SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University football team scored on eight of its final nine drives in Saturday's 2015 season opener against Seton Hill, including twice on defense, as the Red Raiders used a balanced offensive attack and forced three turnovers to ultimately rout the visiting Griffins, 64-14, on a warm and hazy afternoon at SU Student Association Field at Seth Grove Stadium.
 
Shippensburg (1-0) held a 14-7 lead midway through the second quarter before sophomore quarterback Ryan Zapoticky evaded a blitz, stepped up in the pocket and threw a 38-yard touchdown strike to Sheldon Mayer that enhanced the Red Raider lead to 20-7 with 6:18 left in the first half. With 40 seconds before halftime, junior Justin Pyle ran in from 19 yards out to cap off a 9-play, 85-yard drive that put SU up 27-7.
 
Pyle's score began a stretch of 24 points over the next five minutes of play, as the Red Raiders transformed a close game into a lopsided affair. Sophomore Billy Deane kicked a 36-yard field goal two minutes into the half, and one minute later, sophomore Austin Rosenberry had a sack-fumble that was scooped up by redshirt-freshman Dakota Thompson for a 13-yard score.
 
Then, two plays after an interception by junior linebacker Allen Holman, senior Andrew Smith caught a 30-yard touchdown from Zapoticky and the score was suddenly 43-7 with 10:23 still to play in the third quarter.
 
Not to be lost during the scoring run was a decisive defensive stop at the end of the half. Following Pyle's touchdown with 40 seconds left, Seton Hill (0-1) got a 52-yard kickoff return from Jarvis McClam. Three plays later, on a fourth-and-10 play, McClam caught a pass and then broke a couple tackles to put the Griffins on SU's 1-yard line with one second left in the half.
 
After a timeout, the SU defense answered the call and stopped Griffin running back Khalil Howard at the line of scrimmage. Sophomore Kevin Goldsmith made the tackle, and SU maintained a 20-point lead heading into the intermission.
 
SU's defense had a standout performance on the day, scoring twice, forcing three turnovers and recording three sacks. Holman had four tackles for loss among seven total stops, while Goldsmith and sophomore Chavez Cheatham tied for the team lead with 11 tackles.
 
Offensively, Pyle scored three times on the day, catching a 34-yard pass late in the third quarter and bursting in on a 1-yard run back in the first quarter. Smith had two touchdowns, as he opened the scoring with a 1-yard run on SU's first drive.
 
SU also got a late score from sophomore running back Colin McDermott, whose 18-yard touchdown run capped off a 12-play, 94-yard drive that consumed 8:11 of clock. Redshirt-freshman linebacker Dylan Herb, playing his first collegiate game in front of many friends and family, intercepted a pass in the final minute and returned it 29 yards for a touchdown to cap off the scoring.
 
Zapoticky finished the day 15-of-26 for 244 yards and four touchdowns while also running a team-high 13 times for 59 yards. McDermott ended up as SU's leading rusher, carrying the ball 12 times for 80 yards all in the fourth quarter. Smith had 148 all-purpose yards (58 rushing), and Pyle had 128 all-purpose yards (75 receiving).
 
Overall, Shippensburg had 536 yards of total offense, including 292 on the ground. Of SU's 52 rushes, only four went for negative yardage – a testament not only to the running backs but also to the work of the refurbished Red Raider offensive line. The Red Raiders only lost 13 yards rushing all day – seven of which came as the result of fumbles or sacks.
 
Shippensburg hits the road for the next two weeks, beginning at noon next Saturday from Edinboro.