Complete Game Notes

GAME INFORMATION
Millersville (2-3, 0-2) vs. C.W. Post (3-2,2-0)
Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010 - 1 p.m.
Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium - Millersville, Pa.

SERIES INFORMATION
Series vs. CWP: 0-2
Series Streak: CWP, 2
First Meeting: 2008 (CWP 55, MU 38)
Last Meeting: 2009 (CWP 35 , MU 3)

MEDIA INFORMATION
Audio Broadcast (MSBN)
Live Stats

ABOUT THE GAME
• Millersville suffered a disappointing setback last week against Cheyney, and it will need its best performance of the season to bounce back against C.W. Post. The Pioneers are battling for the PSAC East title after defeating West Chester in triple overtime and starting league play 2-0. The Pioneers boast a potent and balanced offense led by multi-threat quarterback Erik Anderwkavich. Audio can be heard on the home of Millersville Athletics, the Marauder Sports Broadcasting Network (MSBN). The broadcast, featuring play-by-play announcer Domenic Panza, can be accessed at www.millersvilleathletics.com. Fans can also follow live stats at www.sidearmstats.com/cwpost/football.
• Millersville's offense was outstanding through the first three weeks of the season but has hit a rough patch in the last two weeks against Bloomsburg and Cheyney. After averaging 30.7 points and 397 yards of offense in non-conference play, the Marauders have produced a total of 24 points and averaged 227.5 yards per game. Quarterback Bill Shirk still ranks as the PSAC leader in passing yards per game and passing efficiency but has completed 46.2 percent of his passes and averaged 152.5 yards passing in each of the last two outings.
• Additionally, the running game has struggled. The team has rushed for more than 100 yards just once this year and is 15th in the PSAC at 75.2 rushing yards per game. Opponents are out-rushing the Marauders by 147 yards per game. Mike Jones is the leader with 56.6 yards per game. He has a solid 4.4 yard-per-carry average, as does Brandon Gunn (5.5), but the issue has been its inconsistency.
• Defensively, the Marauders surrendered 295 yards rushing against Cheyney and are last in the PSAC against the run. That's bad news considering that C.W. Post runs the ball as well as any team in the league. The Pioneers are averaging 195.4 rushing yards per game. Anderwkavich and sophomore running back Thomas Beverly create an explosive tandem that has combined for 788 of the team's 1000 rushing yards. Last year, C.W. Post recorded 328 rushing yards against Millersville.
• Millersville and C.W. Post are the two most penalized teams in the PSAC this year. Millersville has committed 39 penalties for 417 yards and C.W. Post has committed 35 penalties for 393 yards. The teams also ranked 15th and 14th respectively in time of possession.

FACING EAST
• Millersville has won 10 PSAC Eastern Division titles all-time, but the last came in 1998. Millersville is 175-115-5 against the East all-time, but has not won more than three games in the division since posting a 5-1 mark in 2000. Millersville is 20-35 against the PSAC East since 2000.

ABOUT THE SERIES
• Millersville and C.W. Post have met only twice and the Pioneers have won both games. The first meeting came in 2008 and the 55-38 score marked the highest scoring game in Millersville history. Bill Shirk threw for 300 yards and three touchdowns in game, and Jamal Smith totaled 139 yards receiving. Millersville's 452 yards of offense was matched by C.W. Post's 593 yards.
• In 2009, the Pioneers rolled to a 35-3 win at Millersville. Shirk could not match his 2008 performance as he completed just 4-of-15 passes and threw two interceptions. Jamal Smith was held to one catch for 23 yards. C.W. Post, meanwhile, put up 410 yards of offense and scored touchdowns on its first four drives.

