Football | 9/15/2011 10:32:00 PM
WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Head coach Roger Waialae says consistency and control will be the keys to success when his West Liberty University football team kicks off the West Virginia Conference portion of its schedule Saturday afternoon at West Virginia Wesleyan.
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. on the natural grass surface at Cebe Ross Field in Buckhannon.
An avalanche of turnovers and penalties have produced West Liberty's first 0-2 start since 2003.
The Hilltoppers enter this weekend leading the nation in interceptions thrown (8) and turnovers lost (10) while ranking dead last in turnover margin (-4.0). In just two games, West Liberty has been flagged 23 times for 183 penalty yards.
“Turnovers and penalties are things you can control,” Waialae said. “We're 0-2 because we haven't done a very good job of controlling them in our first two games. I'd be more worried if we didn't have the personnel to do what we want to do but that's not the case. We've seen the consistency and execution in practice and we've seen it in games but only in spurts. We need to see it on every snap.”
The Hilltoppers are coming off a frustrating 27-19 loss to Southern Connecticut State in which all four Owl touchdowns came on short fields set up by one of WLU's 8 turnovers. Southern Connecticut's three scoring drives covered 46, 28 and 6 yards and the Owls' other score came on a 40-yard interception return in the final minute of the first half. The Hilltoppers outgained SCSU by nearly 100 total yards, 375-277, for the game.
“I'm very happy with what we've seen from our defense thus far,” Waialae said. “They had to play on short fields most of the day with those 8 turnovers but the fact that we still had a chance to pull the game out at the end tells you how well they played against a very good football team.”
Wesleyan is coming off a 28-23 victory at Bentley (Mass.) in which quarterback Adam Neugebauer threw for 350 yards and 4 TDs to earn National Player of the Week honors from D2football.com.
Neugebauer, a senior who led the Bobcats to a controversial 43-41 victory at West Liberty a year ago, is ranked in the top 10 nationally in virtually every passing statistic and leads the nation with 10 TD passes through his first two games. He has completed more than 70 percent of his passes with his two leading receivers – senior WRs Jon Meadows and T.J. Benners – combining for 31 catches, 402 yards and 5 TDs.
That sets up an interesting matchup for Saturday as the Wesleyan passing offense is ranked No. 5 nationally at 346.5 yards per game while the WLU pass defense checks in at No. 9 nationally, allowing just 124 yards a game through the air.
“Our pass rush has helped our pass defense the first two games,” Waialae said, “but Wesleyan's quarterback really gets the ball out quickly so it's hard to pressure him. It will be very important for our defensive backs to maintain their discipline and tackle in space this week.”
Hilltopper QB L.D. Crow is completing 60 percent of his passes for 466 yards and 2 TDs with 8 interceptions through the first two games. Sophomore WR Brandon Schroeder is the leading receiver with 14 catches for 189 yards and a TD while senior TB Brandon Davis has rushed for 126 yards and 2 TDs on 34 carries.
Junior LB Kyle Agustin and sophomore FS Marco Ricchetti are the leading tacklers with 22 and 18 stops, respectively. Senior DE Isaac Omaits leads the pass rush with a pair of sacks while Augustin has a team-high 2.5 tackles-for-loss.
“The important thing is that we haven't pushed the panic button and neither have the kids,” Waialae said. ”We're seeing a lot of positive things in practice and the kids are getting more comfortable with the system every day. If we eliminate the mistakes and control the things we can control down there, I think we'll be fine.”
Game Notes
X Senior center Jose Baez will miss Saturday's game with a leg injury and senior guard Dan Srch will be a game-time decision. Senior tackle Ryan Scaperotta is expected to return to the lineup after missing last week's game
X The 41 points scored by West Liberty in last year's 43-41 loss to Wesleyan are the most ever scored by a Hilltopper football team in a loss
X West Liberty is 22-4 in its last 26 West Virginia Conference games
X The Hilltoppers have thrown for more than 300 yards in their last seven games against W.Va. Wesleyan
X West Liberty has surpassed the 300-yard passing mark in 23 of their last 25 games
X The Hilltoppers have thrown 102 consecutive passes without an interception against the Bobcats dating back to 2008
X Kickoff for next week's home game against Fairmont State is set for 1 p.m. with the first 500 ticket-holders receiving West Liberty visors. The WLU Hall of Fame's Class of 2011 will be recognized at halftime.
