SHEPHERDSTOWN — The Shepherd University Rams dropped their home opener to Slippery Rock by a score of 20-10 in a battle between two of the best Division II football teams the nation has to offer.
“I know Slippery Rock is a great football team, they’re a top 10 football team. They’re well coached, they’ve got good players who play with great effort and energy. They were exactly who we thought they were and I think we lost to a really great football team,” said Shepherd head coach Ernie McCook.
“I think what we’re going to do is see the tape and come back and think about all the mistakes we made and things we left down on the field. Hopefully we’ll take the mistakes we made and learn from them and make ourselves a better football team next week,” said McCook regarding Shepherd’s plan moving forward.
Slippery Rock was the first to strike in Saturday’s matchup. Running back Idris Lawrence rushed for 32 yards to tally the first six points of the game, which was followed by an extra point delivered by kicker Jake Mullins.
Mullins then made a 24-yard field goal to add another three points to Slippery Rock’s total when play returned for the second quarter.
The Rams were able to answer Mullin’s field goal with a touchdown by running back Malakai Brown. Brown, the reigning Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East Offensive Player of the Week, caught a pass from quarterback Lek Powell before rushing 17 yards into the end zone.
After scoring the touchdown Brown gave former Mayor of Shepherdstown, Jim Auxer, a chest bump.
Shepherd made the extra point kick and closed their point deficit to three points.
With just four seconds left before halftime Mullins made a 25-yard field goal to give Slippery Rock a 13-7 lead before heading to the locker room.
The Rams opened up scoring for the second half with a 29-yard field goal to bring their deficit back to three points.
Two minutes later Shepherd linebacker JT Kouame-Yao, a key player in the Rams’ defense, was disqualified from the game for targeting. He will also be ineligible to play in the first half of Shepherd’s game against Clarion this coming weekend.
Slippery Rock secured the only touchdown of the third quarter off of a 6-yard pass from quarterback Brayden Long to wide receiver Xander McClure. Mullins followed with an extra point.
The two teams locked into a stalemate for the fourth quarter as the Rams’ fought valiantly to get on top. Ram Stadium roared when Shepherd gained possession with 16 seconds to go and Powell rushed to collect a first down.
However, the Rams’ momentum was squashed when offensive lineman Wyatt Pellicano’s helmet was flung off with six seconds left on the clock. The mishap resulted in a 10-second runoff rule, which can be enacted when a dead ball foul is committed after the two-minute warning of the fourth quarter.
The game was then called.
Shepherd’s Saturday loss to Slippery rock was only McCook’s 14th defeat in seven seasons as head coach for the Rams.
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