THE MATCH-UP
• Millersville returns home in week three looking for win No. 1 against a Slippery Rock team coming off a heart-breaking loss at Shippensburg.
• Last week against then No. 4-ranked IUP, Millersville fell behind early but finished the game with more yards (378-319) and more first downs (19-18) than IUP. Slippery Rock out-gained Shippensburg 502-405 but had five turnovers (three interceptions and two lost fumbles), committed 12 penalties for 149 yards and missed three field goals (falling to 1 for 5 on the season). Still, The Rock led 21-18 with the ball and 1:05 to play. But on second down from its own three, Slippery Rock fumbled in its own end zone. Shippensburg recovered for the go-ahead touchdown. Turnovers also plagued Millersville in week two. The Marauders threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles. One interception went for a touchdown, and that was the second consecutive week Millersvlle allowed a pick six.
• Millersville is 25-65-1 all-time against current PSAC West teams. Millersville has won just three games against the current PSAC West roster since 2007.
• Millersville ranks last in the PSAC in scoring offense after two weeks but the passing game ranks fifth with an average of 290.5 yards per game.
Collin Shank is fourth in the PSAC and 15th in Division II in yards per game, and ranks third in attempts and second in completions in the PSAC.
Chris Dolan's 12 catches is sixth in the PSAC, and
Xavier Jenkins is 10th with 10 catches. Millersville, California and East Stroudsburg are the only teams with two players ranked in the top 10 in catches.
• The Rock boasts the No. 1-ranked offense in the PSAC, averaging 521.5 yards per game and 364.5 yards per game through the air. Andrew Koester started the first two games but was lost to an injury against Shippensburg. Taylor King, the projected starter against Millersville, came off the bench and completed 20 of 29 passes for 335 yards. He threw one touchdown and two INTs.
• Both Millersville and Slippery Rock have struggled in pass protection. Millersville has allowed 11 sacks in two games while Slippery Rock has given up seven. On the flip side, Millersville has yet to record a sack while Slippery Rock has totaled one in two games.
SERIES HISTORY
Series vs. SRU: 4-17-1
Series Streak: SRU, 7
First Meeting: 1938 (T, 0-0)
Last Meeting: 2015 (L, 0-75)
Largest Margin of Victory: 35 (1977)
Largest Margin of Defeat: 75 (2015)
Record at home: 2-8
Most Millersville Points: 35 (1977)
Most SRU Points: 75 (2015)
• Slippery Rock controls the all-time series with 17 wins in 21 games. Since 1968, Millersville is just 2-8 at home, and its last win in the series came in 2004 by a 17-14 score. Slippery Rock has since won seven in a row. Three of those games were one-score games, but in the two games in 2014 and 2015, Slippery Rock outscored Millersville 121-17. Slippery Rock totaled 609 yards of offense including 362 on the ground in the 2014 meeting and rushed for 366 yards and 553 yards of offense in 2015.
THE LAST MEETING (Slippery Rock 75, Millersville 0, Sept. 19, 2015)
• Millersville led the league in total defense and rushing defense after the first two weeks of the season but could not slow The Rock. They totaled 366 ground yards and 553 yards of offense while limiting Millersville 38 on 62 plays. Running back Julian Durden rushed for three touchdowns and with 111 yards, he was one of three backs with at least 88. J.J. Paige earned his first start of the season at quarterback for Millersville, and he completed 10-of-20 passes for 90 yards. His top target was
Kevin Wiggins, who caught a season-high six passes for 41 yards.
CATCHING ON
• At IUP,
Chris Dolan made 10 catches for 137, becoming the first Millersville freshman since 2014 with 100 yards receiving. Both marks were career highs, and his yardage total was the most by a Marauder since
Kevin Wiggins totaled 144 yards on Oct. 8, 2016. Dolan also made his first career touchdown catch.
TWO SPORTS, NO PROBLEM
•
Evan Morrill continues to make an impact on the football field, starting both games at wide receiver and serving as the team's long snapper. Morrill has caught a pass in nine consecutive games dating back to last season, and his four against IUP were the second-most of his career.
• Morrill is also the starting 184-pounder for the Millersville wrestling team. Morrill went 13-13 with an 8-5 dual meet record in 2017-18. He won two matches at the NCAA Super Region 1 Championships as well.
