SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – The Shepherd University football team only had two streaks in the 2025 season
The first one humbled them. The second defined them.
The Rams closed the season by scoring the final 14 points of the game to knock off Seton Hill 21-13 to extend their winning streak to seven games. It came on the heel of opening the year at 0-4, setting the stage on quest to reestablish the program’s identity.
Shepherd (7-4) trailed 13-7 at the half but came up with two scores in the final 17:09 to pull out the win.
Junior running back Jordan Barnett led the Rams with 82 yards rushing on 18 carries, including a 25-yard run for the go-ahead touchdown.
But Shepherd didn’t secure the win until the last three seconds of the game.
The Rams failed in their attempt to run out the clock with a 14-13 lead and punted for a touchback. Seton Hill took the ball at the 20 with :17 and no timeouts remaining.
After an incomplete pass, Griffins quarterback Hayden Teska fired a second-down pass that Shepherd’s Will Ennis picked off and returned 31 yards for the game-sealing TD with :03 remaining.
Keith Baker added the extra point as the final note to the season and the huge turnaround for the season as Shepherd honored their seniors, who were playing their last game for the school.
Shepherd took the early 7-0 lead when quarterback Michael Hardyway tucked the ball and ran for eight yards for a touchdown at the 9:41 mark of the first quarter.
From there, Seton Hill made the Rams work to keep the win streak alive.
The Griffins tied the game at 7 with 2:04 left in the first quarter when Ky’Ron Creggette ran into the end zone from the 4.
Seton Hill then took a 13-7 lead with :18 left in the half when Teska connected with Jayden Llanos on a 12-yard touchdown pass. Shepherd kept the halftime deficit at six points when defensive lineman Nathan Muhle blocked the extra point.
Shepherd has problems sustaining its offense as Hardyway was sacked four times for the Griffins.
On the second drive of the second half, the Rams marched 93 yards for the go-ahead score. Shepherd pecked away on the eight-play march, culminated by Barnett’s 25-yard scoring run up the middle with 2:09 left in the third quarter. Barnett finished the season with 1,209 yards rushing for the season.
Baker’s extra point gave Shepherd the one-point lead it clung to until Ennis late-game heroics.
Shepherd gained 225 yards of total offense and Seton Hill totaled 128. Hardyway completed 12-of-24 passes for 136 yards for Shepherd, while Teska was 8-of-20 for 61 yards for Seton Hill.
Malakai Brown led Shepherd with three catches for 39 yards, while Kordell Batten added four grabs for 20 yards.
Muhle led the Rams with six tackles, four of the solos along with 1 ½ hits for lost yardage.
HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL
Clear Spring wins title
Washington County went one for three at the Maryland State Volleyball Championships on Saturday at Harford Community College.
Clear Spring, North Hagerstown and Williamsport played for state titles in the respective classes, but only the Blazers pulled out the victory.
North and Williamsport were defending state champions and Clear Spring had lost to Boonsboro in last year’s finals.
Clear Spring won the Class 1A title for the second time in three years in a five-set shootout. The Blazers outlasted Patterson Mill, 23-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-15,15-8, by winning the last two sets.
It was Clear Spring’s sixth state title.
North Hagerstown saw its run of three straight Class 3A titles come to an end, falling to Howard in four sets, 25-23, 26-24, 20-25, 27-25.
The Hubs entered the final with an undefeated record and the No. 1 overall seed. Howard was No. 2.
North, which reigned the class from 2022-24, fell short in the quest for a seventh title since 2011.
Willamsport lost in five sets (27-25, 24-26, 19-25, 25-23, 15-13) after splitting the first two sets in overtime and taking a 2-1 lead.
The Wildcats fell short of winning the school’s 18th state volleyball title.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Banks leads Shepherd past Winston-Salem State
ETTRICK, Va. – Junior Marcus Banks scored a game-high 18 points to lead Shepherd University to a 62-53 win over Winston-Salem State on Saturday at Virginia State’s Trojan Tip-Off Classic.
Banks connected on 5-of-13 field goals, including 1-of-4 effort from three-point range, went 7-of-11 from the foul line. He added seven boards, two assists, and two steals.
Shepherd had a 34-25 lead at halftime.
Winston-Salem State rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to within 54-50 with 3:21 left. Shepherd closed the game on a 9-2 run to secure the win.
Elwyne Wordlaw added 17 points, while Brody Davis had 13 points and six rebounds for the Rams (2-0). Favor Okigweh grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds. Daouda contributed 11 points and seven rebounds.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Shepherd opens season with win over Shaw
BOWIE, Md. – Sophomore guard Kara Wehner scored a game-high 21 points to lead Shepherd to an 81-52 win over Shaw on Saturday in the season opener for both schools at the Bowie State Tip-Off Classic.
Lamaria Estridge added 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Jenna Liska added 12 points and 11 boards. Grace Middleton added nine points and five assists.
D’Ayzha Atkinson had 16 points for the Bears.
Shepherd had a 48-27 lead at halftime.
COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL
East Stroudsburg outlasts Shepherd
EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. – Shepherd University sputtered in the fifth set on Saturday and fell short in a 20-25, 25-20, 25-27, 25-18, 4-15 decision to East Stroudsburg in five sets in a PSAC East matchup.
Outside hitter Amya Davis led the Rams (19-9, 8-6) with 15 kills. Outside hitter Ada McCoy had 12 kills and a block and middle hitter Rylee Lenz added nine kills and three blocks.
Setter Macy Buso recorded a match-high 41 assists and 10 digs and libero Kiela Sanger posted 18 digs.
Anna Coulter recorded a match-high 16 kills and two aces for the Warriors (21-8, 10-5).
The Rams now await word for matchups for the upcoming PSAC tournament.
