Shepherd recipe for November success overwhelms Warriors

Beach
SHEPHERDSTOWN — Recipes come from many sources and in many combinations. Not all recipes are used in food preparation or cooking, some are for football success in November.
Shepherd had precisely an ideal recipe for winning in the crisp weather of November and used it well in rolling past conference rival East Stroudsburg, 55-7, before a hoping-to-stay-warm crowd of about 4,400 at Ram Stadium last week.
The Rams’ football recipe stirred in handfuls of ground yardage (193 yards) and about a ton of passing yardage (447 yards) to defuse the Warrior defense. There were 640 total yards heaped in pounds and not ounces on East Stroudsburg’s chances.
The 55 points came in bunches and not pinches or dashes. The six scoring passes of Tyson Bagent blended in with cupfuls of ball control. The only tablespoons or teaspoons needed were to measure the scant yardage the Ram defense meted out in nearly posting a shutout. The Warriors managed 38 ground yards, 85 passing yards and just 125 yards of total offense.
Shepherd heaped 35 first downs on the visitors, who responded with just six first downs. There were 84 offensive plays for the ball-control Rams. The Warriors had 45 offensive plays.

Moss
Added to the oft-seen Shepherd list of successful statistics was the scant 45 penalty yards that were assessed the now 9-1 Rams.
Shepherd planted itself in the middle of the NCAA Division II Super Region One mix for a playoff berth. Although it won’t be the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference champion, the Rams were already among the upper tier of teams vying for a playoff bid. The Division II playoffs begin on Nov. 20, a week after the Rams complete their regular season against winless Clarion tomorrow at noon at Ram Stadium. On the original Shepherd schedule was a Nov. 13 date with potent Slippery Rock. But “The Rock” defeated California last week to claim a berth in the PSAC title game to be staged tomorrow at Kutztown, the only team to tame Shepherd this season.
Against the Warriors, who now carry a 5-5 record into the season’s final week, Bagent threw for 437 yards and had scoring passes to Josh Gontarek (49 and 21 yards), Greg Leonard (five and 10 yards), Ryan Beach (28 yards) and Jonathan Moss (19 yards). His six TD passes left him with 42 touchdown throws for the season, breaking the single season Shepherd mark by two. He currently leads the nation in passing yards this season with 3,467 in his 10 games.
Gontarek showed eight catches for 195 yards and Ronnie Brown had Shepherd’s lone rushing TD and totaled 102 ground yards on nine carries. Brown has averaged 10.1 yards per carry this season.
Shepherd’s improving team defense often had multiple tacklers aimed at any Warrior ball carrier and contained pass receptions to short yardage in forcing a steady stream of rugby-style punts from the struggling East Stroudsburg offense.

Leonard
It was a day without a meaningful wind and that soothed the crowd in the 47-degree game-time temperature.
The surging Rams and their November-based recipe gave them a 48-point win and left them poised to accept a bid to the 2021 playoffs.

Bagent