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SHIPPENSBURG - Shippensburg outscored East Stroudsburg University 21-14 in a wild fourth quarter as the defending PSAC East champion Red Raiders came away with a 41-31 win in both schools' divisional opener on Saturday afternoon at Seth Grove Stadium.

Shippensburg (1-2, 1-0) led 20-17 at halftime after a long TD drive in the last minute of the period, and maintained that lead into the fourth quarter before the two teams traded scores over the final 15 minutes.

Redshirt freshman tailback Robert Healy ran for 189 yards on 20 carries and had a 37-yard reception for 226 yards from scrimmage, the most by an ESU freshman in 40 years under head coach Denny Douds, to lead the Warriors' offense.

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Matt Soltes was 23-for-49 for 259 yards and three TD and ran for 117 yards and another score for 376 yards of total offense, as ESU (2-1, 0-1) outgained Shippensburg 560 to 421 and held a 4-0 advantage in turnovers but came out on the wrong end on the scoreboard.

Shippensburg kick returner Shannon Maura had two key plays, setting  up a first-quarter touchdown with an 83-yard return, then going 96 yards for a touchdown after ESU pulled with 27-24 with 9:41 left in the fourth quarter.

Ship quarterback Zach Zulli (20-for-36, 273 yards, 4 TD, 3 Int.), the returning Harlon Hill Award winner, threw three touchdown passes to All-America wide receiver Trevor Harman (6 catches, 151 yards), the last an 81-yarder that put the Red Raiders ahead, 27-17, with 13:13 remaining in regulation.

ESU went 85 yards in eight plays to cut it to 27-24 on Soltes' two-yard, fourth-down TD pass to redshirt senior wide receiver Robert Bleiler (career-high 9 catches, 115 yards), but Maura answered with his kick return TD that stretched the lead back to 10.

After an ESU punt and a missed 49-yard field goal by Ship's Drew Newcomer, Soltes drove the offense 68 yards on nine plays capped by a 12-yard TD to redshirt junior tight end Steven Jones with 4:05 showing, and ESU was back within three points at 34-31.

Shippensburg responded, however, as backup quarterback Chris Lawshe went 67 yards for a touchdown on third-and-three and stretched it back to 41-31. The Warriors turned the ball over on downs their final two possessions and ESU, which opened its season with wins over Northeast-10 Conference favorite American International (21-14) and Seton Hill (70-7), dropped its first game of the year.

In the first half, Shippensburg jumped out to a 13-3 lead in the first eight minutes before a long scoring drought, and the Warriors rallied to take their only lead of the game late in the second quarter.

An early exchange of punts set Ship up at the 28-yard line on its second possession, and Zulli converted with a 12-yard TD to Sheldon Mayer less than four minutes in. Redshirt junior defensive tackle Bryan Thomson, the reigning PSAC East Defensive Player of the Year, blocked the extra point to set a school record with his ninth career blocked kick.

ESU went 68 yards to cut the deficit to 6-3 on a 25-yard field goal by senior kicker Taylor Groff, but Ship answered quickly. Maura returned the ensuing kickoff 83 yards to the 10, and Zulli hit Harman for the first of their three TD's on the second snap to make it 13-3.

ESU scored twice in the last 2:45 of the first half to go in front 17-13, before Zulli took the Red Raiders on their first sustained drive to lead 20-17 at the break.

Soltes had a nine-yard TD run on third-and-six to cut it to 13-10 at the 2:45 mark, as freshman safety Dean Vitale had the first of his two interceptions and a 24-yard return to set the Warriors up in Shippensburg territory.

The defense forced a three-and-out and ESU hit paydirt again with 56 seconds left, when Soltes hit Bleiler for a six-yard TD after a 21-yard run by Soltes and 17-yard pass to redshirt senior fullback Thomas Tippett.

Zulli capped the first-half scoring with a 20-yard TD to Harman, the result of a five-play, 75-yard drive.

ESU ran for 301 yards on 43 carries, led by Healy (189) and Soltes (117), after running for 338 yards in last week's win at Seton Hill. The Warriors have run for 812 yards this season, their most through three games in 40 years under Douds.

Shippensburg's 421 yards included two big plays, the 81-yard pass from Zulli to Harman and 67-yard run by Lawshe, who led the Red Raiders with 97 yards on eight carries.

Zulli (20-36, 273 yards, 4 TD, 3 Int.) and Lawshe (1-1, 13 yards) combined for 286 yards passing.

ESU sophomore cornerback Teron Dobbs had an interception in the second quarter, his third of the season. Redshirt junior defensive end Brandon Gattelli had a sack and forced fumble, recovered by redshirt junior defensive end Sam Trunzo, to stop a Shippensburg drive inside the 25-yard line in the third quarter.

All-America defensive end Jake Metz led the Shippensburg defense with 10 tackles, 2.5 sacks and two of their eight pass breakups.

Groff missed a pair of 50-yard field goals while hitting from 25, and Newcomer missed on his only attempt from 49 yards for Shippensburg. Maura had 240 yards on five kick returns and Mayer had 77 yards on four punt returns.


