Greer

But that is what Shepherd University did when it traveled to New England, to open its 2024 football season with a 23-0 blanking of Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU).

The Sept. 5 game in the evening at Jess Dow Field saw the Rams provided with a 70-degree setting and a sparkling statistical sheet that had few mistakes.

The Rams had 20 first downs to only 10 for the homestanding Owls. There were only three penalties assessed the Rams.

With 270 rushing yards (as opposed to SCSU’s 68 yards) Shepherd had most of its 400 yards of total offense. The Owls managed only 179 yards of total offense against the shutout-pitching Shepherd defense.

Batten

In ceding only 179 total yards as a team, the Shepherd defense leaned heavily on individuals Klayton Batten (eight tackles), Miles Greer (six tackles and the game’s only sack), Brodie Carroll (six tackles), JT Kouame-Yao (five tackles) and first-year starters Cole Scott and Joseph Groves.

It was a safety forced by the Rams that actually opened the scoring. A Shepherd punt was downed at the Owl one. Then forcing a punt without giving up a first down, the Rams went ahead, 2-0, when the snap to the kicker sailed out of the back of the end zone for a safety.

That score remained in place until the second quarter, when Malakai Brown went 55 yards for a score that extended the lead out to 9-0.

With about 30 seconds left in the first half, first-year starting quarterback Lek Powell found Jeremiah Taylor on a 16-yard scoring throw to push the Shepherd lead to 16-0 at the half.

Shepherd had not given up a sack. And wouldn’t in the second half, either.

Groves

The lone score in the second half came when an extended nine-play, 78-yard march was finalized by a TD pass of five yards to Jack Rosnage from Powell.

Brown helped wear down the Owl defense with 163 ground yards on 19 carries — a 8.6 yards-per-carry showing. Grant Swinehart, in his first season, had 88 yards on 14 carries. Powell threw 19 times and completed 11 for 130 yards and the two scores.

Tomorrow, the Rams are at home for the first time, facing nationally ranked Slippery Rock University in an obvious step-up in opponent’s talent.

Slippery Rock defeated the University of New Haven (Connecticut), 22-7, in its season opener.

A better-than-2023 defense was the hallmark of that win. Both Slippery Rock and New Haven were stung by frequent penalties and mistakes throughout the first quarter, but “The Rock” seemed to settle into its usually seen form as the game moved through the last three quarters.

Kouame-Yao

A playoff-giving 12-win season had Slippery Rock in the national spotlight throughout much of the 2023 season. It lost only twice — both times to Kutztown University, the second time along the way in the NCAA Division II national playoffs.

Game time tomorrow is at noon. The winner will, no doubt, gain additional national attention and a ranking that further opens the eyes of the voters in Super Region One.

Scott