SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Senior quarterback Nigel Barksdale passed for four touchdowns and 304 yards Saturday night to lead hosting Slippery Rock University (2-0) to a 58-38 win over Shippensburg (0-2) in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference “crossover” action at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium.
Barksdale completed 19 of 25 pass attempts without throwing an interception or being sacked. Barksdale connected with 10 different receivers, headlined by senior wide receiver John Schademan, who caught five passes for 109 yards and two TDs (30 and 18 yards).
Redshirt freshman running back Shamar Greene rushed for a game-high 117 yards on 15 carries, including a 61-yard TD sprint on the game’s second play.
Greene’s TD run helped catapult The Rock to a 30-0 lead after 20 minutes of action. That proved to be too much for Shippensburg to overcome.
But the Red Raiders made it interesting as they scored 21 unanswered points to open the second-half of action and turn what was a 44-10 Rock lead into a 44-31 difference.
Senior quarterback Zach Zulli, the reigning NCAA Division II national Player of the Year, engineered Shippensburg’s comeback effort. Zulli finished the game with 340 passing yards on a 32-of-65 effort with three TD tosses. Zulli was sacked four times.
Junior wide receiver Sheldon Mayer caught nine passes for 71 yards and one TD and classmate Trevor Harman had eight catches for 120 yards and one TD to lead Shippensburg’s receiving effort.
The Rock ended the game with a 513-394 advantage in total offense behind a 209-yard rushing effort and Barksdale’s 304 passing yards. Shippensburg gained only 41 yards on rushing attempts.
SRU travels to Gannon for a noon kickoffnext Saturday to open its PSAC-Western Division schedule, while Shippensburg hosts East Stroudsburg in a PSAC-Eastern Division contest.
Notes: The Rock have now scored 50 or more points in their first two games each of the last three seasons … Barksdale set a new SRU record for most passing yards in back-top-back games. He has thrown for 769 yards and 10 touchdowns this fall.
