WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. — West Liberty University football saved its best for last Saturday afternoon.
The Hilltoppers erased a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter, scoring 15 unanswered points in the final 15 minutes to rally past Concord, 43-42, in a wild Mountain East Conference battle at West Family Stadium.
West Liberty trailed 35-21 at halftime and 42-28 after three quarters before its defense shut out the Mountain Lions in the fourth quarter and the offense produced three touchdown drives in the final period.
The comeback was capped with 29 seconds remaining when quarterback
Kohl Meisman connected with freshman wide receiver
Dominic Diaz-Ellis on a 23-yard touchdown pass. Rather than kick the extra point and play for overtime, the Hilltoppers went for two — and Meisman made the decisive play himself, catching the conversion pass to put West Liberty ahead, 43-42.
The victory was West Liberty's fourth straight and improved the Hilltoppers to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in MEC play. The 4-1 start is the program's first since 2009.
"This is just a kid that hates losing more than anybody else in this program, and he wants to do everything he can to win the game," head coach
Chad Salisbury said of Meisman. "The thing that I was happy with him was he is handling the negatives better. He's handling when we're down a little bit better and he's staying with his teammates and they're believing in him, and then that's why we're able to go out and score late."
Meisman turned in a career performance while directing the Hilltoppers' comeback, completing 22 of 27 passes for 305 yards and five touchdowns without an interception.
The senior quarterback connected with four different receivers for touchdowns, including senior running back
Hunter Patterson on an 18-yard scoring strike in the second quarter,
Jaylin Harcum on a 53-yard touchdown pass,
Trey Singleton on an 11-yard score,
Levi Gullion on a 25-yard touchdown and Diaz-Ellis.
West Liberty finished with 442 yards of total offense, including 305 passing yards and 137 rushing yards. The Hilltoppers also held the ball for 31:37.
Meisman completed 81.5 percent of his passes and spread the ball throughout the Concord defense.
Jaylin Harcum led the Hilltoppers with six catches for 113 yards and a score, while
Trey Singleton added four receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown.
Levi Gullion caught three passes for 31 yards and a touchdown.
Concord wasted little time establishing control.
The Mountain Lions opened the scoring on a 4-yard touchdown run by Jayden Williams with 6:58 left in the first quarter and added a 2-yard scoring run by Maurice Jones less than four minutes later.
West Liberty answered with a 3-yard touchdown run by
Anthony May, but Concord responded with a 47-yard touchdown pass from Devin Kargman to Collins on the final play of the opening quarter to take a 21-7 lead.
The Hilltoppers cut into the deficit in the second quarter when Meisman found Patterson for an 18-yard touchdown with 8:38 remaining.
Concord answered with another Williams touchdown run before Meisman connected with Harcum for a 53-yard touchdown with 1:47 left in the half.
The Mountain Lions, however, added one more score before halftime, with Kargman finding Cordale Russell for a 57-yard touchdown with 31 seconds remaining to send Concord into the locker room with a 35-21 advantage.
Concord extended its lead to 42-21 on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Kargman to Collins with 8:24 left in the third quarter.
West Liberty answered quickly. After recovering a Concord fumble, the Hilltoppers needed only four plays to reach the end zone, with Meisman connecting with Singleton on a fourth and one situation for an 11-yard touchdown to make it 42-28 heading into the fourth quarter.
From there, the Hilltopper defense took over.
After Concord scored 42 points during the first three quarters, West Liberty held the Mountain Lions scoreless in the fourth and forced the Concord offense to come up empty when it mattered most.
The Hilltoppers finished with 60 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.
That defensive effort gave the offense the opportunity to complete the comeback.
With 7:25 remaining, Meisman found Gullion for a 25-yard touchdown, pulling West Liberty within 42-35.
The Hilltoppers' defense then forced another stop, giving Meisman and the offense one final opportunity.
West Liberty marched 64 yards in just 31 seconds, and Meisman delivered the go-ahead score when he found Diaz-Ellis for 23 yards with 29 seconds remaining.
The Hilltoppers then elected to go for two.
Salisbury said the decision had been made at halftime.
"We knew we were going to fight back," Salisbury said. "I asked some guys, do you want to fight them in overtime or do we want to take our shot?"
The play worked exactly as practiced, with Meisman moving into the pattern and making the catch on the two-point attempt.
"The ball happened to be a little bit down, so I just made a play," Meisman said.
Concord's final possession ended with time expiring, allowing West Liberty to celebrate its second consecutive dramatic victory.
The Hilltoppers rallied from an overtime deficit to defeat Frostburg State last week and now have followed that performance with another fourth-quarter comeback.
"We're going to watch film and there's going to be a million mistakes we can make," Salisbury said. "But the thing that you just can't question is their heart. I mean, they continue to play until the last whistle."
West Liberty will take its four-game winning streak on the road next Saturday when the Hilltoppers visit West Virginia State for their first MEC road game of the season.
The Hilltoppers will return to the Hilltop on Oct. 17 for Homecoming, when they host West Virginia Wesleyan.
West Liberty University blends a small-town environment with a comprehensive college experience, fostering students' aspirations through hands-on learning, personalized support, and unique academic programs at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Learn more at
westliberty.edu.
