CLARION, Pa. - Clarion pushed the Millersville defense into the red zone twice in the final three minutes, but both times, the Marauders dug in and made fourth down stops to preserve a 21-17 road victory. 

Millersville linebacker Isaiah Onuschak made 16 tackles, and none was more important than the blow he landed on Michael Proios as the Clarion quarterback scrambled on a fourth-and-10 from the Millersville 17 with 51 seconds to play. Rafael Lozada and Tyler Tate, rallying to the ball, cleaned up the play, enabling Millersville to take two knees in the victory formation and seal its first road win over a PSAC West team since 2017. 

Just two plays prior, on Clarion's second-and-10, Onuschak broke up a Proios pass that was headed for the end zone. Plays like that made all the difference for the Marauders, and the D did it all game long. In the second quarter, Steve Sweeney made his second interception in as many weeks, and his 54-yard return to the Clarion 1 set up a Jaheim Morris touchdown run. The defense overcame three second-half turnovers by the offense, allowing just seven points. And on the second-to-last Clarion drive, Millersville stuffed the Clarion run game on a fourth-and-two at the 13. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
• Clarion scored first when Khalil Owens capped a seven-play, 55-yard drive on a one-yard TD run with 2:17 left in the first. Millersville rallied back in the second quarter. For the second week in a row, redshirt freshman quarterback Jared Jenkins entered in relief of the starter and provided a spark with his legs. On his first snap from his own 22, he broke free for 32 yards into Clarion territory. He connected with Cliff Harris for 27 yards on second-and-12, and on second-and-8, Jenkins lofted a pass to Mekhi Alexander in the back left corner of the end zone for a 19-yard scoring strike. 
• Sweeney stepped in front of Taylor Eggers' pass on the very next drive, and Morris' first career touchdown gave Millersville a 14-7 advantage with 7:45 left in the half. Clarion tacked on a 32-yard field goal in the closing seconds, capping a 15-play, 77-yard drive. 
• On the opening drive of the third quarter, Jenkins rushed five times and completed four passes, including a brilliant 26-yard touchdown toss to Christan Drayton III. On the play, Jenkins eluded pressure in the pocket, escaped to his right, and as he neared the sideline, he unleashed the pass back toward the center of the end zone where Drayton III had broken free. 
• Millersville appeared to be on the verge of putting the game away early in the third quarter. On Clarion's ensuing drive, redshirt freshman linebacker Garrett Cox jumped in front of an Eggers' pass for an interception. Jenkins, however, gave it right back one play later when Scottie McMillian intercepted him at the Clarion 43. Clarion turned a second interception into points, cutting the Millersville lead to 21-17. 
• In each of their final two drives, Clarion used its running game to push deep into Millersville territory, and both times Millersville got the stop. The first stop came on a rush up the middle on a fourth-and-2 with just under three minutes to play. Millersville could not run out the clock, going three-and-out before Zach Banta's punt sailed 43 yards into Clarion territory. During the play, a Millersville player lost his helmet and was flagged for a personal foul, moving Clarion to the Millersville 44 with 2:35 left. Proios and Owens gashed Millersville for 27 yards on the ground on the first four plays. Then, Clarion went to the air. The first down pass fell incomplete on the sideline. Onuschak broke up the second down try. Proios' pass on third down hit the turf in the end zone, and Millersville's swarming D made the stop on his fourth-down scramble. 

POSTGAME REACTION FROM COACH J.C. MORGAN
• On the two final stands by the defense: "From a defensive standpoint, it was a matter of will. It wasn't clean. it wasn't perfect. They just kept plugging along, getting guys dinged up along the way. Ultimately, we made plays when we needed to. Hats off to the defense and our defensive staff for preparing the players. (Defensive coordinator) Matt (Sutjak) made the right calls at the right time."
• On the effort on the last drive: "At halftime the thing we talked about was doing everything possible to make sure we came back to the locker room with the win. That last play signified the willingness and desire to not let Clarion get the first down. It's a credit to those players and their mindset as leaders. It's a credit to buying into conditioning. They were on the field for a lot of plays. They emptied their gas tanks."
• On Jared Jenkins' off-the-bench performance: "What we loved about him was that he was a gamer. We had our eyes on him from day one in the recruiting process. He is a winner. He's learning things on the fly as a freshman on the field, but he is who we thought he was. The interceptions happen. We got our wires crossed on one and we will clean that up. But he made us plays and provided a spark. His ability to extend pays helped us."
• On the importance of a road win: "For where we are right now, the most important this is that we are 1-1. We left 0-1 and we are going back 1-1. Ultimately, what it means is that we are learning valuable lessons along the way. It's good when you can learn lessons and still get the win."

NOTES
• Millersville had lost 11 of the previous 12 PSAC West road games. It was also the second-straight meeting between Millersville and Clarion that was decided by one score. On Sept. 10, 2015, Clarion won, 27-21. Millersville also snapped a four-game skid against Clarion, earning its first win over the Golden Eagles since 2003. 
• Jenkins has had a hand in three of Millersville's four offensive touchdowns scored. Alexander's touchdown catch was the first of his career. 
• Onuschak's 16 tackles were a career high. He's recorded double-digit tackles in eight of his 13 games as a Marauder. 

UP NEXT
• Millersville stays on the road, traveling to Cal U for a second-consecutive PSAC West crossover on Sept. 18.