WHEELING, W.Va. – In a game loaded with big plays, West Liberty tight end Thomas Cole saved the biggest for last before an overflow crowd at sun-splashed Bishop Schmitt Field.
    The Wake Forest transfer hauled in a 10-yard touchdown pass from Zach Phillips with just 31 seconds remaining here Saturday to give the visiting Hilltoppers a 33-30 win at Wheeling in a thrilling season opener between the Ohio County rivals.
    The scrappy Cardinals, who certainly made things interesting in their NCAA Division II varsity debut, managed to cross midfield in the waning seconds before an interception by WLU cornerback Chris Mitchell brought down the curtain on the see-saw affair.
    Following a scoreless opening quarter, West Liberty opened up a 14-0 lead with two quick-strike touchdowns in a span of just 69 seconds. Phillips found Isaiah Robinson down the middle for a 44-yard touchdown to open the scoring at 9:08 of the quarter and the Hilltopper defense delivered a quick 3-and-out to force a punt.
    Taking over at his own 16, Phillips fired a quick slant to Cole and the 6-5, 240-pounder split the safeties and outraced everyone for an 84-yard touchdown at 7:59. It was WLU's longest pass play since Anton McCallum's 85-yard bomb from Dakota Conwell during a 39-16 rout of Fairmont State on Oct. 11, 2014.
    Wheeling booted a short field goal just before halftime to trail, 14-3, at the break.
    Both offenses hit their stride when play resumed. The Cardinals grabbed their first lead of the day, 17-14, with back-to-back touchdowns in the third quarter but the Hilltoppers went back on top, 21-17, late in the frame when Erick Taylor flipped a 3-yard TD toss to Cole on the right side of the end zone.
    Wheeling QB Tyler Strachan dove across from a yard out on the first play of the fourth quarter for a 23-21 Cardinal lead but the Hilltoppers blocked the PAT, setting up a go-ahead 36-yard field goal by Owen Rozanc on the ensuing drive.
    The hosts answered once more as sophomore WR Ryan LaFollette – nephew of WLU Hall of Famer Lance LaFollette – pulled in a 68-yard pass from Strachan to set up a 4-yard touchdown run by Sy Alli for a 30-24 Wheeling lead with 8:57 remaining.
    The Hilltoppers drove right back down the field with a 40-yard pass from Phillips to Christian Rita setting up first-and-goal from the Wheeling 2. The Cardinals appeared to have dodged a bullet on the next snap when they recovered a WLU fumble just short of the goal line but there was plenty of drama remaining.
    Hilltopper senior Cody Rine smothered Cam'Ron McClain in the end zone for a safety, cutting the lead to 30-26 and getting the ball back for the West Liberty offense with 4:23 to play.
    West Liberty drove 63 yards in 12 plays for Cole's game-winning score but it wasn't easy as Phillips kept the drive alive with two clutch third down conversions. Fittingly, the final toss to a wide-open Cole came on fourth-and-goal from the 10.
    Cole made quite an impression in his West Liberty debut with 9 catches for 184 yards and 3 touchdowns. Phillips completed 17-of-27 passes for 335 yards and 3 TDs with no interceptions while tailback Quincy Wimbish led all rushers with 91 yards on 21 carries. The Hilltoppers racked up more than 500 yards of total offense, passing for 382 yards and adding 128 more on the ground.
    Strachan surpassed the 400-yard passing mark for Wheeling, completing 26-of-48 throws for 401 yards with one touchdown and one interception. LaFollette was WU's leading receiver with 7 catches for 135 yards but the Cardinals were held to just 29 net rushing yards on 24 carries.
  West Liberty                          0  14    7  12 – 33
Wheeling                              0    3  14  13 – 30      WLU: Robinson 44 pass from Z.Phillips (Rozanc kick), 9:08
     WLU: Cole 84 pass from Z.Phillips (Rozanc kick), 7:59
     WU: FG Greenwood 28, :03      WU: McClain 3 run (Greenwood kick), 10:10
     WU: Davidson 26 pass from Strachan (Greenwood kick), 6:26
     WLU: Cole 3 pass from Taylor (Rozanc kick), 2:42      WU: Strachan 1 run (kick blocked), 14:56
     WLU: FG Rozanc 36, 11:19
     WU: Alli 4 run (Greenwood kick), 8:57
     WLU: Safety, McClain tackled in end zone, 4:23
     WLU: Cole 10 pass from Z.Phillips (Rozanc kick), :31      RUSHING: West Liberty 48-128; Wimbish 21-91, Farmer 5-27, Z.Phillips 16-18, Frisby 4-6, Team 2-(-14). Wheeling 24-29; Alli 15-16, Strachan 3-10, McClain 6-3
     PASSING: West Liberty 20-31-382-4td-0x; (Z.Phillips 17-27-335-3td-0x, Taylor 3-4-47-1td-0x). Wheeling 26-48-401-1td-1x (all by Strachan)
     RECEIVING: West Liberty 20-382; Cole 9-184, Rita 3-81, Robinson 4-79, N.Phillips 1-20, Ritz 1-10, Jenkins 1-5, Wimbish 1-3. Wheeling 26-401; LaFollette 7-135, Ballard 7-97, Davidson 7-77, Keenan 4-72, Clark 1-20
     First downs: West Liberty 23, Wheeling 22
     Fumbles: West Liberty 2-2, Wheeling 0-0
     Penalties: West Liberty 9-77, Wheeling 5-55
     Time of Possession: West Liberty 32:30, Wheeling 27:30