SHIPPENSBURG
UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL
September
11, 2004
SHIPPENSBURG
DEFEATS BLOOMSBURG 48-10 IN BATTLE OF NATIONALLY RANKED TEAMS
SHIPPENSBURG,
Pennsylvania
The Shippensburg University football team recorded their third victory of the
season with a 48-10 victory over Bloomsburg University at Seth Grove Stadium.
It was a battle against nationally ranked teams, with Shippensburg ranked 16th
in the American Football Coaches Association poll, while the Huskies are ranked
20th.
The
Red Raiders scored 41 unanswered points in the game, and capitalized on several
big plays that made the difference in the game. In addition, Shippensburg made
its first field goal since November 2, 2002. Jamie Reder (Warrenton,
Va/Fauquier)
hit two field goals from 18 yards and 22 yards.
The
game was tied 10-10 early in the second quarter, when quarterback Tony
Gomez (Pottsville) completed a 76-yard touchdown pass to David
Wilkerson (Downingtown) to give the Red Raiders a 17-10 lead.
Following the extra point kick, Bloomsburg received the kickoff and their drive for the endzone was abruptly ended when Mike Street (Philadelphia/Mastbaum) intercepted a pass from Husky quarterback Jack Lydic at the Shippensburg eight-yard line. Street returned the ball 92 yards for the Red Raiders third touchdown of the game. The return tied the school record for the second-longest interception return in school history, set by Jack Green in 1931 against Bloomsburg, and tied by Chuck Hickes against California in 1967. The longest return is 97-yards, done by Brad Shover against Bloomsburg in 1973. Shippensburg held a 24-10 lead at halftime.
Bloomsburg
received the kickoff to start the third quarter, and on the second play of the
drive, Terrance Askins (Philadelphia/Glen Mills) made the Red Raiders second
interception of the game, returning the ball 24 yards to the Bloomsburg 34. Gomez hit Patrick
Ferguson (Mt. Airy, Md./Urbana) on the next play,
completing a 34-yard pass for a 31-10 lead Shippensburg lead.
Reder hit his second field goal
of the day midway through the third quarter. John Kuhn (York/Dover) helped set up the field
goal, rushing for 22 yards of the 47-yard drive, including a 17-yard run. Walter
Crump (Sharon Hill/Academy Park) ran the ball twice for an
additional 15 yards.
On
Shippensburg¹s first drive of the fourth quarter, Andre McLaurin
(Warminster/William Tennant) carried the ball twice for
seven yards before Gomez threw the ball deep to a waiting Ferguson, who caught the 42-yard
pass at the Bloomsburg one-yard line. Gomez scored the fifth Red
Raider touchdown of the day by running around the left side for the final yard.
Crump scored the final touchdown
of the game, capping a 9 play, 77 yard drive with a 25-yard run. He rushed for
38 yards of the drive. Quarterback Rick Henshaw (Mamora, N.J./Ocean
City)
connected with receiver Jonathan Aldridge (Pittsburgh/Seneca Valley) for 18 yards to set up the
final play.
The
game looked to be a thriller from the onset, as both teams scored on their
first possessions of the contest. Shippensburg went down the field with a 9
play, 69-yard drive. Gomez rushed for 17-yards to the Bloomsburg 32, while he
completed a pass to Joel Gamble (Baltimore, Md./Carver) for 27 yards. A roughing
the passer penalty put the Red Raiders on the 2-yard line, and Kuhn capped the drive, hitting
the endzone with a one-yard run. He had nine yards rushing on the drive.
Mike
Ceroli scored the Huskies first touchdown of the game with a 10-yard run as
part of a seven play, 73-yard drive. Twenty yards of the drive came on
penalties. Ceroli picked up most of the yardage in the drive with a 36-yard
run.
Bloomsburg
took advantage of a fumbled punt return to take a 10-7 lead. Shippensburg¹s Ferguson
fumbled
the ball on the return, which was recovered by the Huskies Jeremy Lightner. The
recovery set up a 38-yard field goal by Garrett Bloom, putting Bloomsburg on
top 10-7 before Reder tied the game with a field goal.
PAGE 2
Kuhn led the running game,
picking up 92 yards on 21 carries. Crump finished the game with 58
yards, while McLaurin had 19 yards. Gomez passed for 188 yards,
completing 5 of 8 attempts. Ferguson was the leading receiver,
with two catches for 76 yards. Gamble had 47 yards on two
catches.
Defense
was a big factor in the outcome of the game, as Bloomsburg did not score after
the first quarter. Dan Walsh (Mechanicsburg/Cumberland Valley) led the defense with 12
tackles, eight solo. He had a sack for a loss of four yards. Ryan
Hoffman (Phoenixville/St. Pius X) made six tackles,
including three tackles for loss, totaling 13 yards. Hoffman had 1.5 sacks for 11
yards. Antonio Williams (Pittsburgh/Penn Hills) was a key in the backfield,
making three pass breakups with one tackle for loss. He had six tackles.
For
the Huskies, Bloomsburg¹s offense was led by Ceroli with 99 yards rushing,
while Jamar Brittingham had 39 yards on the ground. Quarterback Lydic had 51
yards passing, completing 7 of 19 attempts.
With
the victory, Shippensburg remains undefeated with a 3-0 record, while
Bloomsburg falls to 1-1. Shippensburg takes on Millersville next Saturday,
September 18 at 6:00 p.m., while Bloomsburg plays its first home game of the
season against Lock Haven.
NOTE: Today¹s game with Bloomsburg University will be re-broadcast by SUTV on Monday, September 13 at 6:30 p.m., on Comcast cable channel 21, throughout the Cumberland Valley.
Score by
Quarters 1 2 3 4 Final
#20
Bloomsburg (1-1) 10 0 0 0 - 10
#16
Shippensburg (3-0) 7 17 10 14 - 48
SHIP‹John
Kuhn, 1yd run (Jamie Reder kick)
BLOOM‹Mike
Ceroli, 10 yd run (Garrett Bloom kick)
BLOOM‹Garrett
Bloom, 38 yd field goal
SHIP‹Jamie
Reder, 18 yd field goal
SHIP‹David
Wilkerson, 76 yd pass from Tony Gomez (Jamie Reder kick)
SHIP‹Mike
Street, 92 yd interception return (Jamie Reder kick)
SHIP‹Pat
Ferguson, 34 yd pass from Tony Gomez (Jamie Reder kick)
SHIP‹Jamie
Reder, 22 yd field goal
SHIP‹Tony
Gomez, 1 yd run (Jamie Reder kick)
SHIP‹Walter
Crump, 25 yd run (Jamie Reder kick)
First Downs 15 19
Rushing (No.-Yds.) 39-124 46-202
Passing (Yds.) 83 226
Passes (Att.-Comp.-Int.) 29-11-2 13-7-0
Total Offense 68 59
Fumbles (No.-Lost) 0-0 2-1
Penalties (No.-Yds.) 9-49 8-65
Attendance: 7,434