Shippensburg football could not sustain a strong offensive start on Saturday, falling 35-21 against Lock Haven to drop to 2-6 on the season.

Bald Eagles quarterback Jackson Ostrowsky threw for 334 yards and five touchdowns, tying his career high. It was the most passing yards allowed in a game by the SU defense all season.

The game began with a punt from each team. On Shippensburg’s second drive, redshirt sophomore quarterback Riley Gunnels connected with redshirt freshman Landon Bailey for a 2-yard touchdown, putting SU up 7-0.

Lock Haven tied the game late in the first quarter, taking advantage of a very short field after SU redshirt sophomore Marcus Sweeney fumbled the ball. SU responded immediately, with Bailey scoring his second touchdown on the very next drive.

The Bald Eagles scored on each of their next two drives, pulling ahead 21-14 at the half. Gunnels was shaken up on a sack late in the second quarter but would remain at quartrback for most of the game, although seemingly not at 100% health.

LHU scored on its first drive of the second half. The ensuing kickoff was initially fumbled by freshman Kal-El Durham, making his college debut, but he picked it up and returned the kick 89 yards for a touchdown. He finished the day with 214 kickoff return yards, the most by any Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) player in a game this season.

The game settled down from there, with Lock Haven adding a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. Gunnels threw a pair of interceptions in the fourth quarter, ending the chance at a Raiders comeback.

Gunnels ended the day 25-for-37 passing, throwing for 199 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Sophomore running back Ethan Arneson led the rushers with 60 yards on 12 carries. Redshirt freshman Derek Guzman had 73 receiving yards on seven catches, followed closely by redshirt sophomore Jaevon Parker’s 63 yards on six catches.

Sophomore linebacker Alex Sauve led the Raiders defense with a career-high 12 tackles. Senior Ely Ghameshlougy and redshirt sophomore Nate Myers each had 10 tackles, with Myers adding a sack. Myers’ 9.8 tackles per game this season is the second most of any PSAC player.

LHU went 7/15 on third down, slightly better than SU’s 6/14 mark. Lock Haven converted both of its fourth-down attempts. It was a chippy game throughout, as the teams combined for 16 accepted penalties and 148 penalty yards.

Shippensburg football has its final road game of the season this week. The Raiders will travel to Shepherd for a noon

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