#15 Notre Dame 31, West Virginia State 14 | Final Stats
INSTITUTE, W.Va. -- Notre Dame claimed a second-straight Mountain East Conference title with a 31-14 win over Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon at Lakin Field.
The Falcons had already clinched a share of the title, but won the title outright with the victory over WVSU. The Falcons finish the season with a 10-1 record and 9-1 in the MEC. West Virginia State finishes the regular season with a record of 7-4 overall and 7-3 in conference play.
Notre Dame scored the first 21 points of the game and carried a 21-0 lead early into the second quarter. Jaleel McLaughlin scored a pair of touchdowns on the ground and Chris Brimm connected with Marvelle Ross on a flea flicker for the lead. WVSU got its first score of the game on a Donovan Riddick touchdown pass to Isaiah Scott from 17 yards out, but the Falcons closed the first half with a field goal to take a 24-7 lead into the break.
The score remained until WVSU's Dant'e Jones plunged in one yard for the score to make it a 24-14 game with still over three minutes to play in the third quarter. The Yellow Jackets went three-and-out on its next possession, but got the ball back by returning the favor on NDC's next possession. WVSU moved the ball to the 50-yard line, but couldn't convert on 4th-and-5 to give the ball back to the Falcons. Notre Dame managed to then control the ball for the next seven minutes, and McLaughlin capped the drive with his third TD run of the day to put the game away.
McLaughlin finished with 137 yards on the ground and three TDs. Brimm was 15-of-22 for 179 yards with one score. Ross had four catches for 78 yards and one TD.
Nate Moore led NDC on defense with 13 tackles (11 solo). Sha'haun Williams seven tackles with a sack and another TFL.
Riddick completed 19-of-32 for 201 yards with one touchdown. He was also WVSU's top runner with nine carries for 56 yards. Kendell Robinson had 11 tackles (seven solo), including a pair of TFL. Christian Thompson knocked down two passes.
Wheeling 27, Concord 20 | FInal Stats
ATHENS, W.Va. -- Wheeling closed out its first season of varsity football with the program's first win by defeating Concord, 27-20, on Saturday afternoon at Callaghan Stadium.
WU moved its record to 1-10 overall and 1-9 in the MEC. Concord finishes its season with the same records: 1-10 overall and 1-9 in conference play.
Wheeling's Matthew Greenwood hit a pair of field goals in the first quarter to give the Cardinals the early lead. CU's Luke Walls hit from 35 yards out in the second quarter to cut the lead in half, but Wheeling answered with the first touchdown of the game as Sy Alli went 30 yards for the score. Concord got a lift going into the locker room with another Walls field goal, this time from 36 yards out.
After a scoreless third quarter, WU stretched its lead to 20-6 as Tucker Strachan found Ryan LaFollette in the right corner of the end zone. Concord answered with a 30-yard touchdown pass by Tywan Pearce to Isaiah Bowman, and the Mountain Lions got the ball back after recovering a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. However, CU could not capitalize on the turnover and missed a 39-yard field goal attempt.
Wheeling went 3-and-out on its next possession, and Kevin Moss returned the punt all the way to the Wheeling five-yard line. Two plays later, Concord tied the game as Kyle Akin found Caeleb Bass for the touchdown. The Cardinals had to punt again on its next possession, but Josiah Wright came up with the big defensive play picking off Akin and getting the ball to the CU 33-yard line. After converting a 3rd-and-3, Strachan connected with LaFollette once again for the go-ahead touchdown with 3:24 to go.
The Mountain Lions converted a 4th-and-11 and then picked up two more first downs to get into Wheeling territory, but Aaron Finch intercepted a pass in the end zone to give Wheeling the ball back. The Cards managed to pick up the necessary first down to run ou the clock for the win.
Alli led the way for Wheeling with 169 yards on 23 carries and one touchdown. Strachan finished 17-of-31 for 11 yards and two scores, and LaFollette had two touchdown receptions.
