Football | 10/11/2013 5:52:00 AM
The West Liberty University football team returns to Mountain East Conference action on Saturday when Coach Roger Waialae's Hilltoppers visit old rival Fairmont State. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m.at Duvall-Rosier Field.
Each team comes into the game off a disappointing loss last Saturday.
West Liberty (2-3, 2-1) dropped a 27-14 decision at NCAA Division I (FCS) Duquesne when the Dukes scored three defensive touchdowns off WLU turnovers during a nightmarish 5-minute span of the opening quarter.
The Falcons (2-3, 1-3) played a near-flawless first half in jumping out to a 14-10 lead at MEC power Concord but spent the final two quarters shooting themselves in the foot and came away on the short end of a 34-17 tally.
"We have one of the best defenses in the country," Waialae said, "but when the other team scores three touchdowns with your defense on the sidelines, you're not going to win many football games."
The Hilltoppers jumped out to a 7-0 lead on a 15-yard TD pass from Tyler Tucci to Dylan Potts on their first offensive snap of the game and were driving in Duquesne territory again late in the first quarter when a defensive back picked off a Tucci pass and returned it 71 yards for a touchdown.
A fumble recovery in the end zone and a 33-yard interception return for a score gave the Dukes a 20-7 lead heading into the second quarter and West Liberty couldn't claw its way back into the game.
"As is usually the case, it was a combination of factors on Saturday," Waialae said. "The first interception came on a play we probably should have checked out of. On the fumble, he was trying to extend a play on third-and-long rather than just take the short route and punt the ball away. On the last interception, we didn't pick up the blitz and had to rush the throw. It all goes back to everybody being on the same page and doing their job."
Despite the loss, there were some bright spots for the Hilltoppers. The Black and Gold ran for more yards (116-113) and passed for more yards (195-193) than the Dukes while the defense had three interceptions against a Duquesne passing attack that came into the game ranked among the top 10 FCS teams in the nation.
Potts had 8 catches for 94 yards and a pair of touchdowns – all career-highs – while freshman tailback Marty Bishop continued to impress with 81 rushing yards on 22 carries. Dylan Lagarde, who replaced Tucci at quarterback for the final three quarters, completed 14-of-23 passes for 142 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions.
"The most important thing for a college quarterback to have is the ability to get you into the right play – and out of the wrong play – at the line of scrimmage," Waialae said. "More than anything else, once we get that corrected, we can beat anybody on our schedule. We just can't have the other team scoring when our defense isn't on the field."
That's something the Fairmont State defense has done quite frequently through the first five games.
Senior LB Garrett Davis has two long fumble returns (43 and 85 yards) for touchdowns while LB T.C. Chestnut, CB Dominik Mensah and FS Jordan Armstrong have each hit paydirt on an interception return. Freshman CB Jacob Jean-Charles had a 38-yard interception return against Shepherd but coughed up the ball when he was tackled at the goal line. Chestnut recovered in the end zone, giving the Falcons six defensive touchdowns on the year.
Fairmont threw for 361 yards in last year's 25-20 win against West Liberty but first-year head coach Jason Woodman has gone with a more run-oriented offensive style while stepping up the tempo on defense.
The offense has blown hot and cold with a total of 93 points in the two wins and just 38 in the three losses but the defense ranks No. 4 nationally with 15 forced turnovers and is tied with WLU for No. 8 in the nation with 9 interceptions.
"It's still pretty much the same personnel on defense but they're much more aggressive playing out of a pro 3-4 than the stack. They're always going to have an outside backer on the line and they'll send as many as seven guys. We have to be ready to block that so our quarterback has a chance to get the ball out of his hand and take advantage of the 'man' coverage on our receivers."
The Fairmont offense revolves around senior TB Dawrence Roberts, a late transfer who rushed for more than 1,100 yards at Grambling two years ago and was the 2012 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year in the SWAC. Roberts has run for 464 yards and 3 TDs in 98 carries through the first five games.
Freshman QB Cooper Hibbs has completed just 52-of-112 passes for 559 yards and 7 TDs with 6 interceptions as the Falcons run the ball on 60 percent of their offensive snaps. Converted TB Chris St. Hilaire is the team's leading receiver with 10 catches for 177 yards despite missing the last three games due to injury.
GAME NOTES
X Despite allowing a season-high 27 points at Duquesne last week, West Liberty still ranks No. 7 nationally in scoring defense at 14.0 ppg.
X WLU leads the nation in Red Zone defense at .333, allowing only 3 scores in 9 Red Zone possessions
X The Hilltoppers have played the Falcons more than any other opponent. This is the 80th meeting between the two schools
X West Liberty PK Bryan Arbes leads the MEC and ranks No. 8 nationally with 8 field goals
X Hilltopper P Griff Yocum leads the MEC and ranks No. 9 nationally with an average of 43.6 yards per punt
X Eleven of Yocum's 36 punts have been 50 yards or longer and 12 of them have pinned the opponent back inside their own 20
X The Hilltoppers are one of only three NCAA Division II teams (Lincoln (Pa.), W.Va. State) without a rushing touchdown this season
X Seton Hill and West Virginia State – the two teams which lost to Fairmont State – are a combined 0-10 on the season and have been outscored by a whopping 443-89 margin this fall
X The Falcons have outscored their first 5 opponents by a 124-69 margin over the first three quarters – but have been outscored, 55-7, in the fourth quarter
X Fairmont State offensive line coach Mike Compton, a former All-American at West Virginia, was the starting center for New England in Super Bowl XXXVI
X Compton's son, Josh, won the Falcons' starting job at tight end as a redshirt freshman this fall after transferring from Lenoir-Rhyne this year
