SHIPPENSBURG — In an opener that was called “Week Zero” by Shippensburg coach Eric Foust, both the Greyhounds and Dover played a sloppy football game on Friday.

But just because it was sloppy doesn’t mean it wasn’t entertaining.

Ship and the Eagles traded power punches at Veteran’s Stadium, but the Hounds came away with more big plays and a 35-28 non-league victory.

“We’re not out making excuses, because we did get the win, but I’ve said it from the start that this shortened schedule was a problem,” Foust said. “We had injuries, penalties and sloppy plays, but at the end of the day, everyone had to deal with it, and we came away with the win.”

Ship (1-0) wasted no time getting things going. Adam Houser started things off on the second play of the game with a 31-yard touchdown run. After an interception by Greyhound linebacker Nick Weltz, Houser followed with another long score. This time from 52 yards out. He tacked on another 85-yard score in the third quarter that put Ship up 35-14 in what ultimately was the deciding touchdown. Houser finished with 166 yards on just 12 carries and also added an interception on defense.

Houser said, “The line just did a great job of opening holes for me. My job is to just be patient, and when those guys do the work they did tonight, my job is easy.”

But Dover (0-1) came right back with big plays of its own. On a 3rd and long on its own 20, quarterback Justin Johnson hit Dallas Evans on a streak down the sideline for an 80-yard score. After the Eagles turned the ball over on downs on its next drive, their defense forced Ship to punt and blocked the kick. Johnson scored on a quarterback sneak three plays later to tie the game at 14.

After Houser’s second score, Dover started to key on the senior running back, holding him to just one yard on his next five carries, but Shippensburg countered with Alex Sharrow.

The Greyhounds ran the play Houser scored on but instead reversed it to Sharrow, and it opened up big holes. On his first run, Sharrow sprinted around the left side and had open field ahead. He cut inside to make a defender miss, and he bobbled the ball while breaking the tackle. As Sharrow went for the end zone, he was hit by another Eagle defender and ball came free, rolling out of bounds in the end zone for a Dover touchback instead of a touchdown.

Sharrow said, “I just had to let it go. My coaches and teammates picked me back up, and I was able to get right back out there.”

After a Dover punt, Ship ran the same exact play, and Sharrow didn’t fumble this time, going 53 yards for a touchdown with less than two minutes until halftime. On the following Eagle possession, Jacob Keyes intercepted Johnson, and Sharrow hit the big play again, bursting for a 37-yard score on the same reverse play to send Shippensburg into halftime with a 28-14 lead. Sharrow finished the game with six carries for 157 yards.

“Alex is a smaller back, but he hits the hole fast and is quick,” Foust said.

The Greyhounds got burned in the second half in nearly the same way they got beat in the first. Late in the third quarter, Ship was forced to punt from its own 17 after a three and out, but they muffed the snap, and Dover took over on the 23-yard line. Two plays later, Brandon Lawyer cut it to 35-21 with a nine-yard touchdown run.

With less than three minutes left in the game, Ship’s secondary again gave up a long touchdown pass to Johnson and Evans, this time from 82 yards out, to make it a one-score game.

“We just have to clean some things up. The fact is that we beat a good team tonight. I think Dover has as much talent as almost any other team we will play this season,” Foust said. “I don’t like that we couldn’t be as prepared as we should have been, but we still got the win. That’s the message to the players.”

Shippensburg rushed 31 times as a team for 369 yards. Sophomore quarterback Zack Manning attempted just five passes, completing one for 12 yards. Keyes finished with two interceptions as the Ship defense totaled four picks as a team.

For Dover, Johnson was 12-for-29 for 266 yards and three touchdowns (one rushing, two passing). Evans had two catches for 162 yards and added three rushes for 24 yards. Lawyer totaled 97 yards on 20 carries.

Shippensburg 35, Dover 28
Dover – 7 – 7 – 7 – 7 — 28
Shippensburg – 14 – 14 – 7 – 0 — 35
First Quarter
S — Adam Houser 31 run (Rob West Kick), 8:31
S — Houser 53 run (West Kick), 4:27
D — Dallas Evans 80 pass from Justin Johnson (Devin Crone kick), 2:53
Second Quarter
D — Johnson 1 run (Crone kick), 5:07
S — Alex Sharrow 53 run (West kick), 1:45
S — Sharrow 37 run (West kick), 0:02
Third Quarter
D — Brandon Lawyer 9 run (Crone kick), 2:50
S — Houser 85 run (West kick), 2:35
Fourth Quarter
D — Evans 82 pass from Johnson (Crone kick), 2:31
TEAM STATISTICS
First Downs: D 15; S 9. Rushes-yards: S 41-152; S 31-369. Passing: D 12-29-4; S 1-5-0. Passing Yards: D 266; S 12. Penalties-yards: D 11-91; S 7-57. Punts-yards: D, 2-32; S 4-33.5. Fumbles-lost: D 0-0; S 1-1
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: Dover, Lawyer 20-97, Alex Shaffer 5-29, Evans 3-24, Johnson, 12-2, Cameron Fetrow 1-0; Shippensburg, Houser 12-166, Sharrow 6-157, Kyler Brown 12-48, Zach Manning 1-(-2).
Passing: Dover, Johnson 12-29-4, 266 yards; Shippensburg, Manning 1-5-0, 12 yards.
Receiving: Dover, Evans 2-162, Shane Klinedinst 1-27, Bryce Miller, 4-25, David Patterson 1-19, Shaun Hinkle 2-14, Lawyer 1-10, Fetrow 1-9; Shippensburg, Brown 1-12.