Complete Game Notes

GAME INFORMATION
Millersville (1-2, 0-1 PSAC East) vs. Shippensburg (3-0, 1-0 PSAC East)
Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012 - 1 p.m.
Seth Grove Stadium - Shippensburg, Pa.

SERIES INFORMATION
Series vs. SU: 23-39-2
Series Streak: SU, 8
First Meeting: 1916 (SU 16, MU 0)
Last Meeting: 2011 (MU 40, SU 0)

MEDIA INFORMATION
Audio Broadcast (MSBN)
Live Stats

GAME OVERVIEW
•     Millersville dropped its second consecutive game and fell in its PSAC Eastern Division opener Saturday at West Chester by a 56-14 score. Millersville has started 0-2 in PSAC East play in three of the last four seasons and avoiding that slow start will not be easy against a Shippensburg squad that boasts the top scoring offense in the PSAC and the No. 4 scoring offense in Division II at 52.0 points per game. Millersville has surrendered 101 points in the last two games and allowed 40 to Shippensburg a season ago. Since scoring 41 points in the season opener, Millersville's first team offense has mustered just one touchdown in the last two games.
•    Shippensburg's offense is putting up numbers at a record pace. Last season, under new head coach Mark Maciejewski and new offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich, the Red Raiders set a school record for touchdowns and yards in a season. Nine starters return from that unit, and last week, quarterback Zach Zulli set a school record for passing yards in a game with 496 yards and five touchdowns on 27-of-38 passing. He averaged 18.4 yards per completion, and that's bad news for a Millersville defense that ranks 11th in the PSAC in passing defense and has allowed 10 touchdown passes--the most in the PSAC this season.  Millersville allowed West Chester to average 22.4 yards per completion last Saturday.
•    Shippensburg has won seven consecutive games dating to Oct. 22, 2011. During that stretch, the team has averaged 48.4 points per game and has scored fewer than 40 just once (38 vs. Shepherd in the 2012 season opener). During that same time period, Millersville's defense has allowed 38.3 points per game.

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS
•    Millersville is in dire need of an offensive spark. Since scoring five touchdowns and totaling 400 yards of offense in week one, the Marauders have managed just 487 yards total in the last two games combined. The rushing yards have dropped from 234 to 149 to 74 last week against West Chester. The Golden Rams also put the clamps on Millersville's explosive plays. In the first two games, Millersville produced three rushes of longer than 40 yards. Against West Chester, the longest rush was 12 and the longest pass play was 24.
•    Ted Stachitas, Millersville's leading rusher, was held to 13 yards on 10 carries against West Chester. He had totaled 199 in the first two weeks. He was also picked off for the third consecutive game, giving him four interceptions to two touchdowns. Stachitas still ranks 15th in the PSAC in rushing average, and is averaging more rushing yards per game than any other quarterback. Clarion's Ben Fiscus is close behind with 63.0 yards per game.
•    Myron Myles rushed for a team-best 40 yards on nine carries, but since totaling 18 carries in week one, he's had just nine carries in each of the last two weeks. Myles is averaging 4.3 yards per carry and raks 21st in the PSAC in rushing yards.
•    Mike Jones has become Stachitas' favorite target. He caught a team-high five passes against West Chester, giving him 14 on the season. He has two catches of at least 22 yards and also has both of the team's touchdown catches. Jones now has a team-best four total touchdowns this season, giving him two more scores in the first three weeks of this season than he had in his two previous seasons combined.
•    Since reliable stat records came available in 1971, no Millersville quarterback has led a team in rushing for an entire season. Jamal Smith totaled 633 yards and averaged 57.5 per game in 2007. Stachitas is currently on pace to rush for 778 yards.
•    Millersville has allowed more sacks than any other team in the PSAC with 14, resulting in 69 lost yards. The offense also has 22 punts, which is second-most in the PSAC behind Lock Haven. Jeff Lawson set the school record for punts in a season in 2011 with 80, and the Marauders are currently on pace for 81 this season.
•    Millersville is one of the least penalized teams in the PSAC, totaling only 15 flags through three games. The 15 flags have resulted in just 125 yards worth of penalties, which is the fourth fewest in the league.