DINKINS
•
Trejon Dinkins totaled 12 tackles in each of the first two weeks. His 12 in week one against Pace were the most by any player in the PSAC that week, and he matched that total in week two. He now leads the PSAC in tackles per game.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
•
Zac Button came to Millersville as a transfer from Lock Haven, and in week one, he totaled a career-high nine tackles. He followed that performance by recording his first career interception in week two against IUP.
EARLY RETURNS
•
Jhet Janis has totaled eight kick returns and a pair of punt returns in two weeks. He is averaging eight yards per punt return, tying him for fourth in the PSAC. Among players with five or more kick returns, Janis ranks fourth in the PSAC with a 21.9 yard-per-return average.
CAPTAINS
• Millersville's players voted seniors
Brett Harris and
Trejon Dinkins and junior
Tommy Halloway as the team's captains for 2018. Dinkins in his second season with the Marauders. Harris is the team's second-most experienced offensive player with 21 starts. Halloway is just the 11th junior since 1956 to earn a captaincy.
CUTTING IT LOOSE
•
Collin Shank's 2017 was cut short because of an injury, but the redshirt sophomore QB has piled up yards in his three career starts in which he has played a full game. Last season against Seton Hill and in the first two weeks of 2018, Shank combined to average 335 yards passing. In his 16 quarters of football played, Shank has accounted for 10 touchdowns and thrown for 1,262 yards. His 250 yards against Pace were the most passing yards in a season opener since Bill Shirks' 310 vs. Assumption in 2010. Shank followed that with 331 yards on 24 completions against IUP, giving him two 300-yard passing games in four career starts.
ALL-STAR DEFENDERS
• For the first time since 2007, Millersville had an underclassman named All-PSAC East. Both defensive end
Tommy Halloway and linebacker
Cameron Boykin earned that distinction. Halloway gives Millersville a returning All-PSAC East defensive end for the first time since 2008. In 2017, Halloway totaled six sacks--a total that matched the most by a Marauder since 2001. Boykin ranked second on the team in tackles with 72.
• So far in 2018, Boykin has totaled 13 tackles and has one tackle for loss in each of the first two games.
GOING FOR 44
•
Morgan Faughnan has been the model of consistency for the Marauders. He has started 35 consecutive games--every game the Marauders have played over the last three-plus years. Faughnan entered the season No. 2 in the PSAC in consecutive starts, trailing only Alec Petrillo of Shippensburg, who started the season with 34. Only three players in the entire league had consecutive start streaks of 30 games or more. In 2017, he set career highs with 48 tackles, 3 1/2 sacks and 4 1/2 tackles for loss. He has made four tackles in each of the first two games in 2018.
TWO-WAY PLAYER
•
Joey Farley's PSAC-best streak of six consecutive field goals made came to an end when his attempt at IUP was blocked. However, he is also a perfect 36 for 36 in PAT attempts in his career. Farley, however, is not just a kicker. Farley led the team with six catches and 62 yards receiving in week one. Farley was named PSAC East Special Teams Athlete of the Week once in 2017.
NEW LEADERSHIP
• Millersville's staff is almost entirely brand new.
J.C. Morgan was named Millersville's head coach on April 30. Morgan hired eight new assistant coaches, with only Millersville alum and defensive coordinator
Matt Sutjak returning from last year's staff. Morgan is the 22nd head coach in the 123-year history of Millersville football. Of that long list, only John Pucillo (1925-29, 33-36), George Katchmer (1954-69) and Dr. Gene Carpenter (1970-2000) coached for more than five seasons. The last time a Millersville first-year head coach posted a winning record in his first season was John Pucillo in 1933, going 4-2.
• Unlike Millersville's previous three head coaches, Morgan is coming to Millersville from another Division II program, and a PSAC program at that. Morgan started at Shippensburg in 2005 and spent the last three as offensive coordinator. Morgan's staff is loaded with PSAC experience. Both coordinators--Sutjak and
Jeff Tomasetti--played and coached in the league. Special teams coordinator
Dan Beard and tight ends coach
Ron Kerr also coached at Shippensburg.
Tim Tobin was the defensive line coach for a PSAC Championship at Kutztown. Running backs coach
Chris Palubinsky was the starting quarterback at Bloomsburg just last season.
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