West Liberty, W.Va. – The West Liberty University football team looks to carry their mid-season momentum into this weekend's road match-up at West Virginia Wesleyan, searching for their first 3-game win streak since the 2016 season. The Hilltoppers and Bobcats are set for a 1 p.m. kickoff in Buckhannon, West Virginia.

GAME DETAILS

• Location: Buckhannon, W.Va. (Cebe Ross Field)
• Kickoff: 1 P.M.

WEST LIBERTY STORYLINES

• West Liberty enters Saturday's game with a 2-4 (2-3 MEC) record on the season following a 48-40 victory over Glenville State last weekend. The Hilltoppers are currently tied for seventh place in the Mountain East Conference standings.
• West Liberty is averaging 24.5 points per game with 320.5 passing and 61.2 rushing yards per game, accumulating an average of 381.7 yards of total offense through six games. The Hilltopper offense has scored 15 touchdowns through the air and four on the ground during the season.
• The West Liberty ranks within the top-20 of NCAA Division II in seven statistical categories, ranking third in time of possession (34:01), sixth in passing offense (320.5), tenth in blocked kicks (4), 11^th in blocked punts (2), 15^th in 3^rd down conversion percentage (49.6%), 16^th in first downs offense (137), and 20^th in 4^th down conversion percentage defense (28.6%).
• The Black & Gold's passing attack is led by Rudy Garcia leads the MEC completions per game (27.7), total passing yards (1,780), passing yards per game (296.7), and passing touchdowns (14) while also ranking fourth, sixth, sixth, and 16th in DII respectively.
• Rashawn Harvey has been one of the top wide receivers in the country this season, leading the conference in receiving touchdowns (8), receptions per game (7.8), total receiving yards (639), and receiving yards per game (106.5). Nationally he ranks fourth, fifth, fifth, and seventh respectively.
• Chris Charles has also been a threat at wide out this season as he ranks second in the MEC in receptions per game (7.3), total receiving yards (539), receiving touchdowns (5), and is third in receiving yards per game (89.8). In DII he ranks ninth, 16^th, 25^th, and 21^st respectively.
• The WLU rushing attack has come to life in the past two games, posting back-to-back 100 yard rushing games against Concord (102) and Glenville State (120). Khadeem Richards has been the go to in the ground game, rushing for 237 yards and two touchdowns this season, while Garcia has also added a pair of rushing touchdowns himself.
• On the defensive side of the ball WLU has accumulated 328.0 tackles with 40.0 tackles-for-loss and 11.0 sacks. The Hilltopper defense has forced five turnovers on the year, with three interceptions and a pair of fumble recoveries.
• Trent Crawford leads the defensive unit with 37.0 tackles, 1.5 tackles-for-loss and 1.0 sack. Crawford has posted a pair of double digit tackle performances this season with ten tackles against Walsh and Frostburg State. Brennen Bailey is second on the team with 27.0 tackles and has grabbed a pair of interceptions while breaking up five passes.
• Cam Rice has added 26.0 tackles while leading the team in both tackles for loss (10.5) and sacks (4.0). He leads the MEC and ranks 14^th in DII with 1.8 tackles-for-loss per game this season.
• Justin Kaplan was named the MEC Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday afternoon after notching a pair of field goals in the win over GSC, knocking kicks of 32 and 42 yards through the uprights. He is 3-of-4 on field goal attempts from 30 yards or more this season.
• West Liberty has converted 56-of-113 (49.6%) third down attempts compared to 25-of-78 (32.1%) for their opponents. The Black & Gold are 5-of-10 (50.0%) on fourth down attempts while their opponents are 2-of-7 (28.6%). In the red zone the Hilltoppers are 14-of-22 on the season with ten touchdowns and four field goals while their opponents are 19-of-24 with 16 touchdowns and three field goals.
• Roger Waialae is in his 19^th season as the head coach at West Liberty with a career record of 94-104 with the Hilltoppers. Waialae is currently the longest tenured coach in the MEC and holds the second most wins all-time in WLU football history.

WEST VIRGINIA WESLEYAN STORYLINES

• West Virginia Wesleyan enters Saturday's game with a 0-5 (0-4 MEC) record on the season following a 58-3 loss at Wheeling last weekend. The Bobcats are currently tenth place in the Mountain East Conference standings.
• West Virginia Wesleyan is averaging 10.0 points per game with 140.0 passing and 56.6 rushing yards per game, accumulating an average 196.6 yards of total offense through five games. The Bobcats offense has scored one touchdown through the air and one on the ground during the season.
• Nathan Payne has completed 48-of-95 pass attempts for 455 yards and one touchdown through the air this season.
• Nathaniel Garnett Jr. and Aamir Almusawwir are the top two targets at wide out for WVWC, hauling in 20 and 15 catches respectively. Garnett Jr. has recorded a team-best 397 yards receiving with one touchdown, while Almusawwir has tallied 154 receiving yards.
• Charles Spratley and Kevin Mitchell are the lone running backs with over 100 yards rushing this season, totaling 129 yards on 42 carries and 101 yards on 40 carries respectively. Payne recorded the lone rushing touchdown of the season for the Bobcats, a ten yard run against West Virginia State.
• On the defensive side of the ball WVWC has accumulated 276.0 tackles with 16.0 tackles-for-loss and 1.0 sack. The Bobcat defense has forced 8 turnovers on the year, intercepting one pass and recovering seven fumbles.
• Eudean Dobson tallied the lone defensive touchdown of the year for West Virginia Wesleyan, returning a fumble recovery 38 yards for a score at Notre Dame.
• Steven Taylor leads the defensive unit with 31.0 tackles and 5.0 tackles-for-loss on the year, while also forcing one fumble. Ely Ghameshlougy is second on the team with 23.0 tackles and has added two pass breakups, 1.0 tackle-for-loss, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery.
• Amir Franklin-Branch has totaled 16.0 tackles in 2023 and has added 2.0 tackles-for-loss to go along with the Bobcats lone sack of the season.
• Liam Depp is a perfect 9-of-9 on field goal attempts this season and is 4-of-4 on attempts from 40 yards or more, including a long of 50 yards against WVSU.
• Wesleyan has converted 19-of-79 (24.1%) third down attempts compared to 26-of-48 (54.2%) for their opponents. The Bobcats are 1-of-8 (12.5%) on fourth down attempts while their opponents are 6-of-7 (85.7%) in five games. In the red zone WVWC is 7-of-10 on the season with two touchdowns and five field goals, while their opponents are 24-of-26 with 22 touchdowns and two field goals.
• Dwayne Martin is in his third season as the head coach at West Virginia Wesleyan with a career record of 1-26 during his time with the Bobcats.

SERIES HISTORY

• West Liberty holds the 40-24-1 advantage in the all-time series and has won eight of the past ten meetings in the series.
• The Hilltoppers defeated the Bobcats 23-21 at West Family Stadium last season on September 24, 2022. Justin Kaplan kicked the game winning 48 yard field goal with only ten seconds remaining in the contest.