SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – Shepherd University played football, Amazon Prime style, on Saturday.
The Rams delivered on the ground.
It was an all-out stampede as Shepherd scored five touchdowns in the course of 308 yards rushing to put a stamp on its fifth straight victory in a 48-7 win over Shippensburg on Saturday in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East win at Rams Stadium.
Jordan Barnett highlighted the onslaught with 15 carries for 162 yards and two touchdowns as the Rams (5-4, 5-1) scored the final 48 points of the game after spotting the Red Raiders an early 7-0 lead.
Barnett powered in with two short-yardage, while Greg Swinehart, Zion Grantham and Jackson Sigler each scored once. Keith Baker kicked a pair of field goals and quarterback Michael Hardyway connected with Kordell Batten on a long scoring pass as Shepherd overwhelmed Shippensburg (2-7, 2-4).
Shepherd ran on 46 of its 74 total plays to ground out the win. The Rams finished with 474 yards of total offense.
The Rams defense held Shippensburg in check, allowing just seven yards rushing. The Red Raiders added 100 yards passing for 107 yards of total offense.
The Red Raiders scored first on Jaevon Parker’s 8-yard reception from quarterback Riley Gunnels to cap a game-opening 13-play, 75-yard scoring drive at 7:49 of the first quarter.
It ended up being the only bright spot for Shippensburg as it led 7-0 after one quarter.
Shepherd started turning everything in their favor when Barnett scored from the 2 with 12:32 remaining in the half. Baker kicked the extra point to tie the game at 7.
The Rams took a 14-7 lead on Greg Swinehart’s 3-yard run with 6:59 left in the half.
Shepherd took a 21-7 halftime lead when Hardyway connected with Batten on a 40-yard pass-and-dash scoring strike just 1:47 before halftime.
The Rams kept Shippensburg’s offense stagnant, setting the way to put the game well out of reach.
Barnett from the 1 with 13:20 left in the third quarter to open the second half scoring. Baker followed by connecting on field goals of 24 and 34 yards to extend Shepherd’s lead to 34-7 in the third quarter.
Shepherd put the finishing touches on the win by clearing the bench in the fourth quarter.
Grantham scored from the 1 and Sigler, a backup quarterback, ran 18 yards to cap the scoring.
Hardyway hit on 11-of-22 passes for 134 yards, while Gunnels was 10-of-20 for 83 yards for the Raiders.
Batten led the Shepherd receivers with four catches for 53 yards. Parker led Shippensburg with five receptions for 63 yards and the touchdown.
Freshman Jabril Daniels backed Barnett’s day with eight carries for 69 yards for the Rams. Ethan Arneson was Shippensburg’s top rusher with six carries for 11 yards.
Geo-Di Tolbert posted four tackles (one solo) and a sack (-6 yards) to lead the Shepherd defense. Tyrin Chinn-Thompson and Klayton Batten each intercepted passes for the Rams.
