SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. -- Fifth-ranked Shepherd University handed host West Virginia State a 38-12 loss in WVIAC football action under soggy conditions at Lakin Field on Saturday afternoon. The Rams posted their second consecutive undefeated regular season with the win.

Shepherd opened the scoring with 11:30 left in the first when senior quarterback Dan Chlebowski (Greencastle, PA/Greencastle-Antrim) teamed with junior wide receiver Mark Springirth (Germantown, MD/Watkins Mill) on a 76-yard scoring pass.

Shepherd took a 14-0 lead with 11:43 left in the second quarter when Chlebowski connected with sophomore tight end Ryan Lavin (Centreville, VA/Westfield) on a 10-yard score.

The Rams took a 17-0 advantage into the break when senior kicker Ricky Schmitt (Virginia Beach, VA/Salem), who was named WVIAC Special Teams Player of the Week,  nailed a 25-yard field goal with 5:48 left in the half.

Senior fullback John Hinton (Harpers Ferry, WV/Jefferson) scored on a three-yard plunge with 9:40 left in the third quarter to increase the Ram lead to 24-0.

Yellow Jacket quarterback Kevin O'Brien fired a five-yard scoring strike to tight end Mike Jones to cut the lead to 24-6 with 3:30 left in the third quarter.

Senior All-American Dan Peters (Cresson, PA/Penn Cambria) picked off an O'Brien pass and raced 50 yards for a score with 14:45 left in the fourth quarter to up the Ram lead to 31-6.

Senior running back Bryan Wright (Augusta, WV/ Hampshire), who rushed for a game-high 73 yards on 12 carries, rambled 32 yards for a score with 9:57 left in the game to give the Rams a 38-6 lead.
 

State added another score with 25 seconds left when O'Brien tossed an 11-yard touchdown pass to Alphonso Griffin. 


Chlebowski completed 10-of-12 passes for 173 yards for the Rams. Sophomore Tyler Lazear (Bethesda, MD/Walt Whitman) connected on 11-of-17 passes for 79 yards. O'Brien was 11-of-21 for 133 yards for West Virginia State.


Springirth led the Ram receivers with six receptions for 131 yards. David Parsons had two catches for 59 yards to lead the Yellow Jackets.


Senior linebacker Todd Edmondson (Finksburg, MD/Westminster) led the Rams with nine tackles, while senior defensive lineman Howard Ward (Westminster, MD/ Westminster) added six.