Both teams opened with sound offensive game plans. Shepherd took the opening kickoff and marched 63 yards in seven minutes to take a 7-0 lead. The Golden Rams answered with a long touchdown drive of their own - 74 yards in five minutes - highlighted by a Future Robertson (11 carries, 79 yards) 38-yard run and capped by an Isaiah Wright 1-yard score to tie the game at seven. Just like that, the first quarter was over. And so was much of the West Chester offense on this evening.
The O line opens a hole for Mic Johnson (Photo Chuck Greco)Shepherd doubled down, taking ten minutes to go 75 yards to take a 14-7 lead. The Golden Rams were unable to equalize and were forced to punt. Then Shepherd was facing fourth-and-14 from their own 33 with 1:21 left in the half and West Chester called a timeout. In a game where it's clear that possessions are going to be at premium, that can be a good strategy. But Shepherd has one of the best punters in the country and booted it 50 yards to the WCU 17. When the Golden Ram offense subsequently sputtered, Shepherd called their timeouts while on defense, which resulted in them getting the ball back on their own 35 with 37 seconds left. The Rams swiftly moved to the WCU 23, but their 40-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left. While it was much ado about nothing, after such a speedy first quarter, the second quarter seemed to take forever. The teams retreated to their locker rooms with Shepherd leading 14-7.
Isaiah Wright goes up and over for the Golden Rams' opening score After going 5 of 6 for just 23 yards in the first half, Colin O'Sullivan (16 of 20, 120 yards, 1 TD, 1 int) finally took a shot downfield to start the third quarter. Unfortunately, the ball was intercepted by Shepherd at the WCU 9. This time the Rams only needed four minutes to go 91 yards and take a 21-7 lead. West Chester's next possession only went 22 yards before reserve/running quarterback Tyler Douglas lost a fumble. Fortunately, the Golden Ram defense forced their only three-and-out of the game, but another great Shepherd punt went 51 yards and pinned West Chester at its own 7-yard line.
A.J. Sanders' QB hurry setup a third and long (Photo Chuck Greco)Facing fourth-and-five from their own 29, the Golden Rams lined up to punt, but instead ran a fake with Nick Rogers getting the ball. One more block may have sprung him, however he only gained three yards and Shepherd took over in West Chester territory. This time it didn't take long for Shepherd to puncture the end zone and go up 28-7 early in the fourth quarter.
Ronnell McCorn envelops the Shepherd QB for a 5-yard loss (Photo Chuck Greco)Now the Golden Ram offense moved with urgency. And it was quite effective. While everyone in the offense was involved, the primary target was Reese Clark (4 catches, 41 yards, 1 TD) who made all four of his catches in the game on the drive including a hard fought, tackle breaking catch for a 10-yard touchdown. With the score closed to 28-14 and having just scored quickly, West Chester was feeling some confidence with nine minutes remaining. But the Shepherd Ram offense consumed the remainder of the clock to end the game.
Bryan Anderson upends a Ram receiver (Photo Chuck Greco)While West Chester committed two turnovers which led to seven Shepherd points, there were two glaring issues. The Golden Ram offense had just two pass plays that went longer than ten yards - a 15-yard catch by Ryan Johnston and a 12-yard reception by Clark - and only one run over ten yards. The second issue was the inability of the West Chester defense to get off the field. On three possessions, Shepherd had the ball for 7:35, 10:04 and 9:20 leading to a 36-23 advantage in time of possession. Shepherd ran 16 more plays, rolled up 213 yards on the ground (5.2 avg), didn't turn the ball over, and was successful on 9 of 11 third-down plays.
Reese Clark extends into the end zone (Photo Chuck Greco)Notes - Center Connor Tuk was not dressed and was replaced in the starting lineup by Anthony Aviles. When Aviles left the game with an injury in the second half, Richard Pohorilenko finished the game at center...reserve offensive lineman Joey Svoboda and fullback Mitch Ragni were not dressed...defensive tackle Anthony Delle Donne led West Chester with nine tackles while defensive back Miles Goodwin registered eight stops.
Ryan Johnston uses a stiff arm to get more yards (Photo Chuck Greco)West Chester Athletic Site - Shepherd Tops West Chester Football, 28-14
Shepherd Athletic Site - Shepherd Football Knocks Off West Chester
Golden Rams Review - Photo Album - Shepherd
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