Slippery Rock vs Shippensburg football what to know: Brayden Long’s return, DaOne Owens gets the start
SLIPPERY ROCK — Shippensburg and Slippery Rock have a long history on the football field.
When the two teams clash at 6 p.m. Saturday at Mihalik-Thompson Stadium, it will mark their 67th meeting since 1924. SRU holds a 42-22-4 edge in the series and has won 25 of the 32 contests at home.
SRU (2-0) coach Shawn Lutz is making his own mark in PSAC annals. The 10th-year head coach is 84-21 leading The Rock, and a win Saturday will tie him with Shippensburg coach Mark Maciejewski for second place in career victories among active conference coaches.
The teams have met just five times since 2007. SRU defeated the Raiders 33-7 at Shippensburg last season.
1. Brayden Long returns to Slippery Rock: SRU’s starting quarterback the past two years, Long is now an offensive assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for Shippensburg. He will be recognized in a brief private ceremony well before kickoff Saturday. Long will be presented his 2024-25 PSAC Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year and College Sports Communicators’ Division II Academic All-American of the Year awards.
“He’s been a tremendous addition to our staff,” Maciejewski said of Long. “Brayden has been working closely with our quarterback and is a big reason for the good start he’s experiencing.”
Raider sophomore signal-caller Riley Gunnels has thrown for 517 yards, three touchdowns and only one interception thus far. The 6-foot-4 sophomore is primarily a pocket passer.
“That kid can throw it, and they have good receivers,” Lutz said. “I’m sure Brayden’s been a good influence there and he knows the defense we run, which is the same as last year. We’ll change some signals on that side of the ball, but we won’t do too much different.
“It’s all about going out and playing football.”
While the passing game has worked for the Raiders, the running attack is a different story. Shippensburg (0-2) has rushed for only 146 net yards through two games, averaging 1.8 yards per carry. The Raiders have been defeated by Bowie State (23-7) and Clarion (31-24).
2. DaOne Owens steps in as starter: Redshirt freshman DaOne Owens came off the bench for The Rock to lead his team to a come-from-behind 35-28 overtime win over Shepherd last week. Owens threw for 56 yards and rushed for 46 and a touchdown in the final five minutes and OT, leading three touchdown drives.
Owens became the first freshman quarterback to play meaningful minutes in a SRU game since Augustus Necastro was forced into action due to injury late in the 2016 season. The last freshman quarterback to start and win a game for The Rock was Ryan O’Rourke, who defeated Lock Haven on Oct. 31, 2009.
“He’s a freshman, and he’s going to make some mistakes,” Lutz said of Owens. “We just have to live with them. DaOne gives us a big-time running threat, but he’s more than a running quarterback. That guy throws darts.
“I’m concerned about our running game a little bit. We’re not blocking anyone, and that obviously has top change. JayJay Jordan is a productive running back, and we want him running the ball more than DaOne. We have to keep our quarterback healthy.”
3. Tale of two defenses: While SRU has an experienced unit, Shippensburg starts five sophomores and a freshman on the defensive side of the ball.
“I’m not sure where our strength is defensively right now,” Maciejewski said. “All three phases of that unit are trying to come together. We have ability and athleticism there. We’re just young.”
Lutz said it had 16 missed tackles and did not force any turnovers last week.
“We’re playing well and we stiffened late in that (Shepherd) game,” Lutz said. “We need a few more impact plays is all. We can’t let Ship find its running game. We need to keep them one-dimensional, force that quarterback to throw the ball 40 times or so.”
Rock linebacker Teddy Gregory Jr. was named PSAC West Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against Shepherd. He amassed a career-high 15 tackle and made the stop on fourth-and-1 late that turned the game. Defensive end Brian Young Jr. had six tackles and 2.5 sacks against Shepherd, while tackles Trever Valenti and Nick Frisco combined for 15 tackles.
Cornerback Kanye Thompson had a career-high 10 tackles last week.
