BUCKHANNON, W.Va. --  Junior quarterback Jeff Ziemba (Wilmington Del./St. Mark's) completed  24-of-34 passes for 283 yards and two touchdowns to lead Shepherd University to a 43-0 win over West Virginia Wesleyan in MEC football action at West Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday in the season opener for both schools. Shepherd improves to 1-0, while West Virginia Wesleyan falls to 0-1.

Shepherd took a 3-0 lead when senior kicker Ryan Earls (Stevensville, Md./Kent Island) connected on a 36-yard field goal with 25 seconds left in the first quarter.

The Rams took a 10-0 lead when sophomore running back Malik Harleston (Washington, D.C./McKinley Tech) scored on a one-yard plunge with 6:35 left in the second quarter.

Shepherd took a 17-0 lead into intermission as Ziemba teamed with sophomore wide receiver Angelo Jean-Louis (Wellington, Fla./Palm Beach Central/Fork Union/Marshall) on a 20-yard scoring pass with 16 seconds left in the half.

Junior running back Jabre Lolley (Wilmington Del./St. Mark's) scored on a 20-yard run with 10:51 left in the third quarter to increase the lead to 23-0.

Shepherd took a 30-0 lead with 1:40 left in the third quarter when Lolley rambled 17 yards for his second touchdown of the day.

Ziemba teamed with freshman wide receiver Tyrell Hollingsworth (Perryville, Md./Perryville) on a three-yard scoring pass with 13:43 left in the fourth quarter to up the lead to 37-0.

Earls later added a 39-yard field goal and a 40-yarder to complete the scoring.

Junior wide receiver Billy Brown (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg) led the Shepherd receivers with seven catches for 121 yards.  Zach Schaderman had two catches for 41 yards for the Mountain Lions.

Lolley had nine carries for 66 yards and senior running back Allen Cross (Elkridge, Md./Long Reach) rushed for 62 yards on 17 carries to  lead the Rams. Mike Anderson rushed for 10 yards on 13 carries for the Bobcats. 

Shepherd totaled 457 yards of total offense, while West Virginia Wesleyan totaled 81 yards. Shepherd rushed for 174 yards and Wesleyan was limited to 24.

Sophomore defensive lineman Myles Humphrey (Upper Marlboro, Md./Dr. Henry A. Wise) recorded a team-high seven tackles (all solo) with five tackles-for-loss and a pair of sacks for the Rams.  He also forced a fumble. Correll Mack had eight solo tackles to lead the Bobcats.

The Rams return to action on Saturday when they host University of Charleston at noon at Ram Stadium for the home opener.