Game Preview - Shippensburg

#14 West Chester University (4-0, 1-0) travels to Shippensburg to take on the Shippensburg Raiders (1-3, 1-0) on Saturday. Kickoff at Seth Grove Stadium is set for 1:00 pm.

Series History:
West Chester leads the overall series 27-11-1. In his 16 years at West Chester, Bill Zwaan is 14-4 against the Raiders, as the two schools faced each other twice in both the 2004 and 2017 seasons. Shippensburg alumnus and head coach Mark Maciejewski is in his 8th season and holds a 62-32 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 in 2017, 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
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
2014	Home	Win	55-28	2018	Home	Win	28-21

Last Meeting:

09/30/2018 West Chester 28 - Shippensburg 21

The Golden Ram defense held Shippensburg to just nine yards rushing, 1 of 12 on third down and forced four interceptions. Tight end Dan Neuhaus made his first appearance of the season and hauled in two catches for 26 yards and the game's first touchdown. But Lex Rosario was nearly unstoppable as he made 13 receptions for 193 yards and a score. Jordan Burney had three tackles including a sack and safety Jarey Elder made two tackles but made two critical interceptions - the first in the red zone and the second on Shippensburg's final possession. Elder had a third pick negated by a penalty.

Scouting the Opponent:

Reigning PSAC East Freshman of the Year quarterback Brycen Mussina (52 of 91, 652 yards, 5 TD's, 3 int's) is the starting signal caller, but he got knocked out of their game at Slippery Rock and only threw one pass in their next contest. Redshirt freshman Max DeVinney (41 of 68, 424 yards, 2 TD's, 2 int's) played most of the second half against Rock and threw 49 times at California.

Regardless of who's pitching, there's plenty of guys catching in two-time All-PSAC East receiver Winston Eubanks (27 catches, 383 yards, 2 TD's), David Balint III (15 catches, 128 yards, 1 TD), and Charles Headen III (10 catches, 108 yards, 2 TD's). While Luke Durkin (31 catches, 172 yards) is Shippensburg's leading rushing, all of his rushing stats occurred in their last game against Bloomsburg. Reigning PSAC East Athlete of the Year and Albany transfer Josh Gontarek is not on the roster despite being listed as a junior last season. Right guard Zach Warren received All-PSAC East Second Team recognition in both 2017 and 2018.

David Shank handles all of the kicking duties, averages 34 yards per punt, and has converted just two field goal attempts.

The Raiders have ten players with double digit tackles led by linebackers Tyler Simon (23 tackles, 3.0 TFL) and Tig Spinelli (22 tackles, 2.5 TFL). Redshirt freshman defensive linemen Aaron Alphee (8 tackles, 2 sacks) leads the team in sacks and linebacker Laron Woody (17 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 1 int) has the team's only interception this season.

Analysis:

Shippensburg is usually known as an offensive team and most games turn into a shootout. While their passing game is still very good with Mussina and Eubanks, the run game has been absent prior to last weekend. Nevertheless, this will be the Golden Rams' defense toughest test so far this season. And this year, the Raiders' offense hasn't put up the points they usually do and no where near enough to support their porous pass defense. In Shippensburg's three losses, they allowed 1,572 yards and 20 touchdowns. In their win last week against Bloomsburg, the Huskies managed only 208 yards and 2 touchdowns. So West Chester's game plan of scoring early and often then controlling the clock should work perfectly on Saturday.

Both Massey Ratings and Atomic Football favor the Golden Rams by more than two touchdowns.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats   Audio   Video

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

PSAC Site - PSAC Football Notes Week - 5

KYW Newsradio - No. 14 West Chester will begin tough stretch on Saturday in Shippensburg

D2football - PSAC East Columnist - PSAC East - Week 5 Preview