INSTITUTE, W.Va. – West Liberty senior quarterback Zach Phillips passed for 233 yards and 3 touchdowns while running for another score here Saturday but it wasn't enough as West Virginia State rolled up nearly 600 yards of total offense to post a 39-29 win before a large Homecoming crowd at historic Lakin Field.
    Coach Roger Waialae's Hilltoppers (2-3, 2-3) trailed just 23-21 when Phillips scampered in from 2 yards out at the 9-minute mark of the fourth quarter but that's when the see-saw affair tipped decisively in favor of the Yellow Jackets (4-1, 4-0).
    State sprinted 65 yards in just three plays to make it 30-21 with TB Zach Pate hitting WR Donovan Riddick on a well-designed trick play for a 23-yard score.
    Things went from bad to worse as WLU was forced to punt on 4th-and-22 from its own 13 only to see the punt snap sail out of the end zone for a safety, pushing the lead to 32-21 with 6:29 remaining.
    The West Liberty defense forced a fumble and recovered near midfield with just over 5 minutes to go but another 3-and-out gave the ball back to State, which put the game out of reach with a 20-yard Dylan Lucas TD run at 2:05.
    Phillips completed the scoring with an 11-yard touchdown pass to TB D.J. Frisby and a 2-point conversion toss to WR Christian Rita in the final minute but it was too little, too late.
    Phillips completed 16-of-32 passes for 233 yards on the day with one interception. He had first-half touchdown throws of 18 yards to Aaron Farmer and 22 yards to Rita but was also sacked 5 times as the visitors were unable to mount a consistent rushing threat, picking up just 61 net yards on 35 attempts to finish with 294 yards of total offense.
    State showed remarkable balance on offense, completing 24-of-41 passes for 291 yards and 3 touchdowns while adding 289 more yards on the ground in 39 carries.
    The West Liberty defense didn't go down without a fight, forcing four turnovers including two interceptions by Davonte Williams and another pick by Ty Holmes. Senior DB Logan Deri had 13 tackles and a tackle-for-loss while fellow senior DB Josh Ojo added 11 stops with a career-high 9 solo hits and a pass break-up.
    The Hilltoppers will try to get back on track Saturday when they host Concord in West Liberty's annual Homecoming Game. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at West Family Stadium.
  West Liberty           0  14  0  15 – 29
W.Va. State            3  13  7  16 – 39      WVSU: FG Ahlstroem 29, 3:39      WLU: Farmer 18 pass from Z.Phillips (Rozanc kick), 13:14
     WVSU: Jones 3 run (kick failed), 11:14
     WVSU: Barrette 7 pass from Hensley (Ahlstroem kick), 3:29
     WLU: Rita 22 pass from Z.Phillips (Rozanc kick), 1:04      WVSU: Lucas 10 pass from Hensley (Ahlstroem kick), 12:51      WLU: Z.Phillips 2 run (Rozanc kick), 9:00
     WVSU: Riddick 23 pass from Pate (Ahlstroem kick), 7:39
     WVSU: Safety, ball snapped out of end zone, 6:29
     WVSU: Lucas 20 run (Ahlstroem kick), 2:05
     WLU: Frisby 11 pass from Z.Phillips (Rita pass from Z.Phillips), :46
A: 3,929      RUSHING: West Liberty 35-61, Wimbish 7-43; Z.Phillips 16-28; Frisby 5-8; Ritz 1-5; Durbin 1-2; Farmer 2-0; Team 3-(-25). WVa. State 39-289, Lucas 21-149; Garmon 10-61; Riddick 3-54; Carter 2-18; Jones 2-7; Team 1-0.
     PASSING: West Liberty 16-32-233-3td-1x. W.Va. State 25-42-291-3td-3x (Hensley 24-41-268-2td-3x; Pate 1-1-23-1td-0x)
     RECEIVING: West Liberty 16-233. Cole 6-45; Robinson 3-80; Rita 3-50; Frisby 2-14; Wimbish 1-26; Farmer 1-18. W.Va. State 25-291, Barrette 7-123; Lucas 7-58; Lyte 4-25; Pate 3-17; Scott 1-38; Riddick 1-23; Jones 1-6; Garmon 1-1.
     First downs: West Liberty 17, W.Va. State 27
     Fumbles: West Liberty 2-0, W.Va. State 1-1
     Penalties: West Liberty 3-23, W.Va. State 8-78
     Time of Possession: West Liberty 25:57, W.Va. State 34:03