Football 9/23/2008 12:58:29 PM

Millersville Heads to Shippensburg on Saturday Seeking First Win

GAME QUICK FACTS
Millersville (0-4, 0-1 PSAC East) at Shippensburg (1-3, 0-1 PSAC East)
Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008 - 1 p.m.
Seth Grove Stadium
Audio: Marauder Sports Broadcasting Network

THE SERIES
Shippensburg leads 35-23-2
First Meeting: 1916 (SU 16, MU 0)
Last Meeting: 2007 (SU 23, MU 14)
Current Streak: SU, 4

ABOUT THE GAME
• After falling to 0-2 on the road this season as a result of a 41-10 setback at the hands of West Chester, Millersville will look to feast on a new face to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Eastern Division. Shippensburg enters the game after competing in their first ever PSAC East matchup and will entertain the Marauders this Saturday at Seth Grove Stadium with kickoff set for 1 p.m.
• Both teams are attempting to turn their seasons around with the bulk of the divisional schedule left to play. Millersville gave up a season-high 453 yards on the ground to West Chester in both teams PSAC opener and could not recover from an early deficit. Shippensburg was handed a tough overtime loss by East Stroudsburg, 44-41. The Red Raiders lead at halftime 21-7, but after the Warriors forced overtime kicker Kyler Ford missed a 30-yard field goal on the first possession of OT that setup the game-winning drive for ESU. The Red Raiders have lost both their games at home this season.
• Millersville has suffered its first 0-4 start since 2002 and the third in the last eight years. The 2002 club opened the season 0-6 and the 2001 squad began 0-5. If the Marauders are to snap their four-game skid, they will have to defeat Shippensburg for the first time since 2000. Shippensburg head coach Rocky Rees had his troubles early in his career against the Marauders but has gotten the better of Millersville by winning the past four meetings. Rees's teams have beaten Millersville by an average of 11.7 ppg over the four-game streak with their largest win coming back in 2004 (49-27) when they advanced to the NCAA Division II Quarterfinals.
• Audio coverage can be heard on the new home for Millersville athletics, the Marauder Sports Broadcasting Network (MSBN). MSBN is accessed by visiting the Millersville athletics' site (www.millersville.edu/~athletic). Millersville alum Domenic Panza will be the play-by-play commentator and Brad Chandler will be the color commentator.

THE HEAD COACHES
• Greg Colby spent most of his career as an assistant at the Division I level, but has served as a head coach. From 1979-86, he was the head coach at Schlarman High School and Naperville High School in Illinois. While at Schlarman, Colby led the team to back-to-back Illinois High School 2-A State Championships (1981-82).
• Colby has an impressive resume. He came to Millersville after serving as the defensive coordinator at Northwestern from 2002-07 during which time the Wildcats posted three-straight six-win seasons for the first time in 70 years. He was also the defensive coordinator at Kent State for four seasons and served as a defensive assistant at Michigan State under Nick Saban and at Illinois under Lou Tepper.
• In the fall of 1971, Rees began what has been a 37-year career as a football coach as a graduate assistant at West Chester. The follow ing year, he joined the coaching staff at Newark High School in Newark, Delaware. After two seasons as an assistant, Rees was named head coach in 1974.
• Rees came to Shippensburg from Susquehanna where his teams won three Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) titles in his five seasons as head coach, capturing conference championships in 1986, 1987 and 1989.
• Rees is the seventh-most winningest coach in PSAC history and tied for ninth in Division II history. Only six other coaches have led a Division II football team onto the field more times than Rees.

ABOUT THE SERIES
• Saturday's matchup will mark the 61st time that Millersville and Shippensburg have met on the football field. The Red Raiders hold a 35-23-2 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to 1917. Millersville did not experience much success early in the series, winning on only seven occassions in the first 35 meetings. The Marauders, however, are 16-8-1 in the last 25 meetings.
• Shippensburg has emerged victorious in the last four matchups with Millersville. Three of the four games have been decided by 10 points or less.
• Millersville didn't earn its first victory in the series until its fifth attempt. The Marauders defeated Shippensburg 27-0 in 1923. Despite the poor start to the all-time series, Millersville posted shutouts in four of its first five victories in the series.

