SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - A late spark on offense was not enough, and Millersville's 13-7 loss at Shippensburg was a result of missed opportunities. The Marauders had abundant opportunities to jump out to an early lead and potentially put away Shippensburg early, but the Marauders were hampered by an inability to convert with advantageous field position, committed  costly turnovers and came up empty on a potential game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter. 

The Raiders (2-6) have made a habit of playing low-scoring, ugly games, but after losing four games by seven points or fewer, they took advantage of their limited red zone opportunities while Millersville (3-5) went 1-for-4 in the red zone and committed three more turnovers with two turnovers on downs, bringing the offense's total to 13 in the last four games--all losses. 

"We got in our own way," said Millersville head coach J.C. Morgan. "To get the ball as close as we did and come empty all those times, a large part of that is self-inflicted...We are going to look back at that film and prevented that."

Millersville's lone scoring drive was an 18-play, 80-yard drive that consumed five minutes of fourth quarter clock and ended with 2:56 remaining when Jaheim Morris plunged in from the 2. The drive, piloted by back-up QB Ryan Zeltt, included two fourth-down conversions, including a 30-yarder to Hakim Melvin on a fourth-and-14. But those 80 yards accounted for more than half of Millersville's 157 yards in the game. 

Down 13-7, the Marauder defense forced a three-and-out and used all three timeouts. Zeltt took over at his own 25 with 2:26 to play. His first two passes fell incomplete, and second down, he was injured on a QB hit and exited the game. Rob Footman Jr. returned, scrambled for six yards but slid short of the first down marker, and his fourth-down pass was broken up. 

"We had some guys who played their hearts out," said Morgan. "Even after as slowly as it was going, we had a chance there at the end. What we put out there today collectively we know we are way better than that. I have to figure out how to get that right."

The final offensive drive typified Millersville's offensive results in the game. Beginning at the 7:12 mark of the first quarter, Millersville had three of the next four offensive possessions start in Shippensburg territory. The first drive started at the 35 after a fumble recovery, but Rob Footman Jr. threw the first of two interceptions to end the drive. Millersville started the second quarter at the Shippensburg 18 after a punt return by Mekhi Alexander, but after reaching the 2, the Marauders missed a field goal. The defense got the ball back quickly as Imir Lilliston intercepted a pass at the Ship 23, but the Marauders went in reverse, losing 15 yards before a punt. 

That punt was where the game changed. Shippensburg began the drive with 10 yards of offense and minus-six rushing yards, but Tanner Hess broke a 50-yard run to flip field position, and Shippensburg scored the game's first points on a Jaxson Montross 25-yard field goal. 

Millersville called on freshman Ryan Zeltt at quarterback on the next drive, but on third-and-eight from the 18, he was sacked and lost the football. Javon Cruz recovered, and two plays later, Hess rushed in from eight-yards out for Shippensburg's first touchdown in nearly six full quarters of game action. 

Millersville punted on all four third quarter possessions, netting just 38 yards in those drives. The Raiders bottled up Shippensburg's run game, holding the Marauders to 21 yards on 32 carries. One week after rushing for 229 yards, Jaheim Morris received just seven carries for 11 yards.

"We got off schedule and couldn't consistently get it going. We'll look at where the breakdowns were. At times, I thought we were decent running on early downs but kept getting knocked back. When you get knocked back you have to throw the ball. We wanted to avoid third and long. Shippensburg is top of the league on third downs. We didn't do enough to avoid those opportunities."

The passing game similarly struggled as Footman completed 8-of-27 passes for 57 yards and two picks. Zeltt did lead the touchdown drive but was not anymore efficient, going 7-for-24 for 79 yards. Millersville went 3-for-21 on third downs after starting 1-for-16. 

"It's a lot of things," said Morgan. "We need to do a better job of focusing on the details. It's not that we aren't capable of doing it. We are getting outside ourselves and there are a lot of breakdowns. Special teams and defense set us up. Quite honestly, we got sloppy."

Shippensburg's offense had minimal success as well but went 3-for-3 in its red zone chances. The Raiders finished with 165 yards of offense. Sam Stoner went 8-for-23 for 50 yards and an interception. Shippensburg also lost two fumbles, one of which freshman Jabriel Rhodes-Nelson returned 44 yards in the final minute of the first half. 

Millersville's defense tallied five sacks to add to its PSAC-leading total. Garrett Cox added one to boost his season total to 7 1/2, and he made 10 tackles for the sixth game in a row. 

Millersville plays at Kutztown on Saturday, Oct. 28.