SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - A 91-yard kickoff return from JQ Brown and three passing touchdowns from Ryan Zeltt were not enough for Millersville as Shippensburg piled up its most yards and points since 2021 for a 41-28 win over the Marauders. 

Shippensburg entered Saturday's game averaging 8.2 points per game, had scored 10 points in the previous three games, and had not scored more than 24 points in five games. But Riley Gunnels shredded Millersville for 412 yards and four touchdowns on 27 of 44 passing. Two of his receivers topped the century mark. The Raiders' drives were methodical and effective. They punted just twice, scored on six of their first eight possessions, and recorded eight drives of at least 57 yards. 

"We continue to have the same type of breakdowns game in and game out," said Millersville's interim head coach Brian Ferguson. "It's eye discipline. It's the little details like not jumping off sides and filling your gap. The whole thing we are trying to do in these last six, now five games, is play fast, physical, with discipline and character. Right now the defense is not playing physical enough. We have to compete on deep balls and not let teams score on those. I have to find kids who want to play and meet that vision and go to battle with those kids, whether they are young players or have been here. Our goal is to find those players and get them to improve."

Despite not being able to slow the Raiders, Millersville closed to within striking distance in the third quarter. Zeltt connected with Nakhi Bullock for a 77-yard catch-and-run, resulting in Bullock's first career TD, Millersville's longest play from scrimmage this season, and a 20-13 deficit. 

The Raiders turned the ball over on downs at the Millersville 18, giving Millersville the chance to even the score. The Marauders pushed to the Raiders' 49 but came up empty on a second-and-three pass and lost two yards on a third-and-three rush.  After the punt, Gunnels found Ty Neal for an 86-yard touchdown connection, all but ending Millersville's hopes. It was a similar scenario to the opening salvo of the game when Shippensburg kicked a field goal, and with a chance to answer back, Millersville missed its try in the red zone. 

"It started with the first possession," said Ferguson. "(Shippensburg) marched down and kicked a field goal. We had a great explosive run, got the ball into the fringe of the red zone, got it to third and three, and we have to convert that. That's one area we've struggled. We can move the ball against any team, but we have to come away with points in the red zone. We answered the drive but didn't come away with points. Offensively, we can't worry about if the defense is getting stops or how many snaps we get in the first half. We just have to finish drives. Shippensburg wasn't going to allow us to throw the ball deep, so we had to do a good job of hitting intermediate routes and running the ball."

Zeltt completed 23 of 37 passes, finding 10 different receivers. In addition to Bullock, Colin Hastings, and Kam Taylor made TD catches. Despite averaging 4.4 yards per carry, Millersville's run game could not find its rhythm. Isaiah Emmanuel accounted for 58 of the 70 yards on one first-quarter carry. Still, Millersville has scored at least 23 points in five of the season's first six games for the first time since 2000. 

The game concluded a challenging week for a Millersville team that had a change in leadership just six days earlier, with Ferguson becoming interim head coach as part of the first mid-season coaching change in program history. 

"It was an emotional week for the players and the coaches," said Ferguson. "But I thought the kids responded really, really well. I changed the way we practiced this week, trying to get it a little more up-tempo, and we saw some energy and passion come back for the players. We had a great week of practice. The players were locked in, and you could feel something different in the air. It is emotionally draining after this loss because we all believed we were going to come out and win this game. We didn't get it done, but we have to find a way to keep the kids engaged and encouraged. I want coaches enjoying coming to work and coaches enjoying coming to meetings. I have to get enjoyment back into the game of football for them, and it is hard when you lose. That's my task, figuring out how you get the joy back. Let's have fun and finish the season playing to the vision of fast, physical, with discipline and character."

Millersville faces a stiff test on Oct. 18 with a road game at No. 3 Kutztown.