Game Preview - Shippensburg

West Chester University (3-2, 1-1) hosts the Shippensburg Raiders (2-3, 1-1) for homecoming on Saturday. Kickoff at John A. Farrell Stadium is set for 2:00 pm.

Series History:
West Chester leads the overall series 28-12-1. In his 19 years at West Chester, Bill Zwaan is 15-5 against the Raiders, as the two schools faced each other twice in both the 2004 and 2017 seasons. Shippensburg alumnus Mark Maciejewski is in his 12th season as head coach and entered the year with a 75-38 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 year's loss at Shippensburg broke a streak of five consecutive wins for the Golden Rams over the Raiders. Shippensburg finished last year 9-2 and just missed the NCAA Division II playoffs.

Last 10 Meetings:

Year	H/A	W/L	Score	Year	H/A	W/L	Score
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
2015	Away	Loss	24-11	2019	Away	Win	29-21
2016	Home	Win	31-15	2021	Away	Loss	34-18

Last Meeting:

10/10/2021 Shippensburg 34 - West Chester 18

The Golden Rams committed five turnovers - three fumbles and two interceptions - that led to 17 Shippensburg points. In the first half, West Chester was limited to two Sean Henry field goals. Even so, when Desman Johnson scored a touchdown on a one-yard run, it pulled the Golden Rams to within 23-18, but the Raiders scored the final ten points, including a 71-yard touchdown pass, to seal the 34-18 win.

Phil Poquie had 78 yards rushing and a 62-yard kickoff return, while Johnson was 10 of 29 for 131 yards passing to go with 16 yards on the ground. Jackson Taylor had a game-high ten tackles, an interception and recovered a fumble.

Scouting the Opponent:

Shippensburg was forced to turn the page after quarterback Brycen Mussina graduated with a year of eligibility left. In his three years with the Raiders, he threw for 8,500 yards and 73 touchdowns. The new signal caller was a choice between redshirt freshman transfers. And Boston College transfer Sam Johnson III (82 of 132, 844 yards, 7 TD's, 6 int) edged out Maine transfer Joey McCracken (7 of 16, 114 yards, 1 int). Johnson has leaned heavily on two of the top receivers in the conference: Ian Sheehan (26 catches, 299 yards, 2 TD's), who was All-PSAC East last season, and Redd Douglas (23 catches, 321 yards, 2 TD's), who has captured the PSAC East Special Teams Athlete of the Week award twice this season. He'll also throw to the running backs: Howard transfer Khalid Dorsey (31 carries, 191 yards, 1 TD, 8 catches, 53 yards, 1 TD) and Nasai Moon (42 carries, 134 yards, 1 TD, 6 catches, 48 yards, 1 TD).

The defense is led by linebacker Matt Feeney (47 tackles, 10.5 TFL) who is among the leaders in the PSAC in both tackles and tackles for loss. Pace transfer strong safety Brandon Holt (18 tackles, 2 int) and free safety Isaiah Gilmore (12 tackles, 2 int) are among the conference leaders in interceptions. Defensive tackle Jacoby Sherard (6 tackles, 1 TFL) was All-PSAC East after last season, but he's only played in their season opener this year. So defensive end Jake Hines (14 tackles, 2.0 sacks) and defensive tackle Riley Good (26 tackles, 7.5 TFL) have applied the pressure up front.

Kicker Jackson Montross was All-PSAC East last season, but is only 1 of 5 on field goals this year, hitting on a 44 yarder. Tanner Luther does the punting and kickoffs. Douglas has returned two kickoffs for touchdowns this season.

Analysis:

Under Coach Zwaan, the Golden Rams are 14-4 on homecoming and have not lost since 2012 to....Shippensburg. In the PSAC, defensively the Raiders are 12th against the run, 13th against the pass, and 14th overall. The West Chester offense should be able to build on last week's best production of the season, as long as they hold on to the football. It wouldn't appear that Shippensburg's rushing offense stands much of a chance against the Golden Rams run defense, so expect the Raiders to use an aerial attack which should give opportunities for West Chester to pick up some sacks and/or interceptions.

Massey Ratings is expecting a 28-24 West Chester win and Versus Sports simulates a similar 27-21 Golden Ram victory.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats   Audio   Video

West Chester Athletic Site - Homecoming Weekend Welcomes Shippensburg To Farrell Stadium Saturday

PSAC Site - PSAC Football Notes, Week 6

D2football - PSAC East Columnist - PSAC Week Six Preview