ABOUT THE GAME

• Following a down-to-the-wire win over Lock Haven, Millersville hits the road for East Stroudsburg in what is shaping up to be a defensive clash. While Millersville is looking for back-to-back victories, East Stroudsburg is looking to bounce back after a last-minute, 21-14 loss at Kutztown.
• East Stroudsburg has not surrendered more than 22 points in any of its five games. Millersville has already played two of the PSAC's top five scoring offenses, and while they are allowing 26.4 points per game, that average doesn't tell the full story. Last week, Lock Haven scored twice on defense and special teams. Millersville held Lock Haven to just 186 yards of offense.
• Millersville has won 14 games in the last five-plus seasons but has won back-to-back games three times in that span. A win would put Millersville's record at .500 six games into the season, a feat that hasn't happened since 2006. The last time Millersville had two wins in its first five games was in 2011.

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• Tyler Tate was a terror against Lock Haven, totaling 3 ½ sacks, forcing two fumbles and making a season-high nine tackles. On Monday, Tate was named PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Week for the first time in his career. While productive in 2019 (he led all defensive lineman in tackles with 47), he's been a far more disruptive player in 2021. He had just one tackle for loss and no sacks in 2019. Through five games, he's totaled 7 ½ sacks to tie for the PSAC lead. His 11 ½ tackles for loss rank second. Tate's 3 ½ sacks last week were the most by a Marauder in the “Statcrew Era," which dates to 2003. He also has more sacks than any Marauder in a season since 1999. He is first in the PSAC in forced fumbles with three. He's recorded at least one tackle for loss in each game. He also has seven QB hurries to his credit.
• Millersville's defense as a whole as been far more disruptive. Millersville is tied for the league lead with six interceptions, and this comes after picking off seven passes in all of 2019. Millersville totaled 18 sacks in 11 games in 2019, and this year, the Marauders have 14 sacks, ranking fifth in the PSAC. The defense has also accounted for 10 points. Chase Alisauckas recorded Millersville's first fumble return for a touchdown since 2014 last week, and Tate and Christian Shepperson have both recorded safeties. 
• Tyler Patron-Penn was an All-PSAC East Second Team selection at cornerback in 2019 and made two interceptions that season. He picked off his first pass of 2021 last week vs. Lock Haven. He's broken up five passes already, giving him 14 in 16 career games. 
• Isaiah Onuschak continues to lead the PSAC in tackles at 10.6 per game. He is one of only two players averaging double-digit tackles per game. He also ranks seventh in the PSAC in tackles for loss. He is the only player in the PSAC to rank in the top 10 of both categories. 
• Redshirt freshman quarterback Jared Jenkins has settled into the starting role. Last week against Lock Haven marked the first time all season that Millersville has had one quarterback take all the snaps in a game. Jenkins delivered with a career-high 21 completions for 234 yards, two touchdown passes and no interceptions. He's made two starts and has played in all five games, and despite not taking 100 percent of the snaps, he's been on the field for all of Millersville's offensive touchdowns. Since throwing two picks against Clarion, Jenkins has gone 36-for-67 (.537) for 585 yards (8.7 yards per attempt) and four touchdowns with no interceptions. He already has the most passing touchdowns (6) by a Millersville freshman quarterback since Dan Csencitz threw seven in 232 attempts in 2003. 
• Christan Drayton III hauled in two touchdown catches last week, giving him a team-high three on the season. 
   

