Box Score
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Red Raider football team limited the third-ranked offense in the country to just seven points and 219 yards of offense on a rainy but wonderful Homecoming Saturday from SU Student Association Field at Seth Grove Stadium, posting a convincing 49-7 victory over No. 12 Kutztown.

Shippensburg (3-2, 1-1 PSAC East) was in total control on Saturday from the opening kickoff to the final whistle. The Red Raiders executed their offensive game plan to perfection – totaling 280 rushing yards and 268 passing yards – while converting 13-of-20 third-down opportunities and controlling the ball for nearly 37 minutes.

The Red Raiders had 59 rushes in Saturday's game and averaged 4.7 yards per carry. Excluding a quarterback kneel at the end of the first half, only four of those carries went for negative yards, while eight went for 10 or more yards. 

Sophomore quarterback Zach Zulli took care of the ball through the air and was named the Shippensburg VFW Offensive MVP after completing 21-of-30 passes for 215 yards and four touchdowns. Zulli also ran for 55 yards and scored a touchdown on the ground.

SU did not commit a turnover in Saturday's game while forcing five – including four interceptions – and sacking KU quarterback Kevin Morton five times. Morton, the 2010 PSAC Eastern Division Offensive Player of the Year, was limited to just 77 passing yards through the first three quarters and completed just 12-of-30 passes overall for 124 yards in the contest. Saturday's contest was just the second time in 25 career starts that Morton did not throw a touchdown pass.

Morton dropped the ball while moving around in the pocket on Kutztown's third play from scrimmage that began on its own 8-yard line. Sophomore Dainen Green recovered the fumble, and three plays later, Zulli found junior Taimur Harris in the corner of the end zone to open the scoring.

A poor punt gave Shippensburg the ball at the Kutztown 43-yard line early in the second quarter. Zulli executed a rollout on the first play to find redshirt freshman Alex Kuljian for a nifty 23-yard completion. Five plays later, Shippensburg's other California connection produced the second touchdown of the game as Zulli threw a two-yard pass in the left corner of the end zone to sophomore Zack Kinney.

A number of stars came forward on the defensive side of the football in Saturday's game, but perhaps none had a bigger impact than junior Cody Fleming – who was named the Shippensburg VFW Defensive MVP after leading the Red Raiders with 13 tackles. Included in that total were 4.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.

Following Kinney's touchdown, Fleming stymied the next Golden Bear drive with a sack-fumble that ended up rolling out of bounds and led to a punt. SU's longest scoring drive of the day ensued, as a 9-play, 75-yard quest to paydirt ended with Zulli's three-yard touchdown scamper.

After a Kutztown three-and-out, Shippensburg truly deflated the Golden Bear momentum with a splendidly executed trick play for the fourth Red Raider touchdown of the half.

Near midfield, Zulli faked a quick handoff to freshman Blair Brooks and then made a pitch to redshirt freshman wide receiver Trevor Harman. Angling in the opposite direction was junior Mike Frenette, who put his hands in the air at the time of the pitch and ended up baiting four or five KU defenders on the play. Junior Bryan Barley, who started out on the play faking a blocking assignment, ended up streaking down the middle of the field and had no defenders within 10 yards of him when he caught a 53-yard touchdown pass from Harman that put the Red Raiders up 28-0 before the intermission.

Harman had another standout game in just his fifth career collegiate contest. In addition to his long touchdown pass, Harman also caught two touchdowns from Zulli in the third quarter to help put the game out of reach. Harman finished the game with three receptions for 48 yards in addition to his 53-yard toss.

Brooks displayed his burst with a 31-yard touchdown run at the start of the fourth quarter. He finished with 53 yards on six carries and was one of four SU rushers with 50 or more yards in the contest.

Frenette, while not getting in the end zone, served as the quiet stalwart on offense by leading the team in rushing attempts and in receptions. He ran the ball 19 times for 75 yards – being stopped just twice for negative yardage – while catching six passes for 48 yards.

His production on Saturday resulted in him surpassing the 1,000-yard mark as both a running back and as a wide receiver. Through 27 career games, Frenette has 1,002 rushing yards and 1,036 receiving yards.

Kutztown (4-1, 1-1) would have ultimately been held scoreless if not for the efforts of tailback Robbie Frey, who broke a 61-yard run for a touchdown in the third quarter. The former UConn standout ran for 109 yards on 15 carries while the rest of his teammates combined for just 112 offensive yards.

The Shippensburg defense, which entered the contest ranked 14th out of 16 PSAC teams in total defense, was arguably the ultimate difference in the game. The Red Raiders had eight tackles for a loss, five official quarterback hurries and two pass breakups.

Junior Saeed Khateeb continued to be a disruptor along the defensive line. He finished with nine tackles, including 1.5 sacks. Sophomore Jake Metz added four tackles and had a sack in the fourth quarter.

The first of the defense's four interceptions came on a deep sideline pass in the first quarter when sophomore Avery Coleman deflected the ball into the air, allowing sophomore Mike Goode to dive at midfield and catch the tip before hit the ground.

On the first play of the opening drive of the second half, Morton threw a deep ball that sailed long downfield into the hands of junior Corey Hunt at the SU 39-yard line. Hunt returned it 19 yards to the KU 42-yard line.

Senior Vinnie Ranauto was the recipient of Morton's third interception later in the third quarter, again on the first play of a Kutztown drive. Morton's pass over the middle was behind his intended receiver, and Ranauto took advantage to make a sliding catch at the KU 41. Morton's third pick of the quarter came at the hands of sophomore Tyriq Kershaw, who pulled down a deep pass in front of Golden Bear running back Josh Mastromatto with 1:28 left in the third.

Shippensburg's final drive of the game did not result in any points but served as a perfect crescendo for the day that was. For 14 consecutive plays, senior Roshaan McCain was handed the ball in the backfield by junior Steven Adams and McCain gained positive yardage on every run – including a 17-yard scamper midway through the drive.

McCain, who reached the 1,000-yard mark for his career last week at C.W. Post, totaled 66 yards on the drive. While the possession ended with a turnover on downs at the Kutztown 8-yard line, the impact of McCain's efforts was visible on the play clock. The drive that had started on the SU 27-yard line with 9:18 on the clock ended at the opposite end of the field with just 58 seconds remaining in the game.

Shippensburg is back in action at 1 p.m. Saturday against West Chester from SU Student Association Field at Seth Grove Stadium.

Notes: SU is now 28-3 all time at home versus Kutztown and has not lost to the Golden Bears at Seth Grove Stadium since 1995…it was the first game in which Shippensburg has not committed a turnover since last year's Homecoming victory over Cheyney…Kutztown entered the game with the seventh-best turnover margin in Division II but posted a -5 differential on Saturday…Shippensburg's victory over Kutztown on Saturday is its most lopsided over the Golden Bears since a 51-7 victory in 1960…Zulli has now thrown for four touchdowns in a game three times this season and completed 20 or more passes in four consecutive games...SU matched its season-high total of 91 plays set Week 2 at Gannon...that mark remains the third-most in SU single-game history and the most since Nov. 12, 1983 against James Madison...the Red Raiders limited the Golden Bears to their fewest points since November 2009.