Shippensburg University’s football team could not find any consistency in its season opener against No. 24 Newberry, falling 14-10 at Seth Grove Stadium on Saturday. 

The Raiders’ defense shined in the contest, holding the Wolves to two of 12 on third down and scoring the lone Shippensburg touchdown of the day.

Newberry scored first, with its quarterback Pete Elmore reaching the endzone on a 5-yard scramble late in the first quarter. Elmore finished the day completing 13 of 17 passes for 115 yards and added 27 rushing yards on 10 carries.

The Wolves were moving the ball again early in the second quarter, until redshirt junior Chisom Ifeanyi intercepted an Elmore throw and returned it 51 yards for a pick-6, tying the game at 7-7. 

It was a great moment for Ifeanyi, who was injured in Week 1 of last year and missed the rest of the season.

Speaking postgame, head coach Mark Maciejewski discussed Ifeanyi’s pick-6 and said, “That was awesome to see … the last time he was on this field it didn’t turn out quite like that, so it was nice to see him being a factor in this game. That was something special. He’ll remember that forever.”

Newberry regained the lead in the third quarter with John Swinton running in a 30-yard touchdown to give the Wolves a 14-7 lead. Swinton finished the day with 30 yards on two carries.

The Raiders had a chance to flip the momentum early in the fourth quarter with redshirt sophomore Terrance Peterson Jr. blocking a Newberry punt, which was recovered by Shippensburg redshirt sophomore Sam Enge. The Raiders gained possession at the Newville 11-yard line after a penalty.

The offense stalled though, with redshirt sophomore QB Joey McCracken throwing an incompletion on third-and-10, leading to a 33-yard field goal from junior Jaxson Montross to make the game 14-10.

Neither offense had momentum after that, with McCracken throwing an interception with 1:48 to go. The Raiders did get the ball back with 51 seconds left, but a Hail Mary from the 50-yard line fell incomplete, giving Newberry the win.

Small miscues plagued the Raiders throughout the game, including two poor snaps from redshirt freshman Robert Chetirkin, which led to him getting benched. They also had a roughing-the-passer penalty in the second quarter on third-and-21, giving the Wolves a free first down.

Shippensburg’s offense only mustered 141 yards in the contest, with McCracken going 10 of 24 for 69 yards. Junior Jake DeLuccia was the leading rusher with 38 yards on seven carries, and junior Redd Douglas led the receivers with four catches for 39 yards.

Speaking on the offense, Maciejewski said, “We couldn’t run the ball today; we couldn't throw the ball today. That was disappointing to me … we just weren’t consistent.”

“We got really good players, and they’ll get it, they’ll figure it out.”

The Raiders travel to Greensburg next week to face the Seton Hill Griffins, who lost to Wheeling 24-35 to start their season. The game is scheduled for noon Saturday.

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