Bagent

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Shepherd avoided a stumble when it posted two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to edge homestanding Bloomsburg, 42-35, in a PSAC East Division game last Saturday.

The chilly conditions didn’t deter the teams from scoring. Shepherd had at least one touchdown in all four quarters, but couldn’t free itself from the upset-minded Huskies, who managed 21 points in the second quarter.

After a 21-21 duel through the first half, the teams began trading scores throughout the second half.

First it was Bloomsburg moving in front, 28-21, but the resilient Rams used running back Deonte Glover’s fourth rushing TD to get even at 28. Then with the Huskies once more on top, 35-28, receiver Devin Phelps took a touchdown throw from Tyson Bagent to make it 35-34. But the try for the extra point was blocked and the Huskies clung to a one-point lead.

Forcing a Bloomsburg punt on the next series, Shepherd moved steadily goalward and got a go-ahead score when Glover bolted across from the three. A two-point conversion pass from Bagent to Dylan Brewer boosted the Rams into a 42-35 lead. There was 5:31 remaining, when Glover counted his record-tying fifth score.

Glover

Bloomsburg moved again, but a fragmented drive that saw Shepherd penalized for both a personal foul and pass interference was often disrupted by three sacks from Kyle Smith. With 39 seconds left and Bloomsburg out of timeouts, Donnell Howard intercepted a pass at the eight to ruin the Huskies upset bid.

Glover’s touchdowns came on runs of 44, 8, 4, 3 and 3 yards. Bagent completed 30-of-39 passes for 336 yards. His one scoring throw was to Phelps. He was intercepted once and sacked twice.

Brewer had 13 receptions for 134 yards and Phelps had seven catches for 130 yards.

Defensively, Shepherd’s Ponce Deleon had 10 tackles and intercepted a pass. Chrys Lane also had 10 tackles and had one of Shepherd’s four sacks. Frankie Stevens and Scott Dixon each was credited with five tackles.

The Rams had 476 yards of total offense, while the Huskies, now 4-6 overall, were limited to 298 yards of offense.

Phelps

Numerous penalties — 11 for 110 yards — again troubled the Rams, now 8-2 overall with a regular season game remaining tomorrow at Ram Stadium at 12-noon against Seton Hill. Shepherd punted three times and was dealt severe field position poison because those three punts averaged only 19.3 per try.

Should Shepherd defeat Seton Hill, it will claim a playoff berth in the NCAA Division II Super Region One field and begin postseason play on Nov. 23.

The victory was Shepherd’s sixth straight, after it had a 2-2 start to the 2019 season.