From 1992 through 2000, Slippery Rock University's football team put together nine successive victories over Shippensburg.

Since then, Ship has righted the ship.

The Red Raiders (4-5, 2-3) come to N. Kerr Thompson Stadium for a 1 p.m. kickoff Saturday having defeated The Rock three of the past four years.

How will this year's game turn out? It's anybody's guess.

"We're both young football teams and we've both played tough schedules," Shippensburg coach Rocky Rees said.

And they both need to this game to maintain hope of a .500 season.

"That's what's important to us right now," said SRU defensive line coach Shawn Lutz. "We don't want another losing record. We need to break that trend."

The Rock finished 4-7 in each of the past two years after putting together 12 consecutive winning campaigns.

It will be facing a Red Raider team that last week had only one starter on offense who started for the team last year.

That player is junior quarterback Tony Gomez, who has completed 82 of 186 passes for 1,044 yards, seven touchdowns and four interceptions. And he doesn't play all of the time.

"We put (senior) Rick Henshaw in sometimes for a change of pace," Rees said. "Tony plays a more conservative type of game while Rick is a riverboat gambler who's not afraid to throw deep and risk interceptions.

"The flow of the game will dictate who's in there most."

Aaron Dykes (529 yards) and Walter Crump (332 yards) represent two-thirds of the Red Raiders' Wing-T backfield. Crump also leads the team in catches with 33 for 340 yards.

Sophomore Howard Chavous is Ship's most productive receiver with 30 catches for 473 yards.

"We haven't faced a Wing-T offense all year and that makes it dangerous," Lutz said. "It's a tough offense to simulate in practice when you haven't seen it."

"Our top two receivers haven't played this year because of injuries," Rees said. "We only have six seniors on the team and only two of them start."

One of those is the punter. The other is cornerback, kick returner and punt returner Brent Grimes, an All-America candidate.

Grimes leads the team with four interceptions, averages 14.4 yards on punt returns and 29.5 yards on kickoff returns. He also returned a kick for a touchdown.

"He's special," Rees said. "NFL scouts have been watching him. He's good enough to get to the next level."

With Grimes and SRU's Josh Kniess returning kicks and punts, special teams bear watching Saturday.

Kniess is averaging 17.6 yards on punt returns and 30.5 yards on two kickoff returns. He needs 175 yards rushing to secure his second consecutive 1,000-yard season.

Kniess also needs 262 all-purpose yards to break D.J. Flick's career record of 4,794 at Slippery Rock.

"Kniess has come into his own this year," Rees said. "He's really become a force in this league."

Colin Golden has emerged at H-back for The Rock, pulling in 37 catches for 428 yards. He had 105 yards in receptions last week at Edinboro.

Nate Crookshank has completed 99 of 192 passes for 1,319 yards, five touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

"Their linebackers move well to the ball," SRU offensive coordinator Vic Campagna said. "That's a strong, active defense and we need to run the ball effectively to set up the pass."

The Rock defense has created only 12 turnovers on six interceptions and six fumble recoveries this season. Corey Lacek leads the team with 12 tackles for loss and eight quarterback sacks.

Safety Brandon Rakszawski leads the team with 53 tackles, including 33 solo stops.

Shippensburg has the edge in consistent kicking. Jamie Reder has connected on 14 of 15 field goal attempts, including three from beyond 40 yards.

SRU's Ryan Daniel is just six of 13 on the season, including three misses from less than 40 yards.