THE HEAD COACHES
• Millersville's Greg Colby is in his third season as head coach. He inherited a youthful roster and a program that hadn't posted a winning season since 2000. He spent most of his career as an assistant at the Division I level, though. 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.
• • Bryan Collins has built a successful program during his 11 seasons at C.W. Post. His 96-41 record is among the leaders in active coaches in Division II and he is C.W. Post's all-time winningest coach. During his tenure, the Pioneers won or shared four NE-10 titles and earned three NCAA Division II berths. Collins is also the director of athletics at C.W. Post.
• Prior to being named head coach, Collins was an assistant for four seasons and also spent three seasons as an assistant St. Francis Prep and Kings Point. He graduated from St. John's in 1987.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
• C.W. Post's offense is almost perfectly balanced. Anderwkavich leads an offense that rushes for 200.0 yards per game and throws for 195.8 yards per game. Since losing back-to-back games to California (Pa.) (40-13) and Mercyhurst (28-20), the Pioneers have responded with two wins in a row. They topped Shippensburg 31-14 and outlasted West Chester in triple overtime, 39-37.
• If C.W. Post has a weakness on offense, it's the tendency to commit turnovers. Anderwkavich has thrown nine interceptions in 140 attempts this year. The team has also lost seven fumbles, and its 16 total turnovers are most in the PSAC. The -6 turnover ratio is second-lowest among 16 conference teams.
• The Pioneers are second in the PSAC in first downs (109) and have been able to move the ball on offense, but they have struggled at times to score. They scored 20 or fewer in three games and are 11th in red zone offense. They have also been outscored 130-123 this year.
• C.W. Post's defense is surrendering 364 yards per game and is allowing 198.4 yards per game through the air. Billy O'Connor is the PSAC's leading tackler with 60 stops including a league-high 33 solo tackles.

THE LAST TIME OUT
• Cheyney utilized its power, Wing-T running game all afternoon, but when it needed a late score, Coach Jeff Braxton called on his quarterback. QB Chris Anderson marched the Wolves to a touchdown with 30 seconds remaining, giving Cheyney a 20-17 victory--its first of the season and its first over Millersville since 1983.
• Millersville (2-3, 0-2 PSAC East) led 14-13 with 4:51 left in the game. The offense had sputtered much of the game, running just eight plays in the third quarter and three on its first drive of the fourth. But the combination that had worked so well all season--Bill Shirk to Jamal Smith--hooked up for a 51-yard gain, putting the Marauders in Cheyney territory. One play later, Smith hauled in a Shirk pass at the Cheyney 2-yard line.
• Millersville failed to put the game away, though. Fateen Brown was stuffed for a loss on first down, and Shirk's fade to Smith fell incomplete on second. On third down, Shirk was sacked for the fifth time, forcing Millersville to settle for a 17-13 lead on an Anthony Kassab field goal.
• Cheyney took over with 1:58 left, and immediately, Anderson found Prince Stewart for a 28-yard gain to the Millersville 42. The Marauder defense forced a fourth-and-nine, but in a play eerily similar to Millersville's season-opening loss to Assumption, a pass interference penalty kept the drive alive. The Wolves managed to convert one more fourth down at the Millersville nine, and another pass interference put the Wolves on the doorstep. On first-and-goal Anderson plunged across the goal line on a keeper.
• A chance at a miracle was all that was left for the Marauders as they needed to travel 80 yards in 30 seconds. Shirk was sacked on the first play and his final three attempts all fell incomplete.
• Cheyney did not lead until its final score. It was the first win of Braxton's three-year tenure and just the sixth in 61 all-time meetings against Millersville.
• The Wolves' ground game produced 295 yards--160 of them by Marcus Jones. John Newman added 87 on six carries, including a 77-yard touchdown run. With every carry, the Wolves chewed up more clock. They held a 38:45 to 21:15 advantage in time of possession.

MISTAKE FREE
• The Marauders have taken care of the ball on offense and generated turnovers with the defense. Millersville has committed just four turnovers in five games and had committed only one in the first three. That is the lowest total of any team in the PSAC. Millersville is the only three teams in the nation to have not lost a fumble. Millersville has put the ball on the ground just once, which is also best in the league. The defense has four fumble recoveries and six interceptions, giving the team a +6 turnover margin. That number is third-best in the league and 22nd in the nation.

GREEN LIGHT IN THE RED ZONE
• Millersville is performed well in the red zone through five games, converting 14-of-17 scoring chances. The 82.4 percent conversion rate ranks fourth in the PSAC. Millersville has scored 12 touchdowns and is 2-for-4 in field goal. The Marauders are ranked 42nd in Division II.

