INDIANA, Pa. – Shepherd used some big pays and a physical defense, handing IUP a 48-13 loss in the Super Region One Championship on a gusty Saturday at Miller Stadium.
IUP (10-2) took a 7-0 lead in the game with a touchdown pass from
Mak Sexton to
Cole Laney in the opening quarter. Shepherd (13-1) wasted little time responding, racking up the next 48 points before IUP added a late score for the final margin.
The Rams forced three turnovers on the day and cashed in on a misplayed snap on an IUP punt in the third quarter. Shepherd took advantage of winning the field position battle, playing with a straight-line wind at its back for the second and third quarters.
The Rams converted for touchdowns on five consecutive drives, spanning the second and third quarters to pull away for good. Standout QB Tyson Bagent set the NCAA record for most touchdown passes in college football history at 158, guiding the Rams to their second consecutive Super Region One crown. Ronnie Brown gained 137 yards on 27 carries, adding two touchdowns with an impressive combination of speed and power.
For IUP, Sexton tossed a pair of touchdowns but had two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
Duane Brown caught a touchdown pass in the fourth and
Adam Houser picked up 46 hard-earned yards in the running game. On the defensive end,
Drew DiNunzio-Biss racked up 10 tackles, while
Raunya Mitchell was active with four tackles and 2.0 tackles for loss. It marked the 50th total touchdown of Brown's illustrious IUP career.
After taking a 7-0 advantage, Shepherd responded back on a third down with a long 71 yard bomb to Rodney Dorsey. Both sides clamped down on the defensive side of the ball for the rest of the opening quarter.
From there, Shepherd added touchdown passes of 18 and 17 yards in the second quarter, taking a 21-7 lead into the intermission. IUP fumbled in its own territory on the second play of its opening possession in the second half. The Rams needed just four plays to push their lead to 28-7 early in the third.
Sexton found
Hilton Ridley for a 13-yard connection on a third down, working the ball to the IUP 41. Another big pass play for Ridley brought the ball inside the Shepherd 25, but was called back on a personal foul infraction on the Crimson Hawks. Two plays later, the punt formation snap was mishandled as
Aiden Spitler raced back to recover the ball at the 21.
The Rams took advantage of the short field again, with Bagent extending the play before finding an open Brown in the middle for a sudden 35-7 advantage. The Rams continued pouring it on later in the third, capping a 69-yard drive with a two-yard rush up the middle from Brown.
Klayton Batten finished out the Shepherd scoring with a pick-six early in the fourth. Sexton found Brown for his 18th receiving score of the season with 7:55 remaining.
NOTES
IUP secured its 14th season of at least 10 wins last week against Ashland, finishing the 2022 season with a 10-2 mark…Saturday's game was a rematch of the 2022 PSAC Championship, a 24-21 IUP victory, just three weeks ago… Brown registered 50 touchdowns in 43 career games… Brown posted 176 catches for 2,884 yards and 38 touchdowns as a receiver… Brown finishes two touchdowns shy of Michael Mann (52) for the most in program history… Brown is second in school history in career receptions and receiving touchdowns… Sexton finished his initial season with the Crimson Hawks third on the school's single season touchdown list (33), just one shy of Quinton Maxwell in 2019… DiNunzio-Biss recorded his fourth game with 10 or more tackles in his career… Three of the four playoff matchups on Saturday were rematches from contests earlier of the season… Of those three games, the road team that lost the first meeting of the season rebounded for a victory on Saturday (Shepherd, Ferris State, Colorado School of Mines)… Shepherd is now 5-1 all-time against IUP in postseason action… IUP secured its 20th appearance in the NCAA Playoffs as the top seed in Super Region One… While the fumbled fourth-down snap skewed the numbers a bit, IUP finished with just 39 rushing yards… Shepherd converted all five of its red zone chances… The Rams averaged 6.4 yards per play, while IUP mustered just 3.8 yards per snap… Both of Laney's touchdown receptions in 2022 came against Shepherd… Devon Lynch finished with 11 tackles, an interception and fumble recovery in the middle of the Shepherd defense.
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