Box Score SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va.  – Junior quarterback Jeff Ziemba (Newark, Del./St. Mark's) completed 15-of-26 passes for 215 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead Shepherd University to a 46-17 win over West Virginia State in MEC football action at Ram Stadium on Saturday.

Shepherd improves to 6-0, 6-0 in conference play, while West Virginia State drops to 4-3, 4-3

Shepherd took a 7-0 lead when junior quarterback Jeff Ziemba (Newark, Del./St. Mark's) teamed with junior tight end Jamie Deason (Fredericksburg, Va./Riverbend) on a one-yard scoring pass with 11:57 left in the first quarter. The score was aided by a 66-yard kickoff return by junior return specialist CJ Davis (Hagerstown, Md./South Hagerstown).

Shepherd took a 9-0 lead when the Rams scored a safety on an errant snap minutes later.

West Virginia State cut the lead to 9-7 when Matt Kinnick fired an 18-yard scoring pass to Kelvit Barrett with 14:51 left in the second quarter.

Shepherd took a 16-7 advantage when junior running back Jabre Lolley (Wilmington, Del./St. Mark's) scored on a one-yard run with 11:23 left in the second quarter. Davis returned a punt 66 yards to set up the touchdown.

Lolley added another one-yard scoring run with 47 seconds left in the half to up the Shepherd lead to 23-7.

State scored on a 43-yard field goal by Anthony Herrera as time expired in the half to cut the lead to 23-10.

Dionta Brown scored on a 13-yard jaunt to cut the deficit to 23-17 with 11:25 remaining in the third quarter.

Ziemba and Lolley teamed for a 28-yard scoring pass with 6:32 left in the third quarter and senior running back Allen Cross (Elkridge, Md./Long Reach) galloped 11 yards for a score minutes later to give the Rams a 36-17 advantage.

Cross scored on a two-yard plunge with 13:16 left in the fourth quarter and senior kicker Ryan Earls (Stevensville, Md./Kent Island) connected on a 32-yard field goal with 6:25 left to complete the scoring.

Earls tied the Shepherd career mark for field goals shared by Eric Dobratz (34, 2008-11).

Kinnick completed 25-of-44 passes for 229 yards for the Yellow Jackets.

Junior wide receiver Tony Squirewell (Cheltenham, Md./Bishop McNamara) paced the Rams with four receptions for 100 yards. Quinton Gray had eight catches for 80 yards for State.

Cross had 20 carries for 67 yards and Lolley added 15 carries for 45 yards to lead the Rams. Barrett rushed eight times for 25 yards for the Yellow Jackets.

Shepherd gained 351 yards of total offense while West Virginia State had 257.

Sophomore linebacker James Gupton (Waldorf, Md./North Point) led the Shepherd defense with six tackles (five solo). Ayinde Warren had a game-high eight tackles (seven solos) for the Yellow Jackets.

The Rams return to action on Saturday when they travel to Concord for a noon contest.