Shenandoah University picked of a pass and returned it 80 yards for a touchdown to kill a late Roanoke scoring threat and hold off the Maroons for an Old Dominion Athletic Conference football win last Saturday. The Hornets escaped with a 33-20 win at Salem Stadium.
This game was close all the way. Following a Hornet touchdown, Roanoke’s Ethan Cyr drilled a 23-yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3 at the end of the first quarter. Shenandoah scored a TD at 8:40 of the second quarter but couldn’t convert the extra point. Salem High grad Eli Taylor connected with Jaden Davis on a 21-yard touchdown strike and SU went into halftime with a 13-10 lead.
KJ Bratton, a Lord Botetourt product, returned the second half kickoff 66 yards to set up another Cyr field goal and tie the game. However, the Hornets scored in the third and the early fourth quarter on Mekhi Brown to Jackson McFarland passes to forge a 26-13 lead.
Down two scores, Roanoke rallied when Taylor fired a three-yard strike to Grey Deal to cut the lead to 26-20 with 9:55 still on the clock. The Hornets looked like they were going to salt it away on the ensuing drive but DeAngelo Walker forced a fumble on a near touchdown and Roanoke took over down six with 6:23 still remaining.
The Maroons moved all the way to the SU 27-yard line looking to go ahead, but Jaren Mitchell intercepted a pass and ran it back 80 yards for a killer pick-six. Taylor was injured on the drive and Kam Hill replaced him at quarterback, leading Roanoke on a late drive beginning on the RC 10 that was stopped on fourth down at the Shenandoah one-yard line.
Taylor finished 19-for-31 passing for 220 yards and two touchdowns. Jackson Swanson, his former teammate when Eli was at Glenvar, caught four passes for 65 yards and Deal caught five passes for 64. Polo Hill ran 12 times for 73 yards and Tyson Miller had 14 carries for 54 yards.
On defense Charlie Davis, the previous week’s ODAC Defensive Player of the Week, had 13 tackles, including seven solo, and forced a fumble. Isaac Rivera made 10 stops and Javier Waldron picked off his fifth pass of the year for the Maroons.
Shenandoah quarterback Mekhi Brown completed 19-of-24 passes for 264 yards and four touchdowns. Brown was named this week’s ODAC Offensive Player of the Week for his performance.
With the win Shenandoah improved to 3-1 in the ODAC and 5-1 overall. Roanoke is 4-2 on the season and 2-2 in ODAC games.
This Saturday the Maroons will travel to Hampden-Sydney for a conference game, beginning at 1 pm. The Tigers are tied for second in the ODAC with Shenandoah at 3-1, and they’re also 5-1 overall like the Hornets.
