosts West Virginia State at 1 p.m. at Hubert Jack Stadium

2013 Roster

2012 Final Stats

Game Day Central:
West Virginia State (0-0) at Lock Haven (0-0)
2013 season/home opener | Faculty, Staff & Student Appreciation Day
2012 records: W.Va. State, 2-9 | LHU, 1-10
1 p.m. | Hubert Jack Stadium (3,000/Artificial Field Tuf)

LHU Depth Chart | WVa St Depth Chart

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The series:
This is the first-ever meeting between LHU and West Virginia State.

LHU 1st & 10
1. 2013 is John Allen's third year as head coach.
2. LHU closed out the 2013 season by snapping a 52-game losing streak.
3. Lock Haven is now in the PSAC Eastern Division for the first time in school history.
4. This is the first of six home games for Lock Haven.
5. Senior Anthony Herko (G) returns as a two-time All-PSAC selection.
6. Brandon Brader (RB) rushed for 643 yards last season (11 starts, 204 carries & 2 TDs).
7. George Christas (S) is LHU's returning leader in tackles with 63 (38 solo & 4 INTs).
8. Jesse Hoover (WR) caught three TD passes last year.
9. Bernard Smack, LHU's leader in 2012 all-purpose yards returns.
10. The Bald Eagle defense had 9 INTs and forced 16 fumbles in 2013.

A new place to call home:
For the first time in the 117 year history of Lock Haven University football, the Bald Eagles will call the PSAC Eastern Division home during the 2013 season. With the PSAC's addition of Pitt-Johnstown and Seton Hill, LHU makes the move to the East. A Week 3 home game against Cheyney marks The Haven's first official Eastern Division tilt.

Third year's a charm:
As the old saying goes, "the third time's a charm," and LHU head coach John Allen is looking for that to be the case in his third season at the helm of the Bald Eagle program. Allen helped Lock Haven to its first win in five years in just his second season, but he feels the foundation for the future has been set and his Bald Eagles are ready for the major transformation in 2013.

Home cooked meal to start:
The Bald Eagles have the luxury of kicking off the 2013 season at home on Saturday, September 7 at 1 p.m. with a non-conference game vs. West Virginia State. West Virginia State was 2-9 last year and 1-7 WVIAC action. The Yellow Jackets are now part of the new Mountain East Conference.

After starting the 2012 season with three straight road games, LHU gets to play at home twice in the first three weeks of the 2013 season. In all, LHU will host six home games. It marks the first time since 2008 where Lock Haven had six home games.

Lock Haven opened the 2011 season at home vs. Millersville. The Bald Eagles were edged, 21-20 by Millersville in John Allen's head coaching debut. LHU and the Marauders hook up in Week 9 this year.

LHU plays West Virginia State, Cheyney, Shippensburg, West Chester (HOMECOMING), Kutztown and Gannon at home. The Bald Eagles travel to Clarion, Bloomsburg, Edinboro, Millersville and East Stroudsburg.

Streak snapped:
On Saturday, November 10, 2012, the LHU football team snapped the nation's longest losing streak and capped off the 2012 season with a thrilling, 15-7 win over visiting Cheyney.
Playing in front of a loud and boisterous, standing-room only crowd at Hubert Jack Stadium, the Bald Eagles snapped a 52-game losing streak that dated back exactly five years to the day when LHU edged Clarion on the road, 17-14 in overtime on Nov. 10, 2007.

Lock Haven's 52-game losing skid was the longest in the nation at the time regardless of NCAA division.

All-PSAC in 2012:
Following the 2012 season, a trio of Bald Eagles were awarded with All-PSAC status, including Skyler Wool, James Goins and Anthony Herko. Wool was a PSAC West First Team Defensive selection (defensive line), while Goins (Defense, linebacker) and Herko (Offense, offensive guard) were both Second Team selections.

Wool was the first Bald Eagle to earn a First Team spot since David Show in 2006 (First Team Defense, defensive back). It marked the second straight year were LHU had three All-PSAC players.

