SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University football team was defeated in a conference crossover Saturday by No. 9 Slippery Rock, 33-7, on a sunny and muggy Family Day afternoon at Student Association Field at Seth Grove Stadium.
 
Shippensburg (1-2) capitalized on the opening drive of the game by marching 63 yards for a score, as sophomore quarterback Sam Stoner found junior Tobee Stokes for a 26-yard touchdown to make it 7-0. It was the first collegiate connection between the pair of William Penn High School alums. Stoner was 3-for-3 for 52 yards on the drive.
 
The Raiders, however, managed just 72 yards of total offense for the remainder of the game against a Rock defense that entered Saturday having held two of the region's best teams to just two touchdowns. SRU led 16-7 after the first quarter, and the score remained that way until the fourth quarter when the visitors added three more scores.
 
Slippery Rock (3-0) limited SU to just eight first downs and had success offensively with a two-back attack, as Chris D'Or and Idris Lawrence combined for 135 yards on 20 carries. Quarterback Brayden Long, honored this week as the 2023-24 Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) Atlantic Region Scholar-Athlete of the Year, finished the game 24-of-41 for 268 yards while running for a score and passing for a score.
 
Defenders Munchie Johnson and Todd Hill were menaces along the line, combining for 7.5 tackles-for-loss (TFLs) and 3.0 sacks. Hill also recorded a safety in the first quarter that began Slippery Rock's run of 33 consecutive points.
 
SU used three quarterbacks. Stoner finished 5-of-9 for 68 yards but threw two interceptions. Redshirt-freshman Riley Gunnels made his collegiate debut and was 3-for-3 for 15 yards. True freshman Vincent Micucci was the quarterback on the final drive and scampered for a 16-yard run.
 
Linebackers Connor Black and Terrance Peterson Jr. each tied the team high with seven tackles. Both had a TFL. Slippery Rock entered the day having not allowed a sack through two games, but senior Javon M. Cruz (Rahway, N.J./Bergen Catholic) had a sack-fumble in the second half and freshman Ty Millhimes had a sack in the first half. Redshirt-freshman Gabe Benjamin had two pass breakups.
 
Shippensburg opens Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division play at 1 p.m. Saturday when it hosts Shepherd to conclude a three-game homestand.
 

FOOTBALL: A look at Tobee Stokes' 26 yard touchdown during the first quarter pic.twitter.com/Fz6FQTiVJu

— Shippensburg University Raiders (@ShipURaiders) September 21, 2024