WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – McKendree (Ill.) quarterback Isaac Fisher threw 6 touchdown passes and the visiting Bearcats held off a gallant West Liberty comeback effort here Saturday afternoon to hand the mistake-prone Hilltoppers a 50-27 loss in non-conference action at West Family Stadium.
McKendree (1-0) broke open a see-saw battle with two quick touchdowns in the final 3:30 of the first half and Fisher fired his fifth TD pass of the afternoon on the first series of the second half to give the Illinois squad a seemingly-insurmountable 37-13 lead less than three minutes into the third quarter.
Backup QB Dylan LaGarde, who relieved injured starter Dakota Conwell midway through the second quarter, nearly brought West Liberty (1-1) all the way back.
LaGarde answered with TD tosses of 10 yards to Jeremiah Ortiz and 8 yards to Ian Kelly to pull the Hilltoppers within striking range, 37-27, heading into the fourth quarter.
A West Liberty drive stalled at the Bearcat 46 early in the fourth quarter and McKendree was able to pick up a couple of first downs to stop the bleeding before the Hilltopper defense forced a punt near midfield.
The snap skipped between the legs of punter Brendan Fred, who finally tracked it down inside his own 25. Fred shook off a would-be tackler and was able to get off a desperation end-over-end punt that bounced and rolled all the way down to the WLU 6.
The Hilltoppers picked up a first down but were forced to punt and Fisher put the game on ice with a 34-yard TD toss to Dustin Walls with just 6:44 remaining. McKendree tacked on an insurance touchdown with just over a minute remaining after getting the ball back on an interception.
“We played a little better in the second half but we missed some assignments and made some mistakes we shouldn’t be making at this point, especially in the first half,” WLU head coach Roger Waialae said. “We had a good win last week but sometimes it’s harder to get a win out of your system than a loss.
“The lesson to be learned here is that there’s no such thing in football as one game being ‘bigger’ than another. We only get 11 chances to play so they’re ALL big games. I still think we’re a good football team but that’s how we have to approach every week if we want to be a great team.”
McKendree’s Fisher put on quite a show, completing 27-