Quarterback Jeremy Palm (Sr., West Lawn, Pa./Wilson) completed a 22-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Justin Kondikoff (So., Nazareth, Pa./Nazareth) and Mike Berry (Sr., Clarks Summit, Pa./Southridge, Fla.) kicked the extra point with 1:38 remaining to give the Warriors a 31-30 season-ending victory over Edinboro.

The Warriors finished with a 7-3 record, this best since the 1993 team was 7-2-1. They had bookend wins over Pennsylvania State Athleetic Conference Western Division opponents, beating Clarion, 33-27, in the season opener on a touchdown with 1:59 remaining.

On his final series in his final collegiate game, Palm led the team 61 yards in six plays for the winning touchdown. He completed a 20-yard pass to John Jeffries (So., Center Square, N.Y./John Moore) on a third-and-16 play from his own 33 and then combined with Kondikoff on a 25-yard pass and then the 22-yard game-winner. He was 9 for 19 overall for 183 yards, almost all in the second half as he missed most of the first half because of an injury to the thumb of his throwing hand.

Palm finished the season with 1,924 yards and 22 touchdowns passing, second most in the school’s history, against only five interceptions. Kondikoff had five catches for 88 yards and John Kotarsky (Sr., Whitehall, Pa./Whitehall) three catches for 109 yards for his fourth straight 100-yard receiving game.

Tailback Andre Castiglioni (Sr., Reading, Pa./Muhlenberg) gained 119 yards on 23 carries and scored one touchdown for his seventh 100-yard game of the season, breaking his own school record of six set last year. He raised his season total to 1,077 yards to become the first ESU back ever to rush for 1,000 yards in two different seasons.

Safety Jeremy Brown (Sr., Centreville, Va./Centreville) made an interception, his eighth of the season, and returned it 30 yards to lead to one ESU touchdown. He made a game-high 13 tackles, including 11 solo stops, all on Edinboro running plays. He also had a 48-yard punt return, the team’s longest of the season. He was named the PSAC Eastern Division Defensive Player of the Week.

Punter Adam Hostetter (Sr., Red Lion, Pa./Red Lion) punted three times for a 49.7 average to raise his season average to 44.4 yards, a school record. He was tied for first in the NCAA Division II statistics last week. Mike Berry (Sr., Clarks Summit, Pa./Southridge, Fla.) booted a 32-yard field and two extra points to lead the conference in points by kicker with 49.

Offensive tackle Dan Bratton (Sr., Clarks Summit, Pa./Abington Heights), a four-year starter, put his name in the scoring column for the first time as he recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown.

The Warriors bowed to undefeated Dowling, 2-0, in an NCAA Division II first round playoff game in Oakdale, N.Y. The Lions, now 14-0-3 and ranked third in the nation, scored on a penalty kick with 17 minutes remaining and added an insurance goal with six minutes left for the victory.

Dowling had a 21-9 edge in shots and 8-1 in corner kicks. Both goalies, ESU’s Jason Land (Gr., Carney’s Point, N.J./St. James) and Dowling’s Mervin Shade, made four saves.

The ESU booters ended the season with a 16-5-1 record which included the school’s fifth straight Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference title. The team’s only other shutout loss came in a season-opening 2-0 defeat to St. Rose.

It was a rematch of last year’s first round NCAA game, won by ESU over Dowling, 3-2, on penalty kicks after the teams had tied, 1-1, in regulation and overtime.

Freshman Natalie Weingardner (Fr., North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin) broke her fourth school record in two weeks as the Warriors downed Scranton, 119-84. She set a mark in winning the 200-yard individual medley in 2:16.14, breaking the record of 2:17.87 by teammate Jamie Miller (Sr., Northampton, Pa./Northampton) last season.

Weingartner also won the 100-yard backstroke in 1:02.02. She had broken all three school backstroke records in last week’s meet against Lock Haven.

Karen Scott (Jr., Berwick, Pa./Berwick) won the 50-yard freestyle in an NCAA ‘B’ qualifying time of 25.17. She also took the 100 freestyle in 56.88.

This Week’s Schedule: Saturday, at Kutztown with West Chester, 1:00

The ESU women’s volleyball team bowed in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference semi-finals to eventual champion Edinboro, 3-0. The Warriors could not contain Edinboro’s Ashley Walton, who had 19 kills and hit .549.

Andrea Myers (Jr., Mount Wolf, Pa./Northeastern) led the Warriors with ten kills while April Mellott (Jr., Dover, Pa./Spring Grove) added six. Heidi Johnson (Jr., Mercersburg, Pa./James Buchanan) made 23 assists and a team-high 18 digs.

The team finished with an 18-10 record, best at the school in five years.