SHIPPENSBURG -- Junior David Richards (Clearfield/Clearfield) ran for 106 yards and one touchdown while the Shippensburg defense limited Clarion to 202 yards in total offense as the Red Raiders scored 21 unanswered points en route to a 35-10 victory over the Golden Eagles at Seth Grove Stadium on Senior Day.

The victory was the sixth-straight for Shippensburg (5-6, 3-3 PSAC West) over Clarion, but the Red Raiders conclude the year with back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1996.

Clarion (1-10, 0-6 PSAC West) scored the game’s only points in the first half on a 31-yard field goal by Kyle Snoke as both teams combined for just 182 yards of total offense, including just 52 by Shippensburg who completed just 2-of-9 pass attempts for 21 while rushing for only 31 yards.

However, the Red Raiders scored 21 unanswered points in the third quarter, all of which came in 5:16, to take a 21-3 lead after totaling 159 yards of offense compared to just 14 for Clarion.
Red-shirt junior Aaron Dykes (West Chester/Downingtown) started the scoring at 6:54 by capping a nine-play, 51-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown run, his sixth of the season.

The Shippensburg defense, which forced the Golden Eagle offense to three consecutive three-and-outs to start the second half, forced a punt on the ensuing possession and following an 18-yard return by red-shirt junior Howard Chavous (Collingdale/Academy Park), the Red Raiders began their next drive at the Clarion 45-yard line.

On the first play of the drive, junior Gabe Maiocco (Media/Marple-Newtown) connected with red-shirt senior Patrick Ferguson (Mount Airy, Md./Urbana) for a 45-yard touchdown with 4:34 remaining in the third quarter. For Ferguson, it was the 20th touchdown reception of his career, moving him into fourth on the school’s career list, six behind career record-holder Jamie Ware who had 26 from 1996-99.

With a team-high 52 yards receiving, Ferguson ended his career with 1,702 career yards, ranking him seventh on the school’s all-time list.

After forcing Clarion’s eighth punt of the afternoon on the Golden Eagles’ next possession, Shippensburg drove 46 yards on five plays before Richards scored his second rushing touchdown of the season on a 22-yard run with 1:38 left in the quarter. On the drive, Richards totaled 39 of the team’s 46 yards on two carries.

Prior to this afternoon, the last and only time that Richards ran for over 100 yards was on Oct. 29, 2005 when he totaled 109 yards on 11 carries in a 58-28 loss at Slippery Rock.
Clarion managed to get its second score of the game with 7:10 remaining in the fourth quarter when Tyler Huether scored on a seven-yard quarterback draw to cut the Red Raider lead to 21-10.

The touchdown ended a streak of 17 consecutive quarters for the Golden Eagles in which they had not reached the end zone against Shippensburg, dating back to Oct. 26, 2002.

In the last four meetings between the two schools, the Red Raiders have outscored Clarion, 129-10. Prior to this afternoon, Shippensburg had won the previous three meetings by shutout (13-0 in 2003, 44-0 in 2004 and 37-0 in 2005).

The Red Raiders would end any hopes of a possible Clarion comeback on the next possession as they drove 80 yards in six plays before Maiocco connected with red-shirt freshman Brennon Relaford (Ramstein AFB, Germany) on a 28-yard touchdown pass, the first touchdown of Relaford’s career.

The key play on the drive came on the first play when Richards went 42 yards down the Shippensburg sideline to put him over the 100-yard mark.

After forcing Clarion to a turnover on downs, the Red Raiders got the ball back at the Golden Eagle 22-yard line with 3:19 remaining which led to a two-yard touchdown run by senior Walter Crump (Sharon Hill/Academy Park) with 25 seconds left in the game, providing the final margin of victory for Shippensburg.

Crump finished the game with 44 yards rushing, raising his final career total to 1,560 to rank him 12th on the school’s career list. He also ended his career with 70 receptions, the third-highest total by a running back in Shippensburg history, five behind Frank Van Buren who had 75 from 1984-87. Tom Coleman holds the record, totaling 99 from 1992-95.

Appropriately enough, in addition to Crump’s score on Senior Day, senior Matt Kosciolek (Summitt Hill/Marian Catholic) ended his career with an interception on a desperation heave by Huether on the game’s final play.

The Shippensburg defense, who held Clarion to just 72 yards of total offense in the second half, was led by its three standout linebackers who combined for 24 tackles. Red-shirt junior Bill Morrison (Brookeville/Brookeville) had 11 tackles while red-shirt junior Jaron Nalewak (Chambersburg/Chambersburg) had seven, including two for loss while senior Frank Duffy (Phillipsburg, N.J./Phillipsburg) added six.

With his two tackles for loss, Nalewak finished the season with 23, one short of the single-season school record currently held by Mike Maxwell who totaled 24 in 1980.

Senior Tony Gomez (Pottsville/Pottsville) finished his career this afternoon with 3,431 yards and 26 touchdowns passing, ranking him sixth on the Shippensburg all-time list in both categories.

Meanwhile, junior Jamie Reder (Warrenton, Va./Fauquier) totaled five extra points this afternoon, raising his career total to 192, two points behind Joel Yohn for third on the school’s career list for points scored by a kicker. Reder will also begin his senior season next year with 35 career field goals which is tied with Yohn for second-place in school history.

Howie Guarini currently holds the school records for both points (230) and field goals (45). Reder is also 35-of-44 on field goal attempts in his career for 79.5-percent. The NCAA Division II career record for field goal accuracy is 80.0-percent held by Bill May of Clarion (1977-80).

Shippensburg opens the 2007 season on the road at Shepherd on September 1.