CHEYNEY, Pa. – The Shippensburg University football team raced out to a 25-point lead in just nine minutes of play Saturday, forcing six turnovers en route to a lopsided 70-7 victory over the Cheyney Wolves on a cloudy but pleasant fall afternoon at O'Shields-Stevenson Stadium.
 
Shippensburg (6-2, 3-1 PSAC) scored 41 points off the six Cheyney (0-7, 0-4) turnovers. It is the most takeaways by the Red Raiders in a game under head coach Mark 'Mac' Maciejewski '92/'96M and overall since SU forced six turnovers in the 2005 season opener at Kutztown.

After finishing with a minus-4 turnover margin a year ago having forced just 15 turnovers, SU currently boasts a plus-11 turnover margin and has forced 19 turnovers in 2015.
 
Four plays into the game, sophomore quarterback Ryan Zapoticky found senior running back Andrew Smith completely unguarded coming out of a simple wheel route for a 51-yard touchdown, and the rout was on.
 
SU had the ball for just 3:47 in the first quarter but led 25-0 after the opening 15 minutes, having already totaled 138 yards on 13 plays. Zapoticky began the day completing 10 of his first 11 passes for 211 yards and five touchdowns – the Red Raiders led 39-0 with 9:49 to go in the second quarter. He did not play in the second half but still finished the day 13-of-15 for 261 yards.
 
In a game that was filled with firsts for multiple Red Raiders, sophomore Tayler Pressel caught his first career touchdown pass on a three-yard throw from Zapoticky in the first quarter that came directly after redshirt-freshman J.T. Hopple forced a fumble on a kickoff that was recovered by redshirt-freshman Matt Thorne.
 
Sophomore Jeff Gulyas hauled in a 71-yard reception to set up a score in the second quarter – the longest play from scrimmage by a Red Raider this season.
 
Sophomore Darius Wills had his first career interception midway through the fourth quarter and made it count – returning it 85 yards for a touchdown. Wills also recovered a fumble and had 1.5 sacks in the game.
 
True freshman Chase Yocum made his debut at quarterback in the second quarter and played the entire second half – he led all players in rushing with 103 yards on 16 carries and also scored twice. Yocum matched Zapoticky's single-game rushing total of earlier this season, as SU quarterbacks have now run for nearly 500 yards this season through eight games.
 
Senior wide receiver Sheldon Mayer, making his 30th career start Saturday, caught three passes for 63 yards and two touchdowns. Mayer moved into a tie for second place in school history with Mike Harris '09 for career receptions (197).
 
Sophomore Colin McDermott had 68 rushing yards and a score, while Smith had 172 all-purpose yards and two scores despite limited touches. Senior Quran Kent also hauled in a touchdown pass.
 
Defensively, sophomore Will Hudson recorded his second interception of the year and redshirt-freshman John Durkin had an impressive sack-fumble that nearly led to the second scoop-and-score of the year for redshirt-freshman Dakota Thompson. Sophomore Kevin Goldsmith again led SU in tackles with nine and added a sack to his season totals.
 
Saturday's win secures the fifth consecutive winning season for the Red Raiders under Maciejewski. It is the first such streak for the Red Raiders since 1974-78 under coaches Gene Epley (1974-75) and Joe Mark (1976-78). Maciejewski is the just the second coach in school history to begin his SU tenure with five straight winning seasons and the first since legendary SU Hall of Famer Ed Gulian did so from 1934-38.  
 
Sophomore Billy Deane kicked a 20-yard field goal in the fourth quarter – his 13th of the season. Deane is now tied for the third-most field goals in SU single-season history with Hall of Famer Howie Guarini – Guarini kicked 13 in 1989 and 15 in 1990. Jamie Reder's school record of 17 field goals came in 2005.
 
The 70 points scored by the Red Raiders are the most in a game since defeating Seton Hill at home in 2013, 73-27.
 
Shippensburg hosts Millersville at 1 p.m. Saturday from SU Student Association Field at Seth Grove Stadium.