WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University football team returns to West Family Stadium on Saturday to host West Virginia State. Kickoff for the annual Hall of Fame Game is set for 1 p.m.

The WLU Athletic Hall of Fame's 34th annual induction ceremony is set for Saturday morning at the ASRC. The Class of 2014 – Bryan Bunch, Gregg DeSantis, Herb Minch and Alan Saunders – will be introduced to the crowd at halftime.

Coach Roger Waialae's Hilltoppers (1-1, 1-1) are coming off a thrilling 27-24 double-overtime victory at Glenville State last week. West Liberty rallied from a 24-14 deficit in the final two minutes of regulation before pulling out the win with Josh Wilson's 43-yard field goal and a clutch defensive stand in the second extra frame.

"It wasn't pretty," Waialae said, "but we were given some opportunities at the end and made enough plays to win the game. The No. 1 thing we harp on every year is that we only have 60 minutes to play every week so let's play as hard as we can through all 60 minutes and see what happens. That paid off for us on Saturday."

The Hilltoppers endured some offensive struggles in a season-opening loss to nationally-ranked Shepherd and got off to another slow start in Glenville but Waialae was encouraged by what he saw from his offense down the stretch. After being held to just 135 total yards in the first three quarters, West Liberty exploded for 181 yards of total offense during the fourth quarter and overtime – including a 9-play, 99-yard touchdown drive in the final 50 seconds of regulation to force the game into overtime.

"You could see it getting better and better as the game went on," Waialae said. "(QB Dakota) Conwell completed 3 passes in the first half but had 15 completions in the second half as well as a big fourth-down scramble for a first down on that game-tying drive. Things are starting to fall in place. We had the blend that we want with 160 rushing yards and 150 passing and we're starting to do a better job of playing together. This was definitely something we can build from."

Redshirt freshman Jeremiah Ortiz shouldered most of the workload with 26 carries for 98 rushing yards – both game-highs – while Braxton Gamble added 31 yards on just 4 attempts, including a 13-yard touchdown burst. Conwell completed 18-of-37 passes for 164 yards and a TD with one interception. Dylan Potts had 5 catches for 76 yards and a score while Anton McCallum also had 5 grabs for 56 yards.

West Virginia State (1-1, 0-1) snapped a 17-game losing streak in its opener with a 19-14 win against Lock Haven (Pa.) but comes into Saturday's game off a 55-7 spanking at the hands of a powerful Concord squad that just missed cracking the national Top 25 this week.

Head coach Jon Anderson is in his second season with the Yellowjackets, who have been in a down cycle for the past few years. Despite last week's lop-sided loss, Waialae says State appears to be headed in the right direction.

"They're much improved," Waialae said. "They have good speed with their receivers and running backs and their defensive secondary is really fast. We're going to try to make them play our type of game but we'll have to be fundamentally sound on offense to move the ball.

"Offensively, they try to have a good mix with the run and pass. Their freshman quarterback (Matt Kinnick) throws a nice ball and is also a threat to run. We have to control the line of scrimmage and make them one-dimensional. If you can make a team throw the ball when they have to instead of when they want to, you'll have a chance to make some plays but we're going to have to play well to come out with a win."

Kinnick completed 18-of-26 passes for 159 yards with 3 interceptions in last week's loss to Concord. Backup QB D'Von Dorsey was 6-for-11 for 39 yards and a touchdown. Dionta Brown and Talir Rowe combined for 86 rushing yards on 19 carries while Joe Thornton had 5 catches for 40 yards, Brad Cox caught 5 balls for 23 yards and Quinton Gray had 50 yards on three receptions.

GAME NOTES

X Last year's 9-0 Hilltopper win was West Liberty's fifth shutout in the series but it was the first shutout by either team since a 19-0 WLU victory in 1979

X West Liberty has won five straight and 13 of the last 15 to take a commanding 39-17-1 lead in the series

X The Hilltoppers have had the MEC Special Teams Player of the Week for two straight weeks – KR Anton McCallum (Shepherd); PK Josh Wilson (Glenville)

X Senior LB Alec Wood forced the game-saving fumble in double-overtime at Glenville last week with his career-high 14th tackle

X West Liberty, Hillsdale (Mich.) and Michigan Tech are tied for No. 1 nationally in fewest penalties per game (2.0)

X State's Kinnick and the Hilltopper trio of OL Corey Ernest, LB Cole Stephen and PK Zach Musilli were teammates on St. Clairsville High School's 2012 Ohio state runner-up team