 ABOUT THE SERIES
•    Shippensburg holds a 39-23-2 lead in the all-time series, dominating it from its inception in 1916 until 1969 when Millersville went 16-3-1 until 2001. In 2001, Shippensburg won 17-7 at Seth Grove Stadium and has since won eight in a row. Millersville's last win at Seth Grove Stadium came in 1996 by a 34-29 score. The two clubs have met each year since 2007, and Shippensburg moved from the PSAC West to the PSAC East in 2008.
•    In Millersville's eight-game skid against Shippensburg, it has averaged 14.6 points per game and has not scored more than 24 since totaling 27 in 2004. Shippensburg has averaged 39.3 points per game in four meetings against Greg Colby's team. The 2010 game at Shippensburg was a 19-14 final with Millersville being intercepted in the end zone on the final drive of the game.
•    In 2011, the two teams met in a rare October blizzard. The snow piled inches high on the field hardly slowed the Red Raiders as they put up 40 points and rushed for 391 yards and totaled 461 yards of offense. Millersville, meanwhile, totaled just 62 yards of offense. Mike Frenette totaled 177 yards and two touchdowns, and Zach Zulli threw for three scores.

 SCOUTING THE RED RAIDERS
•    Mark Maciejewski enters his second season at Shippensburg after posting a 7-4 record in 2011. The longtime Shippensburg defensive assistant helped his team set school records in points, touchdowns, first downs and total offense. On defense, Shippensburg recorded 93 tackles for loss and 38 sacks.  He earned his bachelor's from Shippensburg in 1992 and a master's in 1996. He previously served as an assistant at Shippensburg for 11 seasons.
•    Shippensburg's offense is one of the most potent in Division II, averaging 581 yards per game, which ranks first. It also ranks fifth in first downs (27 per game), fourth in passing efficiency (195.9), first in passing offense (450.0) and fourth in scoring offense (52.0).
•    It is not a one-dimensional offense, though. It averages 131.7 rushing yards per game and has run 118 rushing plays to 124 passing plays. Mike Frenette is averaging 5.0 yards per carry with three touchdowns and a long run of 70 yards.
•    Zulli has incredibly thrown 13 touchdowns and just one interception in three games. He's completed 65.8 percent of his passes, which places him tops in the PSAC in both completion percentage and passing efficiency.  He averages 424.7 yards of total offense per game, which is tied for first in the nation with Tusculum's Bo Cordell, who was a Harlon Hill finalist in 2011. Of quarterbacks with at least 100 attempts, Zulli is best in the nation in efficiency.
•    He knows how to spread the wealth. He's thrown a touchdown pass to six different players, and three different players are averaging at least 71.0 receiving yards per game. Trevor Harman (302) and Jacob Baskerville (305) are both averaging over 100 yards receiving per game.
•    Shippensburg's defense is allowing 28.0 points per game, but it is allowing just 115.7 yards rushing per game (seventh in the PSAC) and ranks seventh against the pass. The 11 total sacks recorded rank second in the league and Jake Metz has 3.5 of those sacks, which is among the best in the league. The secondary is active with 14 pass breakups and four interceptions.

THE LAST TIME OUT FOR THE MARAUDERS
•     The West Chester offense put on a spectacular display for its home fans under the lights Saturday night. The Golden Rams totaled 655 yards of offense for a 56-14 win over Millersville.
•    West Chester (2-1, 1-0 PSAC East) quarterback Mike Mattei completed 16-of-20 passes for 382 yards and tossed six touchdown passes. Three of them were hauled in by Erick Brundidge and two were caught by Jim Kelly.
•    The Golden Rams outgained Millersville by 422 yards of offense. Mattei averaged 22.4 yards per completion while Millersville's (1-2, 0-1 PSAC East) Ted Stachitas, who also completed 16 passes, averaged just 9.9 yards per completion. West Chester also piled up 28 first downs, and running back Rondell White picked up 131 yards and two scores on 24 carries.    
•    West Chester needed no time to get started. The first drive lasted just 1:29 and the Golden Rams covered 73 yards in only four plays. The touchdown pass from Mattei to Keyser was from 41 yards.  With 4:30 left in the first quarter, Mattei gave WCU a 14-0 lead when he found Brundidge from 43 yards out. Brundidge made his second TD grab before the first quarter expired, extending the lead to 21-0.
•    Millersville dented the scoreboard early in the second quarter when Stachitas hooked up with Mike Jones for a 22-yard TD pass, capping a nine-play, 72-yard drive. On the next West Chester drive, Millersville's Jamie Thomas recovered a Mattei fumble, putting the Marauder offense in business. The offense failed to conver, though, and West Chester answered with a one-play drive that covered 69 yards through the air. The 28-7 lead was more than enough for West Chester, but it added one more score before the half was over.
•    Millersville's only other score came on special teams when David Coates returned the second half's opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. It was the first TD return of his career and the first by a Marauder since 2010.