Game Notes
* Shippensburg has won five straight in the series since ESU's 44-41 (OT) win in 2008, the game in which Douds set the PSAC record with his 213th career victory.
* Ship holds a 30-17-2 advantage in the all-time series. The Red Raiders improve to 18-6-1 at home against ESU, and won their 10th straight home game overall under head coach Mark Maciejewski.
* Shippensburg, 11-2 last year, opened the season ranked 7th in the AFCA DII poll but fell at #25 Shepherd (33-0) and Slippery Rock (58-38) in its first 2 games.
* Zulli was the 3rd PSAC player to win the Harlon Hill Award last year, joining Bloomsburg TB Irv Sigler (1997) and ESU QB Jimmy Terwilliger (2005).

* Stewart Ford (222 at Cheyney, 1997) and Elroy Denegal (192 vs. SCSU, 1987) are the only ESU freshmen since 1968 to run for more than Healy's 189 yards.
* Healy's 226 yards from scrimmage are the most by an ESU freshman, outpacing Ford's 222 at Cheyney in 1997.

* Healy has gained 391 yards on 58 carries (6.7 avg) and scored 2 TD through 3 games. He ran for 91 yards and 2 TD in the Warriors' 21-14 win vs. AIC in the season opener, and 111 yards on 16 carries last week at Seton Hill.

* Soltes had his 3rd career 100-yard rushing game, with 117 yards on 19 carries. He had 131 yards (12 carries) at LIU Post and 126 yards (10 carries) at Millersville in back-to-back games last year.
* Soltes has 724 career rushing yards, 3rd-most by a QB in school history. He passed Matt Marshall (654 yards, 2007-10) on ESU's QB rushing list.

* Soltes made his 10th career start.  In those starts, he is 211-for-360 for 2,999 yards, 28 TD, 10 Int; and has 120 carries for 670 yards and 3 TD; for a total of 3,669 yards of total offense (366.9 per game) and 31 TD.

* Soltes' 68 total offensive plays (49 passing, 19 rushing - 376 yards) are 4th-most in school history. James Franklin, currently head coach at Vanderbilt, was involved in 72 plays (333 yards) vs. Millersvile in 1994. He had 71 plays (512 yards) vs. SCSU in 1994, and Damian Poalucci had 71 plays (542 yards) at New Haven in 1996.

* ESU's 812 rushing yards are its most through 3 games in 40 years under Douds. The previous record was 778 yards in 1994.
* Healy (58-391, 2 TD) leads ESU in rushing, followed by Soltes (32-188, TD) and Jr. TB Gerald Van De Cruz (17-100).

* Bleiler's 9th and final catch was the 100th of his career - becoming the 22nd ESU player with 100 career receptions.
* He moved into the top 20 in career receiving yards with 1,645 yards.
* He had his 4th career 100-yard receiving game.

* Thomson, a Football Gazette 3rd team All-American last year, set the school record with his 9th career blocked kick. The previous record of 8 was held by Matt Delancey (1993-96), a defensive tackle and currently a strength coach at Florida.
* Thomson has blocked 6 PAT and 3 field goals in his career. He had 6 blocks (3 PAT, 3 FG) last year.

* ESU has forced 8 turnovers (5 Int., 3 fumbles) with just one giveaway (Int. vs. AIC) in its first 3 games.
* The Warriors fell to 23-4 when holding a +4 advantage or greater in the turnover battle under Douds.
* ESU's +7 turnover margin through 3 games is its best since 1990 (+9).
* ESU has gone 2 straight games without a turnover for the first time since midway through the 2009 season. That is the only other time in the last 40 years the Warriors have been turnover-free in consecutive games.
* ESU's 1 turnover in the last 3 games is an all-time low for ESU in a 3-game stretch under Douds.

* ESU lost for the first time in 34 games when running for 200 yards. The Warriors' last loss with 200 yards rushing came in 2000, a 17-16 setback vs. Kutztown.

* The Warriors have scored points on 40 straight goal-to-go situations going back to the middle of the 2011 season - 36 touchdowns and 4 field goals.

* Groff is 2-for-7 on field goals this year, including 0-for-3 on from 50 yards. He has 44 career field goals.
* Groff is 16-for-16 on extra points this year and has made 74 consecutive PAT - the final 10 in 2011, all 48 in 2012 and 16 this year.
* Groff moved into a tie for 5th at ESU with 252 career points, matching the career total of tailback Toby Barkman (1960-63).
* Groff's 252 points are 3rd-most by a kicker at ESU, trailing only Mark Brubaker (287, 2002-05) and Ed Detwiler (262, 1989-92).

* Douds coached his 410th career game at ESU, 12th-most in college football history.
* Douds is 239-168-3 in his 40th season. He holds sole possession of 25th on the college football career wins list after tying Ohio State's Woody Hayes in the season opener.
* Douds ranks 4th on the DII all-time wins list, 3 behind Mel Tjeerdsma (NW Missouri State), who has 242 career wins.
* Douds ranks 4th among all active coaches in career wins, and 2nd in games coached.