SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University football team posted a season-high 611 yards of offense Saturday, including a career-high 350 passing yards from sophomore quarterback
Ryan Zapoticky, as the Red Raiders staved off hard-charging Lock Haven, 44-34, on a sunny afternoon at SU Student Association Field at Seth Grove Stadium.
Shippensburg (4-2, 2-1 PSAC) and Lock Haven (0-6, 0-3) combined for 1,068 yards of offense in Saturday's game, as the Red Raiders raced out to a 31-7 lead with 2:35 to play in the opening half. SU dominated the time of possession, however, controlling the ball for 37:43 on Saturday, in addition to finishing 15-of-21 on third down plays. SU's 15 third-down conversions are the most by a team in Division II this season.
Zapoticky was 28-of-38 for 350 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 71 yards. Over the last two games, Zapoticky has totaled 670 passing yards and 174 rushing yards in a pair of victories over Eastern Division opponents. He completed a career-best 74 percent of his passes Saturday despite three credited drops during the first half.
As a rusher, Zapoticky has now run for a first down 11 times this season on a third-down play; he moved the sticks Saturday with a 12-yard run on a 3rd-and-9 play in the second half and also ran for 10 yards on a 4th-and-9 play in the second quarter.
Senior
Andrew Smith had two touchdowns and ran for 125 yards, his most in a single game as a Red Raider and his second 100-yard performance of the year. Smith had 25 carries – none of which went for negative yards.
With the exception of last year's Cheyney game in which SU had 71 rushing attempts and no true quarterback, Smith's 25 carries are the most in a game by a Red Raider since Kevin Herod had 27 against Cheyney in 2010.
Smith finished the day with 223 all-purpose yards, including seven receptions for 49 yards and 49 return yards. Senior
Sheldon Mayer matched Smith with seven receptions, totaling a team-high 68 receiving yards.
SU had allowed just seven points in the fourth quarter through five weeks this season, but the Bald Eagles scored two touchdowns down the stretch to make it close in the final four minutes. After Lock Haven recovered an onside kick at the 3:40 mark down by 10 points, it was not until a fourth-down interception by sophomore
Kevin Goldsmith that the game was all but sealed.
Junior
Mike Brown had two receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown – his 29-yard reception with 3:56 to play in the first quarter gave SU a 14-7 lead as the Red Raiders would not trail the rest of the way. Brown has now caught three touchdowns over the last weeks.
Redshirt-freshman
Paryss Marshall entered the day with 68 career receiving yards through five games but finished Saturday's game with 73 yards on five catches. Marshall had 27-yard catch on a 3rd-and-14 play and a diving 16-yard catch on a 3rd-and-11 play to move the sticks twice in the second quarter.
Junior
Justin Pyle ran 17 times for 58 yards and a touchdown, as SU ran the ball a season-high 58 times for 261 yards.
Goldsmith had a team-high nine tackles in addition to his interception. Junior
D.J. Burkey had an important first-half interception early in the second quarter that set up a Smith rushing touchdown and made the score 24-7.
Senior
Cortlin Dell made his return from a spring-season injury – suiting up for the first time in 2015 – and had a sack and three tackles.
Sophomore
Billy Deane finished the day 3-of-5 on field goals, including a career-long 44-yard field goal on the final play of the first half. Deane only punted once on the day, as SU either scored points or missed a field goal on its first 10 drives of the contest.
Sophomore
Brady Forney caught a 16-yard touchdown in the second quarter – the first touchdown of his career. Forney has four receptions this season – all of which have resulted in either a first down or a touchdown.
The Red Raiders did not turn the ball over in Saturday's game – its first contest of the season without committing a turnover.
Shippensburg will host West Chester for Homecoming next Saturday at 1 p.m. from SU Student Association Field at Seth Grove Stadium.
Notes: SU defeated Lock Haven for the 50th time Saturday, more than any other opponent…SU has won 12-in-a-row over Lock Haven and has lost just once to the Bald Eagles in the last 19 years…SU attempted five field goals in a game Saturday for just the third time in school history and the first time since Janne Janhonnen attempted a school-record six field goals at Millersville on Nov. 14, 1987 (current SU assistant coach
Mick Chronister was a senior captain in 1987)…SU has converted 53 third downs through six games after going 69-of-167 (41 percent) on third down last season…SU's 15 third-down conversions on Saturday are its most in a single game in at least 17 years (SU had 14 third-down conversions against Bloomsburg in 1998)…Deane is now 10-of-13 on field-goal attempts this season; he is just the eighth kicker in school history with at least 10 field goals in a single season…by comparison, SU attempted just eight field goals all of last season…Mayer is now six receptions shy of 200 for his career; …over the last two weeks, SU is 2-0 despite the opposition combining for 68 receptions, 980 yards and 14 touchdowns in that span...six of SU's scoring drives Saturday featured nine or more plays…SU has nine touchdown drives this season of 10+ plays and six field goal drives of 10+ plays.
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