Millersville, Pa. - All week, the Millersville coaching staff preached the importance of a fast start, and the Marauders did just that Saturday, racing to a 24-0 halftime lead and rolling to a 34-21 win over Lock Haven for a second consecutive victory. 

A week after Lock Haven rolled up 460 yards rushing and 62 points, Millersville's aim was to force the Bald Eagles to pass and play from behind. The plan and execution worked as the Marauders out-gained Lock Haven 253-100 in the first half and held the visitors to just three passing yards in the first 30 minutes of action.

"We talked about that all week," said Millersville head coach Greg Breitbach. "We thought with their offensive strength being running, that if we could score first, we could play with the lead, control the clock and force them to throw the ball. Our offensive unit played really clean in the first half, both running and throwing the ball."

One week removed from rushing for a career-high 183 yards, Tyrone Gibson rushed for 84 yards on 13 carries and scored a touchdown on a fourth quarter, 34-yard scamper that sealed the win for the Marauders. Millersville totaled 155 yards on the ground and 253 through the air, topping 400 yards of offense for the second time this season. 

Quarterback Tony Staffieri returned to the lineup after a week on the sidelines and was in full command of the offense, accurately connecting on 22 of 35 passes and two touchdowns with no interceptions while also deftly avoiding pressure and scrambling for 61 yards in gains before a couple of sacks knocked the total to 41 total rushing yards. Staffieri found senior Kevin Wiggins 11 times for 133 yards and a touchdown. Wiggins finished one catch shy of his career high. Notably, Millersville converted 9 of 16 third-down conversions and played keep away with 25 first downs. 

Continuing to deal with a nagging injury, Staffieri has been in and out of the lineup, playing only two full games. But in his appearances against Bloomsburg and Lock Haven, Staffieri completed 60 percent of his passes with four touchdowns and no interceptions. 

"He's still not quite 100 percent but he's a really tough guy," said Breitbach. "Mentally, he's 100 percent. He knew what to do with the football, where to go with it. I thought he made really good decisions in the red zone. I was really proud of him and thought he took a step forward today."

Staffieri connected with fullback Dylan Niedbalski from 10 yards out for Millersville's first score, and with 10:13 left in the second, Kobe Miranda's 1-yard plunge capped a 12-play, 80-yard drive which featured six Staffieri completions. Millersville took advantage of a short Lock Haven punt on the very next drive as Wiggins beat double coverage and hauled in a 36-yard toss from Staffieri. 

A Millersville defense fresh off a shutout of East Stroudsburg forced Lock Haven into three-and-outs on three of the first four drives and held tough on two Lock Haven red zone chances in the second quarter. Lock Haven pushed to the Millersville 9 on the first drive of the second quarter, but Millersville stuffed three consecutive plays and blocked a field goal attempt. With 4:59 left in the second and Millersville leading 21-0, Lock Haven recovered a muffed punt return on the Millersville 20. On third down from the Millersville 11, Kyle Knight scrambled toward the goal line but Millersville's Ray Lopez met Knight at the 1, and the ball shot away from Knight into the back of the end zone where Brandon Sherman dove on it before sliding out of bounds for a touchback. 

"The defense was really opportunistic," said Breitbach. "Two plays that could have been scores, our defense took the ball away and kept the goose egg on the board."

Millersville preserved the shutout until Lock Haven turned to Cameron Tobias mid-way through the third quarter. Tobias led the first scoring drive, completing four passes before a 42-yard run from John Ford. That one run play accounted for more than a quarter for Lock Haven's total. Lock Haven's other two scores came in the final four minutes of the fourth quarter with the majority of Millersville's regulars resting. 

PSAC tackle leader Sean Dugan racked up 11 stops--his fourth game this season with double-digit tackles. Tommy Halloway came up with 1 1/2 sacks, giving him six in his last five games. Sophomore linebacker Cameron Boykin also made nine tackles with a half sack, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble. The entire unit broke up nine passes, led by Marcel Mingo's three. 

Kicker Joey Farley made two field goals, giving him three consecutive makes. 

The Homecoming win was Millersville's first since 2012--a note not lost on Breitbach. 

"We talked about what it would mean for Marauder Pride to get a win one Homecoming in front of a great crowd, so I'm happy we were able to do that."

Millersville evened its PSAC East record at 2-2 with the win, and after traveling to Shippensburg next week, has its final three regular season games at home.