West Liberty, W.Va. – An 82 yard touchdown pass from Chris Charles to Rashawn Harvey set the tone for the West Liberty offense on the first play of the game, as WLU went on to win 48-40 over Glenville State on Saturday afternoon. The Hilltopper offense erupted for 41 first half points, scoring on seven of their first nine drives.
 
QUICK DETAILS
Final Score: West Liberty 48, Glenville State 40
Team Records: West Liberty 2-4 (2-3 MEC), Glenville State 2-3 (1-3 MEC)
Attendance: 1,341
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• West Liberty set the tone for the game on the very first play of the game as Chris Charles took in a backwards pass from Rudy Garcia and then proceeded to find Rashawn Harvey wide open down the field for an 82 yard touchdown pass to open the game. Tyler Waddell added the extra point to make it 7-0 only 18 seconds into the contest.
• After the defense forced Glenville State to go three-and-out on their first possession, the Hilltoppers once again found the end zone for the second consecutive drive. On a 3^rd Down & 10, Garcia found Charles running in open space down the right sideline, hauling in the 39 yard touchdown pass and the point after attempt by Waddell made it a 14-0 game.
• The Black & Gold defense stepped up once again as the Pioneers went for the 4^th down conversion from the WLU 45 yard line, and Delano Marcelus sacked Glenville quarterback Anthony Garrett for a loss of 13 yards back to the GSC 42 yard line. With great starting field position, the WLU offense struck on only the third play of the drive as Garcia stood in and took a hit but found Ben Turner who hauled in the pass at the GSC six yard line and ran it the rest of the way into the end zone to extend the lead to 21-0 following the Waddell PAT.
• After three three-and-outs in the first quarter, the Glenville State offense used a 29 yard passing play to set up a 30-yard field goal from Brody Layman, cutting the Hilltopper lead to 21-3 with 11 seconds remaining in the opening period.
• Garcia and Charles connected for their second touchdown of the game on the ensuing drive, as Charles made a high, reaching grab while cutting across the middle of the field and beat the defenders into the end zone for a 37 yard catch and score to put the Black & Gold up 28-3 after the PAT with 12:55 remaining in the second quarter.
• After nearly forcing a safety, the Hilltopper defense pinned Glenville State back against the goal line and forced yet another three-and-out. Chris Wilson was able to get a hand on Zander Watson's punt and as it bounced out to the 19 yard line, Wilson reappeared to grab the ball out the air and return it to the GSC three yard line. Three plays later Khadeem Richards notched his second rushing touchdown of the year as he walked into the end zone after taking the pitch to the left pylon. Waddell once again tacked on the PAT to make it 35-3 with 10:44 remaining in the second quarter.
• The Pioneers responded with a five play scoring drive, as they found the end zone for the first time in the game on a 48 yard touchdown pass as Garrett found Tariq Miller open down the left hash marks. The extra point by Brody Layman cut the WLU lead to 35-10 with 9:31 left on the second quarter clock.
• The Black & Gold pushed the lead to 41-10 at the halftime break following a pair of field goals from 32 and 42 yards out by Justin Kaplan. The Hilltoppers scored on seven of their first nine possessions of the game.
• The defense held control of the third quarter as the team's traded interceptions. Brennen Bailey recorded his second pick of the season, returning it 37 yards to the GSC 30 yard line.
• Glenville State scored the only points of the third quarter as Saeed Galloway fought through the linemen for a three yard rushing touchdown. The failed two point conversion kept the score 41-16 with 2:30 remaining in the period.
• Following a 18 yard pass to Harvey, Garcia capped off the final scoring drive of the day for West Liberty as he quickly got under center and was pushed into the end zone for his second rushing touchdown of the year. Waddell's PAT made the score 48-16 with 11:39 remaining in the game.
• GSC began their fourth quarter rally with a two yard touchdown run from Alfred Menjoy. The PAT made the score 48-23 in favor of WLU. The Pioneers caught the Hilltoppers off guard on the ensuing kickoff as Layman placed an onside kick right up the middle and he made the recovery himself at the GSC 46 yard line. The very next play Garrett found Zion Barnette down the middle of the field for a 54 yard touchdown pass. The extra point by Layman cut the deficit to 48-30 with 8:35 remaining in the game.
• The West Liberty defense made a critical goal line stand with just over three minutes remaining, stopping Glenville State at the one yard line twice and forcing a turnover on downs. With the Hilltoppers backed up into their own end zone, the Pioneers cut the deficit to two scores as a snap over Garcia's head and out of bounds resulted in a safety. Glenville started the next drive just shy of midfield and drove down the field once again to score on a Galloway one yard touchdown run, with the two point conversion making the score 48-40 with 1:14 remaining.
• After recovering the onside kick, the Hilltoppers secured the win with a four yard rush by Dylan Asbury gaining the first down.

WEST LIBERTY STATISTICAL LEADERS
Rudy Garcia: 18-for-26 passing, 245 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns
Chris Charles: 5 receptions, 89 receiving yards, 2 receiving touchdowns, 1-for-1 passing, 82 passing yards, 1 passing touchdown
Rashawn Harvey: 5 receptions, 116 receiving yards, 1 receiving touchdown
Khadeem Richards: 20 rushing attempts, 93 rushing yards, 1 rushing touchdown
Nolan Shimp: 15 total tackles, 2.0 tackles-for-loss
Brennen Bailey: 7 total tackles, 2 pass break-ups, 1 interception
Mason Gates: 6 total tackles, 2 pass break-ups, 1 tackle-for-loss, 1 sack
 
UP NEXT
West Liberty will travel to West Virginia Wesleyan next Saturday (October 14) as WLU looks for their first 3-game win streak since 2016. The Hilltoppers and Bobcats are scheduled for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Cebe Ross Field in Buckhannon, West Virginia.