WINCHESTER, Va. - Shenandoah University won in a home season opener for the first time in seven years with a 49-21 non-league victory over first-year program Stevenson.
Senior Rico Wallace was an unstoppable force for SU (1-0) against Stevenson - Wallace set a new school record with five touchdown catches and had 154 yards receiving on seven catches.
Wallace had two TD catches in the first six minutes of the contest, scoring on a 36-yard pass on the Hornets first play from scrimmage and adding a 25-yard reception on the squad's second possession.
That fade into the west endzone capped a seven-play, 48-yard drive that took an even three minutes.
The Mustangs (0-1) briefly made things interesting when quarterback CJ Hopson connected with Jaelin DeShields for a 75-yard TD strike immediately following Wallace' second TD.
Shenandoah erased any thought of a Stevenson comeback by scoring the final 28 points of the first half.
Junior Brad Martz and quarterback Daniel Wright, who finished 17 for 23 for 252 yards and five TDs through the air, had touchdown runs of 5 and 1 yard, respectively, during this spurt.
Those two scores alternated with Wallace TD catches of 19 and 39 yards.
The Mustangs scored two of the three second-half TDs, but got no closer than 38 points the rest of the way.
The Hornets finished the game with 494 yards in total offense, including 255 through the air. SU averaged just over seven yards per offensive play and had 23 first downs.
Josh Rogers and Corey Giffing led the defense with eight and seven tackles, respectively.
Donnell Brown had 15 stops for the visitors, who had 260 yards of total offense.
Shenandoah hosts Bridgewater next Saturday night in the final non-conference game between the two schools. SU will join BC in the ODAC for the 2012 season.
Notes: The last win in a home season opener came against N.C. Wesleyan in 2004, which was also the Battling Bishops first-ever game... Just over 1800 fans came to Sprint Field at Shentel Stadium to see the win, and see skydivers bring in the game ball prior to kick off... SU wore white jerseys at home for the first-time ever... Shenandoah is now 2-1 when involved in a first-ever collegiate game. The loss, 49-14, came in the Hornets inaugural contest. SU played at Bethany (W. Va.) in 2000 as its first-ever game...
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