The Shippensburg University football team was unable to maintain an early three-touchdown lead on Saturday in its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division opener, as a pivotal stretch of big plays propelled host Bloomsburg to a 33-31 victory over the Raiders on a soggy, rain-soaked day at Danny Hale Field at Robert B. Redman Stadium.
Shippensburg (1-3, 0-1 PSAC East) led 21-0 with four minutes before halftime, having capitalized on multiple turnovers it forced in the first half. SU took a 7-0 lead at the 3:32 mark of the first quarter with a 29-yard touchdown connection from
Roman Jensen to
Landon Bailey on a 2nd-and-16 play. Three plays earlier, the Raiders had gained possession after a sack-fumble by
Luke Hines.
Two minutes into the second quarter,
Alex Sauve picked off Zayd Etheridge and was tackled at the Husky 7-yard line.
Andre Weidman ran it in two plays later to make it 14-0.
Midway through the second quarter, Hines recorded another sack-fumble – this one recovered by teammate
Tyler Opong – to set the Raiders up at the Husky 39-yard line. Six plays later, Jensen threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to
Marcus Sweeney (Hershey, Pa./Hershey) and the score was 21-0.
The Raiders finished with an 11:50 advantage in time of possession, won the turnover margin 4-0, totaled 23 first downs, and converted eight third downs, but could not come away with the victory.
Bloomsburg (2-1, 0-0) answered the Sweeney touchdown with 10 points before halftime. The Huskies completed a 75-yard touchdown drive in two minutes, forced a three-and-out, and kicked a 37-yard field goal to get within 11 points at the intermission.
The momentum swing continued midway through the third quarter when Bloomsburg blocked a punt, scooped up the ball and completed a short return into the end zone for a touchdown to make it 21-17.
SU responded with its second 20-play drive of the season; it ended with a
Wilson Ingerski field goal that made the score 24-17 entering the fourth quarter.
The Huskies returned the ensuing pooch kickoff 47 yards into SU territory and scored five plays later on a 20-yard touchdown rush that evened the score at 24-24.
After an SU three-and-out, the Huskies drove down to the SU 8-yard line. The Raider defense made a fourth-down stand, getting the ball back with the score tied but inside their own 10-yard line.
Two plays later, a holding penalty and near sack in the end zone resulted in a safety. Now armed with a lead, Bloomsburg's Eli Zimmerman returned the ensuing kickoff for a 76-yard touchdown – completing a nine-point swing in a span of 12 seconds.
SU got to the Bloomsburg 37-yard line before turning it over on downs, but used its timeouts to force a punt and get another possession with 1:35 left. The Raiders scored with 23 seconds remaining, as Jensen found
Ethan Carlos (York, Pa./Central York (California (Pa.)) for a 19-yard touchdown. The ensuing onside kick went out-of-bounds.
Saturday's contest was beset by yellow flags. The two teams combined for 35 penalties and 294 penalty yards (18 for 175 yards by Bloomsburg, 17 for 119 yards by Shippensburg).
Jensen finished the game 26-of-49 for 260 yards and three touchdowns.
Chris Adegunle caught nine more passes for 73 yards. Sweeney finished with 59 receiving yards.
Hines finished with 3.0 tackles-for-loss (TFLs), including the sack-fumble.
Nate Myers led all players with 11 tackles and totaled 2.5 TFLs.
Javani Mosley had a first-quarter interception and made seven tackles.
Shippensburg returns home next weekend to host nationally-ranked Kutztown at 1 p.m. Saturday at Student Association Field at Seth Grove Stadium.
