SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University football team dropped a heartbreaker to visiting LIU Post on Saturday, as the visitors kicked a field goal with 1.4 seconds remaining to put the Red Raiders on the wrong end of a madcap 41-39 contest that featured five lead changes in the final quarter at SU Student Association Field at Seth Grove Stadium.
 
Shippensburg (2-4) and LIU Post (5-0) engaged in a seesaw affair that featured seven lead changes overall and a full wheelbarrow's worth of big plays – as the two squads combined to produce 18 "chunk" plays of 15 or more yards. The Red Raiders scored three of their six touchdowns on the first play of a drive, and a fourth touchdown on the second play of a drive.
 
SU redshirt-freshman quarterback Brycen Mussina was 25-of-34 for 393 yards and four touchdowns, while LIU Post graduate quarterback Chris Laviano – who started 18 career games at Rutgers before transferring to the Pioneers – threw for 401 yards and two touchdowns. Both quarterbacks also threw two interceptions.
 
Mussina's nine incompletions marked his fewest to date as a rookie signal caller. He currently leads the PSAC through six games with 142 completions, 1,913 passing yards and 17 passing touchdowns.
 
Of the game's 843 yards of total offense, 94 percent of it (794 yards) was produced through the air. Both teams averaged more than 10 yards per reception, while the Red Raiders averaged 11.6 yards per pass attempt.
 
Additionally, Shippensburg's 39 points were more than LIU Post had allowed for the entire season through its first four games entering Saturday.
 
Yet it was a pair of field goals and, of all things, a punt, by LIU Post's Joey Tolgyesi that proved to be most pivotal to the game's outcome. The field goals came in the final seconds of each half; Tolgyesi nailed a 43-yarder on the last play before the intermission along with the aforementioned 34-yard field goal in the game's final seconds.
 
The game-winning field goal drive was preserved after a play by Tolgyesi with three minutes remaining; the long snap of an attempted punt sailed over his head, and he ran back to scoop up the ball and release a quick kick on which he was roughed – resulting in a penalty and an automatic first down. The Pioneers converted two more first downs to eventually reach field-goal range.
 
The defeat continues a stretch of gut-wrenching decisions for Shippensburg, as the Red Raiders have now lost their last three games by a combined 13 points.
 
SU's wide receivers were exemplary on Saturday. Redshirt-junior Josh Gontarek had seven catches for 159 yards – including a dynamic 75-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter that gave SU a 39-38 lead with 3:54 remaining. Gontarek caught a jump ball around midfield and out-ran the LIU Post defense, saving a cutback for late in his sprint to the end zone.
 
Through six games, Gontarek ranks second in the PSAC with 603 receiving yards. He appeared to have a second touchdown in the second quarter, but was ruled down at the 1-yard line – resulting in an end-zone run by senior Chase Yocum.
 
The LaSalle College High School tandem of redshirt-sophomores Winston Eubanks and Charles Headen III once again came through with touchdowns. Eubanks had five catches for 112 yards and two touchdowns – including a 75-yarder with 2:57 left in the first quarter that opened the scoring. Headen III caught a shovel pass midway through the third quarter and made an impressive cut up the sideline on the play for a 32-yard touchdown.
 
SU's tight ends combined for seven catches. Redshirt-junior Shea O'Donnell caught four passes for 28 yards, while redshirt-freshman David Balint had three receptions for 34 yards.
 
On the ground, redshirt-sophomore Raleigh Sirb ran in a five-yard touchdown with 7:26 remaining that gave SU anothers one-point lead. Sirb's touchdown run capped off a 13-play, 75-yard drive that chewed up 5:41 of clock.
 
Defensively, senior Tyler Emge was all over the field. Emge had a career-high 13 tackles – including 2.5 tackles-for-loss (TFLs). Emge's final tackle of the game was arguably his best, as he snuffed out a short screen on a third down for a three-yard loss late in the fourth quarter.
 
SU had 10 TFLs in the game, including four sacks. Redshirt-seniors John Durkin and Dakota Thompson each combined for 1.5 sacks, while redshirt-senior Nick Drawbaugh added one as well. Redshirt-sophomore Tim Bradley helped force a fumble by deflecting an attempted quarterback lateral in the third quarter.
 
Redshirt-junior linebackers Tig Spinelli and Colin Williams each came away with their first career interceptions in the contest – both turnovers resulted in Red Raider touchdowns.
 
Williams had a career-high eight tackles; redshirt-junior safety Dennis Robinson and redshirt-freshman safety Trey Paul also produced eight tackles. Spinelli and redshirt-junior John Chaney III had six tackles.
 
Freshman David Shank averaged 40.5 yards per punt on six kicks, including one punt inside the 20-yard line.
 
UP NEXT: Saturday, 2 p.m. at Millersville.