In addition to the picks by Wright and Finch, Ryan Gorman also had two interceptions. Brandon Munoz had a team-high seven tackles and had two TFL.
Akin was 17-of-36 for 169 yards and one touchdown against four picks. Joshua Maxwell had 49 yards rushing, and Bass had five catches for 74 yards. Dillon Howie had nine total tackles (seven solo), and Nathan Lease had a sack.
#25 Truman State 24, Urbana 7 | Final Stats
URBANA, Ohio -- Truman State pulled away from Urbana late to take a 24-7 win over the Blue Knights at UU Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The 25th-ranked Bulldogs (9-2) rushed for 286 yards and had the ball for nearly 38 minutes on its way to the victory. Meanwhile, Truman State was able to hold Urbana to just 94 yards on the ground.
Jordan Salima went for 216 yards and one touchdown for TSU, and also had three catches for 20 yards. Jaden Barr completed just 11-of-21 passes for 111 yards with one TD. Monte Sharpe made the most of his one catch -- a 34-yard touchdown grab in the second quarter.
Izzy Sanders was 19-of-36 for for 286 yards with two touchdowns and one interceptions. He also carried the ball 11 times for 27 yards. Jesse Bray had five catches for 126 yards and had both touchdowns.
LA Kelly had a game-high 15 tackles, and Desdamon Lake notched 13 with a TFL. Chris Richardson was credited with breaking up five passes on the day.
Glenville State 10, Frostburg State 7 | Final Stats
GLENVILLE, W.Va. -- Glenville State knocked off Frostburg State 10-7 at Morris Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, Glenville State improves to 7-4 (6-4 MEC), while Frostburg State drops to 8-3 (7-3, MEC).
Glenville State trailed 7-3 with less than five minutes remaining in the third quarter as it successfully converted on a fake punt to extend the drive. The Pioneers then found themselves fourth and three on the Frostburg 42 yard line as the drive was kept alive by a Frostburg pass interference call. Four plays later Jaylen McNair found Austin Ratliff for a 10-yard TD and a 10-7 lead with 1:37 remaining in the third quarter.
GSC totaled 277 yards on offense to Frostburg’s 200, while the Pioneers tallied 94 rushing yards to Frostburg’s 44.
McNair led the way for the Pioneers going 16-of-26 for 183 yards in the air to go along with a touchdown. He was able to find five different receivers this afternoon. Javon Bulter hauled in three catches for 82 yards, while Seth Arnold rushed for 52 yards.
Dominic Cizauskas led the way for the GSC defense with 12 tackles (four solo, eight assisted) to go along with 3.0 tackles for loss.
For Frostburg, Gavin Lavat rushed the ball 26 times for 70 yards, while Will Brunson tossed the ball for 151 yards going 13-of-22 along with one interception.
Charleston 34, West Liberty 26 | Final Stats
WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. -- The University of Charleston totaled over 500 yards of offense in a 34-26 victory over West Liberty on Saturday afternoon.
The Golden Eagles’ (8-3, 7-3 MEC) offense exploded for 532 yards, while their defense held West Liberty (5-6, 4-6 MEC) to just 213 yards of offense. The UC defense held WLU to just five yards rushing, while UC notched 361 yards on the ground.
UC was led by Tyreik Mcallister who had an outstanding day with 355 yards rushing with two touchdowns on 39 carries. The 355 yards are second-most in MEC history. Mike Strachan hauled in three receptions for 128 yards and a touchdown, while Brant Grisel was 8-of-21 with 171 yards in the air with a touchdown and an interception.
The UC defense was led by Keon Freeman who notched six solo tackles, two assisted and 1.0 tackle for loss.
WLU was led by Zach Phillips who was 17-of-40 with 208 passing yards and three touchdowns, but was sacked four times. Christian Rita hauled in 10 catches for 128 yards and two touchdowns.
Walter Peters tallied 11 tackles for the Hilltoppers with five solo and six assisted.