Anyway, to business.
Millersville dropped a PSAC East contest to the Lock Haven Bald Eagles on Saturday 26-14 on Homecoming Saturday. A ten point swing in just six seconds of game time proved to be an almost insurmountable hill for the Marauders to overcome. After this loss, Millersville is 1-4 in the PSAC East.
Starting with positives: once again, a sparkling Millersville defense held its opposition to under 300 yards once more. This number standing for three weeks will have been for the first time since 2006. Defense against running plays has improved greatly. After IUP gashed this defense for 303 rushing yards, Millersville held Bloomsburg to 208 yards, Cheyney to 109 yards, and Lock Haven to 77 yards.
Linebackers and defensive tackles have played leagues better in recent weeks due to better direction and increased instinctual play. Marvin Gaskill, after being moved to defensive line, has proved to be a stalwart wall, difficult to break through. Additionally, Reggie Slaton, Jordan Rigby and especially Rasheed Johnson, have played well lately.
Now, the negatives.
A six second stretch decided this game pretty handily. After Connor Casey's injury at the end of the first half, third string backup Jared Pierce took over. Pierce completed a quick shovel pass to David Coates (who played his best game by far this season), but then threw into double coverage for an interception.
Two plays later, with six seconds remaining, local product QB Caleb Walton (Manheim Central) completed an 18 yard bullet to David Cook to score.
One play later for Millersville, Pierce bobbled a snap which would have resulted in a knee ending the half. Lock Haven recovered that ill-fated football, and on one final play, Alex Boumerhi rocketed a 40 yard field goal to complete a ten point swing in six seconds. It turned what would have been a 3-0 halftime score to 13-0 in mere moments.
That series of mistakes led to an opportunity for true freshman QB Corey Unger. Unger finished Saturday throwing 8 of 20 with a pick, and a TD strike to TE Trenton Petrovich in beautiful fashion. Unger showed quick legs if on the run, but it appears he will have to work on his accuracy. It wasn't a Casey-caliber first game, but Unger played well in relief on Saturday.
What do we take from this game?
This offense continues to improve. Once again, after only gaining 180 yards against IUP, Millersville has accomplished gains of 232, 265 and 307 yards. This latest effort was the first 300+ yard game of the season, and the first under head coach Greg Breitbach.
Many critical offensive players this season, including Brent Collins, Ian Sadon and Kevin Porter, especially, did not play a gigantic role in past seasons. Offensive duties hinged on Dominic Sanders, Mike Jones, Matt Egenrieder, among others. Growing pains are understandable. Steady improvement is a great sign.
Millersville has a chance to put this steady improvement to the test against Kutztown, who comes to town with just one win this year as well. KU has played some good teams close, including losing a last-minute lead against nationally-ranked West Chester 22-21, and posting 30 points against Shippensburg, who used their offense to outslug the Golden Bears 55-30.
As an additional incentive, newly-inducted Millersville Hall of Fame QB Drew Folmar, Kutztown's head coach, will make his return to the Ville for the first time as a head coach. Not to mention, Millersville/Kutztown has always been a tremendous rivalry across all sports.
Let's take a look around the PSAC.
The biggest game of the week, West Chester vs. Shippensburg, did not disappoint. A last second West Chester field goal decided not only the game, but likely the playoff picture barring a miracle. What a game. It wasn't the offensive insanity that was predicted, but 32-29 is a pretty good score too.
Bloomsburg scored 35 first half points, including 4 Franklin Quiteh rushing TDs, to win 35-7 over Cheyney on Saturday. They hold serve going into week nine by remaining undefeated.
Bloomsburg vs. Shippensburg will be telecast on the CBS Sports Network and PCN this Thursday at 8 p.m. I know I will be watching this high-octane game for certain. Should be fun.
Millersville vs. Kutztown will be at Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium for the second to last home game this season. Broadcast will start at 11:30 a.m., and the game starts at noon. Broadcast can be heard here: www.millersvilleathletics.com/msbn
Coaching mistakes not poor quarterback play led Lock Haven to a victory. Pierce should have never been put into that situation. Take a knee and go in at halftime down 3-0. It is coaching 101!!
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