2002 Warrior Football

Rapa Sack and Fumble Clinches Warrior Win Over Edinboro

September 28, 2002

East Stroudsburg, Pa. - Linebacker Matt Rapa sacked Edinboro quarterback Justin Bouch forcing a fumble on the East Stroudsburg 14-yard line recovered by Warrior Blaec Saeger to clinch a 30-24 victory in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East-West crossover game.

The crowd of almost 3,000 at Eiler-Martin Stadium saw East Stroudsburg University improved to 3-1 on Hall of Fame Day. The Fighting Scots dropped to 3-1.

The Scots drove 50 yards in 10 plays in 1:36 to reach the ESU six-yardline for a first and goal. After some confusion at the line by the Scots, Rapa rushed from the right side to stick to force the game-clinching fumble recovered by Saeger.

ESU built a 24-10 lead after three quarters before Bouch found Sean Hess from 52 yards out to pull to within a score at 24-17.

Warrior quarterback Jeremy Palm calmly guided the offense 65 yards on a scoring drive capped by a 10-yard strike to Justin Kondikoff for a 30-17 advantage. The key play of the drive saw Palm scramble 23 yards to the Edinboro 20-yard line.

Palm fired for 379 yards and four touchdowns in 21 of 49 attempts. It was his second 300-plus yard effort in a row along with leading the team in rushing with 47 yards and 426 yards total offense. Fullback Anthony Carfagno recorded his second 100-yard receiving game with 138 yards on six catches and a touchdown. Kondikoff pulled in five balls for 74 yards and a score while freshman Tim Strenfel grabbed his first two touchdowns of his career on four catches covering 84 yards.

Rapa, the defensive playmaker of the game, recorded 5.5 tackles, two tackles for loss, a forced fumble, and a sack on the afternoon. Freshman defensive tackle Greg Thoman had six tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack and fellow lineman Dustin Barno 4.5 tackles, two tackles for loss, a fumble recovery and a sack.

The two teams combined for 949 yards with ESU having 475 and Edinboro 474 net yards on the day. Bouch fired for 353 yards on 22 of 35 passing and two touchdowns in her first career start. Hess pulled in five of those passes for 113 yards and a TD while Alonzo Roebuck scampered for 130 yards on 22 carries. Outside linebacker Dave Smith led the Scot defense with 6.5 tackles and a sack.

The East Stroudsburg win sets up a matchup with defending PSAC East champion Bloomsburg, who defeated Slippery Rock 38-14, next week on the road.