PRODUCING POINTS
• Bill Shirk threw four touchdown passes against Lock Haven, marking the second time in his career and the second time in his last six games that he has throw four TD passes. He also hit Jamal Smith for four TD's against Kutztown on Oct. 24, 2009. Shirk has now thrown two or more touchdown passes in a game nine times in his career. Shirk threw three touchdown passes in the opener against Assumption and three more against Gannon in week three. It was the sixth time in his career that he has thrown at least three TD passes in one game. He accomplished the feat twice in each of his first two seasons. He also threw for three scores in back-to-back games in October of 2008.
• With 12 passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown, Shirk is third in the PSAC in touchdown passes and he is 16th in Division II in points responsible for.

MILLERSVILLE PICKERS
• Millersville has totaled six interceptions through five games. Led by Matt Sutjak's two interceptions, the Marauders totaled four interceptions against Lock Haven. The defense picked off Gannon twice. Millersville is now fifth in the PSAC in interceptions.
• Sutjak's two picks against Lock Haven were a career-high and the four were the most by the team since 2007. Alfred Williams recorded his first career interception, and Martique Vanderpool made his second career interception and first since the 2008 season. Against Gannon, John Wynder made his first interception since the 2008 season, and Gary Tillman recorded the third interception of his career.

ASSIST TO THE DEFENSE
• Zack Riley scored a defensive touchdown for Millersville in week one by returning a fumble off of a quarterback sack. It was Riley's first career touchdown and the the fumble return for a touchdown by a Marauder since Derrick Bass scored on a fumbled punt against Slippery Rock on Sept. 6, 2008. It also marked the second time in three season openers under Greg Colby that the defense has generated a touchdown. Against Bentley in 2008, Dan McClellan returned an interception 42 yards for a touchdown.

BOMBS AWAY
• Three times this season, the Marauders have scored touchdowns of 50 yards or longer and also had a 51-yard pass and 52-yard run. Bill Shirk hooked up with Matt Egenrieder for an 87-yard touchdown pass in the season opener and also found him for a 50-yard strike in week two. Jamal Smith hauled in a 75-yard touchdown pass in week three. Smith caught the 51-yard pass in week five.
• The 87-yard pass was the second-longest pass reception in school history, trailing only Drew Folmar and Sean Scott's 91-yard strike in 2000. Shirk has completed 16 passes of more than 35 yards during his time as Millersville's starting quarterback. In week three along, he completed four passes of more than 35 yards to Smith.
• Shirk has two touchdown passes of at least 80 yards in his career. Against West Chester in 2008, he and Jamal Smith connected for an 80-yard TD.

EXCELLENCE OF EXECUTION
• With 91-of-153 passing, 1,270 yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions, Bill Shirk ranks first in the PSAC and 19th in Division II with a 151.2 passer rating. He also ranks 22nd nationally in passing yards. His 254.0 passing average is tops in the PSAC. He also fourth the league and is 39th nationally in total offense at 248.2 yards per game.
• Shirk posted a career-high 423 yards passing against Gannon on Sept. 18, becoming the first Millersville quarterback to throw for 400 yards since Dan Csencsitz threw for 410 in 2004.
• It was the third 300-yard-plus passing game and second of the season for Shirk. He also hit the mark on Oct. 18, 2008 against C.W. Post. Shirk's three performances are Millersville's only 300-yard games since 2004.

DOUBLE THE FUN
• Both Matt Egenrieder (106) and Jamal Smith (103) recorded more than 100 yards receiving in the season opener against Assumption. It marked the first time two Millersville receivers totaled 100 yards in the same game since Smith and Andy Tischbein in 2008 and just the second time since Sept. 4, 2004.
• Millersville has had at least one 100-yard receiver in four of the first five games. Smith has three 100-yard games and Egenreider has two.
• The duo has combined for 906 or Millersville's 1,270 receiving yards (71.3 percent) and ranked first and fifth in the PSAC in receiving yards per game. Smith is averaging 117.6 yards per game, and Egenreider is averaging 81.6 yards per game. They also have the two longest receptions in the PSAC this year.
• In week two, Egenrieder totaled 116 yards receiving and Mike Jones totaled 100 yards rushing, giving a 100-yard rusher and 100-yard receiver in the same game for the first time since Nov. 1, 2008.

