Sep 16, 2023 2 min read

California gave the 14th-ranked team in the country all it could handle, but Shepherd scored two late touchdowns in a 44-34 victory Saturday afternoon at Adamson Stadium.

The Rams (3-0) trailed 34-30 with 9:33 remaining after the Vulcans’ Omari Hopkins caught a 2-yard touchdown pass from Davis Black before Jeremia Taylor pulled in a six-yard touchdown reception from Seth Morgan for a 37-34 lead with 6:34 left after James Bozek made the fourth of his five PATs.

Shepherd put the game away on Morgan’s 1-yard run with 1:38 remaining.

California (1-1) entered the game as the underdog and fell behind 3:35 into the contest as Kordell Batten caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Morgan for a 7-0 advantage.

Bozek’s 43-yard field goal at 11:51 of the second quarter extended the visitors’ lead to 10-0, but the Vulcans scored their first touchdown in a big way, as Eric Willis III took a 91-yard pass from Black into the end zone 20 seconds later. Willis caught six passes for 274 yards.

Willis’ score lit a fire for California’s offense, as Bobby Boyd Jr. scored on a two-yard run and Hopkins’ first touchdown reception, a 22 yarder, extended the Vulcans’ advantage to 21-10 with 1:01 remaining before halftime.

The Rams responded on the ensuing drive with Cameron Dorner taking a 27-yard pass from Morgan into the end zone to cut the deficit to 21-17 at halftime.

Willis added another 90-yard plus score at 7:09 of the third quarter, when he pulled in a 95 yarder from Black for a 28-17 lead.

Dorner took the kickoff 96 yards into the end zone for his second score before he gave his team a 30-28 advantage with 2:53 left in the third frame.

Black was 19 of 31 for 411 yards and four touchdowns but threw two interceptions. Boyd gained 97 yards on 21 carries.