SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – Defending West Virginia Conference champion Shepherd had to play keep-away and take-away to turn away an upset-minded West Liberty team on a wild Saturday afternoon at Ram Stadium.

The Ram defense returned two interceptions for touchdowns, blocked three PATs and added a safety while the Shepherd offense held the ball for nearly 23 of the 30 minutes in the second half to pull away to a 50-24 victory.

West Liberty (1-6, 1-4) came out with all guns blazing as L.D. Crow fired an 80-yard touchdown strike to Brandon Carver on the game's first snap from scrimmage.

Shepherd (5-2, 3-2) took a 7-6 on Elijah Davis's 35-yard interception return but Hilltopper cornerback Carl Hayles gave the WLU offense a short field when he picked off a Bobby Cooper pass at the Ram 14.

Crow capped a short drive with a 1-yard quarterback sneak and the surprising Hilltoppers took a 12-7 lead into the second quarter.

Eric Dobratz put the hosts back on top, 15-12, midway through the period when he wrapped a pair of field goals around a safety but the West Liberty defense wasn't finished yet.

Sophomore standout Alec Wood darted into the backfield on a safety blitz to jar the ball away from Cooper on a blind-side hit and defensive tackle Nick Augustyn recovered in the end zone for an 18-15 Hilltopper lead.

Shepherd took the ensuing kickoff and drove 57 yards for the go-ahead score with workhorse TB Kenny Williams slamming in from 3 yards out to put the hosts up, 22-18, at intermission.

The Rams turned momentum in their favor in the second half by focusing almost exclusively on the running game.

Shepherd took the second-half kickoff and marched 68 yards on 10 plays for a 29-18 lead.

Justin Black gave Hilltopper fans a thrill on the ensuing kickoff when he burst through a seam and sprinted up the right sideline for a 90-yard touchdown return, cutting the lead to 29-24 but sending the WLU defense right back on the field.

The Rams ground out another 10-play march that chewed nearly six more minutes off the clock and pushed the count to 36-24 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Hilltoppers had one more chance to swing momentum when Griffin Yocum's 61-yard punt was downed inside the Shepherd 10 early in the fourth quarter but the hosts were able to put the game away with a 12-play, 92-yard drive that used up nearly half the time in the fourth quarter.

Nik Norrell caught a 12-yard TD pass from Cooper with 6:13 remaining and defensive back Corey Washington wrapped up the scoring with a 34-yard interception return for a touchdown on West Liberty's next possession.

Williams led Shepherd with 155 rushing yards and 3 TDs on 23 carries. Cooper completed 15-of-21 passes for 121 yards.

Crow completed 15-of-28 passes for 204 yards with Carver showing 2 catches for a career-high 110 receiving yards.

The Hilltoppers remain on the road next week with a Saturday afternoon game at the University of Charleston. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Laidley Field.

GAME NOTES

X West Liberty was held to negative rushing yards – 18-for-(-16) yards – for the third time this season

X Black's kickoff return TD in the second quarter was WLU's first kick return TD since Kashif Walls' 80-yard runback on the opening kickoff of the 2009 NCAA Division II playoff game against Edinboro

X First-half time of possession was virtually even at 14:18 for West Liberty and 15:42 for Shepherd. That changed markedly in the second half when the Rams held the ball for 22:41 compared to just 7:19 for the Hilltoppers

X West Liberty had 156 yards of total offense on 34 plays in the first half but was held to just 14 snaps for 37 yards over the final two quarters

X The Rams had 191 of their 290 rushing yards after halftime

Shepherd 50

West Liberty 24

West Liberty 12    6    6     0 – 24

Shepherd  7  15  14  14 – 50

First Quarter

WLU: Carver 80 pass from Crow (kick blocked), 14:42

Shep: E.Davis 35 interception return (Dobratz kick), 9:25

WLU: Crow 1 run (kick blocked), 4:34

Second Quarter

Shep: FG Dobratz 34, 14:16

Shep: Safety, ball snapped out of end zone, 13:21

Shep: FG Dobratz 24, 10:50

WLU: Nick Augustyn 0 fumble recovery (kick blocked), 9:01

Shep: Kn.Williams 3 run (Dobratz kick), 6:06

Third Quarter

Shep: Kn.Williams 2 run (Dobratz kick), 9:50

WLU: Black 90 kick return (pass failed), 9:37

Shep: Kn.Williams 2 run (Dobratz kick), 4:03

Fourth Quarter

Shep: Norrell 12 pass from Cooper (Dobratz kick), 6:13

Shep: Washington 34 interception return (Dobratz kick), 5:54

A-3,117

Game Statistics

RUSHING: West Liberty 18-(-16), B.Davis 7-19, Burress 2-2, Victorio 1-(-1), Team 1-(-8), Crow 7-(-28). Shepherd 51-290, Kn.Williams 23-155, Haynes 18-87, Cooper 4-24, Kv.Williams 4-19, McKenzie 1-5, Hardie 1-0.

PASSING: West Liberty 16-30-209-1td-2x (Crow 15-28-204-1td-2x, Rogers 1-2-5-0-0x). Shepherd 15-21-121-1td-1x (all by Cooper).

RECEIVING: West Liberty 16-209, Murray 3-28, Devers 3-22, Carver 2-110, Schroeder 2-27, Tucci 2-17, Cartwright 2-7, Agustin 1-1, Burress 1-(-3). Shepherd 15-121, Hardie 4-28, Norrell 3-22, Kn.Williams 2-31, Ford 2-24, Byrd 1-8, Frick 1-6, Weisenmiller 1-5, McKenzie 1-(-3).

First downs: West Liberty 11, Shepherd 20

Fumbles: West Liberty 0-0, Shepherd 1-1

Penalties: West Liberty 6-56, Shepherd 10-90

Time of Possession: West Liberty 21:37, Shepherd 38:23