WEST CHESTER, Pa. – You don’t have to be flashy if you are efficient.
It’s not exactly an advertising slogan, but it is a good rule to win football games.
Shepherd University used a methodical attack, complete with no turnovers, to control the game and West Chester for a 28-14 victory on Saturday in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East matchup.
The Rams (5-1, 2-1) had a 14-minute edge in time of possession and scored a touchdown in each quarter to hold off the Golden Rams. Shepherd broke a 7-7 tie by scoring 21 straight points to put the game away.
Quarterback Michael Hardyway completed 16 of 20 passes for 139 yards, and running back Ian Mauldin ran 18 times for 135 yards and a score to account for 274 of Shepherd’s 380 yards of offense.
Shepherd scored first when Hardyway connected with Nyion Mason on a 15-yard TD pass with 7:18 to go in the first quarter. But West Chester (3-3, 1-2) countered with Mikhail Johnson’s 1-yard plunge to tie the game at 7 at the 1:44 mark.
From there, Shepherd slowly, but surely, pulled away.
The Rams made it 14-7 with a 1-yard score by Jabril Daniels with 6:40 left before the half. Max Barba notched his second of four extra points for the day for a seven-point lead at the intermission.
Mauldin gave the Rams a 21-7 lead with a 50-yard touchdown at the 6:55 mark of the third quarter.
Daniels ran for 4 yards and scored with 12:56 remaining in the game to end Shepherd’s 21-point run and a 28-7 lead.
West Chester quarterback Colin O’Sullivan tossed a 10-yard scoring pass to Maurice Clark with 9:20 left, but the Golden Rams couldn’t rally for a win.
Derrell Pierson led the Shepherd receivers with five receptions for 51 yards. Daniels complemented Mauldin with 10 carries for 46 yards for the Rams.
