Story and photo courtesy of Shepherd Athletics
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – Junior running back Kenny Williams (Elgin, IL/Eastern Illinois) rushed 20 times for 57 yards and a pair of scores and senior quarterback Bobby Cooper (Davidsonville, MD/South River) completed 15-of-26 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown to lead Shepherd University to a 34-7 win over American International in football action at Ram Stadium on Saturday. The game endured a 46-minute lightning/rain delay.
American International took a 7-0 lead when Kevin Arduino teamed with Maurice Easterling on a 52-yard scoring strike with 10:47 left in the first quarter.
Shepherd tied the game at 7-7 one-yard plunge by Williams with 6:39 left in the first quarter. Redshirt-freshman kicker Ryan Earls (Stevensville, MD/Kent Island) added the extra point.
The score was set up when redshirt-freshman defensive back Philip Rhoden (Columbia, MD/Long Reach) recovered a fumbled punt at the American International eight-yard line.
Shepherd took a 14-7 lead with 5:13 left in the second quarter when Williams burst through the line for a 12-yard touchdown run.
Junior linebacker Dominique Dixon (Westover, WV/University) forced a fumble and redshirt freshman defensive end Jonathan Pearson (Chesterfield, VA/Manchester) recovered on the American International seven-yard line to set up the score.
Shepherd took a 21-7 lead with 1:25 remaining in the second quarter on a one-yard plunge by junior running back Michael Haynes (Midlothian, VA/Cloverhill).
A 21-yard interception return by senior free safety Corey Washington (Alexandria, VA/Edison) preceded the touchdown.
Shepherd took a 28-7 into the break when senior quarterback Bobby Cooper (Davidsonville, MD/South River) teamed with freshman wide receiver Billy Brown (Gaithersburg, MD/Gaithersburg) on a fade for 16-yard scoring play lead with 1:25 left in the half.
Washington blocked a punt and senior cornerback Keon Robinson (Fairfax Station, VA/Lake Braddock) returned it 22 yards to lead to the score.
Haynes added a one-yard scoring run with 7:44 left in the fourth quarter to complete the scoring.
Terrell Williams rushed 15 times for a game-high 89 yards for American International.
Arduino completed 14-of-27 passes for 211 yards.
Sophomore wide receiver William McKenzie (Upper Marlboro, MD/Frederick Douglass) led the Ram receivers with five catches for 33 yards. Easterling had four receptions for 98 yards for the Yellow Jackets.
American International had 310 yards of total offense while Shepherd had 292 offensive yards. Shepherd took advantage of four Yellow Jackets turnovers.
Senior linebacker A.J. Parrish (Madison Heights, VA/Amherst County) and Dixon each had seven tackles to lead the Rams.
Shepherd improves to 1-1, while American International falls to 0-1. The Rams return to action next Saturday when they travel to Seton Hill for a noon contest in the conference opener.