Football | 9/23/2017 6:06:00 PM

Box Score     WISE, Va. – A gutty West Liberty comeback effort went for naught here Saturday as UVa-Wise held on for a 31-19 Homecoming victory at sweltering Carl Smith Stadium.
    Coach Roger Waialae's Hilltoppers (2-2, 2-2) stormed back from a 24-6 deficit at the start of the fourth quarter to make it a one-score game with nearly four minutes still to play but that was as close as the Black and Gold could get.
    After taking the ensuing kickoff, the host Cavaliers (3-1, 3-1) got a key first down on a pass interference penalty and hit a 33-yard pass on 3^rd-and-8 from the WLU 45 with 2:30 to go, setting up a game-clinching 5-yard TD run by QB Jarome Johnson with only 54 seconds showing on the scoreboard clock.
    The Cavaliers had opened the scoring on Trevor Owens 19-yard field goal at 10:17 of the second quarter and that's when the field position battle turned decisively in favor of the hosts.
    The ball never crossed midfield again for the rest of the half as a staunch UVa-Wise defense was able to hold the WLU offense at bay while a combination of tipped punts, penalties and turnovers gave the Cavalier offense several short-field opportunities.
    UVa-Wise pushed the lead to 10-0 on a 5-yard TD run by Von Purvis after the hosts took over at the West Liberty 41 following a partially-blocked Hilltopper punt.
    West Liberty's defense kept the visitors in the game, however, forcing 3-and-outs on the Cavaliers' other two possessions of the quarter – each of which started inside the WLU 40.
    The Hilltopper offense had been almost completely shut down over the first two quarters, managing just 4 first downs and 44 yards of total offense in 30 snaps.
    Senior TB Jeremiah Ortiz gave West Liberty a big lift when play resumed, ripping off a 45-yard run on the opening possession of the second half to set up a 20-yard TD pass from QB Brenton Colabella to HB Ian Kelly, cutting the lead to 10-6.
    The Cavaliers answered by replacing starting QB Brycen Lee with the athletic Johnson and spent most of the final two quarters challenging the WLU defense with a run-pass option attack.
    Johnson scored on an 11-yard touchdown run with 3:39 on the third quarter clock and an interception by the Cavaliers' Andre Hamilton set up a 12-yard scoring toss from Johnson to WR Cedrick Watkins just before the end of the quarter.
    The Hilltoppers refused to fold as Colabella capped a 9-play, 71-yard drive with a quick slant touchdown pass to WR Osman Kargbo on 4^th-and-goal from the 8 at 13:01 of the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to 24-12.
    A 73-yard punt Christian Morris punt flipped field position back in West Liberty's favor on WLU's next possession and the Hilltoppers drove deep into Cavalier territory only to turn the ball over on downs when Colabella was sacked on 4^th-and-9 from the UVa-Wise 17.
    Another stop by the West Liberty defense set up a 10-yard TD pass from Colabella to TB Braxton Gamble, making it 24-19 with 3:44 on the clock, but Johnson's late touchdown sealed the win for the Cavaliers.
     After being held to 44 yards of total offense in the first half, West Liberty rolled up 219 yards of total offense over the final two quarters. Ortiz ran for 166 yards on 22 carries while Colabella completed 13-of-36 passes for just 87 yards but threw 3 TD passes to go along with the 3 interceptions. Cliff Clark had a game-high 11 tackles to lead the WLU defense while Musa Felder had 9 tackles, 2 tackles-for-loss, one quarterback sack and a pass break-up.
    Johnson was the leading rusher for UVa-Wise with 56 yards on 11 carries. He combined with Lee to complete 20-of-35 passes for 201 yards with one TD and no interceptions. West Liberty was flagged a season-high 14 times for 128 yards while the hosts had a dozen penalties for 121 yards.
    The Hilltoppers return home to host Notre Dame on Thursday in the MEC Game of the Week. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at West Family Stadium.
  West Liberty                          0    0    6  13 – 19
UVa-Wise                              0  10  14    7 – 31      Wise: FG Owens 19, 10:17
     Wise: Purvis 5 run (Owens kick), 3:09      WLU: Kelly 20 pass from Colabella (kick failed), 12:58
     Wise: J.Johnson 11 run (Owens kick), 3:39
     Wise: Watkins 12 pass from J.Johnson (Owens kick), :41      WLU: Kargbo 8 pass from Colabella (run failed), 13:01
     WLU: B.Gamble 10 pass from Colabella (Morris kick), 3:44
     Wise: J.Johnson 5 run (Owens kick), :54
A: 2,535      RUSHING: West Liberty 45-176; Ortiz 22-166; B.Gamble 10-48; Dorsett 5-9; Hardesty 1-0; Colabella 7-(-47). UVa-Wise 40-93; J.Johnson 11-56; Mitchell 4-23; Purvis 3-12; Latney 3-9; Griffith 5-7; Jordan 6-4; Thaxton 1-1; Team 2-(-8); Lee 5-(-11)
     PASSING: West Liberty 13-36-87-3td-3x (all by Colabella). UVa-Wise 20-35-201-1td-0x (Lee 15-25-142-0-0, J.Johnson 5-10-59-1td-0x)
     RECEIVING: West Liberty 13-87; Kelly 4-43; Mayo 2-16; B.Gamble 1-10; Kargbo 1-8; Farmer 1-5; Robinson 1-4; Hardesty 1-2; Ortiz 2-(-1). UVa-Wise 20-201; Duverger 2-41; Thaxton 3-31; Jones 2-30; Watkins 3-22; J.Cousins 2-20; Barnett 3-19; Griffith 2-18; J.Cousins 1-11; Mitchell 1-5; Jordan 1-4
     First downs: West Liberty 19, UVa-Wise 20
     Fumbles: West Liberty 1-0, UVa-Wise 2-1
     Penalties: West Liberty 14-128, UVa-Wise 12-121
     Time of Possession: West Liberty 28:40, UVa-Wise 31:20