Complete Game Notes

GAME INFORMATION
Millersville (0-1) at Mercyhurst (0-1)
Saturday, Sept. 14, 2013 - 1 p.m.
Tullio Field - Erie, Pa.

SERIES INFORMATION
Series vs. Mercyhurst: 0-1
Series Streak: Mercyhurst, 1
First Meeting: 2012 (Mercyhurst 45, Millersville 7)
Last Meeting: 2012 (Mercyhurst 45, Millersville 7)
Record at Tullio Field: First game

MEDIA INFORMATION
Audio Broadcast (MSBN)
Live Stats

GAME OVERVIEW
• Millersville travels to Mercyhurst for the first time in school history Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff. The Marauders and Lakers both lost their season openers. The Lakers have lost back-to-back seasons. Last year, they quickly rallied to defeat Millersville at Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium. The Marauders are trying to bounce back from a 47-16 opening week defeat to LIU Post. Mercyhurst lost its seasn opener at Bentley, 17-16. The Lakers led 16-10 until Bentley scored with 2:49 left on the clock. Mercyhurst's final drive was ended when Bentley stuffed Brandon Brown-Dukes on a fourth-and-two with 54 seconds to go.
• Millersville also led their week one game early. The Marauders led 2-0 after the first quarter and trailed only 20-9 at the half. LIU Post, however, scored on each of its first three possessions of the second half to pull away.
• Mercyhurst totaled 379 yards of total offense against Bentley, rushed for 163 yards, did not allow a sack and did not commit a turnover.  Bentley managed only 299 yards of offense but still managed to win. Mercyhurst will undoubtedly look to get its running game going against Millersville again. The Marauders surrendered 266 yards rushing in the opener.
• Connor Casey and a young group of wide receivers provided a bright spot for the Marauders in the opener. Casey, making his third career start, passed for 232 yards, and Dante Barkley totaled eight catches in his first collegiate game. Kevin Porter also caught his first career touchdown in his Marauder debut. Millersville held a 5:06 edge in time of possession but committed four fumbles--losing two. 
• Millersville fans that cannot make the trip to Erie can listen live to Jordan Kuhns and Josiah Huyard on MSBN. Access to the online broadcast is made at www.millersvilleathletics.com/MSBN. Mercyhurst will also provide live statistics.

ABOUT THE SERIES
• Millersville and Mercyhurst met for the first time ever on Sept. 8, 2012, and the Lakers rolled to a 45-7 win at Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium. The Lakers piled up 379 yards rushing and averaged 7.4 yards per carry. Brandon Brown-Dukes totaled 213 yards and averaged 9.7 yards per carry. Allen Jones II also eclipsed the 100-yard mark and averaged 7.8 per carry. Anthony Vendemia attempted only 11 passes, completing seven. Jeff Groene led the Lakers with three catches. Millersville managed just 255 yards of total offense. Dominic Sanders had three catches for 34 yards. Reggie Slaton totaled 11 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss and a sack.

SCOUTING THE LAKERS
•  Mercyhurst road a potent ground game to a 9-2 record in 2012--losing only to IUP and Notre Dame College in the season opener. The Lakers were PSAC West co-champs and were 5-0 at Tullio Field. The Lakers return five starters on both offense and defense and were picked second in the PSAC West preseason poll. 
• The offense is led by PSAC West Freshman of the Year Brandon Brown-Dukes, who set a school record with 16 TD's. Quarterback Anthony Vendemia tossed 17 TD passes to just seven interceptions and started all 11 games. Both starting wide receivers are gone, leaving Jeff Groene as the top returner with just nine catches last year. The defense returns All-PSAC West Second Team pick Dustin Galich on the defensive front.

THE LAST TIME OUT
•    Connor Casey threw for two touchdowns and a young receiving corps flashed promise, but LIU Post's Steven Laurino totaled 347 yards of total offense to spark his team to a 47-16 win over the homestanding Marauders Saturday afternoon.
• Millersville led early after a high snap sailed over LIU Post punter Tim Sternfield and out of the end zone. The 2-0 lead last until the 10:19 mark of the second quarter when Laurino put his team on the board with  48-yard touchdown run. That play got the Pioneer offense rolling. It went on to score three times in the second quarter and finish the game with 515 yards of total offense.
• Casey and the Marauder passing game were without senior captain Dominic Sanders, whose 33 consecutive games played streak came to an end because of an ankle injury. Still, Casey threw for 232 yards and two touchdowns without an interception. His favorite target was redshirt freshman Dante Barkley, who impressed in his collegiate debut with eight catches for 86 yards. Brent Collins made a career-high seven catches and also snagged his first touchdown since Oct. 22, 2011. Newcomer Kevin Porter also hauled in his first career touchdown.

BEHIND ENEMY LINES
•  Millersville generated 6.0 tackles for loss in the season opener, which was the most in a game since totaled 7.0 against West Chester on Sept. 15, 2012. Ryan McIntyre, playing in his first career game, totaled 1.5 TFL. Reggie Slaton, who led the team in the category a year ago, also notched a TFL on a 12-yard quarterback sack. Slaton has recorded a sack in each of the last two season openers. Slaton has 11.5 TFL in his last 12 games.

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.

GETTING STARTED
•  The season opener was Connor Casey's third career start, and he has thrown for at least 218 yards and a touchdown in each start. He has completed 73-of-129 (56.6) passes for 763 yards and five touchdowns in those starts.

RETURN OF THE RETURN
• Redshirt junior David Coates picked up right where he left off after a record-setting 2012 season in the return game.  He was busy in the opener, totaling seven returns and averaging 23.9 per return with a long of 39. That average placed him seventh in the league after the first week.
• 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.
• His 97-yard touchdown return against West Chester was the second-longest return in the PSAC and was one of just seven returns for touchdowns. He also had a 61-yard return against against Wesleyan and a 60-yard return against Shippensburg. 

FINISHING STRONG
• After leading the team in rushing in 2012, Ian Sadon figures to be one of the focal points of the 2013 offense. Sadon received only 11 carries through the first five games of 2012 but dominated over the final six. He finished with 464 yards including 412 in the final five games. He averaged 6.1 yards per carry in that stretch, produced 100-yard games against LIU Post and California (Pa.), and scored five touchdowns. He totaled three scores against Cal.
• He did all of that despite averaging 10.8 carries per game from Oct. 13-Nov. 3. He did not receive more than 20 carries until carry the ball 25 times against Cal in the season finale.

THE END OF A STREAK
• Dominic Sanders has been a fixture in the Millersville offense for the last three years but an ankle injury kept him out of the 2013 season opener, snapping a streak of  33 consecutive starts. He is expected back in the lineup in week two, though. He has improved both his reception and yardage totals each season despite playing with six different starting quarterbacks in his career.
• Sanders has totaled 112 catches for 1,133 yards. 90 of those catches and six touchdowns have come in the last two seasons. Sanders currently ranks eighth in career catches and trails Alpha Jackson and Shawn Foxworth by just six for sixth place. He trails Don Humphrey's 10th place yardage totals by 479.

GOOD TO BE BACK
• Junior Brent Collins returned to the wide receiver position with seven catches and a touchdown in week one. It is a return to a position that he is more comfortable with. As a true freshman slot receiver in 2011, Collins totaled 25 catches, marking the most by a Marauder true freshman since 2002. His role in the offense diminished considerably in 2012 when coaches moved him to running back. He finished the season with just five catches and nine rushes.

SWITCH IT UP
• Collins isn't the only Marauder changing positions. Junior captain Reggie Slaton was the team's top pass rusher with 9.5 tackles for loss in 2012, but he is playing inside linebacker this season. Slaton totaled a team-high nine tackles and a sack in week one vs. LIU Post. Senior Gilbert Ramos made the opposite move. A linebacker for three seasons, Ramos added size (now up to 235 pounds) and will start at defensive end.
• Sophomore offensive lineman Lenny Sanelli started nine games at left tackle in 2012 but started the season opener at center.
• Jody Dodds has been the man of many positions with the Marauders. He arrived in 2011 as a tight end but had to move to the offensive line because of injuries. He made the switch back to tight end in 2012 but again played guard in a pinch. This offseason, Dodds moved to the defensive side of the ball and started week one, registering three tackles and a tackle for loss.

WELCOME BACK
• Doug Henninger, David Rene and Neil Moloney were not with the Marauders in 2012, but all started games in years prior, and all are slated as starters in week one in 2013. Henninger, a fifth-year senior, has played in 11 games as a true freshman in 2009, missed the 2010 season, starred in 2011 with 42 tackles and 7.0 TFL. However, he missed the 2012 season. He is back in the middle of the defense and coaches consider him among the best in the league.
• Rene played in 22 consecutive games at corner and safety before missing the 2012 season.
• Moloney as back at Millersville after three years away. He started six games at left tackle in 2009 but transferred to Kutztown the following season. The redshirt junior is back in Millersville's starting lineup at left tackle--just where he left off in 2009.

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.
• The fifth new assistant is Nate Hinkle, who as a student assistant, will coach the tight ends. Hinkle was a starting defensive tackle for the Marauders in 2011-12.

NO FAVORS WITH THE SCHEDULE
• 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.
• 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.