Photo Gallery /// WHAG-TV Highlights /// Public Opinion Recap

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University football team scored 28 unanswered points on Saturday and limited the nation's leading rusher to 76 yards, as the Red Raiders opened Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division play with a 31-14 victory over visiting East Stroudsburg from SU Student Association Field at Seth Grove Stadium.
 
Shippensburg (3-1, 1-0 PSAC East), playing in front of a capacity crowd on Parents & Family Day, held East Stroudsburg (2-2, 0-1) scoreless in the second half – marking the second straight week that a Red Raider opponent was blanked after halftime. SU controlled the ball for 21:12 in the second half, as the Warriors managed just 70 yards after halftime. Of those 70 second-half yards, 40 came on ESU's final drive.
 
The Red Raiders game-planned against talented ESU tailback Robert Healy – who entered the contest as the nation's leading rusher at 184 yards per game. Healy managed just 76 yards on 15 carries – including 42 yards on one play. After halftime, Healy had just one rush for two yards. His 124 yards from scrimmage on the day was about half of his national-best season average (240.7) entering Saturday.
 
Junior quarterback Ryan Zapoticky completed 19-of-27 passes for 279 yards and three touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Erik Kerns had three catches for 84 yards and a pair of touchdowns – scoring on plays of 41 and 34 yards.
 
Kerns's touchdown receptions came in a 3:35 stretch of the second quarter that flipped a 14-3 deficit for the Red Raiders into a 17-14 halftime advantage. Shippensburg has now held three of its four opponents scoreless in the second half this season, and out-scored the opposition 30-0 in the fourth quarter.
 
Senior Jordan Harro caught a 40-yard touchdown pass with a nice sliding play in the end zone during the third quarter. The reception marked SU's first third-quarter points of the season.
 
Senior Justin Pyle had 15 carries for 90 yards, did not have a negative rush, and led the team with six catches while totaling 20 yards. Junior Cole Chiappialle had 47 rushing yards and capped off the scoring with a 1-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
 
Senior safety D.J. Burkey tied his career high with 10 tackles, leading the Red Raider defense, and was a big factor in a defensive unit that helped stymie Healy. Burkey had also had one tackle-for-loss and one pass break-up.
 
Senior linebacker Allen Holman recorded an interception for the second consecutive week. He finished with five tackles – including one for loss. Junior Kevin Taylor II also picked off a pass and had three tackles on the day. SU did not register a sack in the game, but did total eight quarterback hurries.
 
Further defensive efforts included Shippensburg limiting the Warriors to just 11 first downs and a 2-of-11 rate on third-down conversions. ESU quarterback Bruce Campbell completed just 12-of-32 passes.
 
Junior kicker Billy Deane kicked a 38-yard field goal in the second quarter to get the Red Raiders on the scoreboard and landed three of his six punts inside the 20-yard line – including one coffin-corner effort that went out-of-bounds at the 3-yard-line.
 
Shippensburg has now won seven of the last nine matchups with the Warriors, including 5-of-6 under head coach Mark 'Mac' Maciejewski. SU is 19-7-1 all-time at home versus East Stroudsburg, while 43rd-year Warrior head coach Denny Douds fell to 4-14-1 all-time against the Red Raiders.
 
The Red Raiders have now allowed just 64 points through four games, ranking the team second in the PSAC for scoring defense (16.0). It is the fewest points allowed by the SU defense through the first four games of the season since 2004, when the Red Raiders yielded just 44 points during a 4-0 start.
 
Saturday was a busy afternoon at Seth Grove Stadium, with numerous events taking place. Before the game, more than 100 students from the Shippensburg Area School District ran through the band's tunnel onto the field behind the SU football team. The unit, known as the "Red Raider Pack," continued its now annual tradition.
 
At halftime, SU Football Alumni lined the football field in a ceremony commemorating the outstanding history of the Red Raiders. Players from the 1940s through the present day were sorted by decade and recognized by the crowd.
 
Perhaps the most special event of all was the presence of Ethan Pyles, a 14-year-old boy who is currently battling Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. College football coaches around the country came together Saturday in an annual #CoachtoCureMD effort, and as part of this cause, Shippensburg hosted Ethan on Saturday and he was present on the sidelines. Ethan also flipped the coin during the pre-game cointoss, and joined the Red Raiders for their post-game breakdown.
 
To find out more about the #CoachtoCureMD cause, please visit http://coachtocuremd.org/.
 
Shippensburg travels to Lock Haven next weekend for a noon kickoff at the Bald Eagles.