KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Senior quarterback Tyson Bagent (Martinsburg, W.Va./Martinsburg) completed 30-of-41 passes for 456 yards and three touchdowns to lead #5/5 Shepherd (4-0) to a 42-35 win over Kutztown (2-2) in football action at Kutztown on Saturday.
Darryl Davis-McNeil scored on a five-yard run with 9:50 left in the first quarter as Kutztown took a 7-0 lead.
Shepherd tied the game when redshirt-sophomore cornerback Klayton Batten (Waldorf, Md./St. Charles) picked off a Kutztown pass and ran 28 yards for a touchdown with 54 seconds left in the first quarter. Redshirt-sophomore kicker Jacob Haynie (Fairfax, Va./Robinson) added the extra point.
Kutztown took a 14-7 lead when David Blaine tossed a 22-yard scoring pass to Jerome Kapp with 10:23 left in the second quarter.
The Golden Bears upped their lead to 21-7 when Blaine and Kapp teamed on a 50-yard scoring pass with 8:41 left in the half.
Shepherd answered back when junior running back Ronnie Brown (Baltimore, Md./Dundalk) fielded the kickoff in the end zone and weaved his way for a 100-yard touchdown return with 8:26 left to cut the lead to 21-14.
Shepherd opened the second half scoring as Bagent tossed a six-yard scoring pass to redshirt-sophomore wide receiver Ryan Beach (Frederick, Md./Northwest) with 9:45 left in the third quarter to tie the game at 21-all.
Blaine fired a five-yard scoring pass to Alex McKenzie with 14:57 left in the fourth quarter to give the Golden Bears a 28-21 advantage.
Bagent scored on an eight-yard run with 11:02 left in regulation to tie the score.
Bagent tossed a three-yard scoring pass to senior fullback/tight end Michael McCook (Hagerstown, Md./South Hagerstown) with 6:15 left in the fourth quarter to give the Rams a 35-28 lead.
Kutztown tied the game on a three-yard run by Davis-McNeil with 2:38 remaining.
Bagent fired a 70-yard scoring strike to junior wide receiver Marlon Cook (Forestville, Md./Potomac) with 1:41 left in regulation to lift the Rams to victory.
Kutztown drove down the field and faced a fourth-and-18 at the Shepherd 33-yard line with 26 seconds left when senior defensive end Kyle Smith (Sterling, Va./Dominion) sacked Blaine and forced a fumble that was recovered by redshirt-freshman defensive lineman Nathan Muhle (Harpers Ferry, W.Va./Jefferson) to seal the win.
Blaine completed 25-of-34 passes for 390 yards and three scores for Kutztown.
Davis-McNeil led all rushers with 27 carries for 67 yards.
Cook led the Shepherd receivers with nine catches for 212 yards. Senior tight end Brian Walker (Clarksburg, Md./Clarksburg) added seven receptions for 89 yards. Kapp had eight catches for 170 yards and a pair of scores for the Golden Bears.
Shepherd had 467 yards of total offense, while Kutztown totaled 493.
Junior linebacker Dewayne Grantham (Martinsburg, W.Va./Martinsburg/Lackawanna) recorded a game-high 16 tackles (seven solos) with 1.5 tackles-for-loss to pace the Shepherd defense. Smith added eight stops (three solos) with 3.5 tackles-for-loss and a pair of sacks. Amani Justice had eight tackles (five solos) to lead the Golden Bears.
The Rams return to action on Saturday when they travel to Shippensburg for a 1 p.m. contest.
