Complete Game Notes

GAME INFORMATION
Shippensburg (1-2, 1-0 PSAC East) vs. Millersville (0-3, 0-1 PSAC East)
Saturday, Sept. 28, 2013 - 12 p.m.
Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium - Millersville, Pa.

SERIES INFORMATION
Series vs. Shippensburg: 23-40-2
Series Streak: Shippensburg, 9
First Meeting: 1916 (Ship 16, Ville 0)
Last Meeting: 2012 (Ship 61, Ville 0)

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
- Coupon for a FREE Wendy's Frosty to all in attendance
- Student Organization Day

MEDIA INFORMATION
Audio Broadcast (MSBN)
Live Video
Live Stats

GAME OVERVIEW
• Millersville is in search of its first victory of the 2013 season against a Shippensburg club that won the PSAC in 2012 but has started 1-2 this season. After a promising showing in the opener against LIU Post, the Marauder offense has been limited to 10 points and 404 yards of offenese in the last two weeks. The team generated seven rushing yards against a stingy West Chester defense. Millersville now ranks 16th in the PSAC in both scoring offense and scoring defense. Brent Collins has proven to be an effective target with 20 catches for 236 yards. Ian Sadon received only eight carries against West Chester after totaling 40 in the first two weeks. He averaged 83 yards per game and over four yards per carry in the first two weeks and Millersville will certainly look to get him rolling against a Shippensburg defense that ranks 14th in the PSAC in rushing defense (251.0).  Millersville was limited to an average of 42.5 rushing yards per game in the last two meetings with Shippensburg,
• The Millersville defense is also in search of its first interception of the season. Shippensburg quarterback Zach Zulli threw 54 touchdowns compared to 10 interceptions in 2012, but he has been intercepted five times in three games. Millersville was the first team to intercept Zulli in the 2012 season.
• Keeping the Shippensburg offense off the field will be key for the Marauders. Millersville has struggled on third downs, allowing teams to convert 59.5 percent. Shippensburg's offense, however, has been inefficient on third down, ranking 15th in the league and converting just 17.6 percent.

ABOUT THE SERIES
• Shippensburg holds a slight 8-7-1 edge in games played at Biemesderfer Stadium. Millersville went 16-3-1 against the Raiders from 1969-2000, but Shippensburg has won each meeting since 2001. Four of the games were decided by 10 points or fewer, but Shippensburg has surrendered only six points while scoring 101 in the last two games. Millersville is certainly happy that Mike Frenette is no longer on the Shippensburg roster. Last season, he set a Shippensburg record with 332 all-purpose yards. He also rushed for 177 yards in the 2011 game.
• The last time Millersville and Shippensburg met at Biemesderfer Stadium, the field was covered with several inches of snow. It did not slow down the Raiders as they rushed for 391 yards and held Millersville to 41 rushing yards on 36 yards.

SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
• A preseason nationally-ranked team, Shippensburg enters this week 1-2 after lopsided losses to Shepherd and Slippery Rock and a win over East Stroudsburg. The Raiders scored their first win in week three by dropping 41 points on an East Stroudsburg team that led the PSAC in total defense. Shippensburg led the nation in offense a season ago and has averaged 39.5 points over the last two games. Reigning Harlon Hill winner Zach Zulli completed 62.9 percent of his passes a season ago but has not been as sharp in 2013. He has completed just 50.8 percent of his passes.
• Zulli's favorite target is Trevor Harman. He has four TD's and 350 yards receiving and was named PSAC East Offensive Player of the Week after totaling 151 yards and three scores against ESU.
• Shippensburg has become renowned for its arial attack, and it currently ranks fourth in the PSAC in passing offense with 274.7 yards per game. The running game has not been as successful, averaging only 69.3 yards per game. That may change, though, as in recent years Shippensburg has changed its attack against Millersville. In the last two meetings, Shippensburg has rushed for 695 yards.
• Shippensburg's defense has struggled early, allowing 40.7 points per game and ranking 14th in the PSAC. The defense ranks 14th in the PSAC in stopping the run and 11th against the pass. It has yet to record an interception and has generated only one turnover. Senior defensive end Jake Metz is a force, though. He registered 2.5 sacks against ESU. He was All-America First Team in 2012 and has 41.5 career tackles for loss and 26 career sacks.

THE LAST TIME OUT
• West Chester certainly proved its worth as the No. 20-ranked team in Division II Saturday evening at Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium. The Golden Rams rushed for 456 yards and smothered the Millersville offense into a 48-3 final score.
• Millersville was limited just seven yards rushing and 121 yards of total offense in a heavy, steady rain. Ian Sadon, who rushed for 106 yards a week ago against Mercyhurst, was held to 20 yards on eight carries. Connor Casey completed 10-of-27 passes for 114 yards. Brent Collins led the receivers with 51 yards on two catches, including a career-long 42-yarder.

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 second in the PSAC in punting average at 43.6, and his 69-yarder is the second-best mark in the PSAC this season.

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 (89) and return yards (2,060). Gannon's Justin Caliste is a distance second with 66 career returns and Catawba's L.J. McCray trails Coates in return yards by 230.
• Coates leads all Divisions in kickoff return yards per game with an average of 82.4. FBS member North Texas' Brelan Chancellor is in second at 80.5.
• The career record for return yards is 3,265 and belongs to Fairmont State's Zack Page (2007-10). Page also owns the career returns mark at 133.
• 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--the second- return against Shippensburg. 

BY LAND AND BY AIR
• Brent Collins totaled 123 yards receiving and Ian Sadon totaled 106 yards rushing in week two at Mercyhurst. It is 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 is quickly becoming one of the most productive pass catchers in the PSAC. He 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.
• Collins ranks fifth in the PSAC in receptions (20) and ninth in yards (236). He made a 42-yard catch against West Chester, which stands as Millersville's longest play from scrimmage this season. He also had a 38-yard catch at Mercyhurst.

SHARE THE LOAD
• Quarterback Connor Casey has used a variety of options in the passing game through two weeks. Twelve different players have caught at least one pass and seven different players have caught two or more. Five different players have a reception of at least 20 yards.

SADON STRONG
• After finishing the 2012 season with  412 yards over the final five games, Ian Sadon has picked up right where he left off, recording 166 rushing yards in the first two weeks of 2013. He eclipsed the 100-yard mark (108) at Mercyhurst, giving him three, 100-yard games in his last seven games.
• Last season, he produced 100-yard games against LIU Post and California (Pa.), and scored five touchdowns including three against Cal. His 108 yards at Mercyhurst came on 21 carries--the second-highest total of his career. Since Oct. 13, 2012, Sadon is averaging 5.4 yards per carry.
• Sadon has carried the ball more than 20 times just twice in his career and both times he has recorded at least 100 yards and a touchdown.
• The last Marauder running back to record three 100-yard games in a six game stretch was Cardoza Jacks in 2008 when he posted four in a row.

SEARCHING FOR SANDERS
• Dominic Sanders' nagging ankle injury snapped a streak of 33 consecutive starts and a streak of 23 consecutive games with a catch in week one, and he has played only sparingly in each of the first three weeks. The team's top target for the last two years, Sanders has just one catch in 2013. His absence leaves a large void in the Marauder offense as he had caught 38 passes over the final six games of 2012.
• 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.

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.
• 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.

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 3-9 record through two weeks, and Bloomsburg's Paul Darragh has all three wins. However, he inherited a team that was 10-2 in 2012.

NO FAVORS WITH THE SCHEDULE
• 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.
• After two weeks, three opponents (IUP, Bloomsburg and West Chester) are ranked in the top 20 and California is receiving votes in the poll.