SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV – Shepherd's Jeff Gontarek caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Tyson Bagent in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter and then the hosts held on down the stretch to come away with a 42-38 victory over visiting West Chester at Shepherd Stadium Saturday afternoon.
The teams traded three touchdowns in the second half with the lead changing hands each time. However, it was the host Rams that scored last to pull out the win over the visiting Golden Rams. West Chester (5-3, 3-2 PSAC East) got a pair of TD catches over 35 yards from
Seth Degree (Philadelphia, Pa./West Catholic), but it was not enough against nationally ranked Shepherd (7-1, 4-1). Degree finished with career highs in the major categories, hauling in seven passes for 122 yards and his two scores of 35 and 39 yards.
Shane Dooley (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) finished 20 of 30 for 276 yards and a career-best five TD passes. Perhaps more importantly, he did not throw an interception. His five TD tosses went to four different receivers. Dooley also ran for 41 yards, despite being sacked five times.
Shepherd's defense held West Chester's high-powered running attack to well under it's season average (157 yards) and the Golden Rams did not score a rushing touchdown in a game for the first time this year. So., RB
Ja'Den McKenzie (Morton, Pa./Springfield) rushed for just 83 yards. He caught an 18-yard TD pass from Dooley in the first quarter.
West Chester travels to Lock Haven next Saturday for another PSAC contest against the Bald Eagles.