MOVING ON UP
• Bill Shirk has passed for 4,889 yards and 39 touchdowns in 25 career starts. With 423 passing yards against Gannon, Shirk moved past Carmen Lex (1974-77) in the record books for fifth all-time in passing yards. Additionally, Shirk needs 1,318 yards to pass Gregg Moylan (1993-96) for fourth all-time.
• With 1,270 yards in four games, Shirk is well on his way to another 1,700-plus yard season, which would make him the first Millersville quarterback to turn in three career seasons of 1,700 or more passing yards since Drew Folmar (1997-2000). He would also be just the fourth QB all-time to achieve that feat.
• Shirk also ranks sixth in career total offense. With 4,962 yards in 34 games, his 145.9 yards per game average is seventh all-time. He has totaled 4,840 of those yards in his last 26 games, which is an average of 186.2 yards per game. Shirk passed Mike Burke for sixth and now trails Carmen Lex (1974-77) by 577 yards for fifth.


IN SEARCH OF SACKS
• The defense is hoping to increase its pass rush this season. After just one sack (Shane Gross) through the first two weeks, the Marauders piled up five sacks against Gannon. Gross leads the team with three sacks on the year and also is the active career leader with seven. Four different players (Antwain Brown-Barnes, Zack Riley, Gary Tillman and John Wynder recorded their first sacks of the season against Gannon).
• Millersville upped its sack total by from seven in 2008 to 18 in 2009, but that total ranked in a tie for 14th in the PSAC. The sack leader, California (Pa.), totaled 37.
• Millersville's team leader in sacks in 2009 was junior Antwain Brown-Barnes with 4.5. Shane Gross totaled 4.0, and Chad Miller added 3.0. Eight different players tallied at least one sack, but only three players had more than 2.0. While 18 sacks ranked near the bottom of the league, it was the most sacks in a season by a Millersville team since totaling 26 in 2005. Brown-Barnes' 4.5 sacks in 2009 was the most by any Marauder since Tim Schultz and Chuck Koch each recorded 5.0 in 2004. The last Marauder to record double-digit sacks in a season was Lee Rizzotto (11) in 1999.

DO-IT-ALL JAMAL
• Senior Jamal Smith has displayed the ability to be a game changer. Smith averaged 123.4 all-purpose yards per game last season, placing him second in the PSAC and so far in 2010, Smith is third in the PSAC and 22nd nationally in all-purpose yards with an average of 152.4 per game.
• Smith came within 10 yards of a school record against Gannon by totaling 340 all-purpose yards. He also totaled 152 all-purpose yards in the season opener on 103 yards receiving, 25 yards rushing, and 24 yards on one punt return and one kick return.
• With 33 catches, Smith is first in the PSAC and 28th in Division II in catches per game. He also leads the PSAC in receiving yards per game (117.6) and is 12th in Division II.
• Smith has eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark seven times in his career including three times this season.
• Smith totaled a career-high nine catches against Assumption. He became the first Marauder since Andy Tischbein on Nov. 1, 2008 to record nine catches in a game.
• With at least 700 receiving yards this season, Smith would become the first Marauder with back-to-back 700-yard receiving seasons since Sean Scott accomplished that feat during the 1999 and 2000 seasons. Additionally, another 1,300-plus all-purpose yard season would mark the first time a Marauder has turned in back-to-back 1,300-yard efforts since Kevin Cannon turned in 1,600-plus yard campaigns in 1994 and 1995. His current average of 117.6 receiving yards per season would put him on pace for 1,294 yards, which would be a school record. His average of 152.4 all-purpose yards per game would put him at 1,676 yards and fourth most all-time.