SENIORS' MOMENT
•    Millersville's roster is led by 20 seniors. Of that group, 17 entered 2012 with starting experience. Lou Brown, Matt Egenrieder, Pat Maloney, Mike Jones, Brian Knell, Zack Riley, Jeff Lawson, Josh Hunter and Pat Cantrell are all multiple-year starters. 12 seniors started in each of the first three weeks. The entire senior class has combined for 206 career starts. Riley, with 30, is the team leader.

TRANSFER IMPACT
•    Two new Marauders are both come from Division I schools and both made an immediate impact on the offense. Quarterback Ted Stachitas transferred after graduating from Wake Forest, and Myron Myles is a redshirt freshman who spent a year at Temple.
•    Stachitas is currently enrolled in the sport management program, and comes to Millersville with plenty of big-game experience. At Wake Forest, he redshirted in 2008, completed 4-of-7 passes in 2009, and started the first three games of 2010 before suffering an injury. He led the team in rushing and passing in each of the first two games. In 2011, he completed 18-fo-26 passes for 152 yards. He completed 5-of-7 for 64 yards against North Carolina. In high school, he was considered the 20th best QB in the country by Rivals and led Nease to the state championship game. He was the successor to Tim Tebow.
•    Myles was previously at Temple where he was named the team's scout team player of the year and rushed for 133 yards in the spring game. At Wissahickon, he rushed for over 2,000 yards. He was a three-star prospect according to most recruiting services.

GET IT GOING
•    Millersville closed 2011 by averaging 143 rushing yards per game over the final four games after averaging a mere 76.1 in the first seven games. The Marauders opened 2012 with 243 yards rushing in week one against W.Va. Wesleyan and followed that with 149 against Mercyhurst.
•    After three weeks, Millersville ranks ninth out of 16 teams in the PSAC with 152.3 rushing yards per game. Its five rushing touchdowns are tied for seventh most and the 3.7 yards per carry ranks 10th.
•    Millersville has not had a 1,000-yard rusher since Juan Jones in 2005. Since then, the most rushing yards in a season was Brad Lantz's 902 in 2007. Since Colby arrived in 2008, Cardoza Jacks' 765 yards in 2008 is the most by any Marauder running back in a season. There have been 16 PSAC running backs total over 1,000 yards in that same stretch.

MAKING THE SWITCH
•    Millersville flipped three players from offense to defense in the offseason, and two of them started the season opener and all three played. Lou Brown, who spent two-and-a-half seasons at wide receiver, moved to cornerback for the final five games of 2011. He finished the season with an interception and a recovered fumble. He was recruited as a corner, so it is his more natural position. So far this season, Brown has picked up right where he left off, recording five tackles against Wesleyan, and six tackles and an interception against Mercyhurst. He has 13 stops on the season.
•    Dean May has traveled a bumpy road for three seasons at Millersville. After redshirting in 2009, he was not on the team in 2010 and then suffered a serious knee injury that kept him out nearly the entire 2011 season. After working as a receiver for three seasons, coaches moved him to the hybrid outside linebacker/safety position in the spring, and he has worked his way to No. 1 on the depth chart ahead of players like Shakar Jones and Jake Allen, who have both played extensively in the past. May has seven tackles in three games.
•    Last season's starting quarterback, Dan Miller, is also moving to defense. Coaches recruited him as a cornerback, and he is back in the secondary but as a safety. Miller started the first 10 games of 2011 under center and led the team in total offense. Miller also has seven stops through three games.

PRODUCING DUO
•    Millersville is more than happy to have Matt Egenrieder back on the field. The senior co-captain redshirted during the 2011 season but in 36 games, and 24 career starts has 92 catches and 1,251 yards receiving. Egenrieder ranked 10th in the PSAC in receiving yards while playing alongside All-PSAC East First Team pick Jamal Smith in 2010. He averaged an explosive 17.5 yards per catch that season. He's also totaled 1,310 kick return yards and averaged 18.2 yards per return in three seasons as the primary return specialist.  He is on pace to become just the 10th player in school history with 100 catches, and also need just 361 yards to move into 10th in career receiving yards.
•    In Egenrieder's last 14 games, he's caught nine passes of at least 24 yards and four of more than 40. He's also recorded a catch in 19 consecutive games that he has played an offensive snap, dating back to Oct. 17, 2009. He's also recorded a catch in 27 of 28 games.
•    Couple Egenrieder with Dominic Sanders, and the Marauders have two productive pass catchers. Sanders led the team with 41 catches and 424 yards in 2011 and he has nine catches for 100 yards so far this season. He and Egenrieder combine for 1,979 receiving yards and 164 catches through week two. The Marauders haven't had such a productive duo enter a season together since Ryan Clift and Andy Neupauer in 2004. That duo finished with 3,477 career yards, totaling 1,486 of those in 2004.