THE LAST MEETING
• The Red Raiders used a balanced offensive attack en route to a 23-14 defeat of Millersville on Oct. 13, 2007 at Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium.
• The non-conference win, moved Shippensburg to 2-5 on the season and dropped Millersville to an identical record. Ironically, both the Red Raiders and Marauders went on to finish with 3-8 overall records in 2007.
• Aaron Dykes and David Richards both rushed for 79 yards and a touchdown, while Jamie Reder connected on all three of his field goal attempts (31, 41, 31) for Shippensburg. The Red Raiders controlled the ball for over 32 minutes and did not turn the ball over in the game.
• Jamal Smith carried the ball 22 times for 99 yards and a touchdown and threw for 74 yards to lead the Millersville offense. Brad Lantz recorded 13 lugs and 58 yards on the ground. Jimmie Cotton accounted for the Marauders other score as he took a touchdown in from 17 yards out early in the fourth quarter.

THE LAST TIME OUT
• Battle-tested West Chester built a 41-3 lead after three quarters of play before visiting Millersville could muster a touchdown to bring the final tally to 41-10.
• The Golden Rams (2-2, 1-0 PSAC East), were coming off a loss to nationally ranked Division I FCS opponent, Delaware. The West Chester offense, was averaging less than 87 yards rushing per game, but managed to right the ship against Millersville (0-4, 0-1 PSAC East). The Golden Rams racked up 633 yards of offense including 453 on the ground. The Marauders did manage to gain over 300 yards of total offense for the second time this season, and kept their string of 14-straight games with at least 100 yards rushing alive, by totaling 101 yards on 32 carries.
• West Chester was led by D'Andre Webb's 306 yards rushing on only 17 carries. Webb also found the endzone on four different occassions, on his way to the top rushing performance in NCAA Division II football this season.
• The Golden Rams did much of their damage in the first and third quarters. They combined to score 34 points (14 in the first, 20 in the third), while blanking Millersville over that same period of time.
• For Millersville, quarterback Bill Shirk completed 18-of-31 passes for 243 yards in his first start this season. Shirk also threw for one touchdown and one interception on the night.
• Jamal Smith, who started the first three games of the season at quarterback, moved to wide receiver and enjoyed quite a game. Smith hauled in six catches for 131 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown reception was an 80-yard strike from Shirk. It was the longest passing play for the Marauders since Drew Folmar hooked up with Sean Scott for 91-yards back in 1999 vs. Bloomsburg.

SCOUTING SHIPPENSBURG
• Shippensburg, the former member of the PSAC Western Division comes into this week's contest with a 1-3 record. Shippensburg competed in the Western Division for 48 years before being moved to the East this season to compensate for the addition of Mercyhurst and Gannon to the West. Shippensburg is 0-2 at home this season after falling to Shepherd 20-16 and nationally-ranked Edinboro 34-11. After deating Lock Haven 36-0 and recording their first shutout since Sept. 9, 2006, the Raiders dropped their inagural East contest to ESU in overtime.
• The Red Raiders have not found offensive success at home this season. The offense is averaging just 13.5 ppg at Seth Grove Stadium compared to 38.5 ppg on the road.
• Red-shirt junior quarterback Chad DiFebbo has completed just 45 of 108 pass attempts this season but ranks eighth in the conference in yards per game with 152.2. The first-year starter has thrown six touchdown passes compared to just two interceptions this season.
• Junior wide receiver Mike Harris is currently ranked third in the conference with 20 receptions and has caught four of DiFebbo's six TD tosses. The 6-2, 195-pound receiver from Garden Spot is averaging 14.2 yards per catch.
• Shippensburg's defense is led by senior defensive back Jason Stone and senior linebacker Josh Oswalt. Stone, who is averaging 9.5 tackles per game, ranks fourth in the conference in total tackles (38). Oswalt has helped cause several third-and-long situations throughout the season as he ranks fourth in the conference in tackles-for-a-loss with six.
• An impressive front seven for Shippensburg has helped cause problems in the backfield for opponents. Oswalt, along with sophomore linebacker Riley Bowen and senior defensive end Jason Groller, have anchored a Raider defense that is tops in the conference in tackles-for-a-loss with 34.
• Sophomore defensive back Travis Proctor has helped shutdown opposing wide receivers as he leads the conference in pass breakups with seven.

BEST BEHAVIOR
• Millersville is the least penalized team in the PSAC through four games. The team has been flagged just nine times. Kutztown is second with just twelve penalties. The Marauders' nine penalties have totaled 91 yards for an average of 22.8 yards per game. That total also ranks first in the PSAC.

SWITCHING SPOTS
• Junior Brad Lantz was an All-PSAC East Second Team pick at running back last season but was switched to wide receiver at the start of 2008. Lantz hauled in a team-leading 11 catches for 95 yards and a touchdown, but prior to the Sept. 20 game against West Chester, the coaching staff moved him back to his natural position of running back. Lantz has had just two carries for -1 yards this year, but coming into the season he ranked 13th on the all-time Millersville rushing list with 1,759 yards.
• Also making the position switch was former starting quarterback and PSAC East Rookie of the Year Jamal Smith. After failing to lead the Marauders in a touchdown drive against IUP, Smith was moved to wide receiver where he caught six balls for 131 yards and a touchdown. The bulk of the yards came on an 80-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Bill Shirk.

