Game Preview - Shippensburg

West Chester University (4-0, 1-0) hosts the Shippensburg Raiders (2-2, 0-1) on Saturday at John A. Farrell Stadium. Kickoff is set for noon.

Series History:
West Chester leads the overall series 26-11-1. In his 14 years at West Chester, Bill Zwaan is 13-4 against the Raiders. Shippensburg head coach Mark Maciejewski is the reigning PSAC East Coach of the Year, now in his 8th season and holds a 58-26 record.

In one of the most memorable games in West Chester football history, Golden Ram quarterback Sean McCartney made his first collegiate start and threw for 444 yards and five touchdowns to lead West Chester to a 44-43 victory in two overtimes in a nationally televised Thursday night game in 2010. The following year, West Chester laid a 52-17 loss on the Raiders, but Shippensburg returned the favor in 2012, beating West Chester 42-24 on homecoming at Farrell Stadium and continued on to the PSAC championship game and the NCAA playoffs that year.

In 2013, Shawn Leo booted a 26-yard field goal with one second left to give West Chester the thrilling victory. And last season, West Chester defeated Shippensburg on the road in October only to have to do it again in the first round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.

Last 10 Meetings:

Year	H/A	W/L	Score	Year	H/A	W/L	Score
2009	Away	Loss	24-19	2014	Home	Win	55-28
2010	Home	Win	44-43 2OT	2015	Away	Loss	27-11
2011	Away	Win	52-17	2016	Home	Win	31-15
2012	Home	Loss	42-24	2017	Away	Win	37-27
2013	Away	Win	32-29	2017	Away	Win	27-6

Last Meeting:

11/19/2017 West Chester 27 - Shippensburg 6

In a chilly rain in Shippensburg, the Golden Ram defense kept the Raiders off the scoreboard until midway through the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, despite losing the turnover battle, the West Chester offense held the ball for over 35 minutes as they advanced in the NCAA Division II playoffs by a score of 27-6.

Quarterback A.J. Long ran for 70 yards and threw for 86 yards and two touchdowns. Rasheem James caught two of Long's passes and three in total for 67 yards and a touchdown. Linebacker Tyler Morrissey led the way with ten tackles and a sack while Diquan Gilbert, Nate Barnes, and Shaquille James each registered six tackles.

Scouting the Opponent:

The Shippensburg offense is led by redshirt freshman and Lafayette transfer Brycen Mussina (90 of 163, 1,163 yards, 12 TD's, 7 int's), son of seven-time Gold Glove Major League Baseball pitcher Mike Mussina. He sprays the ball around as five different receivers have double digit catches: Josh Gontarek (21 catches, 293 yards, 3 TD's), Winston Eubanks (14 catches, 323 yards, 2 TD's), Shea O'Donnell (13 catches, 178 yards, 2 TD's), Charles Headen III (12 catches, 135 yards, 4 TD's), and Mari Wright (12 catches, 93 yards). Eubanks is the reigning PSAC East Freshman of the Year and was first team All-PSAC East in 2017. As a brief aside, Wright initially verbally committed to the Golden Rams before changing his mind a week later.

Marcus Lominy (38 carries, 160 yards) and Raleigh Sirb (35 carries, 155 yards) are the primary running backs, led by All-PSAC East linemen Alec Petrillo and Zach Warren.

Freshman David Shank handles all of the kicking duties, averages 35 yards per punt, and has yet to convert a field goal on two attempts. Lominy is averaging almost 11 yards per punt return.

Defensive linemen Richard Nase (15 tackles, 1 sack, 3 QBH) and Dakota Thompson (16 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 1 QBH) were both All-PSAC East last year. Linebackers Steven Cain (31 tackles, 1 sack, 4 PBU), Tig Spinelli (30 tackles, 4 TFL), Tyler Emge (27 tackles, 1 int) are the team's top tackles. Look for Eric Dzieniszewski (20 tackles, 5 PBU's), John Chaney III (15 tackles, 2 int's,3 PBU's), and former Golden Ram Deionte Wilson (9 tackles) in the secondary.

Analysis:

Shippensburg opened the season 2-0 before getting whalloped by California and then losing a lackluster performance at Bloomsburg. They're in the middle of the PSAC in most statistical categories, but they will still pose the biggest challenge that the Golden Rams will have faced this season. It will be interesting to see how the West Chester defense handles Shippensburg's passing game, either pressuring the young quarterback or playing back in coverage. California made five interceptions against Shippensburg and won by over 40 points, so it certainly seems like that's a key.

Keeping Long clean and maintaining balance on offense should be enough. The Golden Rams have a decided edge in the kicking game.

Massey Ratings favors the Golden Rams by a touchdown while Atomic Football gives West Chester an 11-point margin.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats   Audio   Video

West Chester Athletic Site - Depth Chart - West Chester vs. Shippensburg

West Chester Athletic Site - No. 12/19 West Chester Ready For PSAC East Rival Shippensburg

PSAC Site - PSAC Football Notes Week - 5

Shippensburg Athletic Site - Saturday's Football Game at WCU to Air Live on SportsFEVER TV, ESPN3

KYW Newsradio - West Chester looks to stay perfect Saturday against Shippensburg

SPORTSfever TV - West Chester looks to remain unbeaten in PSAC tilt with Shippenburg on Saturday afternoon

D2football - PSAC Columnist - Week 5 in the PSAC