Box Score

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - Red-shirt junior Chad DiFebbo threw for nearly 200 yards in his debut as a starting quarterback and red-shirt junior Mike Harris recorded the fourth 100-yard receiving game in his career, but it was not enough as the Shippensburg University football team fell to No. 13 Shepherd in the 11th Annual Great Valley Classic, 20-16.

Shippensburg (0-1) received a strong performance from its defense to begin the fourth quarter, as the first two Ram possessions resulted in turnovers. On the first Ram drive,  red-shirt sophomore Jeff Fertig intercepted a Tyler Lazear pass attempt to preserve the lead for the Red Raiders. Shippensburg only totaled five interceptions all of last season while Lazear was only intercepted eight times in 12 games last season.

With 12:24 remaining in regulation, sophomore Riley Bowen expertly read a reverse attempted by the Rams on the first play of its second fourth-quarter drive and tackled Raymond Mends in the end zone to mark the team's first safety since the road contest against Kutztown on Sept. 15, 2007.

Overall, Shippensburg recorded 10 tackles for loss, a feat only achieved once last season, as four different players contributed five sacks in the game. Red-shirt senior Jason Groller posted an outstanding all-around performance, recording two sacks, a pass breakup, a quarterback hurry and tying for the team-high with seven tackles in the game.

Fellow senior Josh Oswalt also recorded seven tackles to go along with 1.5 sacks, while red-shirt junior Andy Casale recorded a sack for a loss of five yards.

After being held to just three first downs in the second half, Shepherd was able to break through for the game-winning score with a 9-play, 80-yard touchdown drive midway through the final quarter. Two critical third-down conversions gave the Rams the necessary momentum, as a 15-yard facemask penalty and a 10-yard pass got Shepherd to midfield. A pass interference penalty got the Rams in Red Raider territory, and three plays later Shepherd had punched the ball into the end zone for the 20-16 margin of victory.

DiFebbo finished the day completing 15-of-33 passes for 197 yards and two touchdowns. He connected  in the second quarter with red-shirt junior Mike Harris for a seven-yard score and red-shirt sophomore Chase DiFebbo for a six-yard strike that gave the Red Raiders a 14-13 halftime lead. Harris finished with eight receptions for 117 yards and one touchdown.

The Rams opened the scoring with a 78-yard touchdown run by Jimmy Sutch, who finished with 201 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries. Dating back to last season, Sutch has rushed for 318 yards and four touchdowns in his last two games.

Junior Kyler Ford maintained his masterful punting prowess on the afternoon by averaging 42.6 yards per punt over a total of 10 attempts. Four of his kicks went inside the 20, and his excellent hangtime resulted in just 47 punt return yards for the Rams.

Shippensburg will return to action next Saturday when it hosts Edinboro in a PSAC crossover on Parents and Family Day from Seth Grove Stadium. The game will start at 12:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on the SportsFEVER television network along with Shippensburg University Television (SUTV) and Shippensburg University student radio station WSYC-FM.