Shippensburg is known for shooting it out and winning.
They received a dose of their own medicine on Saturday, as California put up 660 yards of offense and eight touchdowns to beat the Raiders at home on Parents and Family Day.

As usual, Shippensburg (2-1, 1-1 PSAC) came out on fire and scored first on a 38-yard Trevor Harman touchdown reception less than five minutes into the game. But by the end of the quarter, four defensive starters for Shippensburg had left the game with injuries, including last week’s standout middle linebacker Cortlin Dell and both starting cornerbacks.

The result was that California (2-1, 1-1 PSAC) quarterback James Harris rung up 363 yards and two touchdowns before halftime, finishing the game with a respectable 24 for 33, 439 yards and the two scores.

SU Head Coach Mark Maciejewski reflected on the injuries, mentioning Dell, the corners Phil Boyd and Kevin Taylor, and safety Will Hudson as key losses. He said that slowing the Vulcan attack was more difficult because many of the backups were freshmen, and the few times the Raiders had a chance to claw back into the game the defense failed to stop California from widening the deficit again.

Shippensburg escaped the first quarter down only a touchdown, after California running back Terrell Roberson ran one in from two yards out, and wide out Kowan Scott hauled in a three-yard pass. But they ran into trouble in the second, which turned out to be the decisive quarter.

Roberson scored twice more, from one and five yards out before the five-minute mark. Another Scott touchdown grab from 46 yards out put the Vulcans up 35-7.

The Raiders had a chance to get back in the game, as quarterback Chris Lawshe ended California’s 35-point unanswered scoring binge on a two-yard keeper.

Less than four minutes into the third quarter Lawshe took the Raiders on a 13-lay, 75-yard drive that ended with a Sheldon Mayer 22-yard touchdown reception. With SU down by only two scores, a defensive lockdown could have given the prolific Raiders offense more than enough support to take the lead back.

But California went on a five-play, 69-yard drive that running back Nick Grissom punched in for the six-yard touchdown.

“We told the defense that if we scored at the end of the first half and again in the third quarter, we’d be in it,” Maciejewski said. “But we had to get the ball back to make that work, and we didn’t.”
With California up 42-21, Shippensburg looked to mount a comeback.

A Lawshe-Mayer connection from 11 yards out brought the score to 42-28, but Grissom went off on two more touchdown runs, from 37 and 33 yards out to put the game out of reach.

Lawshe had another touchdown pass to Dexter Bridge with four minutes left in the game, but it was too little too late as California won the game 56-34.

A number of Raiders had huge games. Lawshe completed 30 passes on 50 attempts, with 367 yards and four touchdowns. Mayer and Harman had eight catches apiece, with 115 and 116 yards respectively.

“I don’t want to forget about this game because there’s so much to learn from it,” said a determined Maciejewski. “We’re going to make sure we discuss and fix our problems today because that’s how I think we get better.”

The Raiders visit Bloomsburg next Saturday for a 2 p.m. game. The Huskies are undefeated (3-0) this season.

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