PEAK PERFORMANCES
• Several Marauders have turned in career efforts over the past few weeks.
• Sophomore Linebacker Jerrod Bowling racked up 16 tackles against Slippery Rock, which were not only a career high, but also the most by any Millersville player since Joe Hollister totaled 17 against Shippensburg in 2004.
• Senior Matt Harmon totaled a career-high 10 tackles against Slippery Rock and then tallied 12 the following week against Indiana (Pa.), marking the first time in his career he had posted back-to-back double-digit tackle performances. Harmon's previous best was nine, which came at Lock Haven on Sept. 16, 2006. Sophomore Jacob Haines totaled a career-high nine tackles against Slippery Rock as well.
• After not tallying more than two tackles in any game in 2007, Haines set career-highs in each of his first two games of 2008. He made four stops against Bentley and topped it with nine against Slippery Rock. He also recorded at least one tackle for loss in both games.
• Quarterback Bill Shirk made just his second career start and put up several career bests in the process. Shirk completed 18 of 31 passes for 243 yards, including an 80-yard TD pass.

MAKING A NAME
• Freshman Matthew Booker has made an immediate impact, leading the Marauders in rushing through four games with 192 yards. His 4.6 yards per carry average is also a team best. Booker totaled a career-high 78 yards against Slippery Rock, and he became the first Millersville freshman since Brad Lantz in 2006 to lead the team in rushing in the first two games of his career.

CENTURY STREAK
• With 101 yards rushing against West Chester, Millersville has totaled more than 100 yards rushing as a team in each of the last 14 games dating back to the second game of 2007.
• The streak began in quarterback Jamal Smith's first career start. Millersville is averaging 160.5 yards rushing per game since.
• The team has averaged 45.2 rushes per game in each of those games. So far this season, Millersville has rushed 40 or more times in just one game. Millersville rushed 43 times for 103 yards in the season opener versus Bentley.

MOVE PAYS OFF
• In an effort to bolster the receiving corps, the coaching staff moved senior Derek Fry from tight end to wide receiver and quarterback Jamal Smith to the wideout position as well. The moves paid immediate dividends for the coaching staff.
• While Fry entered the season with just 15 career catches and five touchdowns (all five coming in 2006), he hauled in a team-high and career-high six catches and totaled a career-best 47 yards in the season opener against Bentley. Fry also scored a career-high two touchdowns, bringing his career total to seven. In the Aug. 29 game alone, Fry matched his 2007 season totals in receptions (four) and yards (41).
• Smith, with his speed and quickness, proved he will be a huge threat on the outside for opposing defenses. In Smith's first career start at the position he recorded a team-best 131 yards on six catches.

BEST FOOT FORWARD
• Matthew Booker and Matt Sutjak each made positive impressions in their Millersville debuts on Aug. 29 against Bentley and each were on different sides of the ball.
• Booker, a freshman running back, totaled a team-leading 43 yards on nine carries for a team-best 4.8 yards per carry. His gain of 12 was the team's second longest of the game. He is the first freshman to lead the team in rushing in the season opener since Brad Lantz in 2006. Lantz rushed for 53 yards on seven carries in his rookie debut.
• Sutjak, a sophomore transfer at safety, registered a team-high and career-high nine tackles as well as his first career interception. Sutjak took the interception for a 23-yard return. The last player that led the team in tackles in his Millersville debut was Andrew Pough in 2006. Pough made eight tackles. The last Marauder to make an interception in his first game was Brandon Shelton in 2004 against Indiana (Pa.).

ON DECK TO IN THE BOX
• Red-shirt sophomore quarterback Bill Shirk made his second career start against West Chester and was given his chance to shine. Shirk threw the ball 31 times, the most attempts by a Millersville starting quarterback in a single game since Aug. 26, 2006 when Dan Csencsitz tossed the ball 34 times against Shepherd.
• Shirk's 243 yards passing was the third most by a Millersville starting quarterback over the past four seasons. The only other quarterback to throw for more than 225 yards in a single game over that span was Csencsitz who did it twice, once in 2005 and again in 2006.
• Despite the WCU game being his first start of the season, Shirk has not been a stranger to the field. Against Bentley, Shirk came off the bench to complete a then career-high 8-of-12 passes for a then career-best 74 yards. His fourth quarter TD toss to Derek Fry was also the first touchdown pass of his career.
• Shirk's previous best outing was also against Bentley. In 2007, he completed a then career-high 6-of-9 passes for 50 yards.
• Shirk also appeared in the Sept. 20 meeting against IUP. Despite being intercepted twice, he completed a pair of passes and led the team on its only scoring drive.

