ERIE, Pa. – Sophomore quarterback Tyson Bagent (Martinsburg, W,Va./Martinsburg) completed 36-of-54 passes for 438 yards and three touchdowns to lead Shepherd (1-1) to a 22-17 win over Mercyhurst (1-1) in football action at Mercyhurst on Saturday.
Shepherd took a 2-0 lead when junior linebacker Chrys Lane (Baltimore, Md./Dundalk) forced a fumble by Garrett Owens that was recovered by Mercyhurst's Aaron Smith in the end zone for a safety with 11:17 left in the first quarter..
Mercyhurst took a 3-2 advantage when Brendan Cole connected on a 25-yard field goal with 3:48 left in the first quarter.
Shepherd took a 9-3 lead when Bagent teamed with senior tight end DJ Cornish (Milford, Del./Lake Forest) on a 40-yard scoring play with 22 seconds left in the first quarter. Junior kicker Hayden August-Scriven (North Potomac, Md./Quince Orchard) added the extra point.
Michael Lowry teamed with Austin Hence on a 14-yard scoring play with 2:02 left in the second quarter to give the Lakers a 10-9 lead.
Shepherd retook the lead at 15-10 with 1:04 left in the half when Bagent teamed with senior wide receiver Devin Phelps (Baltimore, Md./St. Frances) on a 35-yard scoring strike. The extra point attempt was no good.
Bagent fired a seven-yard scoring pass to Cornish with 10:10 left in the third quarter to up the lead to 22-10.
Doug Altavilla scored on a one-yard plunge for the Lakers with 4:13 left in the third quarter to cut the lead to 22-17.
The Shepherd defense recorded a pair of fourth down stops in the fourth period to preserve the victory.
The Rams twice denied Altavilla from reaching the end zone from the one-yard line as the Rams took over with 9:31 remaining.
Mercyhurst later took over at the Shepherd 35 with 8:29 left. The Lakers drove to the Shepherd 11-yard line and faced a fourth-and-one. Senior linebacker Hassan Marshall (Waldorf, Md./Thomas Stone) broke up a pass intended for Dustin Shoaf to give the Rams the ball with 4:10 remaining.
Bagent completed a 20-yard pass to junior tight end Alex Wetzel (Keedysville, Md./Boonsboro) convert a third-and-three and help the Ram run the clock down. Later the Rams were faced with a fourth-and-one at the Mercyhurst 27 and the Lakers were flagged for being offside. Shepherd got the first down and ran out the clock to seal the win.
Altavilla completed 13-of-21 passes for 205 yards for the Lakers.
Senior wide receiver Dylan Brewer (Martinsburg, W.Va./Martinsburg) had career highs of 11 catches for 11 0 yards, while Phelps added eight catches for a game-high 153 yards to pace the Shepherd receivers. Hence had six grabs for 111 yards for the Lakers.
Junior running back Deonte Glover (Inwood, W.Va./Musselman/WVU) had 16 carries for 36 yards to lead the ground game. Owens rushed 14 times for 26 yards for Mercyhurst.
Shepherd had 510 yards of total offense, while Mercyhurst had 332.
Junior linebacker Chrys Lane (Baltimore, Md./Dundalk) paced the Rams with nine tackles (three solos) with one tackle-for-loss and a forced fumble. Hunter Merritt recorded a game-high 11 tackles (nine solos) for the Lakers.
The Rams return to action next Saturday when they travel to Clarion for a 1 p.m. contest.
Notes: Bagent's 36 completions tie the Shepherd single-game mark he set against Notre Dame last season … Bagent completed passes to nine different receivers … Shepherd improves to 2-0 in the all-time series against Mercyhurst … Phelps had 194 all-purpose yards on the day.
