Football | 11/10/2021 2:57:00 PM

    WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The Thursday Night Lights will shine on the West Liberty University football team for the final time tomorrow when the Black and Gold close out the season on the road at No. 17-ranked Frostburg State.
    Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on the artificial surface at 4,000-seat Bobcat Stadium.
    The game has been picked up for a live telecast by the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) with a replay to air Friday at 7 p.m. on AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh. Travis Jones and Reed Williams will be on the call.
    This will be a tough assignment for Coach Roger Waialae's hard-luck Hilltoppers (4-6, 4-5), as they try to check a three-game slide. West Liberty has led in the fourth quarter of its last seven games but has been unable to close the deal in four of them. West Virginia State scored with less than a minute remaining last week to pull out a 33-28 victory.
    "If we're good enough to lead a game in the fourth quarter, we're good enough to win the game," Waialae said. "We have to find a way to be the team that makes the play at the end to win those one-score games. We've done that a couple of times but we haven't done it consistently enough."
    That hasn't been the case for the host Bobcats (9-1, 8-1). Now in its final season of transition from NCAA Division III to Division II status, Frostburg State won't eligible for postseason play until next fall but can clinch at least a share of the MEC championship with its fifth straight win.
    In this day and age of spread formations and run-pass option, Waialae says the Bobcats are a throwback to "old-school football."
    "They're a very traditional ground-and-pound football team," Waialae said. "It's basically a Pro-I power offense but it really fits their personnel and they're very good at what they do. A lot of teams have it in their package but they don't live and die with it like Frostburg. It's a much more physical style and we are going to have to match their physicality."
    An opportunistic Hilltopper defense has risen to the challenge on multiple occasions this season. West Liberty ranks No. 4 nationally with 14 fumble recoveries, No. 6 with 27 total turnovers forced, 13^th with an average of 3.5 quarterback sacks per game and 21^st with 7.8 tackles-for-loss per game.
    Despite Saturday's last-minute loss, QB Jack Allison impressed by completing 31-of-43 passes for 4 touchdowns with only one interception. Allison led a pair of lengthy fourth-quarter TD drives to bring WLU all the way back from a 13-point deficit.
    "Probably Jack's best game since he's been here," Waialae said, "and that's directly related to him being a little healthier now. He's been trying to fight through injuries all year. On Saturday, we were able to give him time to stay in the pocket and work through his reads and his receivers did a good job of getting open and giving him targets. Wisdom Jenkins is really coming into his own at a crucial time and Nate Phillips is doing a great job running routes and finding open spaces. That's what it's all about. This is a team game."