Shippensburg U. football team routs Lock Haven
SHIPPENSBURG –The Shippensburg University football team built a 31-0 lead in the first half on a sunny Saturday at Seth Grove Stadium en route to a 52-14 victory over visiting Lock Haven that concluded the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division schedule.
Shippensburg (8-2, 5-2 PSAC East) got 277 passing yards and four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing) from redshirt-junior quarterback Brycen Mussina (Montoursville/Montoursville (Lafayette)) and had its first 100-yard rusher in the last 12 games, as redshirt-freshman running back Nasai Moon (Brodheadsville/Pleasant Valley) had a career-high 123 yards on 17 carries.
The Raiders totaled 495 yards on offense (277 passing, 218 rushing), totaled 25 first downs and averaged 7.4 yards per play.
Redshirt-senior Kyle Evans (Odenton, Md./Meade (Clarion)) had a team-high five receptions for 91 yards – including a 40-yard touchdown in the final minute of the first half – and ran the ball four times for 26 yards and a first-quarter touchdown. Evans is the first SU player since Cole Chiappialle (Oct. 22, 2016 at Millersville – a span of 47 contests) to have a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown in the same game.
Freshman fullback Jake DeLuccia (Wayne, N.J./Wayne Valley) ran five times for 38 yards and the first two rushing touchdowns of his career, while redshirt-junior tight end David Balint III (Landenberg/St. Mark’s (Del.)) began the scoring by hauling in an 18-yard touchdown pass from Mussina on the game’s opening drive. Balint III finished with four catches for a season-high 93 yards.
Graduate Evan Morrill (Hummelstown/Lower Dauphin (Millersville)) had four catches for 61 yards, including a second-quarter touchdown on a fourth-down play. Redshirt-sophomore Bill Williams (Camp Hill, Pa./Camp Hill) was limited but managed 31 rushing yards on eight carries. Freshman Ian Sheehan (Feasterville/Neshaminy) caught two passes for 27 yards; he has recorded multiple receptions in all 10 games to start his collegiate career.
Junior Mike Brewer (Bridgeville, Del./Woodbridge (Wesley)) and redshirt-sophomore Roland Norfleet (Harrisburg/Susquehanna Township) intercepted passes; with Brewer’s first-quarter pick and 40-yard return prefacing Evans’ touchdown run. Norfleet’s interception is the first of his career.
Lock Haven (1-9, 0-7) blocked a punt late in the second quarter and returned it for a touchdown to get on the scoreboard. Chris Hicks accounted for both Bald Eagle scores; he returned the blocked punt 14 yards for a touchdown also caught a 2-yard touchdown in the game’s final three minutes. Quarterback Ethan Persa was 21-of-38 for 297 yards with the late touchdown and the Norfleet interception.
Seniors Trey Paul (Harrisburg/Central Dauphin) and Laron Woody (Middletown,/Middletown Area) were among the Raider defensive leaders once again. Paul had a team-high seven tackles, while Woody had SU’s lone sack for a loss of 12 yards and finished with five tackles – including two tackles-for-loss (TFLs). Brewer and junior Demetrius Hudson (Willingboro, N.J./Paul VI (Valley Forge Mil. Academy)) each had four tackles.
Shippensburg will conclude its regular season Saturday, Nov. 13, at Seth Grove Stadium when it hosts Mercyhurst for Senior Day at 1 p.m..
Shepherd U. football team crushes East Stroudsburg
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.VA. – Junior quarterback Tyson Bagent (Martinsburg, W.Va./Martinsburg) completed 27-of-45 passes for 437 yards and six touchdowns to lead #11/9 Shepherd (9-1, 6-1 PSAC East) to a 55-7 win over East Stroudsburg (5-5, 3-3 PSAC East) in PSAC East football action at Ram Stadium on Saturday. Bagent’s six touchdown passes on the day give him 42 on the season to eclipse the previous single-season mark of 40 set by Connor Jessop in 2017.
Shepherd took a 7-0 lead when Bagent teamed with graduate student wide receiver Josh Gontarek (New Market, Md./Linganore/Shippensburg) on a 49-yard scoring pass with 11:07 left in the first quarter. Senior kicker Hayden August-Scriven (North Potomac, Md./Quince Orchard) added the extra point.
The Rams took a 14-0 lead when Bagent fired a 19-yard scoring strike to graduate student wide receiver Jonathan Moss (Madison Ala./Bob Jones/Murray State) with 9:57 left in the second quarter.
Bagent added a five-yard scoring pass to senior wide receiver Greg Leonard (Lusby, Md./Patuxent/Clarion) with 3:11 left in the half.
August-Scriven connected on a 19-yard field goal with 34 seconds left in the half to give the Rams a 24-0 lead at the half. He added a 29-yard field goal with 10:12 left in the third quarter to up the lead to 27-0.
Jake Cirillo teamed with David Akinwande on a four-yard scoring pass for the Warriors with 8:28 left on the third to cut the lead to 27-7.
Bagent teamed with freshman wide receiver Ryan Beach (Frederick, Md./Northwest) on a 28-yard scoring strike with 7:12 left in the third quarter.
Bagent fired a 10-yard scoring toss to Leonard with 5:05 left in the third quarter to up the lead to 41-7.
Bagent and Gontarek teamed up on a 21-yard score with 14 seconds left in the third quarter.
Sophomore running back Ronnie Brown (Baltimore, Md./Dundalk) scored on a 25-yard run with 7:43 left in the game to complete the scoring.
Cirillo completed 14-of-25 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown for East Stroudsburg.
Brown had nine carries for 102 yards and a score to lead the Shepherd ground game. Gunner Anglovich had 10 carries for 18 yards to pace the Warriors.
Gontarek had eight receptions for 195 yards and two scores to lead the Rams. Akinwande had three catches for 17 yards and a score for the Warriors.
Shepherd amassed 640 yards of total offense while limiting East Stroudsburg to 125 total yards.
The Rams return to action on Saturday, Nov. 13, when they host Clarion for a noon contest.