PICK SIX
• Sophomore cornerback Dan McClellan turned defense into offense in the season opener against Bentley, taking a third quarter interception 43 yards for his first career touchdown. It was just the second interception of McClellan's career. Millersville has now had at least one interception return for a touchdown in eight-straight seasons dating back to 2001.
• The most notable playmaker in recent years was Brandon Shelton. Shelton returned five interceptions for touchdowns in his four-year career, including two in 2007 and two as a freshman in 2004.
• McClellan is just the fifth player in the last eight years to take a pick for a touchdown. Along with Shelton, Andrew Siggins performed the feat twice, returning one in 2005 and one in 2002.

DUAL THREAT
• While playing running back in his first two seasons at Millersville, Brad Lantz not only showed ability to run the football, but also catch the football. He not only led Millersville in rushing in 2007 and ranked second on the team in receiving. He made 15 catches for 119 yards to go with his 902 yards rushing. Including his receiving yards, Lantz finished the season with a team-leading 1,061 all-purpose yards and averaged 96.5 yards per game.
• His pass catching ability prompted the coaching staff to move him to wide receiver for the 2008 season. He made the most of the position switch, catching five passes for a team-leading 78 yards in the season opener at Bentley. On Millersville's second offensive play, Lantz made a 43-yard reception which is now the longest of his career. His previous long was a 36-yard catch on Sept. 30, 2006 against Kutztown. He now has four career catches of more than 30 yards. Lantz added a touchdown catch in the second game of the season as well. It was his first receiving touchdown since Nov. 4, 2006.
• So far in 2008, Lantz is the team leader in receptions with 11 and has totaled a team-best 95 yards for 8.6 yards per catch. He also ones one of only three receiving touchdowns the team has this season.

THE END OF THE LINE
• There is no dispute that pass rushers are key to a top-tier defense, and Millersville is fortunate enough to have not just one, but two senior defensive ends that were both All-PSAC East honorees last season.
• Kevin Kershner was a first teamer in 2007 and Jarrod Linn was named to the second team for the second-straight season. Millersville enters the season as the only team in the PSAC to return two all-conference defensive ends.
• Both players are making their presence felt in 2008 as well. Linn totaled four tackles and registered a half sack against Bentley and made a tackle for loss against Slippery Rock. Kershner totaled three tackles including a half tackle for loss and a pass breakup at Bentley and then totaled six stops and two tackles for loss against Slippery Rock.
• Kershner has 22 tackles for loss in three seasons and 7.5 career sacks. Linn has 9.5 for loss and 6.0 career sacks. He has also forced three fumbles and recovered two.
• The tandem has combined for 168 tackles in three seasons at Millersville.

BY LAND AND AIR
• Millersville red-shirt sophomore quarterback Jamal Smith was named PSAC East Rookie of the Year in 2007, making him the first Marauder to earn that award since quarterback Drew Folmar in 1997 and just the second ever.
• He earned the award by impressing the opposition with his feet. In 2007, he rushed for a team-high five touchdowns and totaled nine on the season. His 1,440 yards of total offense led the team, and his 633 yards rushing was 352 more than any other quarterback in the league. Clarion Tyler Huether was second among quarterbacks with 281 yards.
• Smith's 633 yards is the most rushing yards by any quarterback in Millersville history and stands as the most rushing yards by a PSAC quarterback since before 2000. Only East Stroudsburg's Jimmy Terwilliger (503 in 2006) and Clarion's Adam Almashy rushed for more than 500 (513 in 2002) since Slippery Rock's Randy McKavish rushed for 641 in 2000.
• So far in 2008, Smith is tied for second on the team in rushing with 93 yards. He has also thrown for 144. He has rushed for 30 or more yards in nine of his 14 career appearances and for positive yards in 14 of his appearances.

WORK HORSE
• Brad Lantz has emerged as one of the most durable backs in the PSAC the last two seasons. He was named All-PSAC East Second Team last year aftering ranking sixth in the PSAC with 902 yards and an average of 82 yards per game.
• More impressively, he lugged the ball 234 times, which ranked second in the conference trailing only Bloomsburg's Harlon Hill nominee Jamar Brittingham. In the last two seasons, Lantz has totaled 1,759 yards and 12 touchdowns.
• Lantz is quickly advancing up the Millersville career records lists. In just two seasons, he has has moved into 13th-place in career yards and needs just 253 more to pass John Flamish (1998-2000) for 10th all-time. If Lantz stays on his current pace of 879 yards per season, he will finish his four-year career with 3,516 yards, placing him second to only the legendary Ricke Stonewall, who totaled 4,169 from 1981-84.
• Also, Lantz already ranks sixth in career carries with 427. He is on pace for 854 career carries, which would shatter Stonewall's record of 648. It would also place him fifth in PSAC history behind Bloomsburg's Jamar Brittingham (2004-07).

