ABOUT THE GAME

• Millersville broke into the win column with a convincing 42-14 win at Lock Haven and now return to Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium looking to string together wins. The Marauders totaled their most rushing yards since 2014, recorded their largest margin of victory since 2017 and scored their most points since 2019. East Stroudsburg comes to Millersville with a 2-3 record, both those three losses have come by a grand total of 22 points and the last two losses have come down to the final drive.
• The Marauder Concert Series and Tailgaiting Zone returns for the 2022 season. Live music and a bounce house opens in the designated tailgating area 2 ½ hours before kickoff. There is a $5 charge to park in the tailgating zone. RV requests must be made 24 hours in advance of the game.

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• After coming up empty on the first four possessions of the game, Millersville got its offense rolling against Lock Haven, using a persistent running game and some big plays in the passing game. Freshman Robert Footman Jr., sparked the Marauders with a 25-yard pass to Hakim Melvin and an 88-yard TD pass to Mekhi Alexander. Footman threw two touchdown passes in the game while also rushing nine times for 45 yards. Millersville has now had four different quarterbacks throw a pass in five games, and three of those QBs have thrown touchdown passes.
• Millersville's passing game has been explosive at times. Alexander's 88-yard catch and run was the longest TD pass since the school record was set at 91 by Drew Folmar and Sean Scott in 1999. Millersville has five different receivers with a catch of at least 30 yards.
• Jaheim Morris scored another touchdown against Lock Haven, giving him four scores in the last three games. He has totaled 48 carries in the last three games, and has caught at least one pass in each of the team's five games. His 93 rushing yards against Lock Haven was a season-high and two yards shy of his career high.
• Millersville had three different running backs score a touchdown at Lock Haven. Marcus Pierce Jr., now averaging 4.5 yards per carry, rushed 15 times for a career-high 83 yards and two touchdowns. In the first four weeks, Pierce had totaled just seven carries. Matt Frauen also scored his first career touchdown in the game.
• It was a game of milestones and career-firsts last week. Kameron Taylor caught his first career touchdown pass. Omar Ba and Gus Ross both recorded their first career interceptions. KeShaun Jones recorded his first career sack.
• Millersville has limited its last two opponents to fewer than 300 yards of total offense. In those two games, Millersville has allowed just 1.2 yards per rush (86 yards on 72 carries). Millersville has also tallied seven sacks the last two weeks while breaking up eight passes and generating five turnovers. After not recording an interception in the first three games, Millersville has four in the last two games.
• After coming up empty in the first three games, Tyler Tate has recorded a sack in each of the last two games, and he's now recorded six TFL in the last four. Garrett Cox picked up his third sack of the season at Lock Haven, and Cox has recorded at least a half-tackle for loss in each game and is tied for eighth in the PSAC with 7 1/2.
• Cox is one of three Marauders ranked in the PSAC's top 20 in tackles. Rafael Lozada leads the team and is fifth in the league with 9.6 per game. Lozada recorded double-digit tackles if four of the first five games. Cox ranks 11th and Isaiah Onuschak is 16th at 8.0 per game.
• Punter Zach Banta had a big week at Lock Haven, hitting a 58-yarder and landing two of his four attempts inside the 20 yard line. One of those punts was downed at the Lock Haven 1-yard line and set up an interception two plays later. Banta has boosted his season average to 40.1, which ranks fourth in the PSAC. His current average isn't far off Millersville's single-season record of 40.6, which was set by Evan Stahl in 2016. 
   

SCOUTING THE WARRIORS

• East Stroudsburg is coming off a narrow 24-20 loss to 3-2 Kutztown in which it rallied from a 14-0 deficit to take the lead in the second half twice. Kutztown, however, scored the go-ahead TD in the final two minutes. East Stroudsburg also had a close call against nationally-ranked IUP earlier in the season, falling 38-35 on a field goal with no time life in regulation. Despite the 2-3 record, East Stroudsburg is out-scoring its opponents 28.2-21.4 on average. The Warriors also average 4.4 yards per carry while limiting opponents to 2.7. The defense has also been opportunistic, picking off seven passes and recovering five fumbles. East Stroudsburg ranks seventh in the PSAC in both total offense and total defense, sixth in scoring offense and seventh in scoring defense.
• The Warriors have gotten off to slow starts in each game. They've totaled just six points in the first quarter and have not scored a first quarter touchdown.
• Tyriq Lewis is the team's top rusher, averaging 6.0 yards per carry, but no ESU player averages more than 36.7 rushing yards per game. That average belongs to QB Jake Cirillo, who has missed the last two games. Matt DeLaurentis has been solid in his two starts, throwing for 382 yards while completing 57.1% of his passes.
• The Marauders will have to account for Deshawn McCarthy, who ranks third in the PSAC with 2.0 tackles for loss per game.
• Kicker Devin Bartholomew is a weapon for the Warriors. He's 12-for-14 on field goal attempts and his hit five more than any other kicker in the league. He leads all of Division II in field goals made. He's also hit from 50 yards.

SERIES HISTORY

• East Stroudsburg has won the last two meetings, but the last time the teams played at Biemesderfer Stadium, it was Millersville winning 11-10, which was the first victory of J.C. Morgan's career. Millersville won two in a row in 2017 (12-0) and 2018 while East Stroudsburg won in 2019 (50-7) and 2021 (27-7). While Millersville has beaten ESU four times in the last 14 games, only one of those wins came at Biemesderfer Stadium. ESU won nine-straight games at Biemesderfer between 2001-2016. The series has been defined by defense. In 12 of the last 13 meetings, the losing team has been limited to 18 points or fewer. The losing teams have scored a total of 24 points in the last four meetings. 
• THE LAST MEETING (East Stroudsburg 27, Millersville 7 (Oct. 9, 2021): East Stroudsburg averaged 6.3 yards per carry on the ground, finishing with 257 yards and a pair of touchdowns from the PSAC's leading rusher, Gunner Anglovich. Anglovich entered the game averaging better than 100 yards per game and he finished with 139 yards, including an 11-yard TD run in the second quarter and a 55-yard run on the first series of the third. The ESU defense gave the Marauders few opportunities. Millersville ran the ball 44 times for 100 yards (2.3 per carry) and totaled just 96 yards passing. 56 of those yards came on one fourth-quarter drive. East Stroudsburg recorded eight sacks. 

THE LAST TIME OUT

• Millersville: Millersville 42, Lock Haven 12 (Oct. 1, 2022) -  Robert Footman Jr. finished 5-for-8 for 149 yards, two touchdowns and an interception while also rushing nine times for 46 yards. It was a game of milestones and first for the Marauders. Jaheim Morris rumbled for a career-high 93 yards and a score, ripping off a season-best run of 30 yards. Marcus Pierce Jr., scored the first two touchdowns of his Millersville tenure while tallying a career-high 83 yards on 15 carries. Sophomore Matt Frauen scored his first career TD, as did redshirt freshman wide receiver Kameron Taylor. On the other side of the ball, Omar Ba and freshman corner Gus Ross both made their first career interceptions. 
• East Stroudsburg: Kutztown 24, East Stroudsburg (Oct. 1, 2022) - East Stroudsburg led twice in the second half but Kutztown scored the go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter and got a fourth-down stop on ESU's final drive to cement the win. Matt DeLaurentis started his second-straight game at quarterback and went 22-for-41 for 197 yards, a touchdown and interception.