WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Regionally-ranked Fairmont State broke open a tight game with two interception return TDs and a punt return score in the first half here Thursday and pulled away to a 61-28 victory against West Liberty in a mutual season finale at West Family Stadium.
    Despite spotting the high-flying Falcons (9-2, 8-2) an early 14-0 lead on a 39-yard interception return by Brandon Ruffin and an 81-yard punt return by Lyrics Klugh, Coach Roger Waialae's Hilltoppers (3-8, 3-7) pulled back within striking distance when junior QB Zach Phillips fired a 24-yard TD pass to senior WR Osman Kargbo in the opening minutes of the second quarter.
    The WLU defense forced a 3-and-out but the ensuing punt bounced off a West Liberty player and Fairmont recovered at midfield.
    The Falcons took advantage with TB Rakeem Darden's 24-yard touchdown run capping a 50-yard, 6-play drive at 9:07 of the second quarter. When Falcon LB Jerry Iweh picked off a West Liberty pass at the Hilltopper 46 and ran it back for a score, the deficit had jumped from 21-14 to 35-14 in less than a minute.
    "The ball hasn't bounced our way very often this year but that's no excuse," Waialae said. "Fairmont is by far the best team we've played all season and you just can't give good teams opportunities like that and expect to come away with a win."
    The Falcons opened the second half with a 30-yard field goal by Colin Harvath but West Liberty responded with a 62-yard bomb from Zach Phillips to senior WR Shane Phillips.
    It was the first of two touchdown catches for Shane Phillips, who set a career high for the second consecutive week with 6 catches for 170 yards.
    Phillips' second TD catch trimmed the margin to 54-28 with 10:39 left to play but Fairmont shifted into its "hurry-up" offense behind QB Takwan Crews-Naylor and drove 80 yards in just 8 plays to find the end zone one last time.
    Crews-Naylor tossed a 16-yard TD pass to WR Alquawn Vickers with 6:13 remaining to push the visitors past the 60-point mark.
    Zach Phillips completed 12-of-24 passes for 209 yards and 3 TDs. Senior QBs Brenton Colabella and Lukas O'Connor finished out the night under center, combining to complete 3-of-12 passes for 59 yards in their final collegiate game.
    Kargbo gave WLU fans something to remember him by with a 97-yard kickoff return TD in the first quarter to go along with his second quarter touchdown catch. Kargbo is the school's all-time leader with 1,793 kick return yards.
    Senior LB Cliff Clark wrapped up his stellar career with 7 solo tackles including 2 tackles-for-loss and a quarterback sack. The returning All-American finished the year with 120 total tackles – the most by a Hilltopper since Dave Peterson's 137 stops during the 1995 season.
    "This was the last game for our 19 seniors," Waialae said. "They have been a joy to coach and I know they are going to be successful no matter what they choose to do in life. Cliff is leaving here with a Nursing degree. Dylan Anderson has already been accepted to med school. I could just go right down the list.
    "It's those relationships, those success stories, that are the silver lining for coaches on nights like this."
    Fairmont State                    21  14  12  14 – 61
West Liberty                         7     7    7    7 – 28      FSU: Ruffin 39 int. return (Harvath kick), 12:08
     FSU: Klugh 81 punt return (Harvath kick), 6:07
     WLU: Kargbo 97 kickoff return (Rozanc kick), 5:53
     FSU: McDonald 27 pass from Crews-Naylor (Harvath kick), :00      WLU: Kargbo 24 pass from Z.Phillips (Rozanc kick), 13:36
     FSU: Darden 24 run (Harvath kick), 9:07
     FSU: Iweh 46 int. return (Harvath kick), 8:16      FSU: FG Harvath 30, 9:06
     WLU: S.Phillips 62 pass from Z.Phillips (Rozanc kick), 6:58
     FSU: Safety, Z.Phillips tackled in end zone, 5:14
     FSU: Darden 7 run (Harvath kick), 2:40      FSU: Vickers 2 pass from Crews-Naylor (Harvath kick), 12:11
     WLU: S.Phillips 12 pass from Z.Phillips (Rozanc kick), 10:39
     FSU: Vickers 16 pass from Crews-Naylor (Harvath kick), 6:13
A: 1,671      RUSHING: Fairmont State 48-251, Darden 14-93; Smith 11-90; Randolph 18-88; Turner 1-5; Crews-Naylor 4-(-25). West Liberty 22-58, Westbrook 7-30; Lykes 2-19; Phillips 11-12; Frisby 1-4; Colabella 1-(-7).
     PASSING: Fairmont State 19-30-274-3td-0x (all by Crews-Naylor). West Liberty 15-26-268-3td-2x (Z.Phillips 12-24-209-3td-2x; O'Connor 1-7-21-0td-0x; Brenton Colabella 2-5-38-0td-0x).
     RECEIVING: Fairmont 19-274, Hayes 6-115; Harris 4-69; Vickers 3-31; \McDonald 2-35; Randolph 2-6; Nuzum 1-16; Darden 1-2. West Liberty 15-268, S.Phillips 6-170; Kargbo 3-25; Durbin 2-44; McLean 1-12; Jones 1-10; N.Phillips 1-8; Westbrook 1-(-1).
     First downs: Fairmont State 26, West Liberty 15
     Fumbles: Fairmont State 1-0, West Liberty 1-1
     Penalties: Fairmont State 10-111, West Liberty 3-25
     Time of Possession: Fairmont State 38:16, West Liberty 21:44