WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – It's another edition of "Thursday Night Lights" at West Family Stadium as the West Liberty University football team hosts Notre Dame (Ohio) in the Mountain East Conference Game of the Week. Kickoff for the regionally-televised tilt is set for 7 p.m.
    Both teams are coming off impressive wins on Saturday. The Hilltoppers (4-3, 4-2) went on the road to hammer UVA-Wise, 30-6, while the Falcons (2-5, 2-4) were shocking defending MEC champion Concord, 23-21, in snowy South Euclid, Ohio.
    West Liberty has won three of its last four and is less than two touchdowns away from being unbeaten in league play. Nevertheless, despite Notre Dame's unprepossessing record, head coach Roger Waialae says there's more to this week's opponent than meets the eye.
    "They might be the best two-win team I've ever seen," Waialae said. "They've played a lot of the top teams in our conference very tough and last week they found a way to get it done. That win against Concord wasn't a fluke. They are a very talented team on both sides of the ball.
    "People don't understand what a fine line there is between winning and losing. If you get kids believing in what you're doing and have some success, you can do some really good things. If things go the other way for you, it can be a long season. After that win against Concord, I'm sure they're going to come in here with a lot of momentum and we have to be prepared for that."
    After spotting UVA-Wise a touchdown on the game's first possession, the West Liberty defense shut out the Cavaliers the rest of the way. The offense struggled a bit in the first half, taking just a 7-6 lead into the locker room, but pulled away in the second half behind another dazzling performance by junior QB Dakota Conwell.
    The Hilltopper signalcaller once again rolled up more than 300 yards of total offense while throwing two TD passes and running for two more scores. Conwell has now thrown for 1,086 yards and 11 TDs while rushing for 290 yards and 6 more scores in his last four games.
    Sophomore WR Anton McCallum had his second straight 100-yard receiving game while senior TE Daree Goodwin had another highlight-reel TD catch. Goodwin leads the MEC and ranks No. 6 nationally with 9 touchdown grabs this year.
    Meanwhile, the WLU defense was holding UVA-Wise to just 14 net rushing yards on the day. Wise finished with 322 passing yards but did so under duress as the Hilltoppers were charted with 10 tackles-for-loss and three QB sacks on the afternoon.
    "The thing I liked about last week was that once we got rolling defensively, it seemed to fuel our offense," Waialae said. "That's what we need to see on a weekly basis. Football is a team sport and we need different phases of the game fueling each other and feeding each other."
    The Notre Dame offense isn't lacking for weapons. Dual-threat QB Malik Grove not only leads the MEC in total offense (337.0 ypg.). He ranks fourth among the MEC rushing leaders with 614 yards and third among MEC passers with 1,745 yards.
    Tailback D.J. Greene is sixth in the MEC with 585 rushing yards while All-MEC sophomore WR Mitch Shegos leads a talented receiving corps with an league-high 37 catches for 586 yards and 5 TDs. Shegos tied an NCAA Division II single-game record with 23 catches in a game against Glenville State last fall.
    "They've moved the ball against everybody," Waialae said. "The quarterback is similar to the kid from UC, very quick and elusive. He's going to throw it 30-40 times and run it 20-25 times. The tailback is very good and he'll get 20-25 carries. They do a lot of run option and pass option so our defense is going to have to be very disciplined in its assignments and then sprint to the football.
    "The key for us is not giving up the big play. With the athletes they have, they're a big play offense. We have to focus on getting the quarterback on the ground and not giving up the big pass."
GAME NOTES
    X The WLU Athletic Training Club is sponsoring a "Black Out" for the game. Special "Black Out" T-shirts will be sold outside the main gate for $10 each
    X The Hilltoppers have gone 36-4 under Roger Waialae when holding their opponents to 20 points or less
    X West Liberty has outrushed its opponent in 60 of Waialae's 118 games as head coach. The Hilltoppers are 50-10 in those games
    X With last week's win against Concord, Notre Dame has beaten the defending MEC champ in the last two seasons. They upset Shepherd, 35-34, last fall.
    X Bill Rychel is in his first season as head coach at NDC. Adam Howard left in June to take a job as a high school athletic director in the Cleveland area
    X Rychel had served as offensive coordinator under Howard since the Falcons kicked off their intercollegiate football program in 2010
    X Falcon PK Kyle Kaplan is the only kicker in the MEC who hasn't missed a PAT this season (24-for-24). He's also 8-for-10 on field goal attempts