SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University football team ran for 334 yards on Saturday and controlled time of possession in the second half, finishing with 27 unanswered points en route a 41-17 victory over visiting Clarion on a muggy afternoon at SU Student Association Field at Seth Grove Stadium.
 
Shippensburg (2-1) trailed Clarion (1-2) by a 17-14 score with 3:29 left before halftime but countered with 17 points before the intermission, including 10 points in the final three seconds of the first half. SU limited the Golden Eagles to just 10 rushing yards and held the visitors scoreless over the final 33 minutes.
 
The momentum began to shift toward the Red Raiders at the 2:27 mark of the first half when redshirt-freshman wide receiver Kyle Haines adjusted to a deep ball for a 44-yard touchdown reception – an effort that was all the more impressive considering a pass interference penalty had been thrown on the play.
 
After the SU defense forced a three-and-out, the Red Raiders drove down the field and settled for an impressive 42-yard field goal into the wind by junior Billy Deane. The Red Raiders held a 24-17 lead with just three seconds left on the game clock, but more was still to come.
 
On the ensuing kickoff, a Clarion up-back fielded a squib and began a return, but redshirt-freshman Colin Williams pried the ball out of the returner's hands and ran 30 yards into the end zone for a touchdown that gave SU a 31-17 halftime advantage.
 
The Red Raiders dominated time of possession in the second half – controlling the ball for 20:01 of the game's final 30 minutes. SU had the ball for 11:24 in the fourth quarter. Clarion, held scoreless in the second half, only totaled 101 yards after halftime -- 72 of which came on its opening drive of the third quarter.
 
Shippensburg did not have a negative rush from scrimmage on the day. Of its 63 total carries, 58 went for positive yardage – eight of which were more than 10 yards. Of the five other rushes, one was a quarterback sack, one went for no gain, and three were quarterback kneels at the end of the game. Of the team's 29 first downs on the day, 20 came via the rush.
 
Junior running back Cole Chiappialle had a breakout performance, running for 137 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. He averaged 7.3 yards per rush. Chiappialle also had 27 receiving yards and returned a punt 21 yards, giving him 195 all-purpose yards on the day.
 
Senior running back Justin Pyle had 22 carries for 112 yards – marking the first time SU has had a pair of 100-yard rushers in the same game since Week 8 of the 2014 season. Pyle was also one of four Red Raiders with a team-high three receptions on the day.
 
Junior quarterback Ryan Zapoticky completed 17-of-25 passes for 192 yards and rushed for 40 yards. Zapoticky's touchdown pass to Haines in the second quarter was his first of the season.
 
Defensively, sophomore defensive end and preseason All-America candidate Richard Nase had four tackles – 3.5 for loss – including three sacks. Nase also blocked a Clarion field-goal attempt in the third quarter. Shippensburg had nine tackles for loss on the day, including four sacks.
 
Senior captain linebacker Allen Holman managed his previously elusive "pick-six," returning an interception 32 yards for a touchdown at the end of the first quarter. Holman picked off two passes last year and returned them a combined 50 yards, but had yet to reach the end zone off an interception until Saturday.  
 
Sophomore Dakota Thompson was among numerous Red Raider defenders with a strong game, totaling 1.5 tackles for loss, multiple quarterback hurries and combining with sophomore Dae Dae Pierce for a fourth-quarter sack. Sophomore Steven Cain picked off his first career pass in the fourth quarter and returned it 29 yards.
 
Clarion could never establish a run game. Through three quarters, the Golden Eagles had 18 rushes for -2 yards. Overall, the visitors had 22 totes for a total of just 10 yards – with running back Delrece Williams managing just 38 yards on 13 carries.
 
Saturday's contest played out in a similar fashion to the last meeting between the two teams, held five years ago at Shippensburg. In that 2011 game, Mark 'Mac' Maciejewski's first home victory as a head coach, Clarion grabbed a 14-10 lead before SU scored 34 straight points in an eventual 54-24 win. SU ran for 356 yards that day.
 
The Red Raiders have now won 10 consecutive meetings over Clarion dating back to 2000. Shippensburg is now 23-7 all-time at home under Maciejewski and scored at least 17 points in 29 of those 30 games. SU improved to 22-2 under Maciejewski when it scores 30+ points at home.  
 
Maciejewski's overall record is now 41-19, moving him into a tie for fourth-place on SU's all-time coaching wins list with Vito Ragazzo (41-31 from 1979-85).
 
Shippensburg begins its PSAC East schedule at 1 p.m. Saturday when it hosts East Stroudsburg from SU Student Association Field at Seth Grove Stadium.