Box Score SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – Senior quarterback Jeff Ziemba (Newark, Del./St. Mark's) completed 14-of-25 passes for 192 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lead Shepherd University (9-0, 9-0 MEC) to a 27-17 win over Fairmont State (9-1, 8-1 MEC) in MEC football action at Ram Stadium on Saturday.

Shepherd took a 7-0 lead when Ziemba teamed with sophomore wide receiver Wanya Allen (Sterling, Va./Potomac Falls) on a 21-yard scoring pass with 13:43 left in the first quarter. Junior kicker Zachary Wise (Berkeley Springs, W.Va./Berkeley Springs) added the extra point.

Sam Keil connected on a 23-yard field goal for the Falcons with 10:38 left in the first quarter to cut the lead to 7-3.

Wise hit a 39-yard field goal with 11:39 left in the second quarter to up the Shepherd lead to 10-3.

Fairmont State tied the game at 10-all when Cooper Hibbs teamed with Jeff Iweh on a nine-yard scoring pass with 6:21 left in the second quarter. 10:31 left in the third quarter.

Shepherd took a 17-10 lead when freshman outside linebacker Jared Austin (Woodbridge, Va./C.D. Hylton) intercepted a pass and raced 17 yards into the end zone with 10:31 left in the third quarter.

Ziemba teamed with wide receiver Billy Brown (Gaithersburg, Md./Gaithersburg) on a three-yard scoring toss with 3:05 left in the third quarter to up the lead to 24-10.

Hibbs fired a 74-yard scoring strike to Laurence King with 2:49 left in the third quarter to cut the lead to 24-17.

Wise tacked on a 30-yard field goal with 4:43 left in the fourth quarter to complete the scoring.

Fairmont State drove into the red zone in the game's final minute before Sam Keil's pass was intercepted by senior linebacker Octavius Thomas (Myrtle Beach, S.C./Myrtle Beach) in the end zone with 27 seconds remaining to seal the win for the Rams.

Brown had five receptions for 49 yards, while senior wide receiver CJ Davis (Hagerstown, Md./South Hagerstown) and senior tight end Jamie Deason (Fredericksburg, Va./Riverbend) each had three catches for 55 yards to pace the Shepherd receivers. King had eight catches for a game-high 148 yards for the Falcons.

Freshman running back Deonte Glover (Inwood, W.Va./Musselman/WVU) rushed 12 times for a game-high 90 yards to pace the Rams on the ground. Freshman running back Brandon Hlavach (Baltimore, Md./Eastern Tech) added 13 carries for 44 yards. Terrell Charles had 10 carries for 57 yards for the Falcons.

Hibbs completed 25-of-53 passes for 322 yards, but was sacked seven times.

Shepherd gained 304 yards of total offense, while Fairmont State had 387.

Thomas, junior linebacker James Gupton (Waldorf, Md./North Point) and junior outside linebacker Tre Anderson (Hagerstown, Md./North Hagerstown) each had six tackles to pace the Shepherd defense. Junior defensive end Myles Humphrey (Upper Marlboro, Md/Dr. Henry A. Wise) added four stops with three sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Marcus Porter recorded a game-high 11 tackles (8 solo) for the Falcons.

Shepherd returns to action next Saturday when they travel to Urbana for a 1 p.m. contest.

Notes: Wise tied a career-long effort with his 39-yard field goal … Shepherd clinched a share of the MEC title for its third MEC title in the past four seasons … The Rams improve to 37-2 all-time in MEC football action ... Today's crowd of 6,751 set a new Ram Stadium record.