SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. — Continuing its dominant streak this season and against the Raiders, ESU went on the road to defeat Shippensburg, 47-7, on Saturday afternoon.
The Warriors' passing attack had its best performance since the last time they visited Shippensburg in 2024, throwing for 293 yards. Junior QB
Matt Machalik went 13-for-16 with 225 yards, four touchdowns, and a 290.3 passer rating. He and fifth-year WR
Elijah Ford were on the same page all day, as the veteran receiver hauled in seven catches for 103 yards, both career highs, while scoring a touchdown as well. The outburst through the air led to fewer running plays, but the Warriors still totaled 190 yards on the ground. Junior RB
Cade Sawyer led the group with 52 yards on nine carries, while sophomore RB
Jackson Jankowicz and fifth-year RB
Deante Crawford combined for an additional 86 yards with a pair of touchdowns.
ESU's defense stood tall, shutting out Shippensburg's offense until late in the fourth quarter. After winning PSAC East Offensive Athlete of the Week, Shippensburg's quarterback Roman Jensen had a quiet outing. The Raiders' signal caller didn't reach the 100-yard mark in passing until the final period, going 12-for-27 with 146 yards. On the ground, the Raiders had even less success moving the ball, gaining 31 yards on 29 carries. Filling in at linebacker, senior
Sean McFadden had personal bests with nine tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and his first career sack. Up front, senior defensive linemen
Ashton Blose and
Terrell Reynolds each had strong games. The former had four tackles and 1.5 sacks, while the latter made six stops with 0.5 sacks. Junior DB
Armonie Torres caused his second turnover of the season, his first since a game-sealing interception at Seton Hill, with a forced fumble to complement his five tackles on the day.
Neither team had anything for them on their opening drives, but the Warriors were moving the ball when they regained possession. ESU converted a 4
th and 8 on the Shippensburg 32-yard line, as senior QB
Harrison Susi hit senior WR
Cam Burti for a ten-yard gain to move the chains. Shippensburg's defense stiffened up inside the red zone, getting a stop four plays later when the Warriors were sacked on fourth down with five minutes left in the frame.
Jensen and the Raiders picked up a big chunk of yards coming out of a timeout on 3
rd and 7, hitting Derek Guzman over the middle for a 37-yard gain. Once they got inside the 20-yard line, a defensive pass interference call put the ball at the two-yard line to end the quarter. ESU stood tall on the first three plays at the goal line, and won the battle on fourth down to keep the game scoreless. As Andre Weidman ran to the left, Torres tracked him down and punched the ball out just before Weidman could cross the goal line. The ball rolled through the end zone, giving ESU possession with a touchback.
ESU was kept off the scoreboard in the first quarter, just the third time that's happened in a period all season. With Machalik now in at quarterback, the Warriors went 80 yards in three plays and 52 seconds. A 15-yard completion to Burti got the drive started, and a pass interference call, this time on Shippensburg, set ESU up right at midfield. Machalik rolled to his left and looked deep, as junior WR
David Washington Jr. got loose behind the secondary. A high-arcing pass hit Washington Jr. in stride, putting ESU up 7-0.
Once the scoring started for ESU, there was no resealing the dam that broke. The Warriors outscored the Raiders 28-0 in the second quarter, as Machalik racked up two more touchdowns while Crawford added another right before halftime. With five receivers out wide, Machalik snapped the ball with an empty backfield. He had senior ATH
Elijah Carroll running uncovered up the seam, who made one cut after the reception to dodge the only defender in position to prevent the touchdown, for a 46-yard score.
The defense forced Jensen into three straight incompletions to get the ball back for ESU's offense, starting the next drive at their own 48-yard line. Susi came back in to keep a drive alive on Shippensburg's 31-yard line, picking up three yards on a 4
th and 2. Machalik reentered the game, and Ford burned his defender off the line of scrimmage with some help from play-action on a 28-yard touchdown reception.
The second quarter was all ESU, as the defense held Shippensburg to 14 yards, while the offense outgained the Raiders by 247. A 34-yard pass down the right sideline to Ford got ESU's two-minute drill going, picking up yards on each play. On their first play in a goal-to-go situation, Crawford came in and got into the endzone from three yards out, putting the Warriors up by 28 after the first half.
Shippensburg got a stop on ESU's first drive of the second half, but senior P
Adam Noll pinned them deep in their own territory with a 69-yard punt, which matched his career-long set in 2024, that was downed at the four-yard line. The Raiders gave the ball right back after a three-and-out, setting the Warriors up nicely after their punt only traveled 35 yards. Sawyer and fifth-year FB
Matt Frame picked up 26 yards on two runs to start the drive before Burti, who hauled in all five of his targets, followed his convoy of blockers on a screen pass for a touchdown.
Senior K
Ty Quintois nailed two field goals to pad ESU's lead on its next two drives, but Shippensburg spoiled the shutout with a touchdown scored with 6:47 remaining. ESU chewed up most of the remaining clock, taking it down to the two-minute timeout. On the first play back from break, Jankowicz broke through the middle of the defense from 21 yards out for the final touchdown of the game, making it 47-7.
GAME NOTES
- In the Warriors' four games since their bye week, the contests have not been close at all. ESU's outscored its opponents 159-20, outgaining them by an average of 439.5-180.0 yards of total offense each game. ESU's recent streak of success against the Raiders continued today as well, winning the last three meetings 45-0, 24-7, and 47-7. Last year, Shippensburg scored off a fumble recovery in the end zone, but the Raiders' offense broke a dry spell today that lasted 33 drives without a touchdown.
- ESU's +28 point differential was its largest in a game since the end of last season, matching its 28-0 second quarter versus Millersville. Since ESU had a pick-six in that period, their play today marked the first time since the fourth quarter of their 2023 season opener against Pace that the Warriors scored four offensive touchdowns in a single period.
UP NEXT
The Warriors return to Eiler-Martin Stadium for their final two home games of the 2026 regular season in the next two weeks, starting the homestand against Shepherd. Kickoff is slated for 1:05 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24, from Gregory-Douds Field.
