SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – Junior quarterback Seth Morgan (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon/VMI) completed 18-of-21 passes for 296 yards and four touchdowns to lead Shepherd (9-2) to a 49-25 win over Mercyhurst (2-9) in football action at Ram Stadium on Saturday.
Mercyhurst took a 7-0 lead when Mike Pappas scored on a 28-yard run with 11:36 left in the first quarter.
Shepherd tied the game when Morgan teamed with junior wide receiver Jeremiah Taylor (Upper Marlboro, Md./Annapolis Area Christian School/Fairmont State) on a 52-yard scoring strike with 10:47 left in the first quarter. Sophomore kicker James Bozek (Alexandria, Va./Hayfield) added the extra point.
Morgan tossed a seven-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Cameron Dorner (New Market, Md./Oakdale) with 2:25 left in the first quarter to give the Rams a 14-7 lead.
Urena teamed with Braydon Black on a 47-yard scoring pass with 48 seconds left in the first quarter to cut the lead to 14-13. Redshirt junior defensive lineman Matt Bednarski (Martinsburg, W.Va./Martinsburg) blocked the extra point attempt.
Morgan fired a 28-yard scoring strike with junior wide receiver Barry Hill (Highland Springs, Va./Varina/West Virginia State) with 13:44 left in the second quarter to give the Rams a 21-13 advantage.
Shepherd upped its lead when redshirt junior running back Malakai Brown (Martinsburg, W.Va./Martinsburg) scored on an 11-yard run with 2:09 left in the half.
Urena fired a 27-yard scoring pass to Black with 12 seconds left in the half to cut the lead to 28-19. A two-point conversion was unsuccessful.
Shepherd opened up the second half scoring with a 16-yard touchdown run by redshirt-freshman running back Jordan Barnett (Fredericksburg, Va./Colonial Forge/Southern Utah) to take a 35-19 lead with 12:07 left in the third quarter.
Morgan tossed his fourth touchdown pass of the day when he fired a 10-yard scoring strike to Taylor with 10:04 left in the fourth quarter.
Dustin Shoaf scored on a one-yard run for Mercyhurst with 7:18 left in the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 42-25.
Brown capped the scoring with a six-yard run with 3:54 left.
Shepherd amassed 619 yards of total offense while Mercyhurst totaled 510 yards.
Urena connected on 25-of-38 passes for 290 yards for the Lakers.
Barnett had 11 carries for 166 yards to lead the Shepherd ground game. Brown, who surpassed the 1,000-yard mark (1,025) this season, added 20 carries for 147 yards as the Rams rushed for 323 yards. Shoaf had 19 carries for 96 yards to lead Mercyhurst.
Taylor had seven catches for 102 yards and Hill added four receptions for 68 yards to lead the Ram receivers. Black had 11 grabs for 181 yards for Mercyhurst.
Senior linebacker Dewayne Grantham (Martinsburg, W.Va./Martinsburg/Lackawanna) recorded eight tackles (five solos) to lead the Rams. Tyler Buterbaugh posted a game-high 11 tackles (six solos) for the Lakers.
The Rams await word on postseason pairings. The 2023 NCAA Division II Football Selection Show will air on Sunday, November 12th at 6 p.m. ET on NCAA.com.
