MILLERSVILLE, Pa. -- Shepherd University rolled up 413 yards of total offense en route to a 28-7 win over Millersville University in season-opening football action at Chryst Field at Biemsderfer Stadium on Saturday.
Shepherd took a 7-0 lead with 5:58 left in the first quarter when senior quarterback Dan Chlebowski (Greencastle, PA/Greencastle-Antrim) teamed with senior wide receiver Rodney Jackson (Severn, MD/Meade) on a 54-yard scoring strike.
The Rams increased their lead to 14-0 when senior running back Bryan Wright (Augusta, WV/Hampshire/WVU) raced 64 yards for a score with 11:58 left in the second quarter.
Millersville cut the lead to 14-7 when Dan Csencsitz fired a six-yard scoring pass to Randall Eggleton with a minute left in the half.
Shepherd ran its lead to 21-7 when junior running back Dervon Wallace (Lusby, MD/ Calvert/WV State), who rushed for a game-high 145 yards on 23 carries, scored on a two-yard plunge with 7:59 left in the third quarter.
Wright, who rushed for 113 yards on 10 carries, added his second score of the day when he burst through the Marauder defense for a 24-yard touchdown romp with 6:28 left in the game.
Chlebowski completed 16-of-21 passes for 153 yards, while Csencsitz completed 14-of-34 passes for 156 yards.
Jackson led the Ram receivers with nine receptions for 120 yards. Omar Sanders had four catches for 48 yards to lead Millersville.
Junior linebacker Louis Corum (Manassas, VA/Westfield) had a gem-high 11 tackles with nine solo stops. Senior All-American defensive back Dan Peters (Cresson, PA/Penn Cambria) and senior linebacker Todd Edmondson (Finksburg, MD/Westminster) each added six tackles. Peters also recorded the game only interception.
Shepherd improves to 1-0, while Millersville falls to 0-1. The Rams return to action next Saturday when they travel to Shippensburg for a 1 p.m. contest.
Notes: Shepherd won its 19th consecutive regular season game with the victory. The win was the first over Millersvile since 1990. Shepherd had two backs rush for over 100 yards or more for the first time since Wallace (105 yards) and Wright (110 ) accomplished the feat against Shippensburg in 2005.
