Millersville, Pa. - Millersville's defense turned in its stingiest performance in nearly a decade but the effort was undone by a mistake-prone offense that committed six turnovers, two of which directly led to Edinboro scores in Saturday's 21-9 loss.

The Marauder defense held Edinboro to -17 yards rushing on 18 carries and to just 204 yards of total offense--the fewest by a Marauder opponent since Oct. 21, 2006. Millersville sacked Cody Harris six times for the program's most sacks since Oct. 22, 2005. Sean Dugan finished with a career day of nine tackles, two sacks and 3.5 tackes for loss.

Freshman Phil Vass powered the Marauder offense with 150 yards rushing on 23 carries, but the team lost three fumbles and back-up quarterback J.J. Paige threw three interceptions in a 3-for-10 performance. The first pick came with six minutes left in the third quarter, and Corey Beck returned it 30 yards for a touchdown, erasing Millersville's 7-0 lead. On the very next drive, Paige was picked by Marcus Hill. Two pass plays later, Edinboro had a 14-7 lead it would not relinquish.

The Marauders had ample opportunity early. On its first offensive possession, a Matt Misley touchdown run was wiped out by a hold, but the Marauders still reached the Edinboro 14 before Misley was stripped on a sack on second down and one. Evan Stahl, who came up empty on three field goal tries (two were blocked), missed a 52-yarder on the next drive.

Millersville scored its first points on a 17-play, 96-yard drive that ate up more than half of the second period. Misley capped the drive with a four-yard toss to Tyler Zilen, who made his first career TD grab. Misley, however, was ejected following a personal foul on Millersville's next drive.

In spite of three first-half turnovers, the Marauder defense held strong and Aaron Walker even saved the game-tying touchdown, stopping Harris on the one yard line as time expired in the half.

The Marauders drove to the Edinboro 22-yard line on the opening drive of the third quarter, but Stahl's field goal was blocked. Edinboro was stopped quickly on its ensuing drive, but that's when the turnovers caught up to the Marauders.

Freshman Malont'a Patterson caught six passes for 88 yards, finishing his rookie season with 515 yards. He is the first Marauder freshman to lead the team in receiving yards. Similarly, Kevin Wiggins, who caught three passes Saturday and finished with 43 on the year, is the first Marauder freshman to lead the team in catches.