FB10-20-01

ESU Football vs. Shippensburg

SHIPPENSBURG – Shippensburg scored twice in the second half on Dave Brown’s 94-kickoff return and a 20-yard pass from quarterback Jim Buffington to wide receiver Dustin Truss to defeat East Stroudsburg University, 19-14, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference crossover football game Saturday.

The win raised the Red Raiders’ record to 5-3 while ESU dropped to 4-3.

It was a defensive struggle with Shippensburg managing only 233 yards offense and ESU 257 yards. There were nine turnovers in the game, but the Raiders turned two of the three ESU turnovers into touchdowns while ESU only managed a pair of field goal on six Shipp miscues.

The Warriors took the opening kickoff and moved from their own nine-yard line to the Shippensburg 11 before the drive stalled and Mike Berry kicked a 28-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead after only 5:06 of play.

Less than four minutes later, linebacker Josh Goodman intercepted a pass by ESU quarterback Jeremy Palm and returned it 35 yards to the Warriors’ 11-yard line. On the next play, running back Jarrod Dech went up the middle between right guard and tackle for the touchdown. Berkley Myers’ extra point made it, 7-3, with 6:01 left in the quarter.

Berry kicked another field goal, a 19-yarder with 9:44 to go in the third quarter to bring ESU within a point at 7-6. It followed a fumble recovery by Rich Kane at the Shipp 17-yard line. The Warriors got a first down at the 6 on three straight runs by Andre Castiglioni, but only got to the 2 on their next series and had to settle for three points.

The Raiders immediately struck back as Dave Brown took the ensuing kickoff, sprinted up the right side, cut back to the left behind a wall of blockers and sprinted past the remaining defenders for his ninth touchdown of the season. It was only six yards less than Brown covered in winning the PSAC 100-yard dash title in 1998.

There wasn’t any more scoring in the third quarter although the Warriors had one golden opportunity when linebacker Henry Breckenridge intercepted a pass and returned it 15 yards to the Shipp 10-yard line. But two successive personal foul penalties after the play pushed ESU all the way back to the 40 out of scoring range.

The Warriors got two points on the first play of the fourth quarter to climb back to within 13-8 when the Raiders’ center snapped the ball out of the endzone on a punting situation for a safety.

Shippensburg had to free kick the ball and ESU took possession on its own 40. On the first play, linebacker John Andrews recovered a fumble on the ESU 44. The Raiders went in to score in seven plays capped by the Buffington to Truss pass. That made the score, 19-8, with 10:43 left.

The ESU offense, which had been stymied almost all game, finally got going on its last series. Palm completed three straight passes to John Kotarsky of 25, 8 and finally 38 yards for a touchdown with 1:16 remaining.

Behind by five points, ESU’s only hope was an onside kick, but the ball bounced right to Shippensburg player and Raiders ran out the clock.

Both teams had plenty of defensive stars. ESU safety Jeremy Brown and cornerback Michael Glover each had an interception and a fumble recovery. Breckenridge, making his first start, made nine tackles.

The Warriors held the dangerous Brown to 43 yards on eight carries and two receptions for 23 yards. Matt Phillips was Shipp’s top ball-carrier with 57 yards on 13 attempts.

For the Raiders, Goodman made a game-high 12 tackles while tackle Chad Oberholzer was next with nine tackles, including two sacks and one other tackle for loss.

ESU’s Castiglioni, who has five 100-yard games this season, was limited to 28 yards on 16 carries. Greg Vaughn was the team’s leading rusher with 57 yards on 11 tries, but had to leave the game in the second quarter because of an injury.

East Stroudsburg 3-0-3-8 14

Shippensburg 7-0-6-6 19

ESU – Mike Berry 28 field goal, 9:54 left, 1st

Shipp – Jarrod Dech 11 run (Berkley Myers kick), 6:01 left, 1st

ESU – Berry 19 field goal, 9:44 left, 3rd

Ship – Dave Brown 94 kickoff return (kick blocked), 9:28 left, 3rd

ESU – Safety, Shippensburg center snapped ball out of endzone, 14:50 left, 3rd

Shipp – Justin Truss 20 pass from Jim Buffington (pass failed), 10:43 left, 4th

ESU – John Kotarsky 38 pass from Jeremy Palm (pass failed), 1:16 left, 4th

Team Statistics: First Downs – ESU 13, Shipp 11; Rushing – ESU 42 for 116 yards; Shipp 45 for 131 yards; Passing – ESU 14 for 27, 1 interc., 141 yards; Shipp 8 for 19, 3 interc., 102 yards; Fumbles/Lost: ESU 3-2, Shipp 4-3; Penalties: ESU 9 for 106 yards, Shipp 12 for 82 yards; Punting: ESU 9 for 44.3, Shipp 5 for 36.8

Individual Leaders:

Rushing: ESU – Greg Vaughn 11 for 57; Andre Castiglioni 16 for 28; A.J. Oliveri 5 for 16; Shipp – Matt Phillips 13 for 57, Jarrod Dech 9 for 52, Dave Brown 8 for 43, John Kuhn 7 for 14

Passing: ESU – Jeremy Palm 14 for 27, 1 Interc., 141; Shipp – Jim Buffington 8 for 18, 2 Interc., 102; Berkley Myers 0 for 1, 1 Interc., 0.

Receiving: ESU – John Kotarsky 7 for 127, A.J. Oliveri 2 for 8, Greg Vaughn 2 for 3; Shipp – Justin Truss 2 for 48, Dave Brown 2 for 23, Jarrod Dech 2 for 19.

Punting: ESU - Adam Hostetter 9 for 44.3 avg.; Shipp – Bill Shipp 5 for 36.8 avg.

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