Shepherd University Athletics

SHEPHERD HANDLES TECH, 56-7

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W. Va. -- Sophomore running back Dervon Wallace (Lusby, Md/Calvert HS/WV State) rushed 22 times for a career-high 176 yards and two touchdowns to lead Shepherd University to a 56-7 win over WVU Tech in WVIAC football action at Ram Stadium on Saturday.

Tech took a 7-0 lead with 9:35 left in the first quarter on a two-yard touchdown pass from Casey Justice to James Boyd.

The Rams tied the game at 7-7 when redshirt-freshman quarterback Tyler Lazear (Bethesda, MD/Walt Whitman HS) connected with junior wide receiver Rodney Jackson (Severn, MD/Meade HS) on a seven-yard scoring play.

Shepherd took 28-7 lead into halftime with three more scores in the second quarter. Wallace scored on a six-yard run and a one-yard plunge, while Lazear and Jackson teamed on a 37-yard scoring strike as time expired in the first half.

Redshirt-freshman running back C.J. King (Columbia, MD/Oakland Mills HS) scored on a five-yard run with 3:29 left in the third quarter to up the Rams lead to 35-7.

Minutes later senior defensive end Dan Gallagher (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin HS) stripped the ball from the Tech quarterback and rambled 30 yards for a touchdown to put the Rams ahead 42-7.

Shepherd closed out the scoring with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns. Redshirt-freshman running back Vincent Riggs (Poolesville, MD/Poolesville, MD) scored on a five-yard jaunt with 14:51 left and senior return specialist Dustin Dudinski (Sterling, VA/Park View HS) returned a punt for 38 yards for a touchdown with 1:19 remaining.

Lazear completed 11-of-17 passes for 191 yards and two scores in his first collegiate start. Justice completed 18-of-30 passes for 164 yards for the Golden Bears.

Jackson led the Ram receivers with five receptions for 105 yards. James Boyd had 10 receptions for 102 yards to pace Tech.

Shepherd limited Tech to 168 yards of total offense -- including minus two yards rushing.

Junior linebacker Dante McKoy (Stafford, VA/North Staffford HS) led the Rams defense with 12 tackles (six solo). Tech's Eric Putmon had a game-high 14 tackles with eight solo stops.

Shepherd moves to 6-0 on the year, 3-0 in WVIAC action, while WVU Tech falls to 0-6, 0-3. The Rams set a new school mark for consecutive wins with their 13th straight victory dating back to last season. This eclipses the old mark of 12 set during the 1977-78 seasons. The Rams return to action next Saturday when they host University of Charleston for a 1:00 p.m. contest.

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