2003 Warrior Football

The PSAC East Title was nice but ESU is looking for more in 2003

The joys of the first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division title in 11 seasons was nice but East Stroudsburg has no plans on being satisfied there.

The 2002 Warriors completed the best season in a decade at 8-2 and finished 24th in the final American Football Coaches’ Association Division II poll. In the rugged PSAC East, the team has recorded back-to-back 5-1 marks and look to continue the steady rise this fall.

Entering his 30th year as head coach, Denny Douds will take a very talented roster into 2003 to attempt to build off the last season’s momentum. Douds knows one fact will be different this fall compared to a year ago.

“We will have a huge target sitting point blank on our backs bigger than ever before heading into this year,” points out Douds.

“We have been able to raise the talent level of the squad. It will basically be a young football team this year, but we will have some experienced veterans at some key positions,” he says.

One of the biggest focuses for the veteran head coach will be replacing four-year starter and All-Conference quarterback Jeremy Palm. Also on the list of standouts to be replaced will be All-Conference and current Tennessee Titan Dustin Barno at defensive tackle along with All-PSAC cornerback Nick Beisker.

Two strengths, the offensive line and running backs, of the 2003 Warriors should help ease the first transition to a new signal-caller in five years.

It will be the same case on defense. ESU returns three All-Conference players between the defensive line and linebacking corps.

The biggest question mark heading into last season was the kicking game which now returns two young talented kickers.
The team’s outlook by position area:

Offense
After riding Palm’s arm and enjoying his leadership the past four seasons, the big question for the offense is who will replace him at quarterback.

The frontrunner will be a familiar name to the ESU program. Redshirt freshman Jimmy Terwilliger, son of Offensive coordinator and former ESU signal-caller Mike Terwilliger.

The young Terwilliger (5-11, 190) was an All-State quarterback at East Stroudsburg South where he set all the school passing records with his strong arm.

Matt Cottengim, a talented returning junior, will battle for the spot.

A big talented and experienced line will be there to protect the new quarterback. Four starters return led by All-Conference first team guard Greg Munch (6-3, 315), along with tackles Brian Violante (6-5, 310) and Chris Tyson (6-9, 325). Guard Dan Crozier (6-0, 290) will move to center.

Sophomores Colin Delaney and Mike Engler will battle to fill the lone open line spot along with a group of newcomers.
The group of running backs will be a real strength of the team led by All-PSAC first team Greg Vaughn, who rushed for 755 yards to lead the team. Nate Pendry, Mike Yanocha and Derek Lucas will add three power, speed and versatility options to make a deep and talented group of tailbacks.

The surprise of 2002, fullback Anthony Carfagno, returns with his team leading 11 touchdowns. He amassed 484 yards receiving and 279 yards on the ground and was named to the All-PSAC second team.

The receiving corps will see All-Conference John Jeffries lead the group. He pulled in 47 balls for 636 yards. Tim Strenfel (364 yds.) will man the other starting spot. Tight end Matt Triolo also is back. The young group of Evan Prall, Philip Ross, Chad Fisher and Bruce Tinor will battle for the third wideout spot.

Defense
The Warrior defense has specialized in turnover margin the past two seasons. The unit finished third in DII and tops in the PSAC at +15 in 2002. A big part of the turnover success has been the unit’s solid linebacking crew and outstanding All-PSAC cornerback Michael Glover, who according to Douds is “as good as you get.”

Glover, who snatched five passes and broke up 16 more, will lead a secondary void of Beisker. Sophomore Tyree Townes is slated to step in with Kyle Mitchell and Terrell Morton playing into the mix. James Plowden will move in as the starting safety after providing quality back-up play there a year ago.

The All-Conference inside backer tandem of Phil DeCecco and Ryan Vermillion is the heart of the defense. The two combined for 157 tackles and have the speed to cover sideline-to-sideline. They are joined on the outside by fellow starter Matt Rapa.

The group will be deep with two other experienced returners in Henry Breckenridge and Noel Nation, who are both top special teamers. John Vetter, Andrew Marsteller and Justin Mummert also could play roles.

The defensive line returns intact except for Barno. The outstanding young tandem of ends in All-Conference Greg Thoman and Zach Toomey present good building blocks to replace the NFL-departed Barno. Thoman guided the defense with 11 tackles for loss to go with three sacks while Toomey was second with four sacks and a solid six stops for a loss. Matt Connell and Matt Parrello will see action at end.

Big David Dean (6-6, 298) will start at tackle for the third year. Dean had seven tackles for loss. Competing for the open tackle spot will include sophomore Mike Motsko, Andrew Ritter and newcomer Jeremy YonKondy.

Special Teams/Kicking Game
After being an unknown area last summer, ESU heads into 2003 with another strong pair of young kickers in sophomores Mark Brubaker and Ken Parrish.

Kicker Brubaker gained All-PSAC East first team honors after hitting eight of 14 field goal attempts, including the game-winner at Bloomsburg. He will look to continue the solid kicking over his second year.

Parrish will take care of the punting again after averaging 36.7 yards per punt his first campaign. He booted three 50-yard punts, dropped 15 boots inside the 20-yard line and had 11 kicks fair caught.

All-PSAC return specialist Glover will be dangerous for another season. Yanocha and Jeffries add two more speedy returners capable of breaking a touchdown on any opponents’ kick this fall.