ABOUT THE GAME

• Millersville kicks off the 2022 season on the road against Saint Anselm. It is the first-ever meeting between the two programs, but Millersville is no stranger to opening seasons on Thursday nights. This is the seventh time in the last eight seasons that Millersville has played its first game on a Thursday night.
• The Marauders are 3-6 in Thursday night games over the last seven seasons and have won two of the last three. The Marauders are also 40-30 all-time in night games and have gone 4-6 in night games over the last five seasons.
• Millersville is 52-63-9 all-time in season openers. In the last decade, Millersville has opened on the road just twice, beating Pace 21-20 in 2019 and losing at Pace 28-20 in 2017.
• While Saint Anselm and Millersville have never played before, Millersville has played an NE10 opponent in five-straight season openers, going 2-3 in those games. Millersville has opened its season against an NE10 team nine times since 2008. Those games have been decided by an average of just 8.6 points per game and six of the games have been decided by eight points or fewer.
• Of Millersville's six season-opening wins since 2000, three came against NE10 opponents. Millersville is 6-8 all-time against NE-10 opponents with four wins coming against American International (1992-95), one against Assumption (2010) and two against Pace (2016, 2019).

SCOUTING THE MARAUDERS

• Millersville returns nine starters on defense and nine on offense, its leading passer, leading rusher, top three receivers, top four tacklers and top five sackers. The Marauders return Isaiah Onuschak (LB), Tyler Tate (DL) and Steve Sweeney (S), giving them three All-PSAC East returners for the first time since 2007. 
• In 2021, Tate became the first Marauder with double-digit sacks in a season since 1999, the first All-PSAC East First Team defensive lineman since 2007. He piled up 11 sacks and 15 ½ tackles for loss. Onuschak, a two-time All-PSAC East selection already, recorded 5 ½ sacks and 10 ½ tackles for loss. Onuschak has ranked 12th and second in the PSAC in tackles in his last two seasons. Senior DL Chase Alisauckas is coming off a season with five sacks and 10 TFL.  
• Jack Stagaard takes over the reigns of the quarterback position after starting Millersville's final three games of 2021. Stagaard impressed down the stretch, completing 65-of-109 passes for 823 yards and seven touchdowns while also rushing for 132 yards. If Stagaard can match that production for 11 games, it would place him top five all-time in passing yards, top three in TD passes, and within shot of the school record for total offense, which sits at 2,970 and is held by hall of famer Drew Folmar (1998). 
   

SCOUTING THE HAWKS

• Saint Anselm coach Joe Adam is entering his seventh season, and the team enters 2022 with some positive momentum after winning two of the last three games of 2021. While the Hawks went 3-6, they went 3-1 at home and four losses were decided by 13 points or fewer. 
• Saint Anselm was voted to finish fifth out of the eight teams in the NE-10 preseason poll. 
• The Hawks' top rusher, Vincent Wagner, is back after averaging 4.5 yards per carry for 483 yards in 2021. QB Drew Willoughby threw for 2,803 yards and 22 touchdowns last season, averaging over 300 yards per game as a freshman. He attempted 44 or more passes seven times and also threw two or more interceptions in eight of nine games. Willoughby was voted the NE10 Rookie of the Year.  
• Willoughby's top target is Anthony Brown, a senior who totaled 812 yards and nine touchdowns in 2021. Brown was an All-NE10 First Team selection. He also ranked 15th nationally and first in the NE10 in punt returns, with one going for a touchdown. He produced one of the top receiving seasons in program history, ranking fourth in receiving yards and ninth in touchdowns. 

THE LAST TIME OUT

• Millersville: Edinboro 42, Millersville 21  (Nov. 13, 2021) - The Millersville football team outscored Edinboro 21-7 over the final 16 minutes of play, doubled-up the Fighting Scots in first downs and out-gained the visitors by 140 yards, but three lost fumbles and two blocked punts in a disastrous seven-minute stretch in the first half put the Marauders in a hole too deep. Edinboro held off the Marauders' comeback efforts for a 42-21 final. Jack Stagaard led the Marauders on three scoring drives and had a hand in all three touchdowns. 
• Saint Anselm: Assumption 44, Saint Anselm 35 (Nov. 6, 2021) - The Hawks built up a 14-3 lead just minutes into the second quarter, but the Greyhounds tacked on four of the next five scores to establish a 30-21 advantage. Saint Anselm reduced the deficit to two points on two occasions late in the game, but Assumption used its potent run game to put the game out of reach late. Drew Willoughy threw three passing touchdowns, hitting Anthony Brown twice.