One more week and one more win as the Shippensburg University football team dismantled a struggling Cheyney University squad en route to a 61-9 victory Saturday afternoon at Seth Grove Stadium.
If only every win could come this easily for the Raiders, as they returned two fumbles for scores and forced five turnovers in its thrashing of the PSAC’s worst offense. The Wolves’ five turnovers were the most since Week 2 when it lost 56-0 to Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
CU masqueraded its dismal offense early on when Wolves quarterback, Blaze Wasserleben, blazed his way to a 22-yard score early in the first quarter to cut a 14-0 SU lead in half.
However, that was the only bright spot for CU as it fumbled away any chance it had of winning. SU’s Mark Kahlil-Smith and Chase Fleming both rumbled their way in for scores off of fumble recoveries — a 14-point swing that the Wolves could not afford.
The Raiders’ offense again demonstrated why they are No. 1 in the nation, benefitting from strong performances from Zach Zulli, Jacob Baskerville and Mike Frenette.
SU’s backups gained some valuable experience, getting their chance to play after Frenette’s score put SU up 40-9 in the third. Chris Lawshe stood out in the fourth quarter throwing a four-yard touchdown strike to Pat Schuhl and rumbed for 47 yards on four carries.
Emotional leader and captain, Jeff Tomasetti started the game at quarterback as he and 13 others were honored before the game on Senior Day. Tomasetti threw an interception on his first pass, but bounced back in the fourth quarter when he drove the Raiders down the field for their last score.
All attention now shifts toward the PSAC Championship game next Saturday. The Raiders will travel to IUP for the title game at 2 p.m. IUP pulled out a nail-biting 38-35 victory over Gannon University to capture the PSAC West title.
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