WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – West Liberty University head football coach Roger Waialae isn’t concerned about how his Hilltoppers will handle the multiple distractions that come with the territory when a team goes on the road to play a nationally-televised mid-week game.
West Liberty plays at Fairmont State Thursday night in a game that has been selected for a national telecast by the CBS College Sports Network. It’s a definite break from the routine of Saturday afternoon football but Waialae is a “glass-half-full” kind of guy.
“One of the benefits of having a veteran team is that this isn’t going to be brand new for us,” Waialae said. “We played a Thursday night game at Fairmont two years ago and we have a lot of juniors and seniors on this team who experienced that.
“It’s a short week for us as coaches but it’s a short week for both coaching staffs. The familiarity factor from playing each other every year in the conference makes it an easier prep, especially on a short week. I don’t think it will be a factor.”
If misery loves company, both teams will be in the right place Thursday night as each squad is coming off a controversial loss on Saturday.
West Liberty (1-2, 0-1) came out on the short end of a 43-41 count against West Virginia Wesleyan when the Bobcats were credited with a game-winning touchdown catch in the final 10 seconds. Officials had originally disallowed the score due to illegal touching as the Bobcat receiver had run out of bounds for several strides before diving back into the end zone but changed their minds after a lengthy discussion and reversed the ball.
The Falcons (2-2, 0-2) dropped a 17-14 overtime decision at Glenville State on Saturday when a potential game-winning pass in overtime bounced off the helmet of a Fairmont receiver in the back of the end zone and was pulled in by a GSC defender to end the game. Newspaper reports said the receiver had a “Pioneer defender draped on his back” before the ball arrived but no flag was thrown.
“I didn’t agree with the call then and I still don’t,” Waialae said, “but we have no one to blame but ourselves. You can’t let things get to the point where the guys in the striped shirts have any hand in deciding the outcome of a game but that’s what we did. Our complete attention has been on Fairmont this week. We’ve moved on.”
Fairmont has never beaten West Liberty since Waialae took the Hilltopper reins in 2005. In fact, the Falcons have never led at any point in those five games and the West Liberty defense has held Fairmont to less than 300 yards of total offense in all five games.
Quarterback Zach Amedro enters Thursday’s game within range of a significant milestone as the senior standout needs just 174 passing yards to become the leading passer in WVIAC history. Amedro, coming off a 464-yard, 3-touchdown effort against Wesleyan, has completed 94-of-147 passes for 1,036 yards and 7 TDs this season. He’s less than 300 yards away from the 12,000-yard career mark.
All-American TE Ryan Travis had career highs of 15 catches and 190 receiving yards last week. He leads the nation with 12.3 catches per game and is just four grabs away from 200 for his career. All-Region TB Kevon Calhoun leads the WVIAC in rushing at 127.0 yards per game and has scored 6 TDs.
Fairmont head coach Mike Lopez has handed the reins of his offense to true freshman Logan Moore. The Fairmont native has completed 47-of-94 passes for 589 yards and 3 TDs in his first four games. His favorite receiver is senior WR Perry Baker with 13 catches for 226 yards and 2 TDs. Wingate transfer Patrick Pinchinat is the leading rusher with 221 yards and 4 TDs on 48 carries.
