FB9-22-01

ESU-Shepherd Football

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.V. - East Stroudsburg and Shepherd, who had battled to overtime the last two years, hooked up in another wild football game Saturday which produced 902 yards total offense and 49 first downs with the Rams holding on the fourth quarter for a 33-26 victory.

ESU fell behind, 17-0, in the first half, but stormed back in the second half to tie the score at 20-20. Shepherd took the lead, 27-20, on backup tailback Alex Herbert's 27-yard run and Alex Burkey's extra point with 10:23 left.

The Warriors moved right back down the field and scored what appear to be the tying touchdown on a six-yard pass from quarterback Jeremy Palm to wide receiver Chris Bath. But the extra-point was wide leaving Shepherd with a one-point lead with 8:08 remaining.

After forcing the Rams to punt, the ESU offense drove into Shepherd territory again, getting all the way to the 22-yard line. An illegal procedure penalty set them back to the 27 and four straight incomplete passes ended the drive with 2:04 left.

Shepherd scored a final touchdown on a 51-yard pass play from quarterback Joel Gordon to wide receiver Jason Dirting with 1:10 to go which gave ESU another opportunity to tie the score. This time, the Warriors got the Rams' 47-yard line, but two final plays failed to pick up any yardage.

Both teams went into the contest unbeaten. Shepherd, ranked 25th in last week's NCAA Division II poll, is now 4-0 while ESU fell to 2-1.

The Warriors gained 402 yard total offense and had 21 first downs, 19 in the second half. Tailback Andre Castiglioni posted his third 100-yard game of the season with 157 yards on 24 carries for an average of 6.5 yards per attempt. He scored one touchdown on a 13-yard run.

Palm passed for 226 yards (16 for 44) and threw three touchdown passes including the one to Bath. The others were 16 yards to wide receiver Justin Kondikoff and 30-yard to wide receiver John Kotarsky.

Kotarsky had five catches for 63 yards while Larry Harrison, making his first full appearance of the season, had three receptions for 64 yards.

Shepherd also had plenty of offense with 500 total yards and 29 first downs. Tailback Travis Lynch also extended an 100-yard rushing streak to four straight with 190 yards on 34 carries, an average of 5.6 per try. He ran seven yards for the Rams' first touchdown.

Gordon completed 15 of 30 passes for 252 yards and two scores. His first TD throw was a six-yard to tight end Rob Cunningham. Dirting made four catches for 95 yards.

Each team scored four touchdowns, but Burkey made the difference with two field goals of 43 yards, his career best, and 30 yards.

The ESU defense caused five turnovers, two interceptions and three fumble recoveries. Safety Jeremy Brown had his third interception of the season and also bounced on a fumble.

East Stroudsburg 0-0-13-13 26

Shepherd 6-11-3-13 33

SC - Travis Lynch 7 run (rush failed), 8:54 left 1st

SC - Rob Cunningham 6 pass from Joel Gordon (Paul Lucas pass from Gordon), 12:24 left 2nd

SC - Kevin Burkey 43 field goal, 0:06 left 2nd

ES - Justin Kondikoff 16 pass from Jeremy Palm (Mike Berry kick), 8:03 left 3rd

ES - John Kotarsky 30 pass from Palm (kick failed), 5:53 left 3rd

SC - Burkey 30 field goal, 0:00 left 3rd

ES - Andre Castiglioni 13 run (Berry kick), 12:39 left 4th

SC - Alex Herbert 27 run (Burkey kick), 10:23 left 4th

ES - Chris Bath 6 pass from Palm (kick failed), 8:08 left 4th

SC - Jason Dirting 51 pass from Gordon (kick blocked), 1:10 left 4th