The 2016 weekly LHU Football Game Notes are presented by Pizza City, located just a half mile from Hubert Jack Stadium at 270 Susquehanna, Avenue (Lock Haven, Pa.). Join the crew at Pizza City for pizza, wings and more!
 
GoLHU.com Exclusive (Video) – Highlights & Comments from Coach Taynor.
 
The Lock Haven University football team (2-5, 2-2 PSAC East) will be looking to extend its win streak to three games when the Bald Eagles head to Kutztown University (4-3, 4-0 PSAC East) for a Week 8 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) East clash.
 
Kickoff on Saturday, October 22 at PSAC East leading Kutztown is set for 1:05 p.m.
 
LHU is coming off its second straight victory and looking for its first three-game win streak since 1981. Last week's Homecoming-win over Millersville University pushed the Bald Eagles to .500 in PSAC East action at 2-2.
 
Lock Haven is 2-5 overall.
 
Kutztown is riding a win streak of its own. After starting the season 0-3, the Golden Bears have won four straight and are a perfect 4-0 in PSAC East action. Kutztown sits atop the PSAC East standings.
 
Lock Haven (2-5, 2-2 PSAC East) at Kutztown (4-3, 4-0 PSAC East)
Bald Eagles at Golden Bears
1:05 p.m. | Andre Reed Stadium | Kutztown University | Kutztown, Pa.
*PSAC Eastern Division game
 
Game Day Links:
LHU Depth Chart | Kutztown Football
LIVE Coverage (live stats, audio & video)
PSAC Football | NCAA DII Football

Week 8 storylines:

• LHU is looking for its first three-game win streak since 1981. The Bald Eagles opened the 1981 season 4-0.
• LHU's passing offense (305.4 yds./game) is ranked 4^th in the PSAC.
• QB Caleb Walton is two passing TDs away from breaking the all-time LHU record.
• Walton is just three TDs away from breaking the school's all-time TD record.
• WR Shawn Seif returned to the lineup last week. He made four catches for 36 yards. Seif still leads NCAA DII football in receiving yards/game with 139.3.
• Fr. Nysir Minney-Gratz was named the PSAC East Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday.
• Isaiah Flamer & Kevin Chapple ranked 1-2 in the PSAC in solo tackles with 43 & 41, respectively.

 
Listen Live:
Bald Eagle football fans can listen to Saturday's game along with every 2016 LHU Football game - both home and away - live and locally on Bear Country Radio – WQBR 99.9FM. All games will be streamed online as well at www.Bear999.com.
 
Lock Haven vs. Kutztown:

• 31^st meeting
• First meeting: 1938 – LHU won, 13-12
• Kutztown leads all-time series: 15-14-1
• Streak: Kutztown has won eight straight
• LHU's last win: 2002, 21-14
• Last year: Kutztown won, 34-20

 
PSAC East Special Teams Player of the Week:
On Monday (October 17), freshman Nysir Minney-Gratz was named this week's PSAC Eastern Division Special Teams Player of the Week. The true-freshman only had one chance to return a kickoff on Saturday vs. Millersville, but he made the most of his opportunity taking it 98 yards to the house for an electrifying TD run. The huge-play came just seconds after Millersville went up 10-0 and helped get Lock Haven rolling toward victory. Minney-Gratz fielded the ball at his own 2-yard line and darted through the Millersville special teams unit as the speedster recorded LHU's first kickoff-return TD since 2012 and tied the mark as the second-longest in school history. The wide receiver also caught three passes for 70 yards.
 
Winning ways:
LHU beat Millersville 29-17 on Saturday, October 15, marking the fourth straight season where LHU has beaten MU and it also marked the Bald Eagles third straight win on Homecoming. It marks the third straight season where LHU has beaten Cheyney and Millersville in consecutive weeks and when Lock Haven heads to Kutztown, LHU will be looking for its first three-game win streak since the Bald Eagles started the 1981 season at 4-0.
 
D-FENCE the story:
In last Saturday's win over Millersville, the Bald Eagles defense was remarkable recording eight sacks, 14 TFLs, an interception and a blocked field goal. Christian Martir led LHU with a game-high 10 tackles.
 
Run-game strong:
A powerful three-headed monster fueled the Bald Eagles run-game in the win over Millersville. The Bald Eagles racked up 228 yards on the ground, thanks in large part to the effort of Ralph Hyland, John Ford and quarterback Caleb Walton. Hyland rushed for a career-high 104 yards and one score. He carried the ball a career-high 17 times. Ford averaged 8.1 yards per carry and finished with 65 yards (8 carries), and a TD. Walton capped The Haven's strong run-game with 48 yards and a touchdown. His 22-yard TD-run with 1:19 left in the game iced the Bald Eagles win after he engineered an eight-play, 90-yard drive down the field.
 