SHOOTING FOR TWO AND THREE
• Millersville landed eight players on the All-PSAC East team a year ago. Tackle Adam Cobb and defensive end Kevin Kershner were first team honorees, and Brad Lantz and Jarrod Linn were on the second team.
• Cobb was the first Millersville offensive lineman to be a first team selection since center Matt Doherty in 1998. If he earns first team honors in 2008, Cobb will be the first Millersville offensive lineman to be a two-time first teamer since guard Chris Smith in 1993-94 and the first tackle since Greg Faulkner in 1992-93.
• Linn could possibly be a three-time All-PSAC East pick. The most recent Marauder to be a three-time selection was cornerback Marcus Banks (2005-07) and defensive back Braden Steffey was a four-time honoree from 2000-03.

FIRST TIME NOT A CHARM
• History was not on Greg Colby's side in the Aug. 29 opener against Bentley. With the 35-22 defeat, new Millersville coaches are 6-12-2 all-time in their debut. However, picking up a win in the first game is no indication of long-term success.
• Only one of the last 11 Marauder coaches won their debut. Joe Trainer defeated Indiana (Pa.) 28-9 in 2005. Before Trainer's victory, the last coach to win his Millersville debut was Philip Aines in 1923. At that time, Millersville was known as Millersville State Normal School and his team defeated Stevens Trade School 13-7.

RETURN OF THE STATE GAME
• One of the biggest changes to the PSAC this season is the return of the “State Game.”
• This will serve as the conference championship game and will be contended between the two division winners on the final day of the season. It will be the first time that the State Game has been contested since 1987.

GAME QUICK FACTS
Millersville (0-4, 0-1 PSAC East) at Shippensburg (1-3, 0-1 PSAC East)
Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008 - 1 p.m.
Seth Grove Stadium
Audio: Marauder Sports Broadcasting Network

THE SERIES
Shippensburg leads 35-23-2
First Meeting: 1916 (SU 16, MU 0)
Last Meeting: 2007 (SU 23, MU 14)
Current Streak: SU, 4

MAKING CHANGES
• Not only did Millersville introduce a new head coach in Greg Colby and several new assistant coaches, but the PSAC picked up three new members in Mercyhurst, Gannon and C.W. Post.
• Mercyhurst and Gannon, both formerly of the GLIAC, will compete in the PSAC Western Division, and C.W. Post joins Millersville in the Eastern Division. The expansion brings the total number of football schools in the PSAC to 16, making it the largest football playing conference in Division II.
• In the wake of the PSAC expansion, the NCAA decided to create four “Super Regions.” These Super Regions pull together two regions. In the past, PSAC, NE-10 and WVIAC combined to create the Northeast Region. The PSAC, WVIAC and CIAA now make up the Atlantic Region and are apart of the East Football Super Region with the NE-10, NYCC and CACC of the New England Region.
• Now, to reach the NCAA Playoffs, a team must be ranked in the top eight in the region rather than the top 10.

NICE TO MEET YOU
• In addition to Greg Colby, Millersville football has added some new faces to the coaching staff. Among the newcomers are offensive line coach Derrick Roche, wide receivers coach Dave Keeny, tight ends coach Corey Adderly and intern Dondre Gilliam who will be helping with wide receivers and the return game.
• Roche was an All-American offensive lineman at Washington State and played in the 2003 Rose Bowl. He also spent the last three seasons at UTEP as a special teams assistant and program coordinator.
• Keeny served as the head coach at Kutztown from 1998-2005 and became the third winningest coach in school history.
• Gilliam was an All-PSAC wide receiver and returner while at Millersville from 1999-00.
• Also, changing responsibilities on the staff was Ron Rankin, who switched from the offensive line to the defensive line. Aubrey Kelly is now defensive backs coach instead of cornerbacks coach.

E-10 and WVIAC combined to create the Northeast Region. The PSAC, WVIAC and CIAA now make up the Atlantic Region and are apart of the East Football Super Region with the NE-10, NYCC and CACC of the New England Region.
• Now, to reach the NCAA Playoffs, a team must be ranked in the top eight in the region rather than the top 10.

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