Complete Game Notes

GAME INFORMATION
Millersville (0-6, 0-3 PSAC East) at Cheyney (0-6, 0-3 PSAC East)
Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013 - 1 p.m.
O'Shields-Stevenson Field - Cheyney, Pa.

SERIES INFORMATION
Series vs. CU: 56-5-1
Series Streak: Ville, 2
First Meeting: 1951(Ville 14, CU 13)
Last Meeting: 2012 (Ville 35, CU 0)
Record at CU (since 1968): 21-1

MEDIA INFORMATION
Audio Broadcast (MSBN)
Live Stats

GAME OVERVIEW
• Millersville and Cheyney are both in search of a first victory. The Marauders have won 21 of the 22 games played at Cheyney and have not lost at Cheyney since 1978. Saturday's game is Cheyney's Homecoming game, making Millersville the Homecoming opponent for a three consecutive weeks. With Homecoming at Millersville set for Oct. 26, Millersville will have played in four consecutive Homecomin games.
• Cheyney's running attack could give the Marauders problems. The Marauders allow 267.3 yards per game, ranking 16th in the PSAC. However, the Marauder defense turned in a solid statistical performance against Bloomsburg, holding the nation's No. 2 rushing offense to 159 yards under its average. It also held Bloomsburg to fewer than 300 yards of offense for the first time in 18 games.
• Expect a low scoring game as Both teams control the ball, averaging over 30 minutes of time of possession and the two clubs rank 15th and 16th in the PSAC in scoring offense.
• To spark its offense in week six at Bloomsburg, Millersville turned the quarterback duties over to Curtis Frye. He performed well, completing 16-of-24 passes with an interception, but he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the game. Connor Casey moves back into the starting role. He started the first five games of the season and also led Millersville on its only scoring drive at Bloomsburg.
•  Kevin Porter emerged as a go-to receiver for the Marauders last week. he totaled five catches for 79 yards and also caught his team-high second touchdown of the season. His 56-yard grab was the longest play from scrimmage this season. Brent Collins continued to be a top target as well, catching seven passes to increase his team lead to 29.
• Joey Pham recorded his first career interception last week, giving Millersville an interception in each of the last two games. Cheyney's quarterbacks have a tendency for turnovers, throwing nine interceptions. Adler Thony threw for a season-high 134 yards against Kutztown last week. 

ABOUT THE SERIES
• Millersville holds a 56-5-1 all-time lead in the series including a 21-1 road record since 1968. Millersville rolled to a 35-0 win in last season's game thanks to five Cheyney turnovers including four fumble recovers and a blocked punt. Dominic Sanders caught two touchdown passes. Ian Sadon rushed for 59 yards on 11 carries.
• The three games from 2009-2011 games were closely contested. Millersville held on for a 10-7 win using a last-minute field goal in 2011. In 2010, Millersville was 2-2 but Cheyney rushed for 295 yards and drove for the game-winning touchdown with 30 seconds left. Marcus Jones had 160 yards rushing. It was Cheyney's first win over Millersville since 1983. The 2009 game was a shoot-out with Millersville winning 47-36.
• Last season's shutout was the 15th time that Millersville has blanked Cheyney. Millersville has held the Wolves to seven or fewer points nine times since 2000.

SCOUTING THE WOLVES
• Cheyney relies heavily on its Wing-T offense and ball control. Nahum Purdie (324) and Marcus Jones (323) rank 15th and 16th in the PSAC in rushing yards, and Cheyney is one of only three teams with two players ranking in the top 15 in rushing yards. The Wolves have rushed 265 times compared to 122 passes. Only Bloomsburg has a greater run/pass ratio.
• If the Marauders can stymie the run, it will put a great deal of pressure on a pair of quarterbacks that have struggled. The passing offense averages just 4.9 yards per completion and has thrown nine interceptions and zero touchdowns.
• Eugene Moten is a dangerous return man, averaging 28.0 yards per return on 22  returns.
• Cheyney's defense is led by Isaiah Fleming. His 64 tackles are a PSAC best, and no one on his team has more than 30 stops. He also ranks second in tackles for loss with 11.5. He and Ariene Gardner create a formidable pass rush tandem with Gardner owning 4.5 sacks and Fleming totaling 3.0. Fleming recorded 21 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and two sacks against Kutztown.

THE LAST TIME OUT
• Millersville held No. 9 Bloomsburg to its lowest offensive yardage output of the 2013 season but could not keep pace in a 45-7 defeat Saturday.
• The Marauder offense committed three turnovers including an interception that was returned for a touchdown. Lawrence Elliot Jr. also returned a punt 73 yards for a touchdown mid-way through the third quarter. Millersville's first drive of the second half ended when Curtis Frye's pass was picked off by J.P. Patrick and returned 34 yards for a touchdown.
• The Marauders turned over the offense to Connor Casey, and he led Millersville's lone scoring drive early in the fourth quarter. He hooked up with Kevin Porter for a 56-yard completion and capped the drive with an eight-yard touchdown toss to Porter.

A BIG BOOT
• Freshman Evan Stahl made his collegiate debut at punter in week two and has quickly made a difference in the Marauders' kicking game. Against West Chester, he had a long of 69 yards, three punts inside the 20 and three longer than 50 yards. He now ranks seventh in the PSAC in punting average at 39.0, and his 69-yarder is the third-best mark in the PSAC this season. Stahl has placed nine of his 36 kicks inside the 20 and seven have been fair caught. Only one has been a touchdback. He has a punt of at least 45 yards in each of his last four games.
• He added placekicking to his duties in week four and hit his first career field goal (24 yards). He made it 2-for-2 against IUP with a 36-yard field goal in the first quarter. 

