Glenville State edges Marauders in season opener

Thursday, September 3

Glenville, WV

6:00 PM

Millersville University

0-1 , 0-0

Glenville State

1-1 , 0-0

Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Final F
Millersville	0	14	7	0	21
Glenville St.	3	7	7	7	24

Glenville State edges Marauders in season opener

9/3/2026 9:59:00 PM | Football

Box Score

By: Ethan Hulsey, Director of Athletic Communications

GLENVILLE, W.Va. – Millersville pushed deep into Glenville State territory and came within inches of a go-ahead touchdown connection in the final minute, but the Pioneers' Khaliq Johnson broke up the fourth-down pass preserving a 24-21 win over the visiting Marauders.

Millersville (0-1) battled back from an early 10-0 deficit, leaning on a run game that piled up 218 yards, including 124 from quarterback Tommy Hunsicker and 82 from Mekhi Ashby. The Marauders rushed for 133 yards in the second quarter alone. Millersville scored twice in the quarter, including a highlight 52-yard run from Hunsicker that gave it a 14-10 lead at the break. The team's traded scores in the third quarter with Glenville State's Josiah Gonzalez hauling in a 50-yard TD catch and run and Hunsicker answering with an 11-yard scramble, capping a nine-play, 54-yard drive. Millersville had two opportunities to extend the lead to two scores, but a pair of crucial penalties wiped out two explosive plays by Millersville's Caileb Howse.

FB: Touchdown Tommy! Takes a hit and keeps on rolling! pic.twitter.com/7ijj7XtXsR
— Millersville Marauders (@VilleMarauders) September 3, 2026

Immediately after taking the 21-17 advantage, the Millersville D forced a three-and-out. Howse took the punt 47-yards to the Glenville State 10 only to have it brought back because of a hold. Millersville's defense held firm, getting a red zone interception from Antonio Johnson late in the third, and two drives later, on first-and-10 from the Millersville 20, Howse caught a pass over the middle and out-ran Pioneers to the end zone. However, the Marauders were flagged for an ineligible downfield lineman. Those missed opportunities proved costly as Glenville State finally solved the Millersville defense. Glenville State running back Zavione Wood gashed the Marauders on the ground, and on third-and-5 from the Millersville 15, the Marauders dialed up a blitz. Pioneers quarterback J.D. Sherrod cooly lobbed a pass to Amir Simmons in the flat, who jogged untouched into the end zone for a 24-21 Glenville State lead.

FB: What a play by Antonio Johnson! Marauders make another red zone stand! pic.twitter.com/eXRVYbqUNo
— Millersville Marauders (@VilleMarauders) September 4, 2026

"(The penalties) are killers," said Millersville head coach Drew Folmar. "We talked in the locker room about unforced errors, but those penalties come from the kids playing hard, and I don't fault them for those penalties. They were aggressive penalties. The hold is a combat foul. You don't want it to happen, but there is holding on every play. The long touchdown to Howse was an RPO, and the guys up front are doing what they are told to do. The ball gets held a little longer, and it strings out a little too much. That's how it goes. The kids were playing their butts off. That doesn't mean that we are OK with the penalties, so we will get them cleaned up so they don't happen again."

Millersville took the ball with just under five minutes remaining and using checkdowns and underneath passes, Hunsicker pushed Millersville to the Glenville State 38. A hold and a sack put the Marauders in third-and-12, but they were given new life when a Glenville State defender grabbed Nakhi Bullock in a 1-on-1 route down the sideline. As the clock ticked under one minute, Hunsicker threw incomplete on first down, scrambled for five on second, and picked up four on third, just short of the first down marker. On fourth-and-1 from the 24, Millersville ran play action, getting Hunsicker outside the pocket. Glenville State keyed on the quarterback and bottled his running lanes, so Hunsicker fired to the end zone looking for a streaking Colin Hastings. Johnson ran stride for stride with Hastings and broke up the pass at the goal line.

"There was no doubt in our mind to go for it," said Folmar. "The coaches were in agreement, and you could see it in the kids' eyes, they wanted to go win the game. We wanted to get Tommy on the perimeter, and I told him that if he could run for it go for it and if not, we'd have the pass option. Glenville State made a good call, and the players did a good job. Just fell a little short."

Millersville averaged 5.0 yards per carry and limited Glenville State to 3.4, but the Pioneers were far more effective through the air, totaling 277 yards to Millersville's 85. Both quarterbacks threw an interception, but Sherrod connected on touchdown passes of 84 and 50 yards. Hunsicker finished 10 for 22. Mason Musitano and Howse led the Marauders with four receptions each. The Marauders played with three true freshmen and four first-time starters on the offensive line, and Howse and Musitano both made their first career starts at their positions.

"The young bucks on the offensive line, on Tuesday, we told them the next time they get a live snap they will get punched in the mouth, but you have to like the taste of blood," said Folmar. "They grinded away, and I was happy with the lines on both sides of the ball. The line of scrimmage, the kids got after it. They did what we asked them to do from the get go. There is a lot of good to learn from. We have to duplicate it, get better at it, and the there's things we have to get corrected and make sure don't happen again."

Millersville's plan entering the game was to alternate series with Hunsicker and senior Ryan Zeltt. Zeltt played the second offensive series and led the Marauders to the Glenville State 40 but was injured on a nine-yard scramble and did not return. Hunsicker played every snap the rest of the way.

"Tommy's game is that he has the ability to extend plays with his legs," said Folmar. "The reality is that I have to learn them as much as they learn me. It's a trial by fire for all of us. It's learning what they like and what they are comfortable with. You can see it in practice but it's never the same when the lights come on. They are both competitors."

Bryce Beutler led the Marauders with 11 tackles. Kai Stiansen and Damonte Foreman both tallied two tackles for loss.

Millersville hosts California (Pa.) on Saturday, Sept. 12 at Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium.