LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – In a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division opener that featured two of the PSAC's top offensive units, the Lock Haven football team (2-2, 0-1 PSAC East) fell to East Stroudsburg (4-0, 1-0 PSAC East), 35-21, after the visiting Warriors rallied for a second-half comeback.
With the loss, the upset-minded Bald Eagles move back to .500 at 2-2 overall and fall to 0-1 in PSAC East play. ESU, a traditional conference power, remained unbeaten on the season at 4-0 (1-0 PSAC East).
Despite the cool temperatures and wet weather, an energetic crowd was on hand today for The Haven's Homecoming, and - to the crowd's delight Lock Haven led East Stroudsburg 14-7 at halftime.
The Warriors survived and escaped with a win, thanks in large part to 28 second-half points.
Quarterback
Danny Sanchez (Bronx, N.Y./Lehman (Stony Brook) continued his strong play, throwing for 178 yards (8-for-21) and two touchdowns.
Running back
Chris Collier (Lawrence, N.Y./Lawrence (Wagner College), the reigning PSAC East Offensive Player of the Week, had another big day on the ground for Lock Haven. He carried the ball 18 times on the way to a game-high 68 yards and one TD.
Chase Holmes (Easton, Pa./Easton) and
Chandler Baker (Batavia, N.Y./Batavia (Buffalo)) both hauled in touchdown catches, and T-iar Young (Philadelphia/Northeast (Millersville) had four catches for 77 yards.
Cody Romano (Newton, N.J./Blair Academy (Penn State)) led the charge once again on defense. He finished with nine tackles (6 solo), a sack and two quarterback hurries.
Raymell Hester (Cleveland/Bedford) registered nine tackles,
Jaderian Johnson (Pensacola, Fla./Take (North Dakota)) made seven tackles and
Darryl Pollard (Philadelphia/Upper Darby) had an interception.
Despite the high scoring offensive units, the two teams were scoreless after the first quarter. Early in the second quarter, ESU went up 7-0, but Lock Haven responded in a big way.
The Bald Eagles got on the board with a 37-yard flea flicker from Sanchez to Holmes.
Late in the first half, Lock Haven dug deeper into the bag of tricks, and after setting up for a fake field goal, the Bald Eagles drew ESU offsides. Two plays later Collier darted into the end zone and put Lock Haven up 14-7 with 20 seconds left in the half.
ESU got a quick start in the second half, and in the end, it sparked the comeback.
Early in the second half, Randy Fizer hauled in a 25-yard TD pass from Sean McTaggart and the game was tied at 14-14.
Lock Haven was quick to respond, and Sanchez and Baker connected on 57-yard pass-play. The home team lead 21-14 with 8:04 left in the third quarter, but ESU scored two more TDs in the period and added a touchdown in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
Collier's strong effort on the ground today (68 yards) pushed him into the top-spot in the PSAC this season, through four games at 99.8 rushing yards-per-game.
After today, Lock Haven and East Stroudsburg remain two of the PSAC's top-three scoring offenses.
For The Haven, the 2-1 start was the first 2-1 start since 2013.
UP NEXT:
Next week (Saturday, Sept. 30 (Week 5)), Lock Haven will travel to Millersville for a 12 p.m. PSAC East clash.
