10.16.06
Late surge lifts Shepherd past UC
October 16, 2006
By Rick Ryan
The Charleston Gazette
Assistant Sports Editor
If you find yourself stuck in a defensive battle with Shepherd, well, good luck. There aren’t many teams in the country that do it any better than the Rams.
Safety Dan Peters intercepted a tipped pass and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown as Shepherd’s defense put a sleeper hold on the University of Charleston Saturday afternoon, recording a 17-0 victory in front about 800 fans at UC Stadium.
Shepherd’s win, its 19th straight over a West Virginia Conference opponent, came in a matchup of the league’s top two teams. It also came with a stifling defensive effort.
The Golden Eagles were limited to a season-low 182 yards against the Rams, who were ranked No. 7 in total defense among NCAA Division II teams.
“Our defense played so well,’’ said Rams coach Monte Cater, “but they’ve played like that all year. This was a challenge today, and I thought Charleston had a great game plan and did some things that hurt us. But our defense took matters into their hands. They were ready to play. Peters’ return, that’s going to be one of the biggest plays of the year.’’
The game was scoreless heading to the fourth quarter, but the Rams (6-0, 3-0) were on the move thanks to a 50-yard run by Dervon Wallace to the UC 19-yard line to end the third period. A holding penalty moved the ball back to the 28, and Ricky Schmitt broke the deadlock with a 35-yard field goal with 13:06 remaining.
Three plays later, UC’s hole grew deeper.
From his own 20, Golden Eagles quarterback Corey Isner tried to dump off a pass to running back Blake Burr, who couldn’t adjust to the ball in time and batted it up. Peters, charging on the play, picked it off in stride and broke a couple tackles to score.
“I was in the right spot at the right time,’’ Peters said. “Luckily, we were in press coverage, and it popped into my hands. I just ran to daylight and tried to get to the goal line.’’
Almost 12 minutes were left in the game at that point, but with the way Shepherd’s defense was playing, it was pretty much over. UC got two more possessions after that, but netted only one first down.
Shepherd has now allowed just 13 points in six games this season and owns four shutouts. The Rams also blanked UC last year 27-0 in Shepherdstown.
“I don’t think we take the shutouts for granted any more,’’ said Peters, who also had nine tackles. “We just come out every week and try to execute the defensive game plan as much as we can. If there’s a zero on the board at the end of four quarters, we’re happy. But the main thing is the win.’’
Despite the limitations, UC (4-4, 3-2) had its chances.
In the waning moments of the first half, the Eagles drove to the Shepherd 11, but two sacks and two offensive penalties pushed them back to the 42. A 25-yard touchdown pass from Isner to Burr was negated by a holding call.
UC also missed a field goal at the end of a 15-play drive in the third quarter that reached the Rams 5. Isner went 5-of-6 on the possession for 46 yards, but John Beamer’s 22-yard field goal try sailed wide left.
Besides two turnovers, UC’s Murvin Johnson dropped a sure touchdown pass after he’d burned the Rams secondary and Beamer shanked punts of 17 and 21 yards, the latter setting up the game’s only touchdown drive of just 42 yards by Shepherd.
“They took advantage of their opportunities, and we didn’t,’’ said UC coach Tony DeMeo. “That was the story of the game.
“But they’re a very, very good football team. This was the No. 1 team in our region. They’re as good as there is. The last time they lost a game in conference, Robert Byrd had black hair. It’s been a long time. They’re a well-drilled team and they know how to take advantage of opportunities. We’re a real young program and I thought we took them to the hilt. They outlasted us.’’
UC matched Shepherd’s defensive doings much of the way. The Rams gained 106 of their 301 offensive yards in the final 10 minutes, or after Peters’ pick seemed to sap some life out of the Eagles.
Defensive back LeDominique Williams recovered a Shepherd fumble in his own end zone to thwart one drive in the first quarter and UC’s Antonio Smith fell on a fumbled punt return in the third quarter.
The defenses appeared so strong that neither side took many chances downfield. Shepherd’s Dan Chlebowski hardly attempted a pass of more than 10 yards.
“Both teams respected the other team’s defense,’’ DeMeo said. “We took a couple shots, but the defenses were so good that you weren’t going to have much time to throw the ball. It was kind of like a heavyweight fight — it was bing, bing, bing, bing.’’
Shepherd running back Wallace, a transfer from West Virginia State, had 143 yards on 20 carries, including a 23-yard TD run with 8:05 to go. Wallace actually gained much more, but suffered losses of 14 and 13 yards trying to reverse his field.
Isner hit on 11-of-20 passes for 107 yards for UC, but was sacked three times.
“It was two great defenses out there today,’’ Isner said. “You can’t take anything away from our defense, but [Shepherd] made some awesome plays. It’s hard to take shots on a defense like that. You can’t be throwing the ball around everywhere. We had some unfortunate breaks today, but I don’t want to take anything away from Shepherd. They made the plays when they needed to, and we didn’t.’’