Box Score

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University football team got off to a slow start on Saturday afternoon and never recovered as visiting West Chester used several big plays and forced five turnovers to achieve a lopsided victory over the Red Raiders, 52-17, from SU Student Association Field at Seth Grove Stadium.

Shippensburg (3-3, 1-2 PSAC East) set a school record for the most passing attempts (61) in a single game and ran the second-most plays in a game in school history (101) but did so as a result of trailing for a majority of the contest. SU took an early 3-0 lead after the Golden Rams fumbled the opening kickoff to the Red Raiders but West Chester answered with three touchdowns in a 3:06 span of the first quarter to gain all the momentum.

The Golden Rams added another score on its first drive of the second quarter for a 28-3 lead, but the Red Raiders closed the gap just before halftime. After forcing a punt deep in WCU territory, SU started its next drive at its own 38. A Blair Brooks first-down run and a subsequent 15-yard WCU facemask penalty got the Red Raiders into Golden Ram territory.

Four plays later, junior Mike Frenette broke off a 16-yard run to the 5-yard line. Eight plays later, on fourth and goal from the two, a scrambling Zach Zulli found junior Bryan Barley open next to the front pylon for the first Raider touchdown.

The Red Raiders forced a three-and-out on the Golden Rams' next possession and got the ball back at its own 18 with 1:59 to play in the half. Zulli quickly moved the Red Raiders downfield after completing passes to redshirt freshman Trevor Harman, junior Taimur Harris and Barley. On third and one from the four, Frenette plunged into the end zone with 18 ticks remaining in the second quarter to make the score 28-17 heading into halftime.

The momentum failed to continue into the second half, as two early fumbles on kickoff returns in the third quarter quelled any chance of a SU comeback. Within two minutes, West Chester had scored touchdowns off both turnovers to build a 42-17 lead. The Golden Rams added a field goal three minutes later and finished its scoring with a 32-yard LaRonn Lee touchdown run at the 12:54 mark of the fourth quarter.

Just as Shippensburg had forced several turnovers a week ago versus Kutztown and subsequently took advantage of them, West Chester had similar success against the Red Raiders on Saturday. The SU offense failed to maintain last week's rhythm, converting just 6-of-20 third-down attempts and having four drives end with turnovers on downs.

Zulli set new career highs with 28 completions and 53 passing attempts, throwing for 278 yards while also throwing three interceptions. Junior Steven Adams played the Raiders' last drive of the game and completed three passes. The 31 completions between Zulli and Adams are the second-most in a game in school history.

Harris was the biggest beneficiary of the Red Raiders' passing game, as the junior had 90 receiving yards on a career-high 10 catches. It was the first time a Red Raider has pulled down 10 grabs in a game since September 27, 2008 when former All-American Mike Harris caught the same amount versus Millersville.

Meanwhile, Brooks, a true freshman, finished the game with 33 yards on 10 carries – the biggest workload he's had in his three games this season. Frenette had 71 rushing yards on 20 carries while pulling in two passes for 17 yards.

Sophomore kicker Drew Newcomer kicked the 31-yard field goal on the opening drive of the game and has converted all five of his attempts this season. In fact, Newcomer has not missed a field goal attempt in his career, as he is now 10-for-10 in two seasons.

Defensively, junior linebacker Cody Fleming led the Red Raiders with 12 tackles, a total that included three for loss, as well as notching a sack and a forced fumble. Sophomore Jake Metz and junior Saeed Khateeb also posted sacks for the Red Raiders, who rank second in the PSAC with 22 sacks this season.

Shippensburg looks to get back on track next Saturday as it travels to No. 2 Bloomsburg for a 1 p.m. kickoff. It will be the first of three consecutive road contests for the Red Raiders.