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SHIPPENSBURG --- The Lock Haven Bald Eagles, coming off of their first winning season in 50 years, start their 2026 off with a bang, beating Shippensburg on the road in a 24-16 thriller. After falling behind 9-0 in the first half, coach Joe Battaglia's team caught fire, outsourcing the Raiders 24-7 the rest of the way to earn their first win of the new season.
Going into the contest there were questions on who would trot out there for the (1-0) Bald Eagles, and it was Millersville transfer Rob Footman Jr. who got the nod. Footman's in-conference experience, on top of his ability to make plays with his legs, proved to be the deciding factor. Footman would also be getting plays from new offensive coordinator Jeri Petite Jr, who this season was promoted after serving as Lock Haven's offensive line coach for the past five years.
While on one side the Bald Eagles were preparing for life with a new QB, on the other the (0-1) Shippensburg Raiders were entering a whole new era under first-year coach Drew Gallardy. For 15 years the Raiders captain was the legendary coach Mark Maciejewski, who announced his retirement in November of 2025. Gallardy served as the offensive line coach under Gallardy since 2024 before his promotion to the head role.
With all this new on both sides there was no idea what to expect from either side, but when kickoff commenced it was the Raiders who fired the first shots.
After receiving the opening kick the Bald Eagles went a quick three and out and punted, before Shippensburg rattled off a ludicrous 22 play drive that took almost the entirety of the first quarter. Despite the drive taking over 13 minutes of game time the Raiders only managed a 37-yard field goal to open the scoring at 3-0. On the next Haven possession running back Tucker Teats lost a fumble that the opportunistic Ship defense jumped on to get possession back. Shortly after, quarterback Roman Jensen found receiver Caiden Pines on a crosser in the back of the endzone to make the score 9-0 after a blocked extra point by Jaeion Perry.
On the ensuing drive the Bald Eagles offense found themselves into Raiders territory thanks to Footman finding recovers on the run, but a costly interception gave the ball away for the second time on as many possessions. Both defenses settled into a nice form as the offenses sputtered. With time winding down in the second quarter Lock Haven needed a spark, and with Footman going just 4-12 through the air so far, they turned to their cavalier backup quarterback Carson Nagle.
Nagle, a redshirt freshman from Bald Eagle Area, provided much more than just a spark, as on just his second play from scrimmage he dropped a 26-yard TD into the waiting arms of Mekhi Watson. Watson made an incredible toe tap catch in the back of the endzone for the score, closing the gap to 9-7 as both teams went into the first half locker rooms.
"We all knew once we scored before the half to make it 7-9 that we just had to play our brand of football in the second half." coach Battaglia said when talking about the mood in the halftime locker room. "Offensively we just kept shooting ourselves in the foot. It was our first taste of adversity this season. Im proud of the way we responded."
The Bald Eagles certainly responded in a big way, as in the final 30 minutes the Haven took control, scoring on their first two drives coming out of the half. Caden Bauer drilled a 29-yard field goal, before Nagle found receiver Artie-Poindexter for a five yard score to make it a 17-9 game.
The fourth quarter was much of the same, as after forcing a turnover on downs deep in Haven territory, the Bald Eagles mounted an 11 play, 75-yard drive capped off by an Ezequiel Johnson touchdown. Shippensburg would score another time late in the fourth, but it was too little too late as the Bald Eagles held on to win 24-16.
After the game coach Battaglia talked about his decision to switch quarterbacks, and what it will look like next week.
"We were sputtering through the first quarter." Battaglia said, "And we needed a jolt. It’s pretty cool his (Nagle) first pass was a touchdown. I’ll make the decision this week about what it looks like moving forward."
Next week the Bald Eagles will travel up to Springfield, Massachusetts to take on American International college. Kickoff for that game will be at 3 p.m.