Shepherd football downs WV State, 37-7
Senior running back Tommy Addison (Germantown, Md./Quince Orchard) rushed 17 times for 66 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead Shepherd University to a 37-7 win over West Virginia State in WVIAC football action at Ram Stadium on Saturday.
Shepherd took a 7-0 lead with 13:05 left in the first quarter when Addison scored on a one-yard plunge. Senior kicker Eric Dobratz (Woodbridge, Va./Potomac) added the extra point.
Addison added an eight-yard scoring run with 8:17 left in the first quarter to increase the Shepherd lead to 14-0.
Dobratz connected on a 36-yard field goal with 7:53 left in the second quarter to give the Rams a 17-0 lead at the break.
Shepherd increased its lead to 23-0 with 12:17 to go in the third quarter when redshirt freshman wide receiver William McKenzie (Upper Marlboro, Md./Frederick Douglass) blocked a punt and redshirt-freshman outside linebacker Levi Barber (Alexandria, Va./Edison) scooped it up and returned it 33 yards for a score.
Junior quarterback Bobby Cooper (Davidsonville, Md./South River) teamed with junior wide receiver Larry Lowe (Stafford, Va./Brooke Point) on 32-yard scoring play minutes later to give Shepherd a 30-0 advantage.
LeFloyd Phillips scored on a two-yard run for the Yellow Jackets with 1:18 left in the third quarter to cut the lead to 30-7.
Sophomore running back Kenny Williams (Elgin, Ill./Eastern Illinois) plowed his way into the end zone from one yard out with 10:17 left in the game to complete the scoring.
Cooper completed 16-of-22 passes for 219 yards for the Rams. Ricky Phillips connected on 13-of-25 passes for 139 yards for the Yellow Jackets.
Kenny Williams rushed for a game-high 90 yards on 12 carries for the Rams. Fabian Payne had three carries for 43 yards to lead the Yellow Jackets.
Senior wide receiver Neal Hardie (Alexandria, Va./West Potomac) had four catches for 53 yards, while junior wide receiver Robert Byrd (Alexandria, Va./West Potomac/Troy) added three receptions for 65 yards for Shepherd. Ervin Kent had four catches for 79 yards to pace State.
Shepherd accumulated 443 yards of total offense while limiting West Virginia State to 133 total yards. The Rams yielded only -6 rushing yards.
Senior cornerback Elijah Davis (Silver Spring, Md./Wheaton) recorded seven tackles to lead the Rams. Tyler Long had nine tackles with three tackles-for-loss and a sack to lead the Yellow Jacket defense.
Shepherd improves to 6-2, 4-2 in WVIAC play, while West Virginia State falls to 1-6, 1-4. The Rams return to action next Saturday when they host Bowie State at noon for Senior Day.