GLENVILLE, W.Va. – Glenville State broke up a tight defensive struggle in the second half here Saturday, pulling away to a 33-23 victory against West Liberty at Morris Stadium.
    Former Florida State TB Mario Pender blew past the 200-yard rushing mark for the second straight week and broke off three long touchdown runs to help the Pioneers (3-4, 3-3) hand the injury-riddled Hilltoppers (2-5, 2-5) their third straight setback.
    Pender, a fifth-year senior who transferred to Glenville State this year after leaving FSU two years ago, was the difference in Saturday's game. The reigning MEC Offensive Player of the Week racked up 228 rushing yards on 23 carries with touchdown runs of 49, 50 and 60 yards. The Pioneers were held to a total of just 8 net yards on their other 25 rushing attempts.
    The first half was a defensive struggle with neither team surpassing 100 yards in total offense until midway through the second quarter.
    The game's first score was set up by the West Liberty defense when redshirt freshman DE Trevor Hoosier recovered a botched third down snap by Glenville at the GSC 21, setting up a 38-yard Owen Rozanc field goal with 1:33 remaining in the opening quarter.
    The Hilltoppers saw that 3-0 lead vanish at the 8:13 mark of the second quarter when Pioneer QB Jaylen McNair flipped a 17-yard scoring strike to WR Gary Bacon on the first snap after WLU coughed up a fumble at its own 17.
    Senior QB Brenton Colabella answered for West Liberty, powering in from a yard out to cap an 11-play, 56-yard scoring drive that put the visitors back on top, 10-7, with 4:33 left in the half.
    Pender gave Glenville a 13-10 halftime lead with a 60-yard TD sprint on the ensuing possession. West Liberty DT Cody Rine blocked the PAT and Brandon Morrison ran it all the way back for an apparent defensive PAT only to see the return wiped out by an illegal block.
    The teams traded touchdowns in the latter stages of the third quarter – Pender broke off a 49-yard TD run at the 3:46 mark and Zach Phillips answered with a 5-yard scoring toss to Mike McLean with just 24 seconds showing – and the Black and Gold trailed just 19-16 heading into the fourth quarter.
    The Pioneers opened the final frame by driving 79 yards on 11 plays, taking a 26-16 lead on a 17-yard pass from McNair to Javon Butler with 11:25 remaining.
    West Liberty marched briskly into Glenville territory only to turn the ball over on downs inside the GSC 30. Two snap later, Pender burst through the middle of the line, cut to his right and sprinted 50 yards down the right sideline for a back-breaking score.
    Pender's third long touchdown run of the day all but put the game out of reach, 33-16, with 8:05 remaining.
    Hoosier gave Hilltopper fans some hope when the rangy defensive lineman scooped up a Pioneer fumble and ran it back 33 yards for a touchdown with just under 5 minutes to play but the WLU offense couldn't sustain another threat and Glenville was able to run out the clock.
    Charles Westbrook ran for 91 yards on 23 carries to pace the West Liberty rushing attack while Colabella and Phillips combined to complete 21-of-46 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown. Shane Phillips caught 4 passes for 47 yards and Darien Mitchell added 44 yards on 5 grabs. Cliff Clark and Logan Deri had 11 tackles each to pace the Hilltopper defense.
    West Liberty returns home to host West Virginia State on Saturday. Kickoff for WLU's annual Homecoming Game is set for 1 p.m. at West Family Stadium.
    West Liberty                            3    7  6    7 – 23
Glenville State                        0  13  6  14 – 33      WLU: FG Rozanc 38, 1:33      GSC: Bacon 17 pass from McNair (Watts kick), 8:13
     WLU: Colabella 1 run (Rozanc kick), 4:33
     GSC: Pender 60 run (kick blocked), 3:49      GSC: Pender 49 run (kick failed), 3:46
     WLU: McLean 5 pass from Z.Phillips (kick blocked), :24      GSC: Butler 17 pass from McNair (Watts kick), 11:25
     GSC: Pender 50 run (Watts kick), 8:05
     WLU: Hoosier 32 fumble return (Rozanc kick), 4:49      RUSHING: West Liberty 36-86, Westbrook 23-91, Z.Phillips 6-27, Frisby 2-1, Colabella 5-(-33). Glenville State 48-236, Pender 23-228, Anderson 15-49, McNair 7-(-19), TEAM 3-(-22).
     PASSING: West Liberty 21-46-145-1td-0x (Colabella 15-22-82-0td-0x, Z.Phillips 6-24-63-1td-0x). Glenville State 14-21-147-2td-0x (all by McNair)
     RECEIVING: West Liberty 21-145, S.Phillips 4-47, Mitchell 5-44, Durbin 4-17, McLean 2-16, Westbrook 2-11, Kargbo 2-10, Frisby 2-0. Glenville State 14-147, Butler 5-77, Bacon 2-28, Hopkins 1-8, Myers 1-8, Robinson 1-2, Anderson 2-(-2)
     First downs: West Liberty 18, Glenville State 19
     Fumbles: West Liberty 2-2, Glenville State 4-3
     Penalties: West Liberty 9-91, Glenville State 10-98
     Time of Possession: West Liberty 28:05, Glenville State 31:55