LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Shippensburg University football team held its opponent scoreless in the second half for a third straight week, scoring 28 unanswered points Saturday to defeat Lock Haven, 38-16, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division matchup on a rain-soaked day at Hubert Jack Stadium.
 
Shippensburg (4-1, 2-0 PSAC) forced a season-high six turnovers against Lock Haven (0-5, 0-2) and rushed for 257 yards – scoring four times on the ground. The Red Raiders used a balanced rushing attack in the second half from senior Justin Pyle, junior Cole Chiappialle and sophomore Chase Yocum to grind out a victory in a hard-fought PSAC clash.
 
Yocum relieved junior Ryan Zapoticky late in the first half after Zapoticky exited with an injury. Zapoticky ran for 69 yards and a score before he exited, while Yocum finished the day with 74 rushing yards and a touchdown. Chiappialle continued his consistent play with two more rushing touchdowns, totaling 31 yards, while Pyle led the team in rushing with 84 yards and in receptions with four for 44 yards.
 
Shippensburg forced turnovers on four straight Lock Haven possessions in the second half – including two deep in SU territory, to help swing the momentum. Junior Kevin Taylor II and senior Allen Holman helped set the tone defensively.
 
With the score 17-16 in the third quarter, Lock Haven (0-5, 0-2) drove to the SU 7-yard line, but a series of penalties moved the Bald Eagles back to the 22-yard line. LHU kicker Ethan Harro (brother of SU's Jordan Harro) ended up missing a 38-yard field goal, resulting in a big SU defensive stand.
 
Two plays into LHU's next possession, sophomore Steven Cain intercepted a pass at the SU 38-yard line. After a punt trapped the Bald Eagles on their own 5-yard line, Taylor forced a fumble on the first play of the ensuing drive (recovered by senior Chad Miller) that put the Red Raiders on the LHU 14-yard line. Chiappiale scored four plays later to extend SU's lead to 24-16.
 
Taylor delivered the ultimate blow to Lock Haven on the next drive. With the Bald Eagles down just eight points and on the SU 4-yard line, Taylor recovered a fumble off a botched quarterback-running back exchange and returned it 91 yards for a touchdown to make SU's lead 31-16.
 
Five plays into the next drive, Holman forced his second fumble of the day with a big hit that was recovered by Cain at the SU 28-yard line. The Red Raiders responded with an 11-play, 72-yard drive that ate up 6:28 of clock, and was capped off with a six-yard run by Chiappialle that created the final scoring margin.   
 
Shippensburg fell behind early after Lock Haven forced a punt and then raced down the field and scored in just three minutes on 26-yard pass from Caleb Walton to Del'Vaughn Dennis. Walton finished the day 31-of-53 for 457 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions.
 
Sophomore Tyler Emge helped with some momentum after intercepting Walton on the first play from scrimmage in the second quarter. The Red Raiders scored off the turnover with a Zapoticky touchdown run, as Shippensburg totaled 28 of its 38 points on the day off SU turnovers.  
 
Lock Haven got a 75-yard touchdown pass from Walton to Shawn Seif to take a 16-10 lead just 3:27 before halftime, but that proved to be the final points of the day for the Bald Eagles. Senior Joe Dolan blocked the ensuing PAT attempt to keep the Red Raider deficit at six points heading into halftime.
 
Another notable play occurred early in the third quarter on the drive in which SU took a 17-16 lead. Facing a 3rd-and-17, Yocum completed a screen pass to Pyle for a 21-yard gain and a first down. Chiappialle then had a nine-yard run and Yocum proceeded to score on the next play from 11 yards out.
 
Junior kicker Billy Deane accounted for SU's only points in the first quarter after converting on a 22-yard field goal attempt.
 
Holman led all players with 13 tackles, with two forced fumbles and a tackle for loss. Taylor had eight tackles, the forced fumble and the scoop-and-score.
 
The Red Raiders have now won 13-in-a-row over the Bald Eagles and lead the overall series 51-18-3.
 
Shippensburg returns to action at 12 p.m. Saturday with a PSAC East showdown at West Chester. The game will be broadcast across the country on WatchESPN (ESPN3) by PA SportsFEVER.