Box Score

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – Senior quarterback Connor Jessop (Ashburn, Va./Broad Run /Virginia Tech) completed 23-of-30 passes for 313 yards and four touchdowns to lead Shepherd University (5-0, 5-0 MEC) to a 51-14 win over West Liberty (2-4, 2-4 MEC) in MEC football action at Ram Stadium on Saturday. 

Shepherd took a 7-0 lead fired a nine-yard scoring strike to junior wide receiver Wanya Allen (Sterling, Va./Potomac Falls) with 11:45 left in the first quarter. Senior kicker Zach Wise (Berkeley Springs, W.Va./Berkeley Springs) added the extra point.

West Liberty tied the game when Brenton Colabella tossed a 12-yard scoring pass to Theodore Mayo with 8:54 left in the quarter.

Shepherd took a 14-7 lead when senior running back Jabre Lolley (Wilmington, Del./St. Mark's) ran 10 yards for a score out of the Wildcat formation with 1:19 left in the first quarter.

The Rams extended their lead to 21- 7 when Jessop fired an 11-yard touchdown pass to sophomore tight end DJ Cornish (Felton, Del./Lake Forest) with 7:52 left in the second quarter.

Jessop connected with senior wide receiver Jerimiah Williams (Washington, D.C./McKinley Tech/Delaware State) on a 12-yard scoring play with 2:53 left in the half.

Lukas O'Connor fired a nine-yard scoring strike to Isaiah Robinson for the Hilltoppers with 55 seconds remaining in the half to cut the lead to 28-14.

Lolley scored a one-yard plunge with 7:41 left in the third quarter to up the Shepherd lead to 35-14.

Jessop teamed up with Cornish on a four-yard touchdown pass with 3:40 left in the third quarter.

Shepherd added a safety when West Liberty was flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone with 14:54 left in the fourth quarter.

Sophomore running back Patrick Griffin (Seaford, Del./Sussex Tech) raced 19 yards down the left sideline for a score with 13:10 remaining to complete the scoring.

Brenton Colabella completed 6-of-6 passes for 60 yards for West Liberty.

Cornish led the Shepherd receivers with eight catches for 98 yards. Osman Kargo had four receptions for 39 yards for West Liberty.

Lolley led the ground attack for the Rams with 18 carries for 112 yards. Griffin added eight carries for 87 yards. Jeremiah Ortiz rushed 21 times for 82 yards for the Hilltoppers.

Shepherd gained 561 yards of total offense, while West Liberty had 241.

Senior linebacker James Gupton (Waldorf, Md./North Point) led the Rams with eight tackles (seven solos). Clifford Clark had a game-high 10 tackles (nine solos) to pace the Hilltoppers.

The Rams return to action on Thursday when they travel to Fairmont State for a 7 p.m. game.

Notes: Jabre Lolley (3,029) went over 3,000 rushing yards for his career … Jessop passed for 300 yards or more for the fourth time this season … Myles Humphrey recorded one sack on the day to give him 33 for his career … Humphrey needs just two sacks to tie the Shepherd all-time mark of 35 held by Howard Jones (2010-13) … Shepherd improves to 64-21-3 (.744) in Homecoming games.