Underclassmen standout:
There is no doubt that the rookies led the way in the win over Millersville. True-freshmen Christian Martir, Shyheim Brown, Javon Whitfield and Noah Rainbow-Douglas all starred on defense, while wide receivers Nysir Minney-Gratz and Kyeff Williams, along with running back Ralph Hyland made impacts on offense. Redshirt-freshman Kahsim Buey enjoyed a breakout game in Week 6 at Cheyney and continues to be an impact-player for Lock Haven. Sophomore-transfer John Ford is a major difference maker on offense now thanks to his hardnosed running.
 
Coach Taynor's Week 7 takeaways:
 
- HYLAND SPARKS RUN-GAME – Fr. RB Ralph Hyland enjoyed his breakout game and validated his strong effort and outings in practice the last couple weeks.
 
- O-LINE – The offensive line closed out the game by running power on 7 of 8 plays for 81 yards and turned in third straight games without a sack.
 
- SACKS – The defensive effort was outstanding and the eight sacks were a huge difference maker.
 
Coach Dave Taynor is in his second season as the head coach at Lock Haven (4-14 at LHU, 41-54 career; updated Monday, October 17, 2016).
 
Walton by the Numbers:
Redshirt-senior QB Caleb Walton continues to rewrite the LHU record books.
 
2016
Passing TDs: 12
Passing Yards: 2,095 (11^th NCAA DII)
*now just the 2^nd LHU QB in history to throw for more than 2,000 yards in 3 consecutive seasons.
Passing Yards/Game: 299.3 (11^th NCAA DII)
Rushing TDs: 4
 
2016 Passing: Game-by-Game
Season-High Passing/Career-High Passing: 457 yards (Week 5 vs. Shippensburg)
Week 1 at Clarion (292 yards, 3 TDs)
Week 2 vs. Edinboro (423 yards, 2 TDs)
Week 3 vs. Slippery Rock (268 yards, 1 TD)
Week 4 at West Chester (160 yards, 1 TD)
Week 5 vs. Shippensburg (457 yards, 2 TDs)
Week 6 at Cheyney (200 yards, 3 TDs)
Week 7 vs. Millersville (195 yards)
 
Career
Career Passing TDs: 59 (#2 all-time, school record is 60)
Career Passing Yards: 7,951 (#2 all-time, school record is 10,640)
*just the 2^nd QB in school history to surpass 7,000 career passing yards
Career Rushing TDs: 9
Career TDs responsible for: 69 (#2 all-time, school record is 71)
200-yard + passing games: 20
300-yard + passing games: 7
400-yard + passing games: 2  
 
Single Season Records
Passing TDs, 23 (2015)
Total TDs responsible for, 26 (2015)
 
Chapple leads the defense:
After three years at Urbana, R-Sr. LB Kevin Chapple has made himself feel at home at Lock Haven. He opened his Bald Eagle career with a monster outing at Clarion in Week 1, finishing with 14 tackles.
 
- Team-high 60 tackles
- 1.50 career TFLs/game (6^th among all active players)
- 49 career TFLs (2^nd among all active players)
 
Seif a big-time playmaker:
R-Sr. WR Shawn Seif has established himself as one of the premier players in the nation and leads all Division II players in receiving yards per game. On the season, he has five TD receptions of 25 yards or more, including an 87-yard TD reception vs. Edinboro in Week 2 (longest receiving TD by a Bald Eagle since 1995 (96 yards) and the third longest in school history (1993; 99-yard TD reception).
 
- Week 1 at Clarion: 170 yards (9 receptions), 1 TD
- Week 2 vs. Edinboro: 197 yards (5 receptions), 2 TDs
- Week 3 vs. Slippery Rock: 183 yards (11 receptions), 1 TD
- Week 4 at West Chester: 72 yards (6 receptions), 1 TD
- Week 5 vs. Shippensburg: 178 yards (9 receptions), 1 TD
- Week 6 at Cheyney: (DNP; injury)
- Week 7 vs. Millersville: 36 yards (4 receptions)
 
- Receiving Yards: 836 (7^th NCAA DII; 1^st PSAC)
- Receiving Yards/Game: 139.3 (1^st NCAA DII)
- Receptions: 44
- Receptions/Game: 7.3
- TD Receptions: 6
 
2016 Preseason Notes:
Click Here -
 
Up next:
The Bald Eagles will host Bloomsburg on Saturday, October 29 at 12 p.m. in PSAC East action. The Week 9 matchup marks LHU's final home game of the 2016 season.