WINCHESTER, Va. – Shenandoah University set a new program record for points in a game in a 70-35 non-league football victory over visiting Methodist University Saturday afternoon.
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Shenandoah (6-4) scored 35 points in the second quarter to pull away from the Monarchs (4-6) in the season finale for both schools.
IN DEPTH
The 35-point victory is the Hornets largest margin of victory in the 13-game lifetime series versus Methodist. Shenandoah is 9-4 lifetime versus MU and has won four straight dating back 21-18 home win on October 16, 2010.
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With the score tied at 7-7 following a 10-play, 85-yard drive from Methodist at the end of the first quarter, SU answered back in a big way on its ensuing possession.
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The Hornets drove 64-yards in nine plays and 3:39, ending with a six-yard
Chris Sonnenberg-to-
Casey Stewart touchdown pass to make it 14-7 six seconds into the second half.
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Four plays later, it was 21-7 as
Koby Cloutier blocked an Ian Switzer punt and
Daquan Pridget returned it 21 yards for the score.
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Methodist had the ball for just three plays again on its next drive as well with this drive ending on a
Ben Burgan interception at the Methodist 49.
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Sonnenberg, who finished 30-of-35 for 367 yards and five touchdowns, needed just two throws to make it 28-7. He hit
Jake Wallace for a 14-yard score to usher in the rout.
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The Monarchs got their lone score of the stanza on their next drive, but Shenandoah was not finished. Sonnenberg directed an eight-play, 83-yard drive to push the advantage out to 42-14 with 93 seconds to play in the half.
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Coach
Scott Yoder's team kept up the pressure in the second half, turning in a goal line stand to start the third quarter and answering with an eight-play, 85-yard drive that ended with Sonnenberg hitting tight end
Jack Massie for a six-yard TD pass.
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The duo had hooked up on the previous scoring drive with Massie scoring on a five-yard drag route.
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The defense got into the mix 56 seconds into the fourth as
Trammel Anthony had a 75-yard pick six to make it 56-14 in favor of the hosts.
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Pridget, who had an interception and a pass defensed in addition to his special teams touchdown, provided the final block to allow Anthony to waltz into the end zone untouched.
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Stewart, who just missed the school record for reception yards in a game with 207 on 10 catches, scored his second touchdown of the game on a 41-yard catch-and-run with 12:13 to play.
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That TD started a run in which the two teams traded two touchdowns each.
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Mario Wisdom, who had the Hornets initial touchdown of the game, closed out the Hornets scoring on a six-yard run with 5:29 left.
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Wisdom finished his day with 13 carries for 87 yards and the two TDs.
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Methodist scored its final TD with 3:31 left against a host of Shenandoah reserves.
QUOTABLE
"Great effort for the seniors," Yoder said. "We made a bunch of huge plays on special teams and defense to help break this game open."
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NOTES
- Shenandoah leads the all-time series with Methodist, 9-4
- This is the Hornets third winning season in the past four years
- The Class of 2020 finished its career with 23 wins
- Shenandoah had 510 yards of offense with 388 coming through the air
- Methodist had 492 yards in offense with 343 of it passing
- Jake Wallace had a program-record 15 catches for 97 yards for SU
- Stewart missed the school record for reception yards in a game by 17 yards
- Rico Wallace '12 set that mark in 2010 versus Ferrum
- The 70 points scored breaks the record of 62 set versus Guilford in 2018
- The 10 touchdowns scored is also a new program record
- Sonnenberg's 85.7 percent passing is a new program record
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