MAKING A MARK
• David Coates has already set Millersville career records for return yards and return attempts in a season and a career. Now he is trying to zero in on NCAA records. The junior is  Division II's active career leader in kickoff returns (97) and return yards (2,216). St. Anselm's Keith Charles is a distant second with 78 career returns and Catawba's L.J. McCray trails Coates in return yards by 284.
• Coates leads all Divisions in kickoff return yards per game with an average of 82.1. FBS member North Texas' Brelan Chancellor is in second at 80.8.
• Teams have started limiting Coates' returns by kicking away from him, but he still has three returns longer than 30 yards this season.
• Last season, Coates was the lone Marauder to earn All-PSAC East honors, being named to the second team. He was Millersville's first return specialist to be named all-conference since Bakari Brown in 2004. He led all of Division II in return yards and his 1,156 kickoff returns set a new school record and was the second-most in PSAC history. His 25.7 yards per return ranked 33rd nationally and was the highest by a Marauder since Dondre Gilliam in 1999. He had at least one 25-yard return in nine of 11 games.

EMERGING THREAT
• Greg Breitbach predicted that junior tight end Trenton Petrovich would become a significant part of the offense, and he is making strides as a top pass-catching tight end. Petrovich set career highs in catches (4) and yards (79) against Shippensburg. It was the most catches by a Marauder tight end since Greg Frantz's four against IUP in 2009. His 79 yards were the most by a Millersville tight end in more than 10 years. Petrovich now owns eight catches and has caught a pass in three of the last four games.

BY LAND AND BY AIR
• Brent Collins totaled 123 yards receiving and Ian Sadon totaled 106 yards rushing in week two at Mercyhurst. It was only the third time since the start of the 2009 season that Millersville has produced a 100-yard receiver and 100-yard rusher in the same game. Millersville performed the feat only against Cal in 2012 and Lock Haven in 2010.

COLLINS CATCHING ON
• Brent Collins made his mark in 2011, catching 25 passes for the most receptions by a Marauder rookie since 2002. He made only five catches in 2012, though. He eclipsed that total in week one with a career-high seven catches. He set a new career-high in week two with 11 catches. His 123 yards receiving also set a new career high and marked his first 100-yard game. Game-by-game box scores have been filed since 2002 and no Marauder since then has caught more than 18 passes in the first two weeks of the season.
• He made a 42-yard catch against West Chester, which was Millersville's longest play from scrimmage at the time. He also had a 38-yard catch at Mercyhurst.
• Collins caught seven more passes against Bloomsburg, bringing his season total to 29, which ranks 13th in the PSAC.

SHARE THE LOAD
• Millersville quarterbacks have used a variety of options in the passing game through two weeks. 15 different players have caught at least one pass and 10 different players have caught four or more. Seven different players have a reception of at least 20 yards.

SADON STRONG
• Ian Sadon has eclipsed the 100-yard mark two times in the 2013 season, totaling 124 yards against IUP and 108 at Mercyhurst, giving him four, 100-yard games in a nine-game stretch. His performance against IUP was the second-best of his career. His 108 yards at Mercyhurst came on 21 carries--the second-highest total of his career.
• Sadon's 40-yard run against IUP was the longest by any Marauder this season and the  second longest run of his career. He has thre runs of 20-plus yards this season.
• Last season, he produced 100-yard games against LIU Post and California (Pa.), and scored five touchdowns including three against Cal.
• Sadon has carried the ball more than 20 times three times in his career and each time he has recorded at least 100 yards.
• The last Marauder running back to record four 100-yard games in a six game stretch was Cardoza Jacks in 2008 when he posted four in a row.
• Sadon is on pace to rush for nearly 750 yards on 183 carries this season. The last Marauder to rush for more than 800 yards in a season was Brad Lantz in 2007. Sadon is also on pace to have the most carries since Lantz's 234 in 2007.

WHAT A DEBUT
•  Dante Barkley made eight catches for 84 yards against LIU Post in week one. The eight grabs were the most by a Marauder freshman since Omar Sanders caught nine against Bloomsburg in 2003.

NEW NAMES, NEW FACES
• Coach Greg Breitbach made some changes to his coaching staff in the offseason, first bringing in Jeff Richter and George Love, who he coached with at North Dakota. Richter was the tight ends coach in 2012 and was also a player at UND while Breitbach coached. Love coached linebackers with Breitbach for one season before moving on to his alma mater, Eastern Illinois. Love will also oversee the special teams.
• During the summer, Breitbach added wide receivers coach Ralph Clark and outside linebackers coach Matt Sutjak. Clark is a 16-year coaching veteran, having served as a defensive coordinator at Division I FSC Northeastern and St. Francis. Sutjak is a familiar name for Marauder fans. He was a standout safety for Millersville from 2008-2010. He led the team in tackles twice and led the PSAC in interceptions as a senior. Sutjak will also assist with the special teams.

YEAR ONE A CHALLENGE
• Breitbach is one of four new head coaches in the PSAC, and the 12 returning coaches went just 52-72-2 in their first seasons. Only half of that number posted records above .500. No first-year Millersville coach has posted a winning first season since 1923.
• The four new PSAC coaches have a combined 7-17 record through five weeks, and Bloomsburg's Paul Darragh has five of the six wins.

NO FAVORS WITH THE SCHEDULE
• After six weeks, three opponents (IUP, Bloomsburg and West Chester) are ranked in the top 20. Millersville's first six opponents have a combined record of 31-10 and only one team has a sub-.500 record.
• Three of Millersville's opponents were ranked in the preseason top-25 and two others received votes. Three teams (Shippensburg, Bloomsburg and IUP) reached the NCAA Playoffs last year. Millersville's PSAC West opponents finished 1-2-3 in the standings in 2012 and went a combined 29-7.