Football | 10/19/2019 7:47:00 PM

Box Score     CANTON, Ohio – Sophomore tight end Thomas Cole caught a 10-yard touchdown pass in overtime here Saturday to lift West Liberty to a thrilling 41-38 non-conference victory against Walsh (Ohio) at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.
    Coach Roger Waialae's Hilltoppers (4-3) overcame a staggering six turnovers and the loss of starting quarterback Zach Phillips in the early minutes of the fourth quarter to come from behind for their second victory in as many weeks.
    In a back and forth game that saw the lead change hands four times, the Cavaliers (1-6) took their final lead on the opening snap of the fourth quarter when Nick Gassman lobbed a 31-yard touchdown pass to running back Koby Adu-Poku for a 35-27 Walsh advantage.
    Phillips led a quick West Liberty answer with a 91-yard, 9-play touchdown drive, accounting for all 91 yards through the air or on the ground.
    The final 20 yards came on a fade route down the right sideline to Isaiah Robinson, who made a circus one-handed catch in the end zone with the Cavalier defender hanging on his arm. The Hilltoppers declined the penalty and Phillips flipped a 2-point pass to Cole to knot the score at 35-35 with 11:54 remaining.
    Phillips was knocked out of the game with an injury on the first snap of WLU's next possession and didn't return, giving sophomore QB Erick Taylor his first extended action of the season.
    Following an exchange of punts, Walsh caught a break when the Hilltoppers coughed up a fumble – their sixth turnover of the game – at the West Liberty 33 with just 4:08 left in regulation. A personal foul moved the Cavaliers inside the 20 but senior safety Logan Deri intercepted a Gassman pass at the WLU 6 to keep the game deadlocked heading into overtime.
    Walsh got the ball first in overtime and picked up a quick first down before stalling inside the West Liberty 10 and settling for a 25-yard Chad Mirolo field goal.
    Three straight running plays gave the Hilltoppers a first down at the Cavalier 12 but an incomplete pass and a 2-yard run by Quincy Wimbish made it 3^rd-and-8 from the 10. Cole worked his way open in the right side of the end zone and set off a wild Hilltopper celebration with a diving catch for the game-winning score.
    West Liberty racked up 476 total yards on 97 offensive plays, just one snap shy of a school record, while Walsh finished with a season-high 334 yards on 55 snaps. The Hilltoppers also had a whopping 30-14 edge in first downs and were a combined 12-of-23 on third- and fourth-down conversions.
    Phillips completed 29-of-46 passes for 338 yards and 2 touchdowns with 2 interceptions. Robinson finished with a career-high 11 catches for 118 yards while Nate Phillips added 3 catches for 77 yards and a score. Cole had 7 grabs for 57 yards, including the game-winner, while Owen Rozanc booted field goals of 23 and 37 yards and went 3-for-3 on PATs.
    Gassman completed a career-high 11-of-18 passes for 286 yards and 3 TDs with one interception for the hosts. Adu-Poku led all receivers with 4 catches for 127 yards, including a 77-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter.           
    West Liberty returns to Mountain East Conference action on Saturday with a 2 p.m. kickoff at Fairmont State.
  West Liberty                          7  10  7  8  6 – 41
Walsh (Ohio)                          7  21  0  7  3 – 38      WLU: N.Philips 28 pass from Z.Phillips (Rozanc kick), 10:26
     WU: Cook 4 run (Mirolo kick), 7:14      WLU: FG Rozanc 37, 11:26
     WU: Adu-Poku 77 pass from Gassman (Mirolo kick), 11:07
     WLU: Z.Phillips 17 run (Rozanc kick), 4:58
     WU: Tuttle 38 pass from Gassman (Mirolo kick), 3:35
     WU: Sturmi 58 interception return (Mirolo kick), 2:35
     WLU: FG Rozanc 23, :07      WLU: Wimbish 7 run (Rozanc kick), 6:59      WU: Adu-Poku 31 pass from Gassman (Mirolo kick), 14:52
     WLU: Robinson 20 pass from Z.Phillips (Cole pass from Z.Phillips), 11:54      WU: FG Mirolo 25
     WLU: Cole 10 pass from Taylor
A: 750      RUSHING: West Liberty 39-82, Wimbish 15-47, Z.Phillips 12-29, Farmer 6-14, Frisby 3-3, Johnson 1-3, Taylor 2-(-14). Walsh 48-37, Adu-Poku 16-26, Cook 4-11, Kenerly 4-10, Wilks 2-8, Team 2-0, Wilson 1-(-1), Gassman 8-(-8)
     PASSING: West Liberty 34-58-394-3td-3x (Z.Phillips 29-46-338-2td-2x, Taylor 5-12-56-1td-1x), Walsh 11-18-286-3td-1x (all by Gassman)
     RECEIVING: West Liberty 34-394, Robinson 11-118, N.Phillips 3-77, Durbin 3-49, Cole 7-57, Rita 6-59, Farmer 1-20, Wimbish 2-12,  Frisby 1-2. Walsh 11-286, Adu-Poku 4-127, Cook 3-85, Tuttle 1-38, Lindsay 2-29, Palka 1-7
     First downs: West Liberty 30, Walsh 14
     Fumbles: West Liberty 3-3, Walsh 3-3
     Penalties: West Liberty 6-73, Walsh 6-43
     Time of Possession: West Liberty 34:40, Walsh 25:20