SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University football team honored 11 seniors before its final game of the 2019 campaign on a cold but sunny Saturday afternoon at Student Association Field at Seth Grove Stadium, but the Red Raiders could not prevent big plays from visiting No. 18 IUP in a 54-24 loss to the Crimson Hawks.
 
Shippensburg (4-7) recorded 364 yards of total offense Saturday, the third-most achieved this season against IUP (10-1), but the Crimson Hawks piled up 580 yards – averaging 9.8 yards per play – and scored six of their eight touchdowns on plays of 30 or more yards.
 
Redshirt-sophomore quarterback Brycen Mussina was 20-of-32 for 268 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. Mussina finishes the year fourth in the PSAC in passing yards (2,629) and third in completions (209) despite missing more than six quarters of action due to injury.
 
The LaSalle College High School connection was impactful once again, as redshirt-junior wide receivers Winston Eubanks and Charles Headen III caught all three of the Red Raider touchdowns. Eubanks finished with seven receptions, 74 yards and two touchdowns, while Headen had five catches for 72 yards and a score.
 
Eubanks finishes the season fifth in the PSAC with 879 receiving yards and tied for sixth in the league with eight touchdowns. Through three seasons, he is fourth in school history for career receiving yards (2,836), sixth in receptions (148) and third in receiving touchdowns (28).
 
Redshirt-sophomore David Balint III became the first tight end in more than 40 years to finish the season as the team's leader in receptions. With three catches for 59 yards on Saturday, Balint III completes 2019 with the single-season school record for receptions by a tight end (64) and receiving yards (755) by a tight end). He ranks fifth in the PSAC in receptions.
 
Graduate running back Luke Durkin had 21 carries for 91 yards, including a 29-yard scamper. Durkin entered Week 4 of the season with 13 career rushes and 23 career rushing yards and did not have a carry in the first three games – but finishes the season sixth in the PSAC in rushing yards (918) and rushing touchdowns (10). He totaled the most rushing yards in a season by a Red Raider running back since Blair Brooks (1,171) in 2014.
 
Redshirt-senior Tig Spinelli led the Red Raiders with seven tackles, while Tim Bradley had SU's lone sack – a sack-fumble in the second half.
 
Before the game, SU honored its 11 seniors: Bradley, Eric Dzieniszewski, Jailen Harmon, Drew Jones, Shea O'Donnell, Dennis Robinson and Spinelli along with captains Durkin, Kyle Haines, Zach Warren and Deionte Wilson.

Shippensburg finishes the 2019 season having played the third-toughest schedule in the nation per NCAA Division II winning percentage totals, with its combined opponent win-loss record finishing at 62-39. Among those opponents include as many as five teams that could make the Super Region I playoffs (Slippery Rock (11-0), Kutztown (10-1), IUP (10-1), Shepherd (9-2) and West Chester (9-2)).