LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Super performances led to other superlatives for the Shepherd football team on Saturday.
The Rams won their sixth straight game, using Jordan Barnett’s two touchdowns and a 300-yard passing day – with two scores – by quarterback Michael Hardyway to turn back Lock Haven 35-19 in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East matchup.
Barnett and Hardyway led a pack of Rams who established personal milestones, all coming in the process of winning the game. The win streak comes on the heels of Shepherd’s four losses to start the season.
The Rams are now 6-4, including 6-1 in the PSAC East, and have guaranteed a winning season.
Barnett rushed for 131 yards in 18 carries enroute to touchdowns of two and 49 yards. With that, the redshirt junior surpassed 1,000 yards for the season, sitting at 1,128 yards with one more regular season game to play.
Hardyway connected on 23-of-31 pass for 303 yards, including scoring strikes of 49 and 13 yards. It was the third time this season he has passed for more than 300 yards.
Joining the hit parade was Malakai Brown, who caught Hardyway’s 49-yard score, to propel himself to more than 1,000 yards receiving (1,075) for his career.
And finally, Klayton Batten, Shepherd’s flashy defensive back, picked another pass tie give himself the team lead with five.
It was a perfect blend for the Rams, who led 14-0 at halftime on Hardyway’s two TD passes.
The first was to Brown with 13:08 remaining in the half to cap a 10-play, 99-yard drive. Keith Baker kicked the first of his five extra points for the 7-0 lead.
The second touchdown went for 13 yards to Kordell Batten to build the halftime lead, 4:25 before the intermission.
Barnett gave Shepherd a 21-0 lead with a burst from the 2 at 9:40 in the third quarter.
Lock Haven staged a comeback, scoring two touchdowns in in a two-minute span to pull within 21-13 by the end of the third quarter.
Bald Eagles quarterback Justin Ostrowsky hit Justin Popovich on a 3-yard score with 2:02 left in the period and followed with a 12-yard scoring pass to Evan Sylstra with :03 remaining after blocking a Shepherd punt to make it 21-13.
Shepherd put the game out of reach with Barnett’s 49-yard TD run with 13:29 remaining to end the first possession of the fourth quarter. Grant Swinehart tacked on a 1-yard TD with 8:16 remaining to give the Rams a 35-13 lead.
Ostrowsky hit Popovich on a 10-yard TD pass to close the scoring.
Brown finished with six catches for 121 yards for the Rams, while Kordell Batten caught 10 balls for 91 yards.
Shepherd gained 467 yards of total offense, and Lock Haven totaled 407.
Geo-Di Tolbert lead Shepherd’s defense with seven tackles, while linebacker Devin Harper and defensive back Makai Young added six stops each.
Defensive backs Will Ennis, Klayton Batten and Uchenna Ibe shared Shepherd’s three interceptions.
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
Shepherd sweeps two matches
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – Shepherd University went 2-0 this weekend, capped by a four-set, win (25-13, 25-19, 21-25, 25-23) over Lock Haven on Saturday. The Rams knocked off Bloomsburg in straight sets (25-23, 25-15, 25-19) on Friday in a pair of PSAC East matches.
On Saturday, outside hitter Ada McCoy had a match-high 16 kills to pace the Rams (19-7, 8-4). Outside hitter Amya Davis added nine kills, while middle hitter Sophia Ryan added seven kills, a match-high six blocks, and a pair of aces. Davis added a match-high four aces.
Setter Macy Buso recorded a match-high 28 assists, six digs, and a pair of blocks. Outside hitter Gracie Zartman posted a match-high 28 digs.
Before the match, Shepherd honored Buso, Madigan Faircloth and Brielle Borvansky in a Senior Day ceremony.
On Friday, Ryan led the Rams with a match-high 12 kills and four blocks. Davis added nine kills. McCoy had four blocks and seven kills.
Middle hitter Rylee Lenz and right-side hitter Emily Ryder, a Smithsburg graduate, contributed six. Buso posted a match-high 30 assists, six digs, and a pair of aces, while Zartman recorded a match-high 23 digs.
COLLEGE CROSS COUNTRY
Shepherd finishes season at NCAA II Atlantic Regional Championship
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Shepherd University cross country teams each sent four runners to the NCAA II Atlantic Regional Championship hosted on Saturday.
Logan Feeg led Shepherd by finishing 123rd with a time of 35:25.50 to lead the men’s contingent. He was followed by Parker Mackey (133rd, 36:29.80), Jackson Fiolek (148th, 38:43.40) and Mason Ratke (150th, 39:10.60).
For the women, Zoe Boyd finished 136th with a time of 25:28.80. She was followed by Aubrey Fernandez (144th,25:48.40), Riley Staub (156th, 26:53.30) and Jaclyn Unger (165th, 30:01.50). Boyd and Fernandez recorded personal bests.
Shippensburg won the men’s title (10K), while Davis & Elkins took the women’s crown (6K).
