Shepherd stuns Notre Dame with last-second TD in D2 playoffs

SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. — With the game’s final seconds ticking off the clock, Shepherd quarterback Tyson Bagent rolled out of the pocket to his right, looking for an open receiver — or a miracle — with a trio of Notre Dame (Ohio) defenders on his tail.

Bagent unleashed a 23-yard pass into the right corner of the end zone, where Josh Gontarek made a sensational, leaping catch over Falcons safety Bryce Sheppert for the touchdown, lifting the host Rams to a 38-34 victory in the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs.

Talk about an instant classic.

“Man, what a ballgame,” Shepherd coach Ernie McCook said. “Both teams were challenged and answered the bell. We had the ball last, and we had some guys make some plays. … Having the ability to find a way to win is awesome. That’s what good teams do, they find ways to win. It goes to show the tremendous determination and grit of this football team — never quit and push to the end — and they show that every day when they show up to practice, meetings and go to work.

“So the fact that we won a ballgame like this doesn’t surprise me because of the guys in our locker room. I’m really proud of them. It was a hell of a win.”

In a game that featured four ties and five lead changes, the Falcons (11-2) appeared on their way to victory when they went up 34-31 with 28 seconds left in the fourth quarter on Chris Brimm’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Jeremy Hamilton.

But the ensuring kickoff was short, and Ronnie Brown returned it 19 yards to the Shepherd 45-yard line, with 20 seconds left on the clock and the Rams (12-1) needing a field goal to send it to overtime.

Bagent immediately completed a 32-yard pass to Ryan Beach for a first-and-10 at the Notre Dame 23, and the Rams called a timeout with 10 seconds left.

“After the great return (by Brown), I definitely thought we had enough time to get in field-goal range,” Bagent said. “The biggest part was having a successful play on that first play with throwing it to Ryan in the middle of the field. And then after that, the coaches made it crystal clear that this was our last chance, and that if we’re not successful on this play, then we’re going to hit the field goal — have good time management and not make the situation bigger than it is.”

The ensuing play won’t soon be forgotten, as Bagent connected with Gontarek for the game-winner with 1.9 seconds left.

“We weren’t expecting them to line up in the defense they did,” Bagent said. “We were expecting drop-eight, and they brought four D-linemen. So I knew I wasn’t going to have enough time to sit there and try to hit the deep shot like we wanted. So as soon as I could wiggle myself out of the pocket, I rolled to the right and I saw him streaking to the opposite sideline, and that’s when I just let it go. I didn’t want to wait too long, just in case it didn’t work out and we ran out of time on the clock.”

Bagent finished 30 of 50 passing for 301 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. Scoring strikes of 6 yards to Jonathan Moss and 9 yards to Gontarek gave Shepherd its biggest lead of the game, 21-7, in the second quarter.

Moss finished with a game-high nine catches for 69 yards, while Beach had seven for 97 and Gontarek had seven for 79.

Brown led Shepherd on the ground with 71 yards rushing on nine carries, while Ty Hebron added 27 yards on seven carries, including a pair of touchdowns.

Hebron’s 2-yard TD run tied the game at 7-7 late in the first quarter, and his 3-yard TD run early in the fourth gave the Rams a 31-27 lead.

Shepherd led 21-14 at halftime, and the game was tied 24-24 after three quarters.

Tyron McDade starred for the Rams on defense, intercepting a pair of Brimm passes in the fourth quarter with Notre Dame threatening to score. McDade’s first pickoff came in the end zone and his second was at the Shepherd 6.

Next up for the Rams is a rematch with Kutztown in the national quarterfinals on the road next weekend.

Kutzdown handed Shepherd its lone loss of the season, 37-29, on Sept. 25 at Ram Stadium.

“You’re going to see a team that’s going to come out hungry to play,” McCook said of his Rams. “We’re going to enjoy this win tonight, celebrate it with our family and teammates. We’ll come to work tomorrow and start our preparation for Kutztown, which we know is a great, well-coached football team. It’s going to be a great challenge for us, and we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Shepherd wins a playoff thriller over Notre Dame