SCOUTING THE WARRIORS

• ESU's second year head coach Jimmy Terwilliger was known for his prolific passing as a Harlon Hill Award-winning quarterback, but as a coach in 2021, his team is built on a stout defense and strong running game. Allowing just 17.0 points per game, East Stroudsburg ranks fourth in the PSAC in scoring defense. The unit is particularly stingy against the pass, holding teams to a 48.5 completion percentage and 188.8 yards per game. Its first five opponents have combined to throw for just four touchdowns. The defense is also holding teams to a 31.1 conversion rate on third downs, a mark that ranks fifth in the league. The Warriors have also had success in getting after the opponents' quarterbacks. They rank third in the PSAC with 17 sacks. Deshawn McCarthy ranks third in the PSAC with seven sacks. Four of those sacks came in the opener vs. Pace.
• On the offensive side of the ball, East Stroudsburg ranks second in the PSAC in rushing yards per game at 182.6. Gunner Anglovich is the PSAC's leading rusher and is the only runner averaging more than 100 yards per game (100.8).
• An aspect of the game to keep an eye on is the hidden yards from penalties. East Stroudsburg leads the PSAC with 50 flags in 10 games. While Millersville was penalized a season-high 14 times against Lock Haven, it had been flagged an average of just over six times per game prior.

THE LAST TIME OUT

• Millersville: Millersville 31, Lock Haven 29  (Oct. 2, 2021) - Millersville rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit to beat Lock Haven 31-29 at home Saturday in one of the wilder PSAC games of 2021. The thriller included a punt block for a touchdown, two fumble returns for touchdowns, a safety, a game-winning touchdown drive and a game-clinching interception by a defensive lineman. It also saw Millersville convert a fourth down on its final touchdown drive while also stopping Lock Haven on fourth-and-one to seal the victory. Jared Jenkins went 21-for-36 for 234 yards and two touchdowns, connecting with Christan Drayton III twice. The Marauders also got its running game going for a season-high in yards as Jaheim Morris rumbled for 95 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. It was Morris' one-yard plunge with 3:58 that put Millersville on top. 
• East Stroudsburg: Kutztown 21, East Stroudsburg 14 (Oct. 2, 2021) - A Kutztown go-ahead touchdown with under a minute left proved to be the difference. After allowing two touchdowns on its first two drives, the ESU defense buckled down and held the Golden Bears off the scoreboard with seven consecutive stops. The defensive united forced five punts, an interception and a turnover-on-downs during that span. A 76-yard completion setup the Golden Bears with the game-winning touchdown with 44 seconds remaining. Tailback Gunner Anglovich reached the century mark for the second time this season, rushing for 108 yards and both of ESU's touchdowns. 

SERIES HISTORY

• Millersville has won two of the last three, but East Stroudsburg is coming off a 50-7 romp in the Oct. 5, 2019 meeting. Millersville has fared well play at East Stroudsburg, going 13-13 all-time, and since 2007, the Marauders are 3-4 at East Stroudsburg. ESU holds a 15-4 advantage since 2001. While Millersville has scored three wins over ESU in the last decade, scoring points has been an issue. Since 2008, Millersville has scored more than 23 points just once (31 in 2011). Millersville's last two wins have come by a 12-0 score (2017) and an 11-10 score (2018). The 2018 win was the first of J.C. Morgan's Millersville tenure. ESU, meanwhile, has averaged 38.3 points per game over that same stretch of 12 games. It has topped 50 four times since 2010. 
• THE LAST MEETING (ESU 50, Millersville 7 (Oct. 5, 2019): East Stroudsburg stayed unbeaten, improving to 5-0 after scoring 35 points in the second quarter. was initially slowed by the Millersville defense. The Marauders forced the Warriors to punt on their first possession and limited the Warriors to a field goal when the next drive started on the Millersville 16. But with the Millersville offense unable to sustain drives, field position eventually caught up to the defense. East Stroudsburg started its third drive on the 41 and needed six plays to take a 10-0 lead. Millersville lost a fumble on the first snap of its next drive, and ESU needed to travel just 17 yards for another score. The Marauders then turned the ball over on downs at the ESU 44, and the Warriors marched 56 yards in six plays and three minutes for its third touchdown in as many possessions. The Warriors added another touchdown drive, covering 53 yards on five plays in 1:24. Including the first drive of the third quarter, East Stroudsburg scored 42 points in less than 15 minutes of football. Millersville, meanwhile, produced six punts, lost a fumble and turned the ball over on downs twice in the first half. Millersville finished the first half with 87 yards on 33 plays.