Kutztown, which has never lost at Ram Stadium, had a pronounced edge in time of possession, keeping its offense on-field for 41:19, as compared with Shepherd’s limited 18:41 of possession time.

The gloomy and dank weather had a game-long effect on what happened. Shepherd, which had escaped earlier close calls against Southern Connecticut State University, Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Western University, California in fair-weather games, couldn’t generate much offense and only three points in the wet going against the highly motivated Golden Bears.

Twice recovering Shepherd fumbles inside the Ram 20 led to a pair of first-half scores that had Kutztown ahead, 6-0, by halftime.

Even first downs became as scarce as dry hands for the Rams, who stayed close behind their defense. When was the last time in the modern era that any Shepherd team could manage only eight first downs? And Shepherd’s total offense yardage measured just 189 yards, with less than 100 passing yards.

The huddled crowd wasn’t buoyed by any wonderous special teams play by the Rams, who had touchdowns on both kickoff and punt returns in the first three games. Even the three turnovers the Rams wrested from Kutztown that livened things momentarily with near-perfect field position were not capitalized on by the mostly-dormant offense.

The Rams were kept without a touchdown for the first time in 28 consecutive seasons. The last time any Shepherd team failed to notch a touchdown came in the 1994 season.

Kicking specialist Dawson Evitts (two first-half field goals) and slippery quarterback Judd Novak were the most influential Kutztown players. Even in the wet conditions, Novak was able to provide a calming and productive light for the mostly-harnessed Kutztown offense.

Shepherd had enough defense to win most PSAC games, with Enelio Pena, Omari Terry, JT Kouame-Yao and Dewayne Grantham providing it with the most tackles, interceptions and disruptive plays.

Shippensburg University travels the short distance down I-81 for Saturday’s noon-time conference game.

The Rams have won 11 of the last 12 meetings between the two teams . . . and needs a win to remain a viable force in the conference’s East Division standings. Kutztown will have to lose at least twice for Shepherd to reach the PSAC championship game. Kutztown’s soggy win over the Rams gives it any tiebreaker in the final standings when it comes to comparing it with Shepherd.