Game Preview - Shippensburg

West Chester University (0-4, 0-1) hosts the Shippensburg Raiders (1-3, 0-1) on Saturday at noon in John A. Farrell Stadium.

Series History:
West Chester leads the overall series 31-13-1. Two-time AFCA Division II Region 1 Coach of the Year and Shippensburg alumnus Mark Maciejewski is in his 14th season as head coach and has a record of 84-55.

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
2014	Home	Win	55-28	2018	Home	Win	28-21
2015	Away	Loss	27-11	2019	Away	Win	29-21
2016	Home	Win	31-15	2021	Away	Loss	34-18
2017	Away	Win	37-27	2022	Home	Loss	20-13
2017	Away	Win	27-6	2023	Away	Win	38-28

Last Meeting:

10/07/2023 West Chester 38 - Shippensburg 28

Despite getting outgained by 160 yards and spotting the Raiders a 14-point lead, West Chester scored 31 consecutive points and went on to win 38-28 in Shippensburg. Ethan Kohler (6 of 10, 75 yards) completed a 26-yard touchdown pass to Brody McAndrew while Cooper Jordan (7 of 12, 149 yards) connected with D'Shaun Seals (3 catches, 82 yards) on a 58-yard score.

Defensively, Maurice Beverly landed 8 solo tackles, forced two fumbles and returned a fumble 99 yards for a touchdown to earn PSAC East Player of the Week honors. Shane Mosley had an interception and a pass breakup while Connor Noble had 9 tackles and 1.5 sacks.

Sean Henry converted a 34-yard field goal and all five PAT's.

Scouting the Opponent:

At quarterback, sophomore Sam Stoner (30 of 46, 309 yards, 3 TD, 3 int) has played in every game this season, although Maine transfer Joey McCracken (15 of 29, 107 yards) started the first two games. True freshman Vincent Micucci (10 of 13, 73 yards, 1 int) played most of the second half in last week's 38-0 home loss to Shepherd and redshirt freshman Riley Gunnels (3 of 3, 15 yards) played a couple of series in their 33-7 home loss to Slippery Rock. Micucci is Shippensburg's top running quarterback.

With last season's All-PSAC East receiver Redd Douglas now at Findlay, Karim Brice (12 catches, 128 yards) and Jaimen Bryant (5 catches, 65 yards) are the top targets for whomever is throwing the ball. Running backs Tanner Hess (42 carries, 103 yards) and Josiah Leonard (38 carries, 126 yards) are the main ball carriers, although no Raider has rushed for a touchdown this season.

Last year, safety Isaiah Gilmore was All-PSAC East and had playing eligibility remaining, but he is now a student assistant coach at New Hampshire. The defense is led this season by cornerback DJ Jackson (30 tackles, 1 int, 3 PBU), free safety Ely Ghameshlougy (25 tackles) and strong safety Gabe Benjamin (17 tackles, 3 PBU, 2 FF). Linebackers Javon M. Cruz (20 tackles, 2.0 sacks, 1 FF) and Terrance Peterson Jr. (21 tackles, 1.0 sacks, 1 PBU, 1 FF) lead the team in sacks.

Punter/kicker Tanner Luther has converted a 47-yard field goal and has dropped seven of his 26 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line. Hess averages 35 yards per kick return and returned one 96 yards for a touchdown against Clarion for which he was named PSAC East Special Teams Athlete of the Week.

Analysis:

The Raiders are among the bottom five teams in the PSAC in scoring offense, total offense, rushing offense, passing offense, scoring defense, total defense, rushing defense and passing defense. So the Raiders may be just the thing that the Golden Rams need to get into the win column. However, West Chester is among those same bottom five teams in scoring defense, total defense, rushing defense and passing defense, so Shippensburg is also looking forward to this game. And the Raiders already have a notch in the win column. With two poorly performing defenses, expect a high scoring affair. But with West Chester's offense performing at a higher level, this should be a rare win for the purple and gold in 2024 if they can contain Hess on kickoff returns.

Massey Ratings is expecting a 28-17 West Chester win while Versus Sports simulates a 35-13 Golden Ram victory.

Game Coverage:

Live Stats   Audio   Video   Game Program

West Chester Athletic Site - Football Returns Home Saturday Looking to Turn Fortunes Around

PSAC Site - 2024 PSAC Football Week 5 Notes

D2football - PSAC Columnist - PSAC Week Five Preview