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By Andy Sandrik, Sentinel Reporter, September 6, 2008

Last updated: Saturday, September 6, 2008 1:35 AM EDT

SHIPPENSBURG — It seems that every year, the Shippensburg football team has been creeping that much closer to earning a victory over the Northern Polar Bears.

On Friday, the Hounds inched even closer to the Polar Bears, but once again, they fell just short of their upset bid.

Trailing 3-0 after three quarters, Northern’s running game, absent for much of the game, was revived in the fourth quarter to score a pair of touchdowns and hand Shippensburg a 14-3 loss in the Mid-Penn Capital Division game at Shippensburg’s Memorial Park.

“This was an old-fashioned football game, both offenses had trouble punching the ball in,” Polar Bears coach Rick Mauck said. “This isn’t the old Shippensburg, it’s a new Shippensburg with a whole lot of heart.”

“Inching closer is not good enough, we didn’t come here to get closer. Nobody picked us to win, but we should’ve,” Ship coach Eric Foust said.

Foust’s team was certainly in position to win.

For nearly three quarters, the Greyhounds defense was almost inpenetrable, holding Northern star running back Robbie Bleiler to just 41 yards on 10 carries, which included long runs of 11 and 12 yards.

The lack of a consistent running game forced Polar Bear sophomore quarterback Joe Tuschak to put the ball in the air, sometimes even as early as first down. While he completed some passes to move Northern down the field, the Polar Bear offense couldn’t find the end zone.

And special teams were in Shippensburg’s favor. With 32 seconds remaining in the first half, kicker Michael Lloyd drilled a 43-yard field goal. With no time left on the clock in the first half, Northern kicker Jake Warner missed a 42-yard field goal.

The Greyhounds (1-1, 0-1 MPC Capital) came into halftime with momentum and the lead.

“Hank Sanders got us motivated to play at halftime,” Bleiler said. “He told us it was our game to win if we wanted it. He told us we’d have to take it because Shippensburg wasn’t just going to give it up.”

In the third quarter, the momentum began to shift, with Northern’s defense starting to assert itself. On Ship’s three possessions of the third quarter, Northern snagged an interception (from Luke Barricklow), recovered a fumbled snap and forced the Hounds to punt away after a three-and-out series.

Hounds running back Ethan Naylor (18 carries, 108 yards) was held to just 15 yards rushing in the second half.

“Naylor is a good back, we wanted to slow him down and see what other weapons they had,” Mauck said.

“Northern brought a lot of people and we couldn’t adjust,” Foust said. “We kept giving them the ball in such great field position, sooner or later you knew the dam would burst.”

Starting at their own 34 late in the third quarter, Northern (2-0, 1-0 MPC Capital) put together its game-winning drive. Changing gears from a pass-first style of play, the Polar Bears began to do what they couldn’t earlier in the game — pound the ball.

Northern backup fullback Jake Boone, coming in to replace an injured Isaiah Hicks, opened the drive with a 9-yard carry. He was followed by Bleiler, who promptly posted an 11-yard gain. The Polar Bears continued to run the ball, with a few passes sprinkled in, until they reached the Shippensburg 1-yard line. From there, Tuschak followed his center into the endzone on a sneak to put Northern ahead 7-3.

“Our quarterback stepped up, he’s only a sophomore, but he plays his heart out,” Bleiler said. “Everyone stepped up and our offensive line was creating holes.”

The ensuing Shippensburg possession consisted of four plays — a fumbled snap recovered by the offense, two incomplete passes and a punt.

Northern rode its wave of momentum and in one offensive play, Tuschak was able to put the Hounds away. Facing a third-and-4 Tuschak rolled to his right and lured the right side of the Shippensburg defensive line in. Tuschak then cut back and took off down the left side, with his blockers keeping the Hounds sealed in. Tuschak had one man to beat and he beat him, bolting 56 yards down the field for a score at 4:48 to give the Polar Bears a 14-3 lead.

Northern held on, forcing a punt and an interception in Shippensburg’s final two possessions.

Mauck applauded his defense, which held the Hounds to just 119 yards of total offense and allowed seven first downs, including just two in the second half.

“I’m proud of this defense,” Mauck said. “They were repeatedly making stops and forcing turnovers. Matt Murphy was a terror for us on defense.”

Northern hopes to keep its unbeaten season alive next week, when it travels to Milton Hershey for a 7 p.m. matchup.

Shippensburg will try to turn things around on Friday, when they play host to Greencastle-Antrim. Kickoff is at 7:30.

NOTES: The Hounds turned the ball over four times, twice by interception and twice by lost fumbles ... Ship quarterback Greg Boldosser was 2-of-12 for 15 yards ... Boldosser was the star punter of the game, legging out four boots of over 35 yards, including a 66-yard punt in the fourth quarter.