SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University football team scored 41 unanswered points on Saturday to claim a convincing Senior Day victory over East Stroudsburg in the regular season home finale, defeating the Warriors 48-7 on a sunny, breezy and cool afternoon from SU Student Association Field at Seth Grove Stadium.
 
Shippensburg (5-5, 3-3 PSAC East) and East Stroudsburg (1-9, 0-6) were 7-7 after one quarter of play, but the Red Raiders countered with a 21-point second quarter to take control. The SU defense limited the Warriors to just 93 yards from scrimmage over the final three quarters, and capped the game with a sack-fumble and touchdown with 3:26 remaining.
 
The Red Raiders honored 19 seniors before the game (PHOTO GALLERY). Numerous seniors had a hand in Saturday's proceedings, highlighted by quarterback Chase Yocum running for a pair of six-yard touchdowns and throwing a forward shovel with three seconds left in the first half that resulted in the first career touchdown for Chris Figler.
 
Yocum had two carries and threw one pass in Saturday's game – all three plays resulted in touchdowns.
 
A key to Shippensburg's first-half success was a 4-for-4 conversion rate on fourth down. Each of the first three Red Raider touchdown drives were preserved with a fourth-down conversion. One play before Yocum's first touchdown run at the 5:55 mark of the first quarter, redshirt-freshman quarterback Brycen Mussina converted a 4th-and-6 with a seven-yard connection to redshirt-sophomore Charles Headen III.
 
SU's first scoring drive of the second quarter came on a fourth-and-goal from the ESU 6-yard line, as Mussina threw to the goal line and redshirt-freshman David Balint caught his first career touchdown.
 
On Shippensburg's next possession, Mussina converted a 4th-and-12 with a nifty 15-yard connection on an out-route to redshirt-junior Josh Gontarek. One play later, Mussina threw a nine-yard touchdown to redshirt-sophomore Winston Eubanks that made it 21-7.
 
Coming out of halftime, Shippensburg marched 66 yards on 10 plays to take a 34-7 lead – Yocum's second touchdown run capped the scoring drive. SU's fifth and final fourth-down conversion of the day was its last offensive touchdown, as Mussina found Gontarek on a back-shoulder throw early in the fourth quarter for a 13-yard touchdown on a 4th-and-5.
 
The Red Raider defense totaled four sacks on the day, with the last resulting in the team's second defensive touchdown of the season. Late in the fourth quarter, redshirt-sophomore Tim Bradley sacked ESU quarterback Jake Cirillo at the goal-line, and redshirt-freshman Cameron Tinner fell on the resulting fumble for the game's final score.
 
Prior to Bradley's sack, redshirt-seniors Richard Nase, Dakota Thompson and John Durkin all had a hand in bringing down Cirillo. Nase was credited with 1.5 sacks on the day – bringing him two sacks shy of Jake Metz's school record (30.5).
 
Senior Tyler Emge and redshirt-junior Tig Spinelli tied for the team lead with six tackles, while Nase and redshirt-senior Steven Cain contributed five tackles. Redshirt-junior safety Deionte Wilson intercepted his second pass of the season.
 
Offensively, redshirt-sophomore running back Raleigh Sirb led all players with 18 carries and 84 yards. Over the last two weeks, Sirb has carried the ball 41 times for 236 rushing yards (5.8 yards per carry). Redshirt-senior Marcus Lominy had 14 carries on the day, totaling 53 yards.
 
Mussina, who entered the game ranked No. 2 in the nation in passing yards, finished 23-of-34 for 236 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. He became just the second quarterback in school history to eclipse the 3,000-yard mark for a single season; his 3,169 passing yards currently rank third behind a pair of seasons by Zach Zulli (4,747 in 2012, 3,500 in 2013).
 
Additionally, Mussina's 31 touchdown passes in 2018 slot fourth in SU single-season history, ranking behind three of Zulli's seasons (54 in 2012, 35 in 2013, 34 in 2011).
 
Gontarek finished with 10 catches, 117 receiving yards and a touchdown. He became the seventh player in school history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards in a single season; his 1,016 receiving yards for the year currently rank ninth in the record books.
 
With his two rushing touchdowns Saturday, Yocum currently leads the team with eight on the season – a total that ranks in a tie for seventh in the PSAC.
 
UP NEXT: Saturday, 12 p.m. at IUP.