Shippensburg University Athletics

MILLERSVILLE, Pa. – The Shippensburg University football team scored touchdowns on back-to-back possessions early in the fourth quarter Saturday en route to a 35-27 victory at Millersville in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division clash on a sunny Saturday afternoon at the Biemesderfer.
 
Shippensburg (2-4, 1-2) quarterback Roman Jensen was 16-of-26 for 242 yards and a career-high five touchdowns, while running back Andre Weidman ran 20 times for 150 yards – averaging a clean 7.5 yards per carry. Derek Guzman and Jermere Jones each caught two touchdown passes.
 
For the third consecutive game, Shippensburg did not commit a turnover. It is the first time in 12 years (Weeks 6-8 of the 2014 season) that the Raiders have completed three straight games without committing a turnover. Through this season's first six games, SU has produced a plus-7 turnover margin (12 turnovers forced, five committed).
 
The Raider offense totaled a season-high 414 yards despite a season-low 57 snaps, averaging 7.3 yards per play. Only two of Shippensburg's 55 non-kneeldown plays went for negative yardage, and both were just a loss of one yard. Saturday also marked the first time since Oct. 12, 2024 (at Millersville) in which SU did not allow a sack.
 
The Raider defense, meanwhile, recorded five sacks (for a total of 25 yards lost) and totaled 10 tackles-for-loss (TFLs) (for a total of 32 yards lost), and Javani Mosley recorded a key interception between the two fourth-quarter SU touchdown drives.
 
Jensen's five-touchdown game is the first by a Raider quarterback in more than five years, dating back to Brycen Mussina's effort on Sept. 18, 2021 (23-of-37, 350 yards, five touchdowns) in a 62-33 win at Clarion.
 
Millersville (0-6, 0-3) outgained Shippensburg 438-414, as quarterback Ryan Zeltt was 36-of-51 for 343 yards and three touchdowns. Mekhi Ashby broke a 45-yard run for a touchdown; but its 24 other carries net just 75 rushing yards (an average of 3.1 yards).
 
Alex Sauve led all players with 15 tackles, while Nate Myers had nine tackles – including 2.5 TFLs. Alex Erby had his best game yet as an edge rusher, recording the first two sacks of his career as a part of four total tackles.
 
Shippensburg came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, scoring touchdowns on its first two possessions to take a 14-0 lead less than six minutes in. The opening drive of six plays and 68 yards was capped by the first touchdown reception as a Raider for Jones – who caught the ball at the 18-yard line and strolled into the end zone after getting behind the defense.
 
Four plays into its second drive, Jensen delivered a pop pass at the line of scrimmage to Marcus Sweeney, who broke an attempted tackle by All-PSAC East First Team linebacker Bryce Beutler, cut across the field, and sped past the Marauder defense (while gaining key downfield blocks from Guzman and Jensen) for a 45-yard touchdown.
 
SU took a 21-7 lead at the 5:38 mark of the second quarter when Guzman made a great catch on a back-shoulder throw by Jensen for a 17-yard touchdown. The score was set up thanks to a short field – the Raiders started the drive at the MU 33-yard line after three consecutive vanilla rushes inside the 10-yard line and a sub-optimal Marauder punt of just 28 yards.
 
Millersville countered with back-to-back touchdown drives to start the third quarter – the first coming just 90 seconds after halftime. After the second touchdown, Tyler Opong blocked the extra-point attempt to maintain a one-point lead for the Raiders.
 
An exchange of punts then prefaced the two Raider fourth-quarter touchdown drives. The first – Guzman's second touchdown reception – was setup by an Erby sack at the MU 8-yard line and a punt that only got to the MU 41-yard line.
 
Mosley's interception set the stage for Jones' second touchdown – a 24-yard reception on which he went in motion and was left unguarded as he ran down the seam. Weidman ran for a combined 35 yards on the previous two plays – including a game-long 29-yard scamper that helped flip the field.
 
Wilson Ingerski, battling through an injury, was integral to the cause on special teams. Of his five punts, four landed inside the 20-yard line and three of those four required fair catches. His only punt that didn't end up inside the 20-yard line was arguably his most valuable, however, as he palmed his first kick attempt in order to sidestep two oncoming Marauders. Ingerski not only avoided having the kick blocked, but he managed to boot the ball 26 yards downfield. He was also 5-for-5 on extra points.
 
Guzman finished with a team-high seven receptions, matching his career high, and totaled 60 receiving yards. Jones, who entered Saturday with just two receptions for 12 yards this season, established SU single-game bests of three receptions and 65 receiving yards. Chris Adegunle was limited to just two catches but still managed 52 receiving yards.
 
It is the second straight meeting between the two teams at the Biemesderfer in which SU won by a 35-27 score. The Raiders now lead the overall series 52-24-2 in a matchup that dates back 110 years.
 
Shippensburg returns to action at 1 p.m. Saturday when it hosts East Stroudsburg for Homecoming at Seth Grove Stadium.
 

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