(THE PICKET) — The 5,321 fans in Rams stadium could not hold back their cheers and excitement as the clock ticked down to 0 in a 28-16 victory over Slippery Rock University Saturday giving Head Coach Monte Cater his 250th career win and the Rams a spot in the final four for the second time in school history.
The Rams will face off against Grand Valley State next Saturday in the Final Four. The time and location is yet to be determined.
The Rams offense for the second straight week sputtered out of the gate falling behind 7-0 midway through the first quarter after Slippery Rock’s Shamar Greene found the end zone from 2 yards out.
Marshall Mundin with a sack on Slippery Rock’s quarterback Dante Nania. Shepherd’s defense had six sacks on Nania in total.
The Rams found the end zone and knotted the game up at 7 with 4 minutes left in the second quarter when Quarterback Jeff Ziemba found wide receiver Tony Squirewell from 16 yards out.
Both teams made up for the lack of first half scoring quickly in the third quarter combining for five total scores. The first score of the quarter was a quick slant from Ziemba to wide receiver Billy Brown in which Brown shed two blockers and took it 74 yards to give the Rams a 13-7 lead with 10:23 minutes remaining.
After a fumble on the opening play of Slippery Rock’s next drive, the Rams found themselves with a first and goal from the 10 yard line. Running back Allen Cross wasted no time scoring, dragging a group of defenders with him into the end zone giving the Rams a 19-7 lead with 10:06 minutes left in the quarter.
“Those two plays sparked a fire that gave us the momentum we needed for the rest of the game,” Cater said.
Cross again found the end zone just 5 minutes after Cross’ score, this time from 27 yards out giving the Rams a commanding 25-7 lead.
Slippery Rock drew the lead to 11 with 4 minutes left in the third quarter when quarterback Dante Nania found wide receiver Jaimire Dutreiuille from 9 yards out. A safety in the closing second of the third quarter made the Shepherd lead 25-16 making the game a whole lot more exciting heading into the fourth and final quarter.
The Rams defense came up big in the fourth quarter keeping Slippery Rock off the scoreboard. Ryan Earles added a late field goal to seal a Rams victory 28-16.
Ziemba finished the day 15-26 for 255 yards and two touchdowns. Ziemba’s favorite target on the day was Squirewell who finished the day with seven receptions for 61 yards and a touchdown.
Cross powered the Rams’ ground game Saturday finishing with 83 yards on 13 carries and two scores.
The Rams’ defense, as it did the entire season, showed their dominance Saturday allowing only 14 to a team whose regular season point average was 50. The defense combined for six sacks on the day, 2.5 of them coming from defensive lineman Elijah Norris.
“We have faith that our defense can hold opponents, which makes the offense’s job a lot easier,” Ziemba said.
The Rams will face Grand Valley State University Saturday December 12 at noon at Ram Stadium.
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