Football | 10/7/2016 6:14:00 AM

Coming off back-to-back wins to close out a hectic September, the West Liberty University football team looks to build on that momentum Saturday afternoon against a Charleston team with a similar resume.
Kickoff for the Mountain East Conference showdown is set for 1 p.m. at UC Stadium.
"We did have to deal with some adversity last month," head coach Roger Waialae said. "There were several long road trips, a couple of quick turnarounds for Thursday night games and some tough losses in games that went down to the wire but I'm proud of the way our guys came together and handled it as a team. It will be nice to get back on a more normal schedule for the next few weeks, though."
The Hilltoppers (2-3, 2-2) haven't played since a 28-24 win against W.Va. Wesleyan on Sept. 29. In a game delayed by lightning for nearly a half-hour and played in a virtual monsoon, West Liberty stormed back from a 17-0 halftime deficit to pull out a 28-24 win on a 13-yard TD pass from Dakota Conwell to Anton McCallum with less than a minute to play.
Like the Hilltoppers, the Golden Eagles (2-3, 2-3) also stumbled out of the gates. Projected to challenge Shepherd for the MEC title after earning an NCAA Division II playoff bid last fall, UC lost its first three games. Charleston has righted the ship with impressive wins against W.Va. State (26-7) and Concord (35-23) and presents a unique challenge for the Black and Gold this week.
In a league known for its high-powered passing attacks, the Golden Eagles have a long tradition of getting it done on the ground. Charleston leads the MEC and ranks among the NCAA Division II rushing leaders at better than 230 yards per game. The 1-2 tailback punch of Marvin Elam and Tevion Cappe each posted 100-yard rushing games last week as UC rolled up 343 rushing yards in the win against Concord.
"The amazing thing about Charleston is that everybody knows they're going to run the ball and still can't stop them," Waialae said. "Stopping the run is our No. 1 priority on defense every week but it's more important in this game than any other one we'll play."
Last year's game between the Hilltoppers and UC was an offensive shootout with West Liberty battling the playoff-bound Golden Eagles to the wire before coming up just short in a 42-37 thriller. Conwell put on a show, going over 400 yards of total offense and accounting for 5 touchdowns – including 399 passing yards and 4 TD tosses – while McCallum set a career-high with 181 receiving yards.
The WLU offense struggled in the first half against Wesleyan but some personnel adjustments and a change in the play-calling mix – along with some key turnovers forced by the Hilltopper defense – fueled the comeback win.
"It really comes down to health issues," Waialae said. "(WR) Ian Kelly is questionable for this week. If he can't go, true freshman Ridge Durbin will start. Up front, we put Hunter Steel at left tackle and moved (All-MEC junior) Corey Ernest back to his more natural guard position. We're close to getting (senior OL) Mike Berardi back, too. I don't know if he'll be able to play on Saturday but at least he's back running again."
Charleston runs a high-risk, high-reward version of the 3-3 stack defense utilized by Rich Rodriguez at West Virginia a decade ago. The Hilltoppers lead the MEC in quarterback sacks allowed so Waialae expects to see plenty of pressure from UC – and plenty of opportunities for his offense.
"They're very aggressive out of the stack," Waialae said. "They bring five or six guys an awful lot so balance will be very important. If we can run the ball effectively, that will take them out of some of their blitzes. We need to get a hat on a hat against the stack and get our running backs to the second level. In the passing game, our receivers have to get off jams, create separation and make plays just like we did last year."
GAME NOTES
X Through the first five games, West Liberty has more points, more first downs, more passing yards, more rushing yards and more total yards than its opponents
X WLU is plus-4 in turnover margin in its two wins and minus-5 in the three losses. UC is plus-2 in its two wins and minus-8 in the three losses
X The Hilltoppers are 52-8 under Waialae when they have fewer turnovers than their opponents but are just 15-41 when losing the turnover battle
X Charleston has lost 5 fumbles and thrown 10 interceptions to rank last in the MEC – and 154th in the nation – in turnovers this season
X The Golden Eagles lead the MEC and rank among the top 20 NCAA Division II teams in rushing yards at 231.0 yards per game
X Charleston has racked up 200 or more rushing yards in each of its last 9 games against West Liberty
X Brett Benes, UC's All-American P/PK, leads the nation in punting with an average of 46.0 yards per punt and is 4-for-4 on field goal attempts