SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – A first-quarter Notre Dame (Ohio) scoring blitz proved too much for West Liberty to overcome here Saturday as the defending Mountain East Conference champions cruised to a 70-7 victory in a mutual spring football season opener at Mueller Field.
    A trio of untimely WLU turnovers proved to be the Hilltoppers' undoing midway through the first quarter and it happened with stupefying speed.
    After Falcon tailback Tabyus Taylor scored on a 10-yard run to put the hosts up 14-0 at the 6:40 mark, a Notre Dame interception return set up a 1-yard score by Jalen Boyd with 5:15 on the clock.
    West Liberty fumbled on its ensuing possession and Falcon linebacker Guam Lee put a scoop-and-score touchdown on the board at 4:26. Two snaps later, Bryce Sheppert stepped in front of a Jack Allison pass at the Notre Dame 37 and sprinted into the end zone for a 35-0 lead with 3:46 still showing on the first quarter clock.
    Allison drove the Hilltoppers back downfield, capping a 10-play, 66-yard march with a 4-yard scoring toss to Jerome Devon Harris but there was no catching the Falcons on this day.
    West Liberty completed 21-of-47 passes for 214 yards but was held to 22 net rushing yards on 22 attempts. Harris had 5 catches for 53 yards while Marquis Johnson added 54 yards on 3 grabs.
    Taylor ran for 177 yards and 4 touchdowns on just 9 carries – including TD runs of 2, 10, 56, and 70 yards – while Notre Dame quarterback Chris Brimm completed 13-of-16 passes for 213 yards and a pair of scores.
    The Hilltoppers head back on the road next week with a Saturday night game at Fairmont State. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Duvall-Rosier Field.
  West Liberty                              7    0  0  0 –   7
Notre Dame (Ohio)                  35  28  7  0 – 70      NDC: Taylor 2 run (Harding kick), 12:15
     NDC: Taylor 10 run (Harding kick), 6:40
     NDC: Boyd 1 run (Harding kick), 5:15
     NDC: Lee 35 fumble return (Harding kick), 4:26
     NDC: Sheppert 37 interception return (Harding kick), 3:46
     WLU: Harris 4 pass from Allison (Rozanc kick), :47      NDC: Taylor 56 run (Harding kick), 13:15
     NDC: Conliffe 11 pass from Brimm (Harding kick), 8:58
     NDC: Patterson 10 pass from Brimm (Harding kick), :48      NDC: Taylor 70 run (Harding kick), 8:51
A: 520      RUSHING: West Liberty 22-22, Wimbish 10-12, Moler 2-5, Asbury 2-4, Coffie 2-1, Frisby 2-0, Ja.Diven 1-13, Allison 2-(-12). Notre Dame 50-353, Taylor 9-177, Boyd 14-71, Traylor 11-48, Singletary 7-34, Henderson 4-13, DiDonato 1-9, Murphy 2-(-4)
     PASSING: West Liberty 22-49-224-1td-2x (Allison 19-41-180-1td-2x, Ja.Diven 2-6-34-0-0). Notre Dame 14-17-223-2td-1x (Brimm 13-16-213-2td-0x, Murphy 1-1-10-0-0)
     RECEIVING: West Liberty 22-224, Harris 5-53, Johnson 3-54, Billeter 4-37, Jenkins 5-31, Jo.Diven 1-23, Mason 1-11, Phillips 1-8, Glenn 1-5, Ritz 1-2. Notre Dame 14-223, Patterson 4-63, Harris 4-60, Mitchell 1-36, Kiss 1-23, Conliffe 1-11, Hines 1-10, Hamilton 1-4
    First downs: West Liberty 17, Notre Dame 23
     Fumbles: West Liberty 3-3, Notre Dame 0-0
     Penalties: West Liberty 3-15, Notre Dame 12-106
     Time of Possession: West Liberty 25:21, Notre Dame 34:39