Gallery: (10-31-2026) 2026 Football vs. Shepherd (Senior Day)
SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University football team fought back to overcome an 18-point deficit Saturday before falling to Shepherd in heartbreaking fashion, 35-32, in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division action on Senior Day at Seth Grove Stadium.
After falling behind three scores in the second quarter and trailing by 15 points at halftime (28-13), Shippensburg (3-6, 1-4) scored 25 straight points against Shepherd (6-3, 3-3), and took its first lead of the game on a 71-yard touchdown reception by
Chris Adegunle on the opening snap of the fourth quarter.
Shippensburg outgained Shepherd 428-414. Quarterback
Roman Jensen threw touchdown passes to three different Raider receivers, totaling 313 yards through the air on 26-of-36 attempts (72 percent).
Kicker
Wilson Ingerski eclipsed 100 yards worth of field goals in just the first half, matching his own school record with a 54-yard field goal and later converting a 48-yard attempt.
After a Shepherd score on the game's opening possession, the Raider defense forced takeaways on back-to-back drives.
Defensive lineman
Luke Hines tipped a pass that was corralled by teammate
Alex Sauve for an interception and returned seven yards to the Shepherd 39-yard line.
The offense turned the takeaway into points as Jensen found
Jermere Jones on 3rd-and-3 for a 13-yard touchdown pass to even the score with 7:07 remaining in the first quarter.
On the next Shepherd possession, safety
Andrew Biddle hauled in a deep attempt from Shepherd quarterback Michael Hardyway for his first career interception.
On the ensuing Raider drive, Shippensburg got as far as the Shepherd 30-yard line before committing a turnover on downs. Three plays later, the Rams broke a 63-yard touchdown run on a 3rd-and-1 to take a 14-7 lead. Following a Raider fumble at the 9:01 mark of the second quarter, Shepherd drove for another touchdown to lead 21-7.
Ingerski matched his career-best mark (first achieved Oct. 26, 2024 at Bloomsburg) with a 54-yard field goal with 1:42 remaining in the half. After another quick Ram touchdown series in which Shippensburg was whistled for pass interference twice on the drive, Ingerski gave the Raiders some positive momentum heading into halftime with a successful 48-yard attempt on the final play before the intermission.
Shippensburg then came out of halftime with a 13-play, 98-yard drive to paydirt, as Jensen found
Marcus Sweeney for a 10-yard touchdown in which the wide receiver made a tremendous one-handed grab as he toe-tapped the side of the end zone.
As the comeback continued to mount, the Raider defense stepped up with another big play. With the Rams pinned back, Sauve forced a fumble that was recovered by
Kal-El Durham and returned 13 yards into the end zone to make it a one possession game, 28-26.
Shippensburg went for the two-point conversion to tie the score but was unable to convert. After a Shepherd three-and-out, Jensen found Adegunle two plays later for the go-ahead touchdown pass that gave the Raiders their first lead, 32-28.
Following the score, Shepherd once again had its drive stalled. All-Region punter Daishawn Alexander, who returned from injury after a three-game absence, pinned Shippensburg on the 2-yard line. The Rams made a stand, forced a punt and got the ball back at the Raider 33-yard line, but went backwards and had to kick it back to Shippensburg.
The Raiders then ate up five minutes of clock but had to punt. Facing a 4th-and-7 from its own 16-yard line and out of timeouts, Shepherd completed a pass that was initially ruled a first down. Raider head coach
Drew Gallardy challenged the spot of the ball and the call was reversed, forcing a turnover on downs after the Ram receiver was stopped a yard short of the line to gain.
Unfortunately for Shippensburg, the game still had the two-minute timeout. After a series of various events set up a fourth down with about 30 seconds left, an interception gave the Rams one last shot with the ball on their 20-yard line with 24 seconds left.
Shepherd capitalized, as Carrington Nickens-Yzer caught a pass around midfield from Hardyway and broke free for an 80-yard game-winning touchdown. Nickens-Yzer finished with seven receptions, 171 yards and two scores.
Despite getting the ball back with just 13 seconds left, Shippensburg still managed a last gasp after Jensen and Sweeney connected for a pair of passes that went for 31 yards. It set up a 52-yard field goal try from Ingerski at the buzzer, but going against the wind; it fell short.
Prior to the fateful final seconds, the Raider defense had held Shepherd scoreless after halftime. Shepherd had run 20 plays for a total of just 35 yards in the second half until its final strike.
Adegunle finished with five catches for 140 yards, while Sweeney had a game-high eight receptions for 91 yards.
Nate Myers had a team-high nine tackles defensively, while
Brodie Hollis registered a fourth-quarter sack.
A total of nine Raider seniors were recognized during a pregame ceremony:
AJ Baldwin,
Debo Bumbrey,
Nick Castorina,
Riley Gunnels,
Dave Hines Jr.,
Luke Hines, Myers,
Peyton Stadler and Sweeney.
Also before the game, Shippensburg celebrated the career of assistant coach
Pete Lee, who has announced his retirement following the end of the season. Lee, the longest-tenured coach active with the Raiders among all sports, took part in his 160th and final game at Seth Grove Stadium on Saturday.
The Raiders will conclude their PSAC East slate with a road matchup next Saturday at West Chester. Kickoff from Farrell Stadium is set for 2 p.m.
