Box Score

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SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University football team set a school record with its 12th consecutive home victory on Saturday by scoring 24 points in both the second and third quarters of a 55-30 defeat of Kutztown in a PSAC Eastern Division matchup from a cloudy and cool SU Student Association Field at Seth Grove Stadium.

Shippensburg (5-2, 4-0 PSAC East) trailed 3-0 with 13:48 to play in the second quarter before recovering an onside kick attempt by Kutztown (1-6, 1-3) and answering with a touchdown to take the lead. After a Golden Bear touchdown made it 10-7 with 10:32 left before halftime, SU reeled off 31 consecutive points to lead 38-10 with 9:12 left in the third quarter.

"It was a good win for us. We needed this win to keep our chances alive in the East," head coach Mark 'Mac' Maciejewski '92/'96M said. "I give a lot of credit to the kids, they kept fighting and fighting and fighting. I'm happy with our guys and I'm pleased where we're at, but we got to continue to get better because every week's a championship game to us."

The Red Raiders had two players finish with double-digit receptions in the same game for the first time in school history: junior Sheldon Mayer set career highs with 11 receptions for 163 yards and a touchdown while fellow junior Trevor Harman had 10 catches for a season-high 166 yards and two touchdowns.

The two men combined for 21 of SU's 23 receptions in Saturday's game. Mayer accounted for two touchdowns overall, as his three-yard touchdown run on a fourth-down play in the second quarter began SU's run of 31 straight points. Harman moved into sole possession of the school record for games with a receiving touchdown (21) and extended his own school record set last week with his sixth consecutive 100-yard receiving game.

Senior quarterback Zach Zulli completed 23-of-48 passes for 344 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. Junior tailback Blair Brooks set a new career high in rushing for the second straight game, amassing 150 yards on just 14 carries (10.7 yards per carry). Included in that total was a 69-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter.

In three career games against Kutztown, Zulli has completed 90-of-139 passes for 1,140 yards and 17 touchdowns. Harman, in the same span, has 31 receptions for 462 yards and nine touchdowns.

Redshirt-freshman defensive back D.J. Burkey, who entered the game with six career tackles in six career games, led all players Saturday with 10 tackles (four solo, six assisted). SU had five sacks, including two by senior defensive end Dainen Green, in addition to an interception by senior defensive back Avery Coleman. Green finished with four tackles for a total loss of 24 yards – marking new career highs in both categories.

Senior defensive end Jake Metz set another school record after teaming up on two sacks in Saturday's contest. Metz now has 53.0 career tackles for loss (TFLs), putting him ahead of former teammate Cody Fleming (52.5; 2009-12) for Shippensburg's all-time mark.

The Red Raider defense extended Kutztown's frustrations running the football, limiting the Golden Bears to a 1.9 yard-per-carry average on 37 rushes. SU sacked KU starting quarterback Alec Werner four times and limited the freshman to just 6-of-14 passing for 79 yards. Werner entered the game as the PSAC's leader in pass completions.

Special teams play remained a calling card for SU on Saturday as well. Of KU's six kickoff returns, 2012 All-PSAC East First Team return specialist Curtis Wortham managed just 102 yards (17.0 yards per return), with his longest return of the day being 18 yards. Senior Nate Schmidt booted touchbacks on SU's four other kickoffs.

SU improved to 47-17-2 all-time against Kutztown and has now won 12 of the last 15 meetings over the Golden Bears. The Red Raiders are also 29-3 at home against KU, having won all nine meetings held in Shippensburg since 1995.

Shippensburg will host undefeated West Chester on Homecoming next Saturday at Seth Grove Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. The Golden Rams were the last team to defeat Shippensburg on its home turf, posting a 52-17 victory on Oct. 8, 2011.

Donate Life: For the second consecutive year, the Shippensburg University Athletics Department successfully teamed up with Donate Life Pennsylvania at Saturday's football game. Information booths were set up at both ends of the stadium to provide information about organ and tissue donation in addition to opportunities for individuals to sign up and become donors. The coaching staff and most of the sideline personnel wore "Donate Life" t-shirts, while many of the players boasted lime green equipment accessories. Wes Mallicone, SU director of sports medicine, was the recipient of a life-saving liver transplant just over two years ago.

Notes: During SU's 12-game home winning streak, the Red Raiders have outscored opponents by a 611-278 margin, averaging 50.9 points per game and scoring at least 36 points in each victory…Maciejewski is 14-1 as a head coach at Seth Grove Stadium…Mac's 23 coaching victories ranks seventh all-time in SU history…Saturday featured the first scoreless first quarter in an SU home game since a 31-14 loss to C.W. Post on Sept. 25, 2010 (17 games)…Coleman now has four career interceptions, including three in the last two years against Kutztown…Mayer's previous single-game career high in receiving yards was 80, set last week at Lock Haven…Zulli surpassed 10,000 career yards of total offense; his 10,272 yards ranks sixth in PSAC history behind KU head coach and former Millersville signal caller Drew Folmar (1997-2000)…Zulli moved into seventh all-time on the PSAC's career passing list (9,613 yards), passing WCU's Bob Findora (2001-04)…Zulli has thrown at least three touchdown passes in 23 of his 31 career games at quarterback…Harman's 12 career 100-yard receiving games ranks second in school history to Jamie Ware (15)…Harman became the seventh player in PSAC history to record 40 career receiving touchdowns…Green's previous career-high TFL total was 3.0 for 23 yards in 2011 vs. Gannon…Green (18.5 sacks) now ranks seven in school history on the all-time sacks list...senior Drew Newcomer kicked a pair of field goals in Saturday's game, bringing his career total to 24…Newcomer is tied with Craig Lough (1998-2000, 2002) for fifth on SU's career field goals list…Kutztown made a habit of avoiding Brooks and junior Shannon Maura on kickoff returns by employing a variety of squib or pooch kicks, but SU still managed 84 yards on runbacks…senior Mike Schmidt had a 15-yard kickoff return and junior Trevor Mack fielded an onside kick attempt in stride and returned it 36 yards to the KU 10-yard line.