Story and photo courtesy of Shippensburg Athletics
KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Junior quarterback Zach Zulli and sophomore wide receiver Trevor Harman each set Shippensburg and PSAC single-game records on Saturday afternoon as the undefeated and No. 16-ranked Red Raider football team tied school single-game records for points and touchdowns (10) in a 73-35 road victory at Kutztown.
With 723 yards of total offense – tied for the most by a Division II team this season – the Raiders (7-0, 4-0 PSAC East) managed to spoil Kutztown’s Homecoming and overcome the lethal Golden Bears (3-4, 1-3) offense that totaled 556 yards itself.
Zulli tied the PSAC single-game record with nine touchdown passes while also setting school single-game records in each of the following statistics: 46 completions on 61 attempts for 581 yards passing (third-most in PSAC single-game history). Harman, meanwhile, set school single-game records with 18 catches, 288 yards receiving and five touchdown catches, with the receptions and touchdown marks tying PSAC single-game records.
Senior Jacob Baskerville caught the remainder of Zulli’s touchdown strikes and finished with career highs of nine catches, 144 yards and four touchdowns.
The victory extends Shippensburg’s winning streak to 11 games that, heading into today, is tied with No. 1 Pittsburg State for the longest active run in Division II. The Gorillas traveled to Kansas City, Mo., today to meet No. 7 Northwest Missouri State in a 5 p.m. ET matchup from the Kansas City Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium.
The Shippensburg defense intercepted Kutztown senior quarterback and two-time PSAC East Offensive Player of the Year Kevin Morton three times on Saturday. Junior defensive backs Mike Goode and Avery Coleman led SU with 11 and 10 tackles, respectively. Coleman also intercepted two passes while junior defensive end Jake Metz finished with two sacks.
The Red Raiders scored touchdowns on their first five drives of the game as Zulli started out the day 11-for-11 before his first incompletion. By the end of the game, SU had totaled a school single-game record 38 first downs en route to the most points ever scored against Kutztown in a single game.
The Raiders’ total offensive yards were second most in a game in school history. Running backs Blair Brooks and Mike Frenette contributed a large chunk of the 723-yard total. Brooks had a career day, finishing with 199 all-purpose yards – 58 rushing, 58 receiving and 77 on kick returns – while Frenette totaled 144 all-purpose yards with 54 rushing, 53 receiving and 37 on kick returns.
The Raiders hit the road again next weekend when they will travel to West Chester for a 2 p.m. contest.