More to come, with additions, revisions and more.
Senior
Justin Pyle scored on a one-yard touchdown run with 2:37 to play Saturday as the Shippensburg University football team opened its 2016 season with a 16-9 victory at American International College, securing the 500th victory all-time in the history of the Red Raider program.
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Shippensburg (1-0) out-gained American International (0-1) by a 440-266 margin but settled for field goals on three of its five trips into the red zone. Junior
Billy Deane was 3-of-4 on the day, including a 27-yard field goal right before halftime.
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The Red Raiders fell behind 2-0 midway through the first quarter after Pyle was tackled in the end zone on a run play for a safety. Deane kicked a field goal with 37 seconds left in the first quarter to put SU up 3-2, but the Yellowjackets scored their only touchdown of the day just 1:12 before halftime to complete an 8-play, 73-yard drive.
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Deane kicked a 34-yard field goal with 11:01 left to tie the score. SU's touchdown capped off a 10-play, 84-yard drive that included a 51-yard pass completion to redshirt-freshman wide receiver
Kyle Haines.
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Junior quarterback
Ryan Zapoticky was 27-of-35 on the day for 370 yards – an impressive feat considering that American International finished 2015 as the No. 1-ranked passing defense in all of NCAA Division II (132.5 yards per game). Zapoticky completed passes to eight different receivers on the day.
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Pyle had career highs of 10 receptions and 141 receiving yards as SU's leading receiver. Junior
Cole Chiappialle had 25 rushing yards, 35 receiving yards and 16 punt-return yards to finish with 76 all-purpose yards on the day.
Defensively, senior linebackers
Allen Holman and
Kevin Goldsmith registered a team-high seven tackles. Junior
Kevin Taylor II was credited with four pass break-ups.
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Shippensburg is now 500-410-31 in football since playing its first game in 1891. Head coach Mark 'Mac' Maciejewski, now in his sixth season helming the Red Raiders, is 40-18 overall.
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Saturday's contest was the first-ever meeting between the two teams, and the Red Raiders are now 7-3 all-time against schools from the Northeast-10 Conference.
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The Red Raiders begin a three-game home-stand next weekend by hosting Gannon at 1 p.m. from SU Student Association Field at Seth Grove Stadium.
More to come, with additions, revisions and more.
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