The Shippensburg University football team will host its annual Red-White spring football game Saturday, April 15, at 11 a.m.

The team started its spring workouts March 21, and has put in work to improve on last season’s 7–4 campaign.

The main focus this weekend, however, is to enjoy the game and to put forth stellar competition.

“We want to compete and have some fun,” SU head coach Mark “Mac” Maciejewski said. “These guys have worked hard all spring so it’s really a day where we get to have a game day atmosphere and let them have some fun. We are excited about the opportunity.”

While the game itself does not show up in the results column, the game provides the team with plenty of opportunities to see the progress it has made over the course of spring practices.

“The biggest thing is we want to make sure we are all on the same page on both sides of the ball,” Maciejewski said. “We want to compete every play with maximum effort and play with passion and heart. That’s what we do and ultimately we want to have some fun on Saturday. That’s what we’re looking for.”

The game will also be the first time that the Red Raiders have taken the field with a crowd since SU wrapped up the 2016 season with a 30–21 win over Seton Hill University on Nov. 12, 2016. Starting quarterback Ryan Zapoticky starred in the win over the Griffins, throwing for 220 yards and three touchdowns.

Maciejewski stressed the importance of making the most out of every opportunity the team has to prepare for next season.

“Every opportunity is important to us,” Maciejewski said. “We’re going to take advantage of it. We’ve had two other inner-squad scrimmages here where we really went after it here in the spring, so it won’t be their first time in a game situation. It’s another opportunity that we have to get better.”

For the Red-White game, the first-team offense and second-team defense will battle against the first-team defense and second-team offense, according to Maciejewski.

The way the teams were split, the first-team offense will be facing the first-team defense, while the second-team offense will face the second-team defense.

The game will be the team’s final tune-up of the spring before the team prepares for the regular season in August.

“This is it as far as being on the field with pads,” Maciejewski said. “After the spring game and things like that we will have two weeks of working in the weight room and team agility and team bonding, as well as other things like that.”

While the game is an opportunity to showcase the team’s progress to the community, Maciejewski stressed the importance of not just the spring game, but the work that is put in at every practice.

“I think every practice matters,” Maciejewski said. “The spring game is a great way to end spring practice, but up until then, the 14 practices beforehand matter too. Every day we want to continue to get better and every opportunity we want to continue to capitalize on.”

With hard work in practice, Maciejewski believes the team is presented with the opportunity to win games based on the work that is put in during the offseason.

“Every day we want to get better and there’s a lot of things we put in this spring that the guys need to continue to get reps at.”

The 2017 SU Red-White game will kickoff Saturday at 11 a.m.

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