For Immediate Release
October 27, 2004
#10/#14 RED RAIDERS HOST SLIPPERY ROCK ON SENIOR DAY
GAME STORYLINE
· The Shippensburg University football team hosts Slippery Rock University in the final regular-season home game of 2004. Game time on Saturday, October 30 is set for 1:00 p.m., at Seth Grove Stadium on Senior Day. The Red Raiders (8-1, 4-1 PSAC West) enter the game having won their last three-straight following last week's 44-0 victory over Clarion University at Memorial Stadium. Shippensburg has won its last eight consecutive at home, dating back to September 27, 2003.
· The Red Raiders enter the game ranked No. 10 in the latest d2football.com Top 25 Poll, up seven spots from last week and No. 14 in the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II Coachesı Poll, up three spots. Shippensburg is also ranked at No. 1 in the NCAA Division II Football Committee Regional Rankings.
· Slippery Rock (3-6, 1-3 PSAC West) has lost its last four in a row after starting the season with a 3-2 record. Two of the team's last four losses have come by only three points, a 34-31 defeat at California University (Pa.) on October 2 and a 17-14 setback at Millersville University on October 23.
· The Shippensburg defense was dominant against Clarion, limiting the Golden Eagles to only nine first downs, 90 yards of total offense (16 rushing, 74 passing) and 3-of-13 on third-down conversions. Senior fullback John Kuhn also totaled 111 yards rushing on 24 carries and five touchdowns. Junior receiver Patrick Ferguson also had 105 yards receiving on four catches, marking the first time that the Red Raiders have had a 100-yard rusher and receiver in the same game this season.
SERIES NOTES
·
Saturday's game mark's
the 58th meeting between The Red Raiders and The Rock with Slippery Rock
holding a 37-18-2 lead in the all-time series. The Rock has won 10 of the last 12 meetings against Ship,
including seven of the last 10 at Seth Grove Stadium as Slippery Rock is 7-2-1.
·
Despite the recent
success by The Rock at Seth Grove Stadium, Shippensburg won the last meeting at
home in one of the most memorable games in the series. On October 12, 2002, the Red Raiders
won a defensive battle, edging out a 13-7 win in overtime following Brian
Sekel's 12-yard touchdown
reception in overtime from Tyler Novak.
On the Rock's ensuing possession, Brent Grimes intercepted Jeff Valentino in the end zone on
fourth-and-4 to preserve Shippensburg's first back-to-back victories against
Slippery Rock since the 1976 and 1977 seasons.
·
Last season's game also
came down to the end of the game, but Ship could not overcome a 16-point
deficit late in the second quarter as Slippery Rock held off the Red Raiders
for a 16-14 win at N. Kerr Thompson Stadium. The Rock scored the game's first 16 points, all on special
teams starting with Asaad Allen's 18-yard blocked punt return for a
touchdown. John Katsaouni followed
with three consecutive field goals, including a 52-yarder. Rick Henshaw connected with Tim Devanney for a 52-yard touchdown before halftime to cut the
Slippery Rock to 16-7. The Red
Raiders would not score again until the 5:10 mark of the fourth quarter when
Henshaw found Patrick Ferguson for a 6-yard score, cutting the lead to two. However, Shippensburg's final two
possessions in the last five minutes resulted in an interception and a missed
field goal from 34 yards with nine seconds left that would have been the
game-winner.
·
Shippensburg head coach Rocky
Rees is 3-11 against Slippery
Rock in 14 previous meetings while The Rockıs Dr. George Mihalik is 11-4-1 in
16 games versus the Red Raiders.
·
Sophomore linebacker Frank
Duffy was chosen as the
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division Defensive Player
of the Week on Sunday. It marked
the first career honor for Duffy and the second this season for Shippensburg
and the first for the defense.
·
Duffy posted a team-high
eight tackles, including five solo stops in Ship's victory at Clarion. He also added a tackle for loss and
recovered a fumble that led to a Red Raider touchdown. For the season, Duffy has started all
nine of the team's games. He has
totaled 45 tackles this year, fourth on the team, 6.5 tackles for loss, 2.5
sacks, two interceptions and one fumble recovery.
·
Senior fullback John
Kuhn continues to add
to his records this season. His
five touchdowns against Clarion University were one shy of the school record of
six that he set against California (Pa.) in 2002. Kuhn entered the game with seven rushing touchdowns and now
has 51 for his career, fourth all-time in PSAC history. However, of those 51 touchdowns, 35
have come against rival PSAC Western Division competition, but he has never
scored a touchdown against Slippery Rock in three previous meetings. With 111 yards rushing at Clarion, Kuhn
also surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark in a single-season for the third
consecutive year as he now has 4,294 career rushing yards, moving him into
fifth all-time in the PSAC. He is
also fourth in the conference in career carries (832). He already holds the Shippensburg
career records for touchdowns, rushing yards and carries.
·
Freshman kicker Jamie
Reder's 26-yard field
goal against Clarion in the second quarter was his ninth-straight of the season
after he began the year 0-for-2.
His attempt from 42 yards was blocked in the third quarter, ending his
streak.
·
The Rock enters
Saturday's game ranked near the middle of the conference in both total offense
and total defense. The Rock is
ninth on offense, averaging 331.8 yards per game, and sixth on defense,
allowing opponents 334.6 yards per game.
·
Special Teams has proven
to be an effective weapon for The Rock this season as they lead the PSAC in
punt returns, averaging 19.3 yards per return. Junior running back Josh Kniess recorded his second punt
return for a touchdown in as many weeks and the fourth of his career when he
returned a punt 59 yards for a score against Edinboro University last
Saturday. He also had two punt
returns a year ago.
·
Kniess also keys
Slippery Rock's rushing attack that ranks seventh in the league at 182.2 yards
per game. Kniess is sixth in the
PSAC, averaging 105.8 yards per game, and needs only 48 yards in the final two
games to reach 1,000 for the season.
- Red Raider Football -