Bagent's big day goes for naught in Shepherd's football loss

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. — Junior quarterback Tyson Bagent, a Martinsburg graduate, completed 42-of-51 passes for 398 yards and four touchdowns, but Kutztown held off Shepherd for a 37-29 win in PSAC East football action at Ram Stadium on Saturday.

Bagent’s 42 completions broke the Shepherd single-game mark of 41 that he set against Kutztown in 2019. 

Kutztown (3-1, 1-0) took a 3-0 lead on a 37-yard field goal by Dean Krcic with 9:45 left in the first quarter. 

Shepherd (3-1, 0-1) took a 7-3 lead when Bagent hit senior wide receiver Greg Leonard on a 5-yard scoring toss with 5:33 left in the first quarter.

Kutztown took a 10-7 advantage when Eric Nickel fired a 72-yard scoring pass to Jerome Kapp with 4:12 left in the first quarter. 

Nick Palmer blocked a Shepherd field goal attempt and Antuan Lloyd picked it up and raced 87 yards for a score to give the Golden Bears a 17-7 lead with 12:18 left in the second quarter. 

Bagent fired an 8-yard scoring strike to tight end Alex Wetzel, a Boonsboro graduate, with 8:40 left in the second quarter to cut the lead to 17-14. 

Nickel scored on a 1-yard sneak with 2:19 left in the second quarter to up the Kutztown lead to 24-14 by the break. 

Shepherd opened the second-half scoring when Bagent fired a 15-yard TD strike to junior running back Ty Hebron with 13:30 left in the third quarter to cut the lead to 24-21. 

Nickel found Jake Novak in the back of the end zone for a 7-yard scoring pass with 1:07 left in the third quarter as Kutztown increased the lead to 31-21. 

Darryl Davis-McNeil ran 11 yards for a score for the Golden Bears with 2:54 remaining to raise the lead to 37-21. 

Bagent teamed with wide receiver Jonathan Moss on a 2-yard scoring pass with 1:14 left. Bagent and Ryan Beach combined on the two-point conversion. 

Nickel completed 20 of 28 passes for 250 yards and a pair of scores for Kutztown. 

Moss had had 12 receptions for 108 yards and a score for the Rams, while Beach added nine grabs for 68 yards. Mason McElroy had six catches for 71 yards for the Golden Bears. 

Hebron had six carries for 50 yards for the Rams. Jordan had 10 carries for 94 yards for Kutztown. 

Shepherd gained 467 yards in total offense, while Kutztown had 481. 

Senior linebacker Kendall Duckworth led the Rams with 10 stops (six solo). Senior defensive back Ponce Deleon added nine tackles (five solo). Shawn Turber-Ortiz had eight tackles (seven solo) to lead Kutztown. 

The Rams return to action next Saturday when they host Shippensburg at noon for Hall of Fame Weekend.