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H.S. FOOTBALL: Shipppensburg staves off Chambersburg for first win of season


SHIPPENSBURG >> There has been a lot of talk about Shippensburg's new offense this football season.

But on Friday night in a non-league game against Chambersburg at Veterans Stadium at Memorial Park, the Greyhounds proved they have no problem going back to their roots.

A team that gained just six yards on the ground in Week 1 absolutely dismantled the Trojans' run defense. Shippensburg racked up 221 rushing yards and defeated Chambersburg, 26-21.

The biggest spark for the Greyhounds (1-1) was the return of Zion Ware, who did not play the opening week. He managed 181 yards on just 20 carries and had only two fewer yards than all of Chambersburg's total offense.

"We knew we had a more powerful run game," Ware said. "I wasn't able to play the first week because I got in some trouble from last season, but I left those mistakes out of my head and came out to play. I always plan it in my head to be high-tempo, and that worked for us."

Ship coach Eric Foust said, "He was so excited to play. He's worked the whole summer, and it's tough to work like that when you know you're not going to play. But tonight, I thought he played great. He was physical; he played tough. He was fun to work with this evening."

Despite Shippensburg's offensive domination, the Trojans (0-2) made it a close game.

Heading into the final quarter, Chambersburg trailed 26-7, but on the first play of the fourth quarter, Kaden Hoover slipped a two-yard touchdown pass to Griffin Leedy to make it a two-score game.

Chambersburg's defense then answered the call, forcing the Greyhounds to go three and out after a six-yard sack by Leedy. On the punt return, Darius Johnson made a heads-up play by picking up the ball despite having a few Hounds in the vicinity. He ran up the left sideline and through traffic before breaking free for a 45-yard return to the end zone.

The opportunities kept coming for Chambersburg, but it didn't capitalize again.

On the very next play, Chambersburg forced a fumble that was recovered by Leedy. The Trojans got into a fourth-down situation, and when Hoover chucked a ball to Johnson in the end zone, Shippensburg's Dan Lauffer was all over it.

"Dan did some good things there," Foust said. "He's a first-year starter for us, so that was exciting to see. That was huge for him going forward even."

Not too long after, Chambersburg was in the same situation. This time, Spencer Seaman recovered a Hound fumble, but four plays later, Chambersburg had to go for it on fourth down again. On fourth-and-one, the Trojans ran a passing play into the left flat and the Hounds' Wade Mills broke the play up.

"They were in the box, so I thought we had a better chance of getting to the outside and getting the first down," Chambersburg coach Mark Saunders said. "If I had to it over again, I'd probably call the same play, but I just hoped that (Hoover) would run for it. That's what we wanted to happen, but I guess he saw something else."

While Chambersburg continues to preach that it does not need any "moral victories," it must keep looking at the positives. Sophomore Barrington Slavery played in his first game of the season and finished with 29 rushing yards.

"I thought I ran the ball well," Slavery said. "The coaches told me to keep my head up, practice hard and come out next week with the same mentality. It was enjoyable to be able to give us that spark, though."

Shippensburg 26 Chambersburg 21

Chambersburg07014—21Shippensburg76130—26

First Quarter

Sh — Tyler Gustafson 1 run (Jackson VanHorne kick), 4:38

Second Quarter

Ch — Carter Edmondson 7 pass from Kaden Hoover (Nazeer Taylor kick), 8:56

Sh — Zion Ware 16 run (run failed), 5:56

Third Quarter

Sh — Wade Mills 7 pass from T.Gustafson (kick blocked by Caleb Thompson), 8:28

Sh — Cody Gustafson 16 pass from T.Gustafson (VanHorne kick), 2:50

Fourth Quarter

Ch — Griffin Leedy 2 pass from Hoover (Taylor kick), 11:55

Ch — Darius Johnson 45 punt return (Taylor kick), 9:44

ChbgShipFirst downs1118Rushes-yards25-8141-221Passing11-21-010-18-0Passing yards102158Total yards183379Punts5-38.42-25.5Fumbles-lost3-23-3Penalties-yards7-556-42
Individual statistics

Rushing — Chbg, Warren Lee 9-32, Barrington Slavery 7-29, Hoover 5-12, Edmondson 3-6, Johnson 1-2. Ship, Ware 20-181, Cole Friese 12-25, Adam Houser 1-12, T.Gustafson 8-3.

Passing — Chbg, Hoover 11-21-102-0. Ship, T.Gustafson 10-18-158-0.

Receiving — Cbbg, Sam Blevins 5-36, Clay Myers 2-34, Sean Vessah 1-15, Edmondson 1-7, Slavery 1-7, Johnson 1-3. Ship, C.Gustafson 6-116, Mills 3-25, Houser 1-17.

Missed field goals — Ship, VanHorne 39 (short).