It’s that time of the year again Ram nation! Football is back and in full swing for the fall and many Ram fans and players are excited to kick this season off with a bang. After a regional championship and final four runs last year, the Shepherd Rams are looking to capitalize on their previous success and make a further run to a national championship.
“We want to give back to the Shepherd community and fanbase” Enelio Pena, outside linebacker for the Shepherd Rams said, “They’ve been sticking with us and supported us to our regional championship run and into the final four, so we want to show that they’re support was not in vain and go farther than we ever did into the playoffs.”
The Rams football team has been on campus since Aug. 6 training vigorously for this upcoming season to compete and get in tip-top shape to go farther than they did in the year previous. After losing over 20 seniors this year, the Rams are a younger team than they were last year, but just as hungry to achieve their goals.
“We’re going to compete harder than we did last year and also work on our communication,” Josh Kline, Defensive Coordinator for the Shepherd Rams said, Goals for this season are to run to the ball, create turnovers, and not allow big plays. If we can get those things done, we are going to have a successful season and help the team out in a big way.”
Shepherd’s first game was a walloping 48-7 win over Southern Connecticut State in Connecticut. Quarterback Tyson Bagent completed 33 of 43 passes for 394 yards and five touchdowns. Junior running back Ronnie Brown rushed 10 times for 113 yards. Wide receiver Marion Cook caught eight passes for 154 yards.
The Shepherd University Rams will play Edinboro at home on Saturday, Sept. 10 starting at noon. Links to the game are on the Shepherd University athletics website. Shepherd students and alumni are expected to turn out in large numbers for this home opener.