Football | 11/14/2019 12:00:00 PM

    WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – A resilient West Liberty University football team has given itself a chance to finish with a winning record but has a big hurdle to clear with a red-hot Charleston squad coming to town on what figures to be a busy Saturday afternoon on the hilltop.
    Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. as Coach Roger Waialae's Hilltoppers (5-5, 4-5) host the high-flying Golden Eagles (7-3, 5-3) in the mutual season finale on Senior Day and Hall of Fame Day at West Family Stadium.
    The Black and Gold put themselves in position to finish above.500 a week ago by scoring 9 points in the final 74 seconds to rally past West Virginia Wesleyan, 23-20.
    "We never look ahead. We only talk about going 1-0 each week," Waialae said. "We emphasized that last week by telling them, 'We can't get to 6-5 until we get to 5-5,' and they found a way to get it done. It wasn't pretty. We made a lot of mistakes but in the end, we made the plays we had to make to come away with the win. Even so, we'll have to play a much better game to beat Charleston on Saturday."
    The Golden Eagles are rolling. They've won their last three games and scored 41 or more points in five of their last six.
    Graduate transfer QB Brant Grisel ranks among the Top 10 nationally in several categories, completing 209-of-336 passes for 2,946 yards and 26 TDs with just 7 interceptions. Rangy junior WR Mike Strachan is No. 2 in the nation with 18 TD catches and 1,191 receiving yards on 75 catches but he's only one of three UC receivers with at least one reception of 75 yards or longer this season.
    The Golden Eagles have an explosive ground game, as well. Sophomore RB Tyreik Mcallister has run for 9 touchdowns while averaging nearly 100 yards a game and 6.8 yards per carry.
    "They're a really good football team," Waialae said. "Their five skill guys can all go the distance on any play. The quarterback is playing at a really high level. The 6-5 guy (Strachan) is a real deep threat but so are the other two receivers and the running back is also a breakaway threat.
    "The five skill guys are special and their whole offense is predicated on the quarterback getting the ball to the other playmakers in space. The challenge to our defense will be getting them to the ground on first contact. If you miss tackles against these guys, they're going to make you pay."
    Playing with a heavy wrap protecting an injured left wrist, senior QB Zach Phillips completed 25-of-44 passes for 272 yards and 3 touchdowns in his return to the field last week. Junior WR Isaiah Robinson had 7 catches for a career-high 153 yards and a pair of TDs – including a game-tying 20-yard catch with just 1:14 remaining.
    "I thought Zach played well, especially after missing the last couple of weeks," Waialae said. "He made some big plays and gave other guys the opportunity to make plays. Isaiah has always been a big-play guy but we're seeing more consistency and focus from him now and it's paying off. Don't forget about (senior WR) Christian Rita, (junior HB) Ridge Durbin and (sophomore TE) Thomas Cole. When those guys are all making plays, that's when we're the most effective."
    A total of 14 seniors will be playing their final collegiate game at WLU on Saturday and Waialae wants to see them wrap up their careers on a high note.
    "I'm very proud of our seniors," Waialae said, "and I commend them for their commitment to the program and the university. Even though they've battled through injuries and adversity over the past four or five years, they never gave anything less than 100 percent on the field or in the classroom.
    "Some of these guys have already graduated and all of them are on pace to graduate, many of them in December. We'd love nothing better than to give them a victory celebration for their final memory from West Family Stadium."     X Waialae and his coaching staff will formally recognize their 14 seniors during Senior Day festivities prior to kickoff. The Hilltopper graduates are split evenly with 7 on offense – WRs Christian Rita, L.J. Sutton and Greg Zuniga, OL Chance Rucker, QB Zach Phillips, RB Aaron Farmer and HB Ridge Durbin – and 7 on defense – DBs Logan Deri, Lherry Fontilisse, Brandon Morrison and Josh Ojo along with the DL trio of Trevor Cherry, Zach Haught and Cody Rine.
    X The six newest members of the West Liberty Hall of Fame – Tony Filberto, Laura Malernee, Corey Pelle, Nick Spencer, Ryan Travis and Dr. Dave Waples – will be introduced to the crowd at halftime following their induction earlier that day inside the ASRC.