Football | 9/7/2016 9:18:00 PM

Game Coverage: WATCH LIVE // LISTEN LIVE // LIVE STATS // Game Notes (.pdf) 

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. — The Shippensburg University football team will hold its home opener on Saturday and begin a three-game homestand by welcoming the Gannon Golden Knights to SU Student Association Field at Seth Grove Stadium for a mandated Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) crossover contest.
 
Kickoff is at 1 p.m. from SU Student Association Field at Seth Grove Stadium. 

The first 200 fans at the gates will receive a free '500 Wins' poster, commemorating the history of SU Football. With its Week 1 victory, Shippensburg has become the fifth PSAC team to reach 500 career victories, joining Bloomsburg, West Chester, IUP and Slippery Rock.

Matchup
The Red Raiders were picked second in the PSAC Eastern Division preseason poll and return 16 starters from last year's team, including the entire offensive line and the entire secondary.

The Golden Knights were picked fifth in the PSAC Western Division preseason poll and return just nine starters — five on offense and four on defense. Gannon was picked first in last season's preseason poll and started 6-2, but injuries hampered the Golden Knights as they lost their final three games of 2015.

This is the first meeting between the two teams since the 2011 season. In that matchup, exactly five years to date from this Saturday, Shippensburg defeated Gannon 41-14 in Erie. It was the first collegiate victory as a head coach for SU's Mark 'Mac' Maciejewski. 

The two teams have met just twice in school history. In the first-ever meeting (back in 2010), Gannon traveled to SU and defeated the Red Raiders, 22-19. Thus, the road team has won both career matchups. 

Broadcast Information
• Live online video coverage of the game will be provided by Shippensburg University's student station (SUTV) and can be accessed online at the links posted above, along with an archive of the game.
• The game will also be shown on television on Comcast community access channel 21 and campus channel 82.
• Live audio coverage of the game will be provided by Shippensburg University's student radio station (WSYC) and can be accessed online via the link posted above and over terrestrial radio at 88.7 FM. WSYC-FM is also available on Tune-In Radio. 

Last Week
• Shippensburg senior running Justin Pyle scored on a one-yard touchdown run with 2:37 to play as the Red Raiders opened 2016 with a 16-9 victory at American International College. It was the 500th victory all-time in the history of the Red Raider program. SU out-gained AIC 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.
• Gannon ran for 361 yards — its sixth-highest single-game total in history, in a convincing 31-9 victory over Southern Connecticut State in its regular-season and home opener. Redshirt-sophomore quarterback Zach Phillips, making his first collegiate start, ran for 181 yards and scored all four of the Golden Knight touchdowns on the ground. He only attempted seven passes, completing four, for 31 yards. Running back Tyler Johnson ran 22 times for 155 yards. 

Shared Vision, Common Goals, Consistent Winner
• Coach Mac's mantra for the Red Raiders since his 2011 appointment as head coach has come to fruition. In his first five years, Maciejewski has coached the Red Raiders to five straight winning seasons. He's just the second SU coach to ever start a Red Raider career with five straight winning seasons (Ed Gulian; 1934-38).
• SU's current stretch is the first time SHIP has had five straight winning seasons overall since 1974-78.
• Maciejewski's Red Raiders have broken, tied, or re-written 152 school records in five years. Among SU's 19 records from 2015 included the Red Raiders leading NCAA Division II in turnover margin (+20) and committing just 10 giveaways.

Success at Seth Grove Stadium
• The Red Raiders have gone 22-6 in home games at Seth Grove Stadium under Coach Maciejewski. SU has scored at least 17 points in 27-of-28 home games under Maciejewski, averaging 44.3 points per game since the start of 2011.
• SU is 21-2 at home under Mac when it scores 30+ points.
• Included in the win total is a school-record 12-game home winning streak that began with a win over ESU on Nov. 5, 2011 and ended Oct. 26, 2013.
• Shippensburg won all seven home games in 2012 — a program record and the school's first undefeated season at home since 1999.