Photo Credit: Shannen Hardy – AIC Athletics

Ask any coach , any coach of football at any level about how they want their team in their opener and you’d get a result that looks like the 28-3 victory AIC Football secured for Interim Head Coach Dan Chipka earning him his first win at the helm of this program( they doused him with water, not Gatorade as the clock struck zero to celebrate Chipka, who did nothing but credit everyone else after the win). Here are three things that stood out about this game that will be things to watch with this group moving forward.

The defense never rested

Talk about a near perfect game, the AIC defense played most of the game rushing three or four lineman and rarely needing to blitz a young Shippensburg team.

Why ?

Everyone on the defensive line was getting home and making life miserable for the Raiders’ skilled players consistently. Although Senior nose guard Ben Lazo did not earn a sack( he did earn three total tackles on the game ) , he set the tone and did about everything else in the middle taking on two or three Raiders with regularity. That effort was reminiscent of what Kelly Gregg did for the early 2000s Ravens teams allowing the linebackers to frolic and make all the big plays. Defeinve lineman Michael Grant had a nice sack for a 17 yard loss and also pitched in as did the rest of the line.

As for the back seven or eight players for AIC, they rallied to every tackle and played with the energy the players all talked about having as well. Shawn Belle had three of the four quarterback hits as he was all over the field as was the rest of the team. This is an AIC team that really prides itself on positionless football and it showed. Consistently Shippensburg was off guard with the amount of shifts and false fronts the team presented. How this team can carry that over against the Owls of Southern Connecticut State will be interesting to watch.

Cephas Williams- Better than the box score

When your starting quarterback on his last year of college eligibility finishes 15-23 for 172 yards, you first look and question that line.

When you see how Williams earned the three touchdowns and that he did not need to be the hero to win , you get more reassurance. All game his vision ,and time in the pocket were massive difference makers for AIC. His veteran presence also steadied AIC early on as he made the right reads and didn’t force the issue. While this team needs Sidiki Kone to have the day he did consistently as their star running back ( 86 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries) having Cephas to make those downfield throws and make play action painful for the Raiders no matter what was an extra dimension this team will need as it gets further down the line.

Culture and Body Language: More than a phrase

This isn’t anything you’d pick up by reading the box score but this team, compared to where it was when a lot of these veterans were fighting to not be redshirted, is in a much much better place. Belle, Williams, and many others have touched on the AIC Family in interviews and it showed. This team played with the force of lightning on every down. Watching Chipka and the staff in the fourth quarter, they kept their players energized and in the game all game. They had a minute to minute plan for this team during fall camp, have one for practice , and made it clear how detailed it was for a game. The players all talked about wanting to restore the black hole defense this team was famous for during its two NCAA Tournament runs. While beating Shippensburg does not do that by itself, it gets the autumn winds flowing more in that direction. They can keep those winds blowing in the right direction if they continue to focus on the details, play as a unit, and showcase their culture and the AIC Family Friday night in non conference play on the road against Southern Connecticut State.

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