Shepherd holds tight to stay unbeaten

September 25, 2005

FAIRMONT, W.Va.

Junior free safety Dan Peters batted away a possible winning touchdown pass intended for Fairmont's Josh Romeo as time expired to help Shepherd University hold off host Fairmont State University, 14-11, in the West Virginia Athletic Conference on Saturday and stay unbeaten.

Fairmont took a 3-0 lead into halftime when Drew Cochran connected on a 31-yard field goal with 10:34 left in the second quarter.

The Falcon defense limited the Rams to seven rushing yards on 11 carries in the first half.

Shepherd (5-0, 2-0 in WVIAC) took a 7-3 lead with 4:27 left in the third quarter when sophomore running back Dervon Wallace scored on a 1-yard run. The score was setup by a fumble recovery by defensive end Andre Henderson.

Wallace added a 19-yard score with 9:38 left in the game to give the Rams a 14-3 lead. Junior Rodney Jackson returned a Falcon punt 28 yards to the Falcon 19-yard line to put the Rams in scoring position.

The Falcons cut the Ram lead to 14-11 when Marlon Burnette teamed with Josh Romeo on an 8-yard scoring strike with 4:17 left in the contest. The duo teamed again on a two-point scoring pass.

Johnson rushed for a game-high 154 yards on 42 carries for the Falcons. Wallace rushed for 58 yards on 17 carries to lead the Rams.

Junior quarterback Dan Chlebowski, of Greencastle, Pa., completed 15 of 23 passes for 122 yards for the Rams. Jackson led Rams receivers with six catches for 48 yards.

Senior inside linebacker Jeremy Bailey had a game-high 10 tackles to lead the Shepherd defense.

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