Courtesy of Shepherd Athletics
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. -- Junior running back Tommy Addison rushed 23 times for 152 yards and three touchdowns to lead #18 Shepherd University to a 37-26 win over #21 West Virginia Wesleyan in WVIAC football action before an overflow Homecoming crowd at Ram Stadium on Saturday.
The Rams took a 7-0 lead when Addison rambled 37 yards for a score with 12:53 left in the first quarter. Junior kicker Eric Dobratz (Woodbridge, VA/Potomac) added the extra point.
Shepherd increased its lead to 13-0 when Addison raced 48 yards for a score with 11:12 left in the first quarter. The score was set up by a fumble recovery by senior Brian Taylor (Elkridge, MD/Long Reach). The extra point attempt was wide.
The Rams increased their lead to 16-0 on a 29-yard field goal by Dobratz with 6:42 left in the first quarter.
Shepherd took a 22-0 lead when senior quarterback Kevin Clancy(Westminster, MD/Westminster) teamed with junior wide receiver Robert Byrd (Alexandria, VA/Troy) on a 10-yard scoring strike with 6:57 left in the second quarter.
The Bobcats cut the lead to 22-7 when Adam Neugebauer teamed with Jon Meadows on a 23-yard scoring play with 4:14 left in the half.
Shepherd took a 30-7 lead into intermission when Addison leaped in the end zone from three yards out with 30 seconds left in the half.
The Bobcats cut the deficit to 30-14 when Trey Massey scored on a five-yard run with 8:10 left in the third quarter.
West Virginia Wesleyan cut the lead to 30-20 when Neugebauer connected with Jon Meadows on five-yard scoring strike with 4:53 left in the fourth quarter. The score was set up when Ben Akalefu Jr. blocked a Shepherd punt and Ricky Conner recovered at the Shepherd 29-yard line.
A four-yard touchdown pass from Clancy to Byrd gave the Rams a 37-20 lead with 2:07 remaining.
The Bobcats scored on a three-yard pass from Neugebauer to T.J. Benners on the last play of the game to make it 37-26. The two-point conversion attempt failed.
Clancy completed 14-of-22 passes for 173 yards. Neugebauer connected on 41-of-62 passes for 319 yards for the Bobcats.
Senior fullback Bobby Humphries (Frederick, MD/Thomas Johnson) had four catches for 37 yards to pace the Rams. Jon Meadows had 15 receptions for 145 yards to lead Wesleyan.
Taylor led the Ram defense with 12 tackles (six solo). Jesse Robertson had a game-high 15 stops (11 solo) for the Bobcats.
Shepherd improves to 7-0, 5-0 in WVIAC play, while West Virginia Wesleyan falls to 6-1, 3-1.
The Rams return to action next Saturday when they travel to West Liberty for a 1 p.m. contest.