SHIPPENSBURG UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL

August 28, 2004

 

SHIPPENSBURG DEFEATS KUTZTOWN 35-0 IN SEASON OPENER

 

            SHIPPENSBURG---Patrick Ferguson caught two touchdown passes to lead the Shippensburg University football team to a 35-0 victory over Kutztown in its season opener.

 

            Shippensburg scored the first touchdown of the game with 1:29 remaining in the first quarter. The Red Raiders went 91 yards on nine plays to reach the end zone. Halfback Dante Poole went 21 yards on four carries to the Shippensburg 31. Quarterback Tony Gomez connected with Ferguson to pick up 48 yards of the drive to put the team at the Kutztown 21. Andre McLaurin rushed for five yards, and Poole went the rest of the way to paydirt, with rushes of nine, five and two yards. Jamie Reder put the kick between the posts to make the score 7-0.

 

            The Red Raiders upped the score quickly in the third quarter. A three play, 59- yard drive put Shippensburg in the end zone with 13:21 remaining in the quarter. Ferguson returned the kickoff 29 yards to the Shippensburg 41. McLaurin picked up a yard rushing, and Kutztown received a 12-yard pass interference penalty on the next play, moving the ball into Kutztown territory and giving Shippensburg a first down. After a six-yard rush from Walter Crump, Gomez hit Ferguson with a 40-yard pass for the touchdown, and Reder¹s kick gave Shippensburg the 14-0 lead.

 

            Ferguson and Gomez teamed up on the Raiders next drive for a 48-yard pass to score the third touchdown of the game and give Shippensburg a solid 21-0 lead. It only took three plays for Shippensburg to go 63 yards. The drive started at the Shippensburg 37. Halfbacks Dave Wilkerson and Matt Acri rushed for eight and seven yards respectively for the first down, setting up the touchdown pass. Reder¹s kick was good.

 

            Shippensburg scored twice towards the end of the fourth quarter, taking advantage of errors made by the Golden Bears. On the first play of the second drive of the quarter, Kutztown quarterback Jeremy Copeland threw an interception into the arms of Antonio Williams, who returned the ball 58-yards for a touchdown.

 

            On the third play of Kutztown¹s next drive, Copeland scrambled out of the pocket and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by defensive lineman Brandon Cook at the Kutztown 29. A Shippensburg penalty moved the ball back to the Kutztown 34, and Pool rushed seven yards and fumbled the ball, which was recovered by Ferguson. John Kuhn put together a string of five short rushes totaling 27 yards, to score from the two yard line for the final score of the game. The score became 35-0 when Reder nailed the kick.

 

            Ferguson finished the day with three catches for 136 yards. Gomez completed five of ten passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns. Poole led the running back corps with 14 carries totaling 70 yards. Kuhn had 14 carries for 65 yards.

 

            The Shippensburg defense held the Golden Bears to 70 yards rushing and only 81 yards passing. The Red Raiders had seven tackles for loss totaling 31 yards, and made four quarterback sacks. The closest that Kutztown came to the endzone was the Shippensburg 37-yard line. Chris Leonetti led the defense with nine tackles and two tackles for loss totaling five yards. John Shrabaugh also had nine tackles and forced a fumble. Dan Walsh made eight tackles and led the team with five solo tackles.

 

            Shippensburg begins its season with a record of 1-0, while Kutztown starts its season at 0-1. The Red Raiders take on Shepherd University in their next game on Saturday, September 4 at Seth Grove Stadium, while Kutztown moves on to face Clarion.

 

 

SHIPPENSBURG UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL

August 28, 2004

 

 

SHIPPENSBURG 35, KUTZTOWN 0

 

Kutztown             0       0       0       0þþþ0

Shippensburg        7       0       14      14þþ.35  

 

 

SU‹Dante Poole, 2 yd. run (Jamie Reder kick), 1Q, 2:17

SU‹Pat Ferguson, 40 yd. pass from Tony Gomez (Reder kick), 3Q, 13:21

SU‹Pat Ferguson, 48 yd. pass from Tony Gomez (Reder kick), 3Q, 10:03

SU‹Antonio Williams, 54 yd. interception return (Reder kick), 4Q, 5:19

SU‹John Kuhn, 2 yd. run (Reder kick), 4Q, 1:00

 

 

Attendance:  4500

 

STATISTICS

                                             KUTZ        SHIP

First Downs                            13               16

Rushing (No.-Yds.)                 31-70          46-208

Passing (Yds.)                         81               153

Passes (Att.-Comp.-Int.)          32-14-2       17-5-0

Total Offense                          151             361

Fumbles (No.-Lost)                 4-2             2-1

Penalties (No.-Yds.)                6-77            8-64