Game Preview - Shippensburg

West Chester University (4-1, 2-0) travels to Seth Grove Stadium to take on the Shippensburg Raiders (5-0, 2-0) on Saturday at 1:00 pm.

Series History:
West Chester leads the overall series 26-11-1. In his 14 years at West Chester, Bill Zwaan is 11-4 against the Raiders. Shippensburg head coach Mark Maciejewski is in his 7th season and holds a 51-22 record.

In the final regular season game of the 2004 season, Shippensburg knocked off the Golden Rams at Farrell Stadium in overtime. But two weeks later in the second round of the NCAA playoffs, West Chester avenged that loss in Shippensburg. West Chester took the next four contests during the Golden Rams' run of qualifying for the NCAA playoffs from 2005-2008. Shippensburg won in 2009 and went on to win the PSAC championship that season.

In one of the most memorable games in West Chester football history, Golden Ram quarterback Sean McCartney made his first collegiate start and threw for 444 yards and five touchdowns to lead West Chester to a 44-43 victory in two overtimes in a nationally televised Thursday night game in 2010. The following year, West Chester laid a 52-17 loss on the Raiders, but Shippensburg returned the favor in 2012, beating West Chester 42-24 on homecoming at Farrell Stadium and continued on to the PSAC championship game and the NCAA playoffs that year. In 2013, Shawn Leo booted a 26-yard field goal with one second left to give West Chester the thrilling victory.

Last 10 Meetings:

Year	H/A	W/L	Score	Year	H/A	W/L	Score
2007	Away	Win	34-29	2012	Home	Loss	42-24
2008	Home	Win	25-7	2013	Away	Win	32-29
2009	Away	Loss	24-19	2014	Home	Win	55-28
2010	Home	Win	44-43 2OT	2015	Away	Loss	27-11
2011	Away	Win	52-17	2016	Home	Win	31-15

Last Meeting:

10/08/2016 West Chester 31 - Shippensburg 15

Against a Raider team without quarterback Ryan Zapoticky, the Golden Rams played a dominating first half and then hung on to capture the 31-15 win in West Chester. Tyler Karpinski had seven catches for 103 yards and two touchdowns while Jarel Elder had 77 yards and two touchdowns rushing and another 74 yards receiving. But all the West Chester scoring came in the first half, and the second half was a rather listless affair for the Golden Rams.

Defensively, Kevin Duggan had five tackles while Shaquille James had four stops. Nydair Rouse had three pass breakups to go along with a tackle.

Scouting the Opponent:

There's no doubt that the Shippensburg offense goes through quarterback Ryan Zapoticky (103 of 168, 1,499 yards, 12 TD's, 1 int). His top targets are redshirt freshman receiver Winston Eubanks (20 catches, 586 yards, 6 TD's) and Kyle Haines (26 reception, 329 yards, 4 TD's). The running game is a two-headed monster with Colin McDermott (55 carries, 253 yards, 6 TD's) and Marcus Lominy (42 carries, 196 yards, 1 TD). Right tackle Oscar Ghasab is the only returning All-PSAC East player on offense.

Strong safety Dennis Robinson (27 tackles, 3.5 TFL, 2 PBU) is the Raiders' top tackler, while reserve defensive back Eric Dzieniszewski (10 tackles, 3 int) is a ball thief. Dzieniszewski and defensive back Chavez Cheatham (19 tackles, 3 PBU) each have a pick-six to his credit. Defensive end Dakota Thompson (19 tackles, 4.0 sacks) and John Durkin (14 tackles, 3.0 sacks) get after the quarterback. The linebacking corp is sophomore Tig Spinelli (24 tackles, 4.0 TFL), junior Tyler Emge (21 tackles, 5.0 TFL) and junior Steven Cain (21 tackles, 1.5 TFL).

Kicker Billy Deane (22-24 PAT, 4 of 8 FG with a long of 38 yards) was all-conference last season, but has struggled scoring thus far this year. Deane also handles kickoffs and punts.

Analysis:

Most are fixated on Shippensburg's undefeated record after five games and that the Raiders are among the conference leaders in most offensive and defensive team statistics. But they have yet to play, let alone defeat, a team with a winning record, and the combined record of their opponents is 5-20. For a comparison, West Chester is 3-1 against teams with a record of .500 or better and the Golden Rams' previous opponents are a combined 14-11. That's not to say that Shippensburg isn't a worthy opponent, it's just that they may not be the juggernaut that they appear to be at first glance.

Zapoticky trails only Slippery Rock's Tanner Garry in PSAC passing yards per game, and with only one interception through five games, the Golden Ram secondary will surely be tested. Shippensburg has made seven interceptions and returned three of them for touchdowns, so wise decisions in the passing game will be important for West Chester. Penalties almost always play a significant factor and it will be no different in Shippensburg's raucous stadium.

Atomic Football sees Shippensburg as a five point favorite while Massey Ratings favors the Raiders by just two points.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats   Audio   Video

PSAC Site - PSAC Football Notes Week - 6

Shippensburg Athletic Site - Football Hosts WCU Saturday to Headline Five Raider Teams at Home This Weekend

KYW Newsradio - West Chester Set For Saturday Battle At Shippensburg

The Slate Online - Red Raiders ready for key PSAC East clash