BILL SMITH/Shippensburg University
Shippensburg quarterback Brycen Mussina (16) and guard Crae McCracken (left) compete in a game earlier this season against Slippery Rock. Mussina, a Montoursville graduate, and McCracken, a Loyalsock graduate, once competed against each other as rivals. Now they’re teammates and roommates.

Over a three-year span, McCracken and Mussina’s teams clashed four times, including in the 2014 District 4 Class AA championship. How ironic then that McCracken now is protecting Mussina. McCracken and Mussina made competitive rivals.

Now they are making better teammates.

McCracken and Mussina are helping Shippensburg feature one of the PSAC’s top offenses as redshirt freshmen, and both shined Saturday at Hubert Jack Stadium as the Red Raiders defeated Lock Haven, 56-37. McCracken helped Shippensburg pile up 513 yards and Mussina threw for 282 yards and five touchdowns. Williamsport graduate Jalen Jackson and Hughesville graduate Alex Welch also had big games for Lock Haven, scoring two touchdowns and making 10 tackles, respectively.

“It’s definitely something you don’t expect. I knew him in high school but we were not close,” Mussina said. “We kept in touch about football after high school. When he said he liked Ship a lot, I kind of knew that was where I was going to go because they had shown a lot of interest in me in high school. It’s helped a lot having him here. It’s crazy how it’s worked out, but it’s been fun.”

Following his 2016 all-state season at Loyalsock, McCracken went to Penn State as a preferred walk-on. Mussina went to Lafayette, but both transferred last winter and now the former rivals have come together. They are not just teammates, but also roommates. Together, they are making the present and future look good at Shippensburg, and both have made huge impacts in their debut seasons.

“We always bring up stories from high school and how we played against each other,” McCracken, a left guard, said. “It’s kind of funny how we were big enemies and now we’re living together and playing on the same team. I love blocking for him. He’s a huge leader on the team already. I enjoy it a lot.”

Shippensburg is enjoying having McCracken and Mussina starting. Mussina has quickly become one of the PSAC’s top quarterbacks, completing 60.8 percent of his passes for 2,933 yards and 28 touchdowns. He performed well in rainy weather Saturday and was dominant in the second half when he completed 11 of 14 passes for 157 yards and four touchdowns as Shippensburg rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit and scored 42 points.

Mussina joined McCracken on the 2016 Class AAA all-state team and is doing his best to earn conference all-star honors during his redshirt freshman season. The 6-foot-5 quarterback threw for 348 yards and four touchdowns in his first collegiate start and has not slowed down since. He has topped 200 yards in all nine games while also throwing at least one touchdown in every game. Mussina has recorded eight multi-touchdown games and has been at his best the last two weeks, throwing for 792 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Shippensburg features an up-tempo, pass-friendly offense and Mussina has embraced it since arriving on campus, working his way up the depth chart, putting together an excellent spring game and earning the starting job. He is still learning, still growing, but Mussina already has produced the fourth-highest single-season passing total in program history.

“This is a quarterback’s dream. You can pretty much do what you want and coach does a good job of letting the quarterbacks have input. All the quarterbacks are close so there’s no tension and everyone helps each other,” Mussina said. “It’s a really fun offense to run. You have a lot of responsibility on your shoulder every play with making reads. With the offense we run you have to make a read almost every play. It’s high-risk, high-reward. You have to make plays and have to make it happen.”

Mussina did that throughout the second half, throwing touchdowns on Shippensburg’s first two second-half possessions. He then helped Shippensburg put the game away in the fourth quarter, making an excellent 26-yard throw on the run for a touchdown and launching a 53-yard strike for the clinching score.

“I tried to come into camp with a good mindset and take it one day at a time and stay focused on learning the offense and making plays whenever I can and making a good impression,” Mussina said. “That was a fun experience trying to earn a spot again. I learned a lot through the whole process. I learned a ton at Lafayette, but I’m very glad I’m here.”

So is McCracken.

The four-year Loyalsock starter has provided some punishing blocking all season, helping Shippensburg average 31 points and 434 yards per game. The 6-3, 300-pounder is athletic enough to provide quality pass blocking and strong enough to wear on opposing defensive linemen to open the ground game. That was evident again yesterday as he helped Shippensburg score on six of seven second-half possessions.

Shippensburg ran the ball effectively as it threw it. Raleigh Sirb ran for a career-high 152 yards and did some of his best running on McCracken’s left side. Shippensburg finished with a season-high 231 rushing yards.

“He’s a heck of a player. He’s strong as any of them up there and he has good mobility and is athletic. He is definitely a guy I can rely on all the time,” Mussina said. “I can rely on him a lot and he’s a very good run blocker also. He’s improved a lot and I’m sure he’s going to keep improving.”

Welch and Jackson are doing the same. Welch is a redshirt sophomore linebacker and was flying around the field against Shippensburg, making a career-high 10 tackles. Welch helped Hughesville reach the District 4 Class AA semifinals as a senior two years after it had won one game. He is combining with Jackson to help Lock Haven experience a similar turnaround and is averaging 5.8 tackles per game, while adding 4 1/2 tackles for loss and forcing three fumbles.

Jackson not only is emerging as one of Lock Haven’s best offensive weapons, but as a team leader. The sophomore tight end was outstanding yesterday, catching four passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Jackson scored on a 79-yard play and made both a one-handed catch and an over-the-shoulder grab.

Like Welch, Jackson (33 catches, 361 yards) helped his high school team experience a huge turnaround. He earned all-state honors in 2016 when Williamsport went 12-2, captured a district championship and reached the state quarterfinals. Although just a sophomore, Jackson is a two-year starter and one of the team’s more experienced players. He is setting a tone and good things could be coming if his teammates follow.

“When the opportunity presents itself I try and make the most of each one. That was what I did today,” Jackson said. “I learned a lot playing as a freshman last year and I wanted to build on top of that. I try to lead by example and with how I play.”