Shippensburg’s high-powered offense can handle some of the toughest defenses in PA football.

But Bloomsburg put up an 18-point lead early on, with a key fumble touchdown, and leaned on their defense to hold off the Raiders (2-2, 1-2 PSAC) on Saturday afternoon.

The 38-30 loss broke a series of three consecutive wins for Shippensburg in matches against BU, but saw senior wide receiver Trevor Harman set the PSAC receptions record with 264 in the emotional loss.

The Raiders scored first at the end of a 10-play 78-yard drive, on a 22-yard field goal by senior Michael Lloyd, SU’s first of the season.

But the tough Bloomsburg defense, led by senior middle linebacker Justin Shirk, turned the momentum back to the Huskies. On a Blair Brooks rush attempt, Shirk broke up the play and forced a fumble behind the line. BU defender Dylan Stair ran the ball 17 yards to the house to give the Huskies the advantage for good.

Bloomsburg scored to start the second quarter. Quarterback Tim Kelly connected with wide receiver DJ McFadden for 44 yards, and running back Eddie Mateo converted the drive to points on a one-yard run, bringing the score to 14-3.

A little more than two minutes later, junior quarterback Chris Lawshe led the Raiders on a nine-play, 81-yard drive, hitting junior Sheldon Mayer for a 12-yard touchdown to bring SU’s deficit to within four. Mayer had a monster night, finishing with 160 yards on 12 catches (13.3 yards per catch) and two scores.

Two more touchdowns before halftime from Bloomsburg, one a four-yard run from Mateo and another a Connor Gades 50-yard reception, put the Huskies up 28-10.

Both defenses stayed solid during the third quarter, and neither team scored.

But the Raiders were not done, and with the arrival of the fourth quarter, there came the Shippensburg offense with a comeback attempt.

On a fourth-and-two less than three minutes into the quarter, Lawshe took the ball up the middle on a QB keeper for 48 yards and a touchdown.

Bloomsburg then scored again on a Mateo one-yard run, on a 60-yard drive highlighted by a 49-yard McFadden reception.

Mayer answered for the Raiders with his second touchdown on an 18-yard strike from Lawshe, pulling it in with an acrobatic, one-handed catch. He was injured on the play, and a Bloomsburg defender was ejected for targeting. Three times on the night the Huskies were penalized for personal foul that resulted in Raider injuries.

After a failed SU onside kick, Bloomsburg scored again when kicker Braden Drexler sank a 19-yard field goal to bring the score to 23-38.

With 50 seconds in the contest, junior running back Andrew Smith took a kick return 86 yards to the house to bring the Raiders deficit to eight.

But another failed onside kick brought the game to a close in an emotional 38-30 ending.

The Shippensburg defense, led by Brian Sourber’s 11 tackles, held the run-heavy Bloomsburg offense to 123 yards on 39 carries on the ground, or 3.2 yards per rush. Freshman linebacker Christian Brown made his first collegiate start on Saturday, and put up seven tackles.

Shippensburg pays next Saturday against East Stroudsburg, which is 3-1 (2-1 PSAC) with their one loss a 56-24 affair against Slippery Rock in week three. The first 700 fans will receive free SU sunglasses in the home matchup.

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