Shippensburg football came out on top in a toe-to-toe slugfest versus divisional opponent Kutztown on Saturday.

It took last-second defensive heroics to pull of the win, as the Raiders rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit to bring down the 5-5 Bears in their final home game of 2014.

Kutztown drew first blood on an Alec Rosenfield field goal in the first quarter. They followed that up with a 70-yard touchdown pass from Bear’s quarterback Chad Barton to Kodi Reed with 14 seconds left in the quarter.

Shippensburg went on a 64-yard drive to start off the second quarter, and turned it into points on a 32-yard Michael Lloyd field goal.

But Kutztown scored twice more before the half, on a 32-yarder from Rosenfield and a 24-yard scoring reception by Kellen Williams, to put Kutztown up 19-3 by halftime.

Shippensburg dominated in the third quarter, shutting out the Bears while posting two scores of their own. Raider gunslinger Chris Lawshe hooked up with junior fullback Daniel Wheeler on a 17-yard scoring reception.

Shippensburg followed up on the score with a 92-yard, 11-play drive highlighted by a Lawshe 39-yard keeper. Sophomore Justin Pyle punched it in from a yard out to bring the Raiders to within a field goal.

After Kutztown scored again in the first minute of the fourth quarter, Lawshe took the Raiders right back down the field, driving 65 yards on nine plays. Junior wide out Sheldon Mayer converted the drive to points on a 9-yard catch to bring the score to 26-23.

Barely three minutes later senior wide receiver Trevor Harman put his team on top, pulling in a 7-yard Lawshe pass at 7:51 to go in the contest.

SU scored one more time on a 24-yard Andrew Smith run to put the Raiders up by 11 at 3:21.
But Kutztown would make it a game, as they scored on the next possession after a 66-yard drive.

Reed picked up the touchdown on a 7-yard pass from Barton.

With the Raider advantage reduced to four after a failed conversion, Shippensburg lined up to punt with 22 seconds on the clock. But the snap sailed offline and by the time an SU defender fell on the pigskin to end the play it was Kutztown’s ball at the 29-yard line.

The Bears promptly connected on a 21-yard pass to set them up at the 8-yard line with less than 10 seconds to go. KU threw incomplete passes in the next two plays that ran the clock out. But the officials added an extra second to the clock that gave the Bears one more chance at the victory. Barton tossed a floater into the right corner of the end zone that bounced off the hands of receiver Anthony Kelly to dash Kutztown’s hopes.

Shippensburg would take home the wild win 37-32, giving them a 6-4 record with a game to play.
The Raiders’ season finale takes place at Erie, Pa. against Mercyhurst (6-4, 6-3).

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