Captains lead the way:
Lock Haven's 2013 Fred Caro Team Captains are senior defensive tackle Kyle White (Allentown, Pa./Parkland), senior running back Brandon Brader (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty), senior wide receiver Jesse Hoover (Curwensville, Pa./Curwensville) and junior defensive back George Christas (Dallastown, Pa./Dallastown).

Fred Caro, a 1958 Lock Haven graduate was captain of the 1957 Bald Eagle football team that went undefeated (8-0) and won the PSAC Championship. Caro also wrestled and competed on the track & field team at Lock Haven. He was part of Lock Haven's inaugural football Hall of Fame class in 2010.

Brader will carry the load:
Senior Brandon Brader will once again look to carry Lock Haven's offensive load from the backfield. Last year, he rushed for 643 yards and two touchdowns after nearly hitting the 1,000-yard plateau in 2011. In all, Brader has run for 1,827 yards in his career, which already No. 8 on Lock Haven's all-time career rushing list. He's just 19 yards away from the No. 7 spot and just 173 shy of 2,000 for his career.

In 11 starts last year, Brader carried the ball 204 times, averaging 3.2 yards-per-carry and 58.5 yards-per-game. In 2011, he made nine starts and carried the ball 253 times, averaging 3.7 yards-per-rush and 94.2 yards-per-game.

Battle under center:
Lock Haven has a pair of talented quarterbacks that are both going to play this year. Junior Dillon Mazzoni (Melbourne, Fla./Shippensburg Univ.) and redshirt-freshman Caleb Walton (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) are locked in a battle and have head coach John Allen and his staff excited about what they can do. Mazzoni saw limited action in five appearances in 2012.

Herko holds down the line:
Senior offensive guard Anthony Herko (Pittsburgh/Bethel Park) will man the way for Lock Haven's run-game on the offensive line. Herko, a two-time All-PSAC selection at offensive guard will once again look to be the big key for The Haven up front. The 6-foot-3, 250-pound Herko started all 11 games last season.

Thanks for Herko's play and protection up front, Kratzer passed for 143.6 yards-per-game and helped Brandon Brader rush for 643 yards on the season.

A talented group on D-FENCE:
Lock Haven returns a core of experienced playmakers on the defensive side, which should prove to be a big a key this year.

The bulk of LHU's returning defensive corps comes in the form of juniors, including George Christas (Dallastown, Pa./Dallastown), Derrick Watkins (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus), Matt Kirchner (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) and Tyrai Anderson (Harrisburg, Pa./Bishop McDevitt).
Sophomore Tashawn Bunch (Kingston, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) and senior Kyle White (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) are also important returners.

Christas is Lock Haven's leading returning tackler with 63 stops. The defensive back had 38 solo tackles last year and recorded a team-best four interceptions. Bunch was sensational during his true-freshman year last season and finished with 57 tackles (31 solo), three sacks and two forces fumbles. White played in all 11 games on the defensive line and will look to make a major impact there this year.

The QB will have targets:
Lock Haven quarterbacks have targets with three talented and dynamic senior wide receivers returning in Jesse Hoover, Eddie Celkos (Berlin, N.J./Eastern Regional) and James Wilbern (Steelton, N.J./Steelton-Highspire). The trio combined for 677 yards receiving and Hoover led all players with three TDs. Senior tight end Jerome Charles (Hyattsville, Md./Northwestern) is another important playmaker for LHU.

With heavy hearts:
When the Bald Eagles take the field this season, it will be with heavy hearts. On Saturday, March 23 senior Skyler Wool died from injuries sustained in an automobile accident. Wool, a Jersey Shore, Pa. native was a 2012 Football Gazette All-Super Region 1 Team member, a two-time All-PSAC selection and a two-time Gene Upshaw Division II Linemen of the Year award nominee. The Bald Eagles will wear a commemorative decal with Wool's jersey number (92) on the back of their helmets during the 2013 season in honor of their former teammate and captain.

Up next:
Lock Haven heads to former PSAC West rival Clarion next Saturday, September 14 for 6 p.m. kickoff.

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