Shippensburg University football defeated the Millersville Marauders this weekend at Seth Grove Stadium, securing a 41-28 victory against a rival opponent.

The Raiders started off their scoring with a field goal from sophomore kicker Wilson Ingerski, followed by a 14-yard touchdown run from sophomore running back Ethan Arneson. 

Millersville answered with a kickoff return for a 91-yard touchdown to make the score 10-7. A 33-yard field goal at the end of the first quarter expanded SU’s lead to 13-7.

Shippensburg was the only team to score in the second quarter. A 35-yard touchdown pass from redshirt sophomore quarterback Riley Gunnels to redshirt sophomore wide receiver Marcus Sweeney grew the Raiders’ lead to 20-7.

The third quarter began with a Marauder touchdown for 77 yards from quarterback Ryan Zeltt to wide receiver Nakhi Bullock to inch Millersville closer at a 20-14 score. 

With about five minutes left to go in the quarter, SU responded with a touchdown of its own. Gunnels threw an 86-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Ty Neal for the score, extending the Raiders’ lead to 27-14 before the fourth quarter. 

The final quarter of the game was a shootout, with each team scoring two touchdowns. Shippensburg scored first with a 14-yard pass to redshirt freshman Caiden Pines, putting the Raiders ahead 34-14. 

Then, Millersville scored another touchdown from a 9-yard pass to narrow the deficit to 34-21. 

With seven minutes left in the game, Gunnels threw a 27-yard touchdown to redshirt freshman Landon Bailey to round off the SU scoring spree. The Raiders ended the game at 41-28, marking their second win on the season.

Shippensburg dominated on offense. The Raiders gained 587 yards of total offense to the Marauders 316 yards. Gunnels achieved a career-high 412 passing yards. The milestone also marks Gunnels as the first Raider quarterback to throw for more than 400 yards since 2019, when Brycen Mussina did it in a 32-30 loss against Shepherd. 

Asked about the achievement, Gunnels said, “It feels great … I didn’t think I was close to that number at all … knowing it hasn’t been done in the last five years.”  

Gunnels was not the only player to have career highs in the matchup. Running back Ethan Arneson had a career-high 121 rushing yards — the most since 2023. After the game, Arsen said, “Our energy was different this week. We came out with a purpose and executed our plan pretty well.”

Receivers Marcus Sweeney and Ty Neal also had career-high yardage, at 121 and 113 yards, respectively. 

Shippensburg scored on six of its first eight possessions, and eight drives resulted in more than 50 yards. In addition to that, every touchdown the Raiders scored was by a different player. SU gained 35 first downs, the most in a game since the record was set almost exactly 13 years ago on Oct. 13, 2012.

The defense also had some impressive stats as well. Redshirt sophomore Nate Myers caught his first career interception from a deflected pass in the fourth quarter, which set up the Raiders to score two plays later. Myers also led the Raiders with 10 tackles, while redshirt senior Terrance Peterson Jr. had seven himself. Senior DJ Jackson also had a strong game with six tackles.

Shippensburg travels to East Stroudsburg on Saturday for a 6:05 p.m. kickoff.

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