Football | 8/31/2017 11:49:00 PM

Box Score     WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Terrance Baldwin scored on a 63-yard interception return and Brenton Colabella threw for nearly 200 yards and two touchdowns as West Liberty beat Urbana, 24-21, Thursday night in a mutual season opener at West Family Stadium.
    "We lost three games by one point a year ago so we know what it feels like to be on the other side of the scoreboard," said Baldwin, a four-year starter in the WLU secondary. "This feels a lot better."
    Coach Roger Waialae's Hilltoppers had opened up an early 10-0 lead only to see the Blue Knights fight their way back into the contest.
    West Liberty junior PK Christian Morris drilled a 40-yard field goal to open the scoring and Colabella hit junior WR Osman Kargbo in stride on a 34-yard scoring strike in the final minute of the first quarter to put the visitors in a double-digit hole.
    Urbana got on the board just before the half when senior QB Tajuan Green capped an 11-play, 80-yard march with a 27-yard touchdown pass to All-Region WR Trevon Saunders but the PAT sailed wide and the hosts took a 10-6 lead into the locker room.
    The Black and Gold opened the second half with a business-like 14-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a 17-yard TD toss from Colabella to WR Quinton Jones with nearly 7 minutes having ticked off the third quarter clock. West Liberty converted four straight third downs to keep the drive alive.
    "Coach (Waialae) always tells me to take what they're giving me and they were giving us the flat all the way down the field," Colabella said. "We were in a pretty good rhythm and Coach made some really good calls."
    Urbana refused to fold, responding with another 11-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that ate up most of the rest of the quarter. This time it was Green dancing just inside the pylon to cover the final three yards, cutting the lead to 17-13.
    West Liberty drove all the way down inside the 10 only to have Colabella knocked loose from the football on a blindside hit with the Blue Knights recovering at their own 7.
    "This team is so close, we really feed off each other's energy and we've got each other's backs," Colabella said. "I made a big mistake with that fumble in the red zone but Terrance and the defense were there to pick me up."
    The visitors had driven out to their own 46 when Baldwin delivered what may have been the play of the game. On third-and-9, a hurried Green tried to force the ball to Saunders along the right sideline but Baldwin stepped in front of the ball at his own 37 and outraced everybody down the left sideline for a 63-yard touchdown return. The PAT pushed the count to 24-13 with 8:52 left to play.
    "It was great to make the play," Baldwin said, "but I couldn't have done it without my teammates. Our D-line got great pressure on the quarterback and I picked up some good blocks down the sideline. We're really close as a team this year. It's like a family and none of us want to let our brothers down."
    Another short touchdown run from Green pulled Urbana within a field with just over 5 minutes to play. West Liberty wasn't able to run out the clock, giving the Blue Knights one last chance, but the WLU defense forced back-to-back incompletions on third and fourth downs to preserve the win.
    Colabella completed 18-of-25 passes for 196 yards and 2 touchdowns with no interceptions. Ian Kelly was the game's leading receiver with 6 catches for 63 yards while Kargbo added 3 grabs for 48 yards. Charles Westbrook ran for 52 yards on 14 carries and Jeremiah Ortiz added 31 yards on 10 tries. Freshman DB Chris Mitchell had a 43-yard interception return in the first quarter to set up Morris' field goal.
     Green ran for 104 yards and 2 TDs while completing 10-of-19 passes for 161 yards and another score with 2 interceptions. Maurice Warren added 95 rushing yards on 18 attempts in a losing cause. Duray Hall had 15 tackles, 2.5 tackles-for-loss and a sack to pace the Urbana defense.
    "After what we went through last year, it was good to win a close game but we never made a big thing of it in the preseason," Waialae said. "I never brought it up to the team. I wanted to keep the past in the past and let this team find its own identity and its own personality. I'm proud of the way they responded tonight."
    The Hilltoppers will be back in action on Sept. 9 when they hit the road for a 1 p.m. kickoff at West Virginia Wesleyan. The Bobcats outlasted Concord, 23-18, on Thursday.
 
West Liberty 24
Urbana 21
Urbana                                       0  6  7  8 -- 21
West Liberty                             10  0  7  7 – 24
First Quarter
     WLU: FG Morris 40, 12:12
     WLU: Kargbo 34 pass from Colabella (Morris kick), :38
Second Quarter
     UU: Saunders 27 pass from Green (kick failed), 3:25
Third Quarter
     WLU: Jones 17 pass from Colabella (Morris kick), 8:24
     UU: Green 3 run (Cole kick), 1:59
Fourth Quarter
     WLU: Baldwin 63 interception return (Morris kick), 8:52
     UU: Green 5 run (Saunders pass from Green), 5:12
A: 826
Game Statistics
     RUSHING: Urbana 45-213; Green 23-104; Warren 18-92; Stockett 1-14; McFadden 1-2; Saunders 2-1. West Liberty 36-109; Westbrook 14-52; Ortiz 10-31; Dorsett 3-27; Gamble 2-8; Kelly 1-6; TEAM 1-(-2); Colabella 5-(-13).
     PASSING: Urbana 11-20-166-1td-2x (Green 10-19-161-1td-2x, Stockett 1-1-5-0-0. West Liberty 18-26-196-2td-0x (Colabella 18-25-196-2td-0x, Westbrook 0-1-0-0-0)
     RECEIVING: Urbana 11-166; Warren 4-55; Saunders 3-52; Hooks 2-39; Rahmaan 1-15; Dozier 1-5. West Liberty 18-196; Kelly 6-63; Kargbo 3-48; Jones 2-23; Moffett 2-14; Mayo 2-6; Ortiz 1-21; McLean 1-18; Dorsett 1-3.
     First downs: Urbana 18, West Liberty 17
     Fumbles: Urbana 0-0, West Liberty 2-1
     Penalties: Urbana 9-90, West Liberty 6-40
     Time of Possession: Urbana 31:09, West Liberty 28:51