Box Score

In the Press: Carlisle Sentinel

In the Press: Chambersburg Public Opinion

INDIANA, Pa. — The Shippensburg University football team could not solve the No. 1 defense of host IUP on Saturday afternoon from Miller Stadium as the Crimson Hawks used a power-running attack and forced multiple turnovers to defeat the Red Raiders in the 2012 PSAC Football Championship game, 41-10.

Shippensburg (10-1) had its NCAA Division II-best 14-game winning streak snapped with the loss - its first in 13 months - but is likely to play another game next weekend. SU entered Saturday as the No. 1 seed in Super Region 1.

The NCAA Division II Football Selection show will air at 5 p.m. tomorrow on NCAA.com at the following link: http://www.ncaa.com/live/player?vid=2012/601&date=2012/11/11.

Junior quarterback Zach Zulli completed 17 passes for 205 yards and one touchdown. Zulli has tied the PSAC record for single-season touchdowns of 50, originally set by Jimmy Terwilliger in 2005.

Sophomore wide receiver Trevor Harman caught three passes for 82 yards and one touchdown. Harman is now SU's school record holder for career touchdown passes with 27.

Senior Cody Fleming had seven tackles, including one for loss. Fleming is now SU's school record holder for career tackles for loss with 51.5.

IUP (10-1) ran the ball 50 times on Saturday for 287 yards. De'Antwan Williams had 129 rushing yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Mike Box was 11-of-16 for 178 yards and three touchdown passes. Lineman Carl Fleming was named the “State Game MVP” by leading all players with 12 tackles, recording two pass breakups and intercepting a pass that he returned 40 yards for a touchdown .

SU was the victim of big plays in the first half, with the Crimson Hawks scoring on a 59-yard run by Williams and a 48-yard reception by Terrill Barnes – who caught all three of Box's touchdown passes. IUP led 20-3 until Harman caught a 28-yard touchdown throw from Zulli with 2:18 before halftime made the score 20-10.

On the ensuing drive, however, Indiana drove the length of the field and scored a touchdown with 23 seconds left in the half to enter the locker room with a 17-point lead at the intermission. The Crimson Hawks scored points on five of their six first-half drives.

Both teams entered the contest with turnover margins among the Top 10 in Division II, but it was IUP who forced three takeaways and had no giveaways in Saturday's game.

State Game Notes: The PSAC “State Game” matched its divisional champions in football for the first time in 1960…that tradition continued annually until 1987…the game was reinstated in 2008, with 2012 marking the fifth game since the reinstatement…Saturday marked IUP's sixth appearance (wins in 1986, 1987 and 2012 – losses in 1964, 1965 and 1985) and Shippensburg's fourth appearance (wins in 1981 and 2009, a tie in 1976 and a loss in 2012)…with its unique East vs. West scheduling format on the final weekend of the regular season during the past five years, this is the second time both teams were already scheduled to play one another on the final weekend…Shippensburg and California met in 2009.