The Roanoke College football team will get its biggest test of the season to date when the Maroons host Old Dominion Athletic Conference rival Hampden-Sydney this Saturday. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. at Salem Stadium.
The Maroons are 4-0 after pummeling Guilford in their ODAC opener last weekend. Roanoke sophomore Jerrett Shepherd rushed for 166 yards in a 52-24 win at Appenzeller Field in Greensboro, N.C.
The Maroons have yet to be truly tested this season, but Saturday that will change. Hampden-Sydney is a traditionally strong conference team and the Tigers are off to a 3-1 start, including a 30-14 win over Shenandoah in their ODAC opener in Winchester last week.
The Tigers have a solid ground attack. Senior Terry Hicks became only the fourth back in ODAC history to run for over 300 yards in a game when he piled up 317 rushing yards in a win over the University of New England on September 19.
The Maroons got a big game from Shepherd against Guilford, as the former William Byrd Terrier scored three times in the win. The Maroons went up early, scoring on their first drive of the game when reigning ODAC Offensive Player of the Week Linwood Johnson found KJ Bratton for a 33-yard touchdown. The Quakers countered with a rushing touchdown but didn’t convert the extra point.
Shepherd put the Maroons up 14-6 with a nine-yard rushing score. A Guilford field goal and touchdown gave the home team a 16-14 lead late in the second quarter before RC’s Cole Chizuk caught a 25-yard touchdown pass to put RC back ahead and the Maroons took the 21-16 lead into intermission.
Shepherd ran 75 yards to pay dirt on the opening play of the second half, then Ethan Cyr drilled a 45-yard field goal. Johnson completed passes to Grey Deal and Jackson Swanson, and Shepherd ran it in from 18 yards out to complete the scoring as the Maroons scored 31 points in the second half.
Shepherd needed just 12 carries for his 166 yards, averaging 13.8 yards per rush. Johnson completed 16-of-26 passes for four touchdowns and Chizuk corralled six passes for 82 yards and one score. The Maroons outgained Guilford 242-50 on the ground.
On defense, JaePharoah Carpenter made nine tackles and broke up two passes. Landon Altizer and Brayden Andrews each made nine stops while Lane Shoemaker, Connor Cox and Briggs Smithson recorded interceptions.