RACK 'EM UP
•    Senior Pat Maloney has been among Millersville's leading tacklers going on four consecutive seasons, and has piled up 196 in his career. His numbers have improved each season, jumping from 43 as a true freshman to 78 as a junior. He was averaged 10.6 per game as a sophomore until he was injured after game five. Maloney led the PSAC in tackles at the time of his injury.
•    Last season, he also led the Marauders in tackles for loss with 9.0 and sacks with 4.0. He aims to become just the sixth player since defensive stats started being recorded in 1973 to lead the team in tackles in back-to-back seasons. Matt Sutjak most recently performed the feat in 2008 and 2009. The last Marauder linebacker to do so was Lee Rizzotto, who did it from 1997-99.
•    So far in 2012, Maloney is second on the team and ranks 22nd in the PSAC with 22 stops. He also has a quarterback sack to his credit.
•    Maloney's 13 tackles against Mercyhurst were a game high, giving him eight games with double-digit tackles in his career. He has also led the team in tackles in seven of the last 14 games that he has played.

FIRST IN A WHILE
•    Jordan Rigby became the first Millersville defensive player to be named PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week in over five years Sunday after intercepting two passes and returning one for a touchdown in the week one win over W.Va. Wesleyan.
•    His 19-yard interception return for a touchdown turned the tide of Saturday's game. Millersville trailed 10-7 in the third until Rigby's interception return put the Marauders on top to stay. He picked off Nate Montana twice, totaling 26 return yards. He also hurried Montana once, broke up another passes and tallied five tackles including a half-tackle for loss.
•    His INT return was the first by a Marauder since Dan McClellan's in the 2008 season opener at Bentley.

THREE BY ONE
•    Running back Mike Jones totaled a career-high three touchdowns in week one against W.Va. Wesleyan. One came on a reception and the other two were rushing. In his 12 previous games as a Marauder, Jones had scored just two touchdowns, and his first quarter, 1-yard run against Wesleyan was his first TD since scoring on a 74-yard run against Shippensburg on Oct. 30, 2010. It was also the first three-touchdown performance by a Marauder since Jamal Smith totaled three touchdown catches against Lock Haven on Sept. 11, 2010.

LIVING ON THE EDGE
•    Marauder defensive end Reggie Slaton is having a breakthrough season. His 24 tackles rank first on the team and 11th in the PSAC.  His 2.0 sacks are also 13th in the PSAC and his 5.5 tackles for loss are not only a team best, but a league best as well.  His average of 1.8 TFL's per game are tied for 35th in Division II.
•    Maintaining his current averages put him on pace for 88 tackles, 7.5 sacks, and 20 tackles for loss. No Marauder has had more than 93 stops since Joe Hollister won the PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year award in 2004, and no player has had more more than seven sacks since Lee Rizzotto totaled 13 in 1999.

SPECIAL SPECIAL TEAMS
•    As a team, Millersville ranks third in the PSAC in kick returns  after averaging 28.4 yards on 17 returns. Of players with more than four returns, David Coates is second in the league in average at 31.2 on 14 returns. His 97-yard touchdown return against West Chester is the longest return in the PSAC this season and was one of just four returns for touchdowns. He also had a 61-yard return against against Wesleyan.
•    Coates has three returns of at least 48 yards this season. The TD return at West Chester was the first of his career and the second TD of his career. It was also the first touchdown on a kickoff return since Jamal Smith's against LIU Post in 2010. It also came within three yards of matching the school record for the longest return. Coates now leads the PSAC in return yards and kick returns.
•    Coates is averaging 4.67 kick returns per game--more than any other player in Division II. He ranks sixth nationally in average among players with at least five returns.
•    Coates is well on his way to a record-setting season. The school record for kickoff returns in a season is 32 by Terrance Trogdon in 1991. Kevin Cannon (1994) owns the kickoff return yards record with 760. Coates is on pace for 51 returns and his 31.2 average puts him at 1,591 kick return yards by the end of the season.