The dozens of fans who braved the elements were probably all wondering the same thing: how did Millersville and C.W. Post both have 2-5 records?
Media Center
Related Topics
Related Stories
It didn't take long before it became pretty obvious which one was going to walk away with its third win.
C.W. Post scored three touchdowns in the opening quarter and cruised to a 35-3 win over Millersville Saturday afternoon in a PSAC East game at rainy and raw Chryst Field at Biemesderfer Stadium.
Despite the dreadful conditions, the Pioneer offense had no trouble rushing over and through the Marauder defense for 206 yards, including 160 on the ground, in the opening quarter alone.
Success on the ground for C.W. Post (3-2 PSAC East, 3-5 overall) should come as no surprise. The Pioneers came in averaging 211 yards rushing per game, while the Marauders surrender 251 per contest.
"What they run is a form of triple-option and you have to be disciplined," Millersville coach Greg Colby said. "You have to have a guy on the dive, a guy on the quarterback and a guy on the pitch. Early, our guy on the quarterback wasn't getting to him like he needed to."
Quarterback Eric Anderwkavich ran Post's first play from scrimmage 55 yards to the Marauder 13. Two plays later, Thomas Beverly went untouched 9 yards for a touchdown and the rout was on.
Beverly added a 4-yard touchdown scamper less than four minutes later, extending the Post lead to 14-0. Before the quarter ended, Anderwkavich threw a 16-yard TD pass to Chris Harris, on fourth-and-6, to make it a 21-0 game with 1:24 left in the opening stanza.
The Millersville offense, meanwhile, struggled mightily to get going on the wet turf. The Marauders (1-4, 2-6) gained only 19 yards on 13 plays in the first quarter.
"We're kind of at an impasse here in terms of improvement on both sides of the ball," Colby said. "On offense, we're just struggling so much up front to be able to block and protect in the pass game and block in the run game that we just can't get any better on that side of the ball."
By the time halftime rolled around, Millersville had 71 total yards, but the Pioneers had churned out 315 and had a 35-3 lead.
Beverly added his third touchdown, a 2-yard run, with 13:06 left in the half, while Anderwkavich had his own 2-yard TD run at the 6:54 mark.
Millersville got on the board with 1:13 left on a 38-yard field goal by John Banzhof.
It's the third time in the last five games the Marauders have been behind 35-3 at the break and fourth time in that many games they've given up 35 points in the opening half. Overall, Millersville has been outscored 206-73 in the first half through eight games.
"On defense, we've been struggling all year from the speed standpoint and being able to tackle standpoint," Colby said of a defensive unit that allows nearly 470 yards and 40 points per game. "We've gotten a little better, but not enough to be able to stand up against a good football team which these guys are."
C.W. Post finished with 410 yards this week after its second-team offense struggled to do much in the second half. Millersville, meanwhile, totaled only 102 yards (55 yards rushing on 45 carries), which was well below the 286-yard average it brought into the game.
"Right now we're getting out-talented in most of the games," Colby said. "I'm not going to say we don't have talent, but they have 28 scholarships, we don't. It's a black-and-white deal as far as that's concerned. We have what we have and we're going to keep working to get better and we're not going to use that as an excuse."
(527)
