The Shippensburg University football team trailed until the fourth quarter, when a Trevor Harman receiving touchdown put them up by a field goal.

Three lead changes and 233 yards later, Warriors’ quarterback Matt Soltes connected with his wide out Jon Schnaars for 27 yards to put Stroudsburg out in front for good, felling their PSAC rivals 37-33 on a sunny but windy Saturday afternoon at Seth Grove Stadium.

Shippensburg’s defense ran a tight ship in the first half, staying within striking distance down only two touchdowns.

Shippensburg (2-3, 1-3 PSAC) first scored near the end of the second quarter. Down 13-0 after a Robert Healy 7-yard rushing score and a 42-yard Soltes-Steven Jones touchdown completion, The Raiders went on a 90-yard 10-play drive. Junior running back Andrew Smith converted the drive to points on a 5-yard rushing touchdown.

ESU (4-1, 3-1 PSAC) picked up a field goal in the waning seconds of the half to go up 16-7.

But SU’s number one receiver on the day, Sheldon Mayer, came out to play in the second half. At 8:52 in the third quarter, he grabbed a 25-yard strike from quarterback Chris Lawshe in the back corner of the end zone, keeping his feet in bounds to bring the Raiders to within a field goal, 14-16.

ESU answered later in the quarter on a 7-yard touchdown catch by Schnaars to put the Warriors up by nine.

But two consecutive scores by SU’s productive wide receiver duo gave the Raiders their first lead of the game at the start of the fourth quarter.

Mayer scored his second touchdown of the game, on a 51-yard bomb from Lawshe at 5:18 in the third quarter. He caught the ball with his back to the end zone, spun on a dime while eluding his would-be tackler, and tight-roped it down the sideline for the score, his team-leading eighth on the season. Mayer now leads all of PSAC in receiving yards (600) and touchdowns, while recording his fifth career multi-touchdown game and fifth consecutive 100-plus receiving effort.

Senior wide out Trevor Harman followed the acrobatic catch with a 5-yard touchdown of his own five seconds into the fourth quarter. Less than halfway through his final season the star receiver now trails PSAC all-time TD leader Mike Washington (West Chester) by two career touchdowns with 56.

The Warriors followed with a score before the 10-minute mark, on a 69-yard Soltes pass to junior Joe Welk, giving the lead back to Stroudsburg.

Lawshe took the Raiders on a 73-yard, 9-play drive in a comeback attempt, highlighted by a 41-yard pass from the scrambling quarterback to his junior fullback Daniel Wheeler. Smith punched it in from seven yards out at 7:32 to give his team a 3-point lead.

Shippensburg’s defense couldn’t hold back the ESU comeback in the waning minutes of the game. A pass interference penalty and a fourth-and-three conversion against SU doomed them on the Warrior’s game-winning drive. Soltes found Schnaars again for a 27-yard touchdown with the clock at 5:55.

Despite two more SU drives featuring five first downs, the Raiders could not retake the lead and ultimately fell 37-33.

The aggressive, blitz-heavy Stroudsburg defense sacked Lawshe five times in the contest and pressured him all day. The Raider’s QB still posted 315 yards on the day, going 27-47 with three touchdowns and two picks.

Senior running back Blair Brooks ran hard all game, finishing with 102 yards. He led the Raiders’ rushing attack, which totaled 220 yards in the contest.

ESU’s standout QB Soles finished an outstanding game with 527 yards of total offense with four scores, although sophomore D.J. Burkey picked up his first career interception in the third quarter off of him.

Shippensburg plays the next two games on the road, starting this Saturday at 3 p.m. versus Lock Haven. LHU is 0-5 on the season and have been outscored 156-83, while never eclipsing 21 points in a game. The Raiders have not scored less than 30 all season.

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