Box Score BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – Senior quarterback Connor Jessop (Ashburn, Va./Broad Run/Virginia Tech) completed 18-of-24 passes for 313 yards and three touchdowns and added a rushing score to lead Shepherd University (8-0, 8-0 MEC) to a 45-14 win over West Virginia Wesleyan (4-5, 4-4 MEC) in MEC football action at West Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday.
Shepherd took a 7-0 lead when senior running back Jabre Lolley (Wilmington, Del./St. Mark's) scored on a two-yard plunge out of the Wildcat formation with1:39 remaining in the first quarter. Senior kicker Zach Wise (Berkeley Springs, W.Va./Berkeley Springs) added the extra point.
Jessop teamed with Lolley on a 34-yard scoring play with 10:32 left in the second quarter to up the lead to 14-0.
Sophomore outside linebacker Jared Austin (Woodbridge, Va./C.D. Hylton) raced down the sideline for an 82-yard interception return with 6:55 left in the quarter.
Shepherd took a 28-0 lead into the break as Jessop weaved his way into the end zone for a seven-yard score with 1:07 left in the half.
The Bobcats got a 14-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Deal to Christian Nelson with 5:03 left in the third quarter to make it 28-7.
Shepherd took a 31-7 advantage behind a 29-yard field goal from Wise with 16 seconds left in the third quarter.
Jessop teamed with junior wide receiver Ryan Feiss (Forest Hill, Md/North Harford) on a 74-yard scoring strike with 13:10 left in the fourth quarter.
Jessop tossed an 18-yard scoring pass to sophomore tight end DJ Cornish (Felton, Del./Lake Forest) with 10:46 left in the game.
West Virginia Wesleyan added a score as Deal connected with Jujuan Linzy on a 68-yard scoring strike with 8:28 left in the game to complete the scoring.
Deal completed 17-of-34 passes for275 yards for the Bobcats.
Feiss led the Shepherd receivers with five catches for 109 yards, while Cornish added six receptions for 92 yards. Linzy had three receptions for 87 yards for West Virginia Wesleyan.
Lolley had 11 carries for 49 yards to lead the Shepherd ground game. Tra Jackson had 14 carries for 31 yards for the Bobcats.
Shepherd gained 440 yards of total offense, while West Virginia Wesleyan had 333.
Senior defensive end Elijah Norris (Upper Marlboro, Md./Archbishop Carroll) led the Rams with eight tackles (seven solos). He added 2.5 tackles-for-loss (-six yards). Freshman linebacker Chrys Lane (Baltimore, Md./Dunbar) added seven stops (five solos).Austin had a pair of interceptions on the day. Brandon Grayson had seven tackles (six solos) to lead Wesleyan.
The Rams return to action on Saturday when they host the University of Charleston for Senior Day/Military Appreciation Day at noon at Ram Stadium.
Notes: Feiss went over 100 yards receiving for the fifth time this season and became just the fourth player in program history to record 1,000 or more receiving yards iin a season .. Jessop passed for 200 yards or more for the fourth time this season… Jessop (30 touchdown passes this year) joins Jeff Ziemba (30 in 2015, 32 in 2016) as the only Shepherd quarterbacks to pass for 30 touchdowns or more in a season.
