EAST STROUDSBURG - The East Stroudsburg University football program will help celebrate the 35th anniversary of the East Stroudsburg Youth Association (ESYA) with its annual "Breakfast with the Warriors" prior to the team's first scrimmage on Saturday, August 16 at 9 a.m. at Eiler-Martin Stadium.

Football players from ESYA will partner with an ESU player at breakfast on Saturday morning and interact with them throughout the day, including stretching and calisthenics on the new field turf at the stadium, before the Warriors go through their first intrasquad scrimmage as they prepare for the 2008 season.

ESYA will take over Eiler-Martin Stadium on Sunday, August 31 with four games to kick off their football schedule this fall, beginning with the flag football division (ages 6-7) at 11 a.m., and continuing through the Junior Pee Wee, Pee Wee and Midget levels.

Frank Nicoletti was a co-founder of ESYA in 1973, which has grown into one of the largest non-profit programs in Pennsylvania. More than 35,000 students have participated in ESYA through the years, including more than a dozen football players who have gone on to play for head coach Denny Douds at ESU.

"Breakfast with the Warriors and the Big Brother program give our boys an opportunity to interact with the players they can look up to on the ESU football team and follow throughout the season," Nicolletti said. "The success of the program and our partnership with ESU is something we're extremely proud of."

"It's always exciting for our football players to spend time with the youth of our community. This is one of the events that we look forward to every year and it's very rewarding both for our young men and the little gridders of the Poconos," said Douds.

ESU will open the 2008 season on Thursday, August 28 at 7:30 p.m. against Virginia Union at Eiler-Martin Stadium.