SMITH FOR THE SCORE
• Smith's three touchdowns in week two was one behind his career high now with six, he ranks sixth in the PSAC in scoring and leads the league in receiving touchdowns.
• Smith can score from anywhere on the field. He has totaled 31 career touchdowns including 18 receiving, seven rushing and six passing. 12 of the 17 receiving touchdowns in his career have gone for more than 20 yards.
• Smith ranks fourth in Millersville history in receiving touchdowns in a career. He is tied with Aaron Wyley (1976-79) at 18.
• Smith's four touchdown outing against Kutztown in 2009 tied Kevin Cannon's school record for receiving touchdowns in a game.
• In '09 Smith joined California's A.J. Jackson and Shippensburg's Mike Harris as the only three receivers with 10 or more touchdowns during the season. Smith's 10 receiving touchdowns marked only the third time in school history that a receiver hauled in at least 10 touchdowns through the air. The last time a receiver hit the 10 touchdown mark was Sean Scott in 2000, and no Marauder has ever had two seasons of 10 receiving touchdowns.

MAKING STOPS
• Sophomore Pat Maloney leads the team, ranks third in the PSAC and 12th nationally with 10.6 tackles per game. Shane Gross, with 45 tackles, ranks fifth in the PSAC and 40th in Division II. Maloney has recorded double-digit tackles in every game this year.
• Senior safety Matt Sutjak has led the Marauders in tackles each of the last two years and has totaled 203. He started his 2010 campaign with 13 tackles against Assumption. It was the fourth time in his 25 career games that he has recorded more than 10 tackles in a game. He totaled double-digit stops three times in 2009 including a career-high 15 against Shippensburg on Sept. 26.
• Last year, Sutjak ranked sixth in the PSAC in tackles with 92. He was the first Marauder to total more than 90 tackles in a season since Joe Hollister, the 2004 PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year. Sutjak was also the first Marauder to lead the team in tackles in back-to-back seasons since Lee Rizzotto (1997-1999). Since tackle stats started being tracked in 1973, only John Petrus (1986-88) and Rizzotto have led the Marauders in tackles for three-straight seasons. Sutjak has an opportunity to join that club this year.

O CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN
• The Millersville football team voted a trio of players as the captains for the 2010 season. Seniors Bill Shirk, Jamal Smith and Chad Miller will assume the roles. Chad Miller was also voted a captain in 2009, making him a rare two-time team selection. Both Smith and Miller were named All-PSAC East Second Team last year. All three players have plenty of experience. Miller and Smith are entering their fourth seasons as starters, and Shirk has piloted the team as the quarterback for two seasons.

BACK FOR MORE
• Four Millersville players were named All-PSAC East in 2009 but just two return. Defensive tackle Chad Miller was named All-PSAC East Second team and wide receiver Jamal Smith was also named All-PSAC East Second Team. In addition to his postseason mention, Smith was selected as the PSAC East Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 25 for his four-touchdown, 255-all-purpose-yard performance against Kutztown. Smith was also the 2007 PSAC East Rookie of the Year as a quarterback. That season he threw for 807 yards and rushed for 633.
• Miller has an opportunity to enter select company as a Millersville defensive tackle. The last Marauder defensive tackle to earn back-to-back All-PSAC East mention was Jamar Gordon in 1995-96.

A GRAND MILESTONE
• In Millersville's 120 years of football, only a handful of players have totaled 1,000 yards rushing or 1,000 yards receiving in a season. 1,000 yards rushing has been accomplished 14 times since 1970 and only Ricke Stonewall eclipsed that mark twice. Totaling 1,000 yards receiving is even more rare as only Mike McFetridge (1,131) and Sean Scott (1,030) accomplished the feat. They hit the milestone back-to-back in 1998 and 1999.

HOME SWEET HOME
• The 2010 schedule sets up well for the Marauders early with the first five games all coming at home. A season after playing three non-conference games on the road, the Marauders play all three non-conference games at home, and open PSAC East play with two more home games.
• Millersville is 129-69-3 all-time at Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium but has posted 1-4 home records in each of the last three seasons. Millersville has not won more than two home games in a season since 2004.