Matthew Saur
Through the first three games of the season, the C.W. Post football team had scored just 27 points. The team surpassed that total by tossing 40 points on the board Saturday, September 24th, in its first win of the season. The Pioneers continued their dominance over the Red Raiders in the 40-22 victory, not losing to them since the 2008 season.
The offense was a big problem during the first three games of the year, but C.W. Post racked up 554 yards of offense against Shippensburg University. Jeff Mack was the offensive star after limited playing time in the first three games of the season. Mack rushed for 111 yards and three touchdowns. Steven Laurino bounced back after a tough game last week to throw for 185 on 13-23 passing.
Post jumped out to an early 10-0 lead by points from Marc Montana and Mack’s first rushing touchdown of the day. The Red Raiders responded quickly, though, getting a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter to go into the half with a 14-10 lead.
After half-time, the Pioneers defense turned it up a notch, not allowing a single point to be scored in the third quarter. The Post defense was all over Red Raiders quarterback Zach Zulli throughout the game, sacking him seven times and forcing three turnovers. In the meantime, the offense was clicking again, giving them lead after Jeff Mack rushed into the end zone for his second touchdown of the day.
In the fourth quarter, Shippensburg reduced the gap, as wide receiver Taimur Harris caught a four-yard pass to give the Red Raiders the lead back, but it was short-lived, as Mack quickly scored his third touchdown of the day, giving the Pioneers a lead they would never give up. For extra measure, Sean Persh returned a punt for a touchdown to make the game out of reach and guarantee the Pioneers their first win of the season.
Ronnie Modik racked up 14 tackles and had two forced fumbles in the victory, earning himself the PSAC East Defensive Player of the Week award. Kadeem Huggins had two sacks, and Andrew Jackson intercepted one pass.
The Pioneers will look to build off this week’s win when they take on West Chester University of Pennsylvania on Hickox Field on Saturday, October 1st. Coverage on 88.1 FM and WCWP.org begins at 12:30 p.m. with kickoff slated for 1 p.m.
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