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| GAME COVERAGE |
Saturday, Sept. 17, 1 p.m.
California, Pa.
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| ABOUT THE SERIES |
Series vs. Cal: 3-11
Series Streak: Cal, 4
First Meeting: 1930 (L, 12-6)
Last Meeting: 2013 (L, 48-14)
Largest Margin of Victory: 40 (1974)
Largest Margin of Defeat: 41 (2006)
Record at Cal: 1-3 (since 1975)
Most Millersville Points: 40 (1974)
Most Cal Points: 56 (2012) |
| INDIVIDUAL |
RUSHING
#24 Phil Overton (VILLE)
26-117, 1 TD, 4.5 YPC
#24 Nick Grissom (CAL)
6-109, 1 TD, 18.2 YPC
PASSING
#15 J.J. Paige (VILLE)
43-70, 4 TD, 0 INT, 527 yds
#15 Michael Keir (CAL)
10-12, 5 TD, 0 INT, 215 yds
RECEIVING
#1 Kevin Wiggins (VILLE)
13-141, 1 TD, 70.5 YPG
#9 Garry Brown (CAL)
3-99, 2 TD, 99.0 YPG
DEFENSE
#34 Sean Dugan (VILLE)
23 tkls, 2.5 TFL, 1.0 sack
#42 Jordan Lardani (CAL)
4 tkls, 3.5 TFL, 2.0 sacks
|
| TEAM COMPARISON |
| VILLE |
STAT |
CAL |
| 26.0 |
PPG |
79.0 |
| 84.5 |
Rush/GM |
291.0 |
| 263.5 |
Pass/GM |
227.0 |
| 348.0 |
Total Off |
518.0 |
| 22.5 |
Scoring D |
3.0 |
| 156.5 |
Rush D/GM |
11.0 |
| 243.0 |
Pass D/GM |
157.0 |
| 399.5 |
Total D |
168.0 |
THE MATCH-UP
• Millersville travels to the PSAC West looking to bounce back from a 38-24 loss to Seton Hill in week two and to knock off California (Pa.), which rolled past Cheyney 79-3 in week two. California did not play in week one and Saturday marks the team's home opener.
• The PSAC instituted three divisional crossover games for each team in 2008, and since then, Millersville is 4-21 against PSAC West foes. Millersville has not won a road game against a current member of the PSAC West since topping IUP in week one of the 2005 season.
• Gary Dunn, a CalU alum, is in his first season as the program's head coach after a long run as the offensive coordinator at Morehead State and Duquesne. The first game was an offensive success, totaling 518 yards of offense with first-time starter Michael Keir going 10-for-12 with five TD's. The Marauders will have to slow several big-play skill players. Garry Brown is a two-time All-American at wide receiver. He has 23 career touchdown catches and back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons. He ranked 10th in Division II in receiving yards in 2015. Running back Nick Grissom missed all of 2015 with an injury but rushed for 694 yards as a sophomore in 2014. He had a rush of 62 yards in the opener.Â
THE LAST TIME OUT
• On back-to-back possessions late in the fourth quarter, Millersville was driving with a chance to cut into Seton Hill's narrow lead. Both times, however, the Marauders' drives came to a halt with fumbles deep in Seton Hill territory. Seton Hill held on for a 38-24 win.
J.J. Paige threw for 280 yards and two touchdowns, connecting with
Christian Kemp for 111 yards and a touchdown.
Nii Kotei Nikoi caught his first career touchdown pass--a 45-yarder.
• In the initial game under first-year head coach Gary Dunn, the Vulcans scored their most points in over a decade with nine players scoring at least one touchdown in a dominating 79-3 victory over Cheyney. Michael Keir threw for five touchdown passes in his first career start. The offense scored a touchdown on each of its first seven drives. All-America wide receiver Garry Brown caught two touchdown passes.
SCOUTING BY THE NUMBERS
• Among PSAC teams with two games played, Millersville ranks fourth in scoring defense, eighth in total defense, and eighth in pass defense.
• Among qualified passers,
J.J. Paige ranks third in the league in completion percentage (61.4) and is tied for sixth in touchdown passes. His 143.5 efficiency rating is fourth-best in the league.
• Only five teams in the league have to receivers ranking in the top 15 in receiving yards and Millersville is one of them.
Kevin Wiggins is 14th with 140 yards with
Christian Kemp not far behind with 140. Wiggins picked up his second 100-yard receiving game in the opener vs. Pace, and Kemp followed with his first against Seton Hill. Wiggins ranks 10th in the league in catches. The Marauders have four players ranked in the top 29.
• After a 19-tackle outburst against Seton Hill,
Sean Dugan moved to the PSAC lead in tackles per game. His 14 solo stops are tied for the league lead as well.
ACTIVE BACKS
• Millersville's starting secondary (
Alpha Khan,
Jarrid Satterfield,
P.J. Santos and
Kendall Marks) has broken up 13 passes in two games. Cornerbacks Khan (5) and Satterfield (4) lead the way. Khan ranks third in the PSAC and Satterfield is fifth. The duo is one of only two in the PSAC to have two players in the top 10.
THREE IN A ROW
• Millersville defenders have won three consecutive PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week awards dating back to week 11 of the 2015 season. After
Joey Pham closed 2015 with the award, freshman
Jaleel Robinson opened 2016 with a win and was followed by junior linebacker
Sean Dugan, who won it in week two.
DUGAN'S DEFENSE
•
Sean Dugan was named PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week Monday after totaling a career-high 19 tackles against Seton Hill. Dugan's 19 stops were the most by a Marauder in the "Statcrew Era" (since 2002). He is one shy of the national high for the season. He made 12 solo stops, 2 1/2 tackles for loss and 1 sack, totaling 15 yards in losses.
• Dugan has been making plays since his redshirt freshman season. Over his last 16 games, he has piled up 19 tackles for loss and 6 1/2 sacks.Â
MR. ROBINSON'S NEIGHBORHOOD
•
Jaleel Robinson made quite an impact in his first collegiate game. He intercepted two passes, both of which he returned for touchdowns and was subsequently named PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week. Robinson totaled four tackles and a tackle for loss. Robinson was the lone PSAC player to intercept two passes and he scored as many defensive touchdowns as any other player scored offensive touchdowns in the week. Robinson's two-pick game was Millersville's first since 2012, and he made the team's first INT return for touchdown since 2012.
• Robinson followed his two-interception debut with another turnover in week two. He recovered a fumble and returned it 20 yards, giving him a total of 71 return yards on three turnovers. He also recorded another TFL, giving him 2 TFL for a total of 13 yards lost.
EXPERIENCE ON DEFENSE
• Millersville's defense returns eight starters from 2015, and the group of
P.J. Santos, Alpha Kahn,
Logan Kinser,
Drew Seaburg,
Morgan Faughnan,
Rob Varner and
Sean Dugan have combined for 128 starts. Santos is a fourth-year starter and has totaled 29 starts. Santos picked off three passes last season and has seven in his career. Seaburg leads the team with 24 consecutive starts.
PAIGE MAKING PLAYS
•
J.J. Paige opened 2016 by matching a career-high with 24 completions and followed that 247-yard game by connecting on 19-of-34 for 280 yards and two more touchdowns against Seton Hill. Paige has thrown 10 touchdowns and no interceptions over his last four games--a total of 131 attempts. Over his last eight games, Paige has thrown 14 touchdowns to two interceptions.
• Paige concluded 2015 with the third-highest completion percentage in the PSAC (60.2) and has connected on 61.4 percent of his passes this season. His career completion percentage of 58 percent puts him well within striking distance of the program record of 61.6 percent, which is held by Dan Csencitz (2002-05).
WIGGINS' CLIMBING THE CHARTS
•
Kevin Wiggins, now a junior, has caught at least two passes in 23 consecutive dating back to the start of his freshman season. Now with 101 career grabs, Wiggins was the second-fastest to 80 catches in program history, trailing only hall of famer Sean Scott, who totaled 108 grabs, 1,503 yards and 17 touchdowns in his first two seasons. Wiggins trails former All-America wide receiver Dondre Gilliam by just six catches for 10th place on Millersville's all-time list, and trails Millersville hall of fame tight end Roger Smith by seven for ninth place.
• Wiggins totaled eight catches and 101 yards in the opener against Pace, marking his second career 100-yard game. He also caught a touchdown pass, giving him 13 in 22 career games. He is one TD catch shy of Bill Burke and Roger Smith for ninth place on the career list. Wiggins has nine touchdown catches in his last six games.
• Wiggins tied for 11th in the PSAC in touchdowns and 20th in catches in 2015.
• Wiggins was voted the team's offensive MVP in 2015.
• Since 2001, only three wide receivers have caught 40 or more passes in two consecutive seasons. Wiggins joined Jamal Smith (2009-10) and Andy Neupauer (2003-04).
TIGHT END TARGET
•
Tyler Zilen has seven catches (29th in the PSAC) after two games. That included five catches and a touchdown against Pace. Those five catches matched a career-high, which he also totaled against Bloomsburg in 2015. Five catches were the most by a Marauder tight end in a single game in more than 15 years. Zilen caught 14 passes in 2015, which marked the most catches by a Marauder tight end since Greg Frantz totaled 14 in 2009. Prior to that, the most by a Marauder tight end was Chris Hemmert's 26 in 1998. His touchdown catch against Pace was the third of his career, giving him one in each of his first three seasons.
• Zilen has caught a pass in six consecutive games and at least one in eight of the last nine. He has 21 catches in his last nine games.
MULTI-PURPOSE OVERTON
• After leading the team in rushing yards, yards per carry, kickoff returns, kick return yardage and punt returns in 2015, Overton picked up right where he left off. Overton has led the team in rushing in each of the first two games, totaling 117 on 26 carries. He's also made four catches in each of the first two games, ranking him third on the team in receptions. He totaled 100 all-purpose yards in the opener. He is the primary punt returner but has yet to return a punt on two tries.
BIG BOOT
•
Evan Stahl is in his fourth season as the Marauders' punter and kicker. He is the PSAC leader in punting average at 45.8 yards per punt. In game one against Pace, he averaged 49.3 yards on six punts. He's landed two inside the 20 and has two punts of 50 or better. His 63-yarder was the second-longest of his career and his best since a 69-yard punt in 2013. It is also the second-longest (by one yard) in the PSAC this season.
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