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Cardiac Kids: Shepherd Pulls Out Miraculous Win to Advance in NCAA Division II Playoffs. @SURamsOfficial @KUGoldenBears

Tagged under: Gameday Hub, News, Pennsylvania Colleges, pfn

| December 5, 2021

For the Second Straight Week The Rams Score in the Last Seconds to Keep Season Alive.

KUTZTOWN- The Christmas season is a season of miracles, and for the Rams of Shepherd University they can certainly attest to that. For the second straight week they were the recipient of a last-ditch touchdown to advance in the NCAA Division II playoffs. Saturday the victim was the Golden Bears of Kutztown University by a count of 3-28 before a packed house at Andre Reed Stadium.

Shepherd jumped out to a 21-0 lead on touchdowns by Ronnie Brown covering 43 yards and a Tyson Bagent 1 yard score and then DB Klatyon Batten had a pick-six from 32 yards out with 3:43 left till intermission, but a late touchdown pass from Donny Blaine to Blake Novak covering 16 yards made it 21-7 at the half.

Kutztown tied the score at 21, with Blaine rushing for two scores one from 16 yards out with twelve seconds left in the third quarter and his second on a 1 yard quarterback sneak with 10:30 left in the contest.

The last three minutes of the game were as frantic and had the fans on both sides on the edge of their seat. With 2:56 left a 40 yard field goal by the Rams Hayden August-Scriven made it 24-21 in favor of Shepherd. Then on the Golden Bears next drive beginning deep in their own end of the field, they moved the ball to near field but then a Ram interception of a Blaine pass with less then two minutes left looked to seal the deal, but a a penalty and a challenge of a down-by contact call after the Rams fumble on the play gave the ball back to the Golden Bears to continue the drive.

With 39 seconds left a 24 yard touchdown pass from Blaine to Derek Anderson, who made a diving catch in back corner of the end zone gave the home team a 28-24 lead.

The Rams began their game winning drive near their own 35 yard line and quickly entered the Kutztown side of the field at the 42 with just seven seconds left, that setup for Bagent, buying time and stumbled rolling out just threw a desperation pass towards the goal line near the pylon and Alex Wetzel a 6’2 tight end was waiting surrounded by Maroon and Gold but Wetzel was not to be denied catching the ball at it’s highest point just beyond goal line giving the Rams the improbable win.

Shepherd(12-1) with the win avenged an earlier season loss to Kutztown 37-29 back in September will now advance to the National semifinals against Ferris State a 41-20 winner over Northwest Missouri State next week. Kutztown making their first ever appearance in the quarterfinal round finishes their season at 11-2.

After the game here is what both Bagent and Wetzel said about that last play:

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