2006 Shepherd Rams football team

The 2006 Shepherd Rams football team represented Shepherd University during the 2006 NCAA Division II football season as a member of the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC). They were led by head coach Monte Cater, in his 20th season at Shepherd, and finished the season 11–1. With a conference record of 7–0, they were named WVIAC champions^[2] and advanced to the Division II Playoffs, losing in the quarterfinal round against Bloomsburg.

2006 Shepherd Rams football
WVIAC champion
NCAA Division II quarterfinal, L 21–24 vs. Bloomsburg
Conference	West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
Ranking
AFCA	No. 8[1]
Record	11–1 (7–0 WVIAC)
Head coach	Monte Cater (20th season)
Home stadium	Ram Stadium
Seasons ← 2005 2007 →

2006 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 8 Shepherd $^		7	–	0					11	–	1
West Liberty State		4	–	3					7	–	4
Charleston (WV)		4	–	3					5	–	6
Glenville State		4	–	3					5	–	6
Fairmont State		3	–	4					4	–	7
Concord		3	–	4					3	–	8
West Virginia State		2	–	5					5	–	6
West Virginia Wesleyan		1	–	6					2	–	8
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from AFCA Poll

The Rams played their home games at Ram Stadium in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.

Preseason

The Rams entered the 2006 season as the 16th ranked team in the country.^[3]

Regular season

The 2006 regular season for the Rams consisted of 7 games against WVIAC opponents, and one game each against Millersville, Shippensburg, and C.W. Post. The Rams went undefeated in the regular season and were given the top seed in Super Region I in the 2006 NCAA Division II football playoffs.

With their win over West Liberty on November 4, Shepherd clinched the WVIAC title.^[2]

Playoffs

Shepherd received a first round bye in the playoffs by way of earning the #1 seed in Super Region I. In the second round, the team hosted Merrimack, and won the game 31–7,^[4] before losing in the quarterfinals against Bloomsburg.^[5]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Source
August 26	4:00 p.m	at Millersville*	No. 16	Chryst Field Millersville, PA	W 28–7	[6][3]
September 2	1:00 p.m.	at Shippensburg*	No. 15	Seth Grove Stadium Shippensburg, PA	W 14–0	[7][8]
September 16	12:00 p.m.	C.W. Post*	No. 14	Ram Stadium Shepherdstown, WV	W 24–0	[9][10]
September 23	12:00 p.m.	Glenville State	No. 9	Ram Stadium Shepherdstown, WV	W 23–6	[11][12]
September 30	12:00 p.m.	Fairmont State	No. 9	Ram Stadium Shepherdstown, WV	W 20–0	[13][14]
October 14	1:00 p.m.	at Charleston	No. 7	Laidley Field Charleston, WV	W 17–0	[15][16]
October 21	12:00 p.m.	Concord	No. 5	Ram Stadium Shepherdstown, WV	W 42–0	[17][18]
October 28	12:00 p.m.	West Virginia Wesleyan	No. 5	Ram Stadium Shepherdstown, WV	W 41–0	[19][20]
November 4	1:00 p.m.	at West Liberty	No. 5	Russek Field West Liberty, WV	W 34–32	[2][21]
November 11	1:00 p.m.	at WV State	No. 5	Lakin Field Institute, WV	W 38–12	[22][23]
November 25	12:00 p.m.	Merrimack*	No. 5	Ram Stadium Shepherdstown, WV (NCAA Division II second round)	W 31–7	[4][24]
December 2	12:00 p.m.	Bloomsburg*	No. 5	Ram Stadium Shepherdstown, WV (NCAA Division II quarterfinal)	L 21–24	[5][24]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AFCA Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

References

1. "Poll 2006 1221 II Final". December 21, 2006. p. 19 – via newspapers.com.
2. "Shepherd Holds Off West Liberty". Shepherd University Athletics.
3. "Poll 2006 0823 II Preseason". August 23, 2006. p. 33 – via newspapers.com.
4. "Shepherd Knocks Off Merrimack". Shepherd University Athletics.
5. "Shepherd Defeated by Bloomsburg in NCAA II Playoffs". Shepherd University Athletics.
6. "Shepherd Downs Millersville in Season Opener". Shepherd University Athletics.
7. "Shepherd Blanks Shippensburg, 14-0". Shepherd University Athletics.
8. "Poll 2006 0902 II". September 2, 2006. p. 77 – via newspapers.com.
9. "Fourteenth-ranked Shepherd blanks 17th-ranked C.W. Post". Shepherd University Athletics.
10. "Poll 2006 0906 II". September 6, 2006. p. 26 – via newspapers.com.
11. "Shepherd Moves to 4-0 with Win over Glenville State". Shepherd University Athletics.
12. "Poll 2006 0920 II". September 20, 2006. p. 19 – via newspapers.com.
13. "Ninth-ranked Shepherd Improves to 5-0 with Win over Fairmont State". Shepherd University Athletics.
14. "Poll 2006 0927 II". September 27, 2006. p. 20 – via newspapers.com.
15. "Shepherd blanks Charleston". Shepherd University Athletics.
16. "Poll 2006 1011 II". October 11, 2006. p. 20 – via newspapers.com.
17. "Shepherd Downs Concord". Shepherd University Athletics.
18. "Poll 2006 1018 II". October 18, 2006. p. 24 – via newspapers.com.
19. "Shepherd Handles West Virginia Wesleyan". Shepherd University Athletics.
20. "Poll 2006 1025 II". October 25, 2006. p. 22 – via newspapers.com.
21. "Poll 2006 1101 II". November 1, 2006. p. 27 – via newspapers.com.
22. "Shepherd Defeats State". Shepherd University Athletics.
23. "Poll 2006 1108 II". November 8, 2006. p. 29 – via newspapers.com.
24. "Poll 2006 1116 II". November 16, 2006. p. 19 – via newspapers.com.