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Millersville

Connor Casey

Football

A New Era of Marauder Football Starts Saturday at Home

Complete Game Notes

GAME INFORMATION
LIU Post (0-0) vs. Millersville (0-0)
Saturday, Sept. 7, 2013 - 12 p.m.
Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium - Millersville, Pa.

SERIES INFORMATION
Series vs. LIU Post: 0-5
Series Streak: LIU Post, 5
First Meeting: 2008 (LIU Post 55, Ville 33)
Last Meeting: 2012 (LIU Post 20, Ville 15)

TICKET INFORMATION
www.muticketsonline.com
Reserved Seat: $8
General Admission: $6
Senior Citizen: $3
Visiting Students with ID: $3
Children under 6: FREE
MU Students: FREE with valid ID
Faculty and Staff: FREE with valid ID

GAMEDAY PROMOTIONS
Free t-shirts to the first 100 fans. Chick-Fil-A coupons for all fans

MEDIA INFORMATION
Audio Broadcast (MSBN)
Live Video
Live Stats

GAME OVERVIEW
• Millersville has a new look and new leadership entering the 2013 season. After a 2-9 campaign in 2012, Millersville hired North Dakota offensive coordinator Greg Breitbach as its head coach. Breitbach has added five new assistant coaches to his staff and will also call the offensive plays on game day. 
• Breitbach, a former college quarterback, needs a bright signal caller to lead his offense, and sophomore Connor Casey takes over full-time after playing in five games as a true freshman. Casey completed 57 percent of his passes and averaged 166.3 yards per game. 
• Expect a balanced offense from Breitbach's team. Ian Sadon and David Coates figure to receive the bulk of the work out of the backfield. Sadon delivered an impressive final five games of the 2012 season. He averaged 6.1 yards per carry and broke the 100-yard mark twice in that stretch. Coates, the Marauders' lone All-PSAC honoree last season, set a school record for kick return yards and led the PSAC in that category. He averaged an impressive 25.7 yards per return. Casey's favorite target figures to be senior Dominic Sanders, who caught 49 passes for 505 yards last season. 
• The defense surrendered nearly 42 points per game in 2012, and the Marauders hope that two team captains at the center of the unit can help the cause. Jordan Rigby and Reggie Slaton, both juniors, hold down the middle linebacker spots and figure to receive the bulk of the tackles. Doug Henninger is back at defensive tackle after a year away from the program. The senior was tabbed as the "heart-and-soul" of the defense by Breitbach following spring.
• Millersville returns only 10 starters from a year ago and lost more letterwinners (31) than it returns (29). It is an exceedingly young football team with 23 sophomores and freshmen appearing on the two-deep. 
• Millersville is opening its season at Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium for just the fifth time since 2001. Millersville is 6-11 in season openers since 1996 and has lost six of its last eight. Millersville is 50-57-9 all-time in season openers, but is 15-5-2 in season openers at Biemesderfer Stadium. Millersville defeated W.Va. Wesleyan 41-17 in the 2012 opener at home. Millersville has not won two consecutive season openers since beating Shepherd in both 1994 and 1995. 
ABOUT THE SERIES
• With the PSAC adding Seton Hill as a full-time, football-playing member in 2013, LIU Post ended its five-year run with the league and headed back to the Northeast-10 where it was picked fourth in the preseason poll with two first-place votes. Coach Bryan Collins was a four-time NE-10 Coach of the Year and won five NE-10 titles. While LIU Post couldn't match that same success in the PSAC, it had its way with the Marauders in five meetings. The first-ever meeting in 2008 resulted in the highest scoring game in Millersville history (L, 55-38). LIU Post's average margin of victory over the first four games in the series was 23.75 points per game. The gap narrowed in 2013 with the Pioneers narrowly escaping with a 20-15 home win.  
• LIU Post led the 2012 meeting 13-0 before Ian Sadon's 75-yard, second-quarter touchdown run Millersville rallied with a field goal in the third and a touchdown with 3:57 to go in the fourth. The Marauder defense could not get the ball back, though. LIU Post called Steven Laurino, who had been sititng with an injury, off the bench, and he played keep away. 
• Laurino carved up the Marauders with 131 yards rushing and 133 yards passing in the 2011 game. He did not play until the final series in 2012. Tyler Heuer was the starting quarterback last season and while he rushed for 137 yards on 19 carries, he was picked off three times. Connor Casey was Millersville's main quarterback. He went 13-for-26 with two interceptions. 
• Millersville is 0-2 against LIU Post at Biemesderfer Stadium. 
• LIU Post has averaged 266.4 yards rushing per game in the first meetings. The quarterback is often the player doing most of the damage, though. Three different LIU Post QB's have a 100-yard rushing game and the position has averaged 154.3 yards rushing over the last four meetings. 
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
• LIU Post struggled through a 3-7 record a season ago. It was only the third losing season in 15 years under Coach Collins. 
• LIU Post returns a host of talented players on the offensive side of the ball, and it all starts with dual-threat quarterback Steven Laurino. Laurino completed 58.5 percent of his passes and totaled 21 touchdowns while throwing just three picks. Running back Jeff Mack was an All-PSAC East Second Team selection in 2012. Leading receiver Joe Botti is also back after totaled 432 receiving yards. 
• Junior defensive lineman David Sumter was among the top defensive players a year ago, totaling 50 tackles and five sacks. Leading tackler Rob Bright also returns at linebacker.
THE LAST TIME OUT
•   Ian Sadon scored three touchdowns, and the Millersville offense turned in its most productive statistical performance of the 2012 season. California (Pa.), however, raced to a big halftime lead and held on for a 56-28 victory in the regular season finale.
Sadon eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the second time in five games, totaling 106 on 25 carries, sparking the Marauders to 217 yards rushing and a season-high 429 yards of total offense. Playing in his final game, Mike Jones caught 11 passes for a career-high 122 yards. As good as Millersville's offense was, Cal's was better. The Vulcans rolled up 487 yards of offense including 350 yards passing. QB Peter Lalich threw for 254 yards and four touchdowns in the first half alone and finished with 270 yards.
• The Vulcans wasted no time putting points on the board, taking the opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown. They went on to six touchdowns on eight first half possessions.
• Millersville's final three scores all came in the fourth quarter on drives of 80, 77 and 69 yards. 
FIRST IMPRESSIONS ARE EVERYTHING
• Connor Casey made a historic debut at quarterback on Oct. 6. 2012 against Bloomsburg. The first Millersville  true freshman to start a game since Kris Meyers in 2002,  Casey completed 30-of-43 passes, marking the most pass completions and the most yards by a Marauder true freshman on record. 
• It was also the first time since 2010 that a Millersville QB completed 30 passes and threw for 300 yards. He had 187 yards in the first half, which was more passing yards than in any of the previous 16 games.
• Casey concluded his freshman season by leading Millersville in passing yards per game at 166.3. He also averaged one touchdown pass per game and led the team in completion percentage. 
COATES RETURNS TO RETURN
• Redshirt junior David Coates is back on the team after a record-setting 2012 season in the return game. He 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 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 MODEL OF CONSISTENCY 
• Dominic Sanders has been a fixture in the Millersville offense for the last three years and has started all 33 games in that stretch. 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 is listed as the starter opposite of Sanders at wide receiver this season. 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 moving to inside linebacker this season. 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 he was moved inside to start 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 won a job as a starting defensive end. 
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 are ranked in the preseason top-25 and two others are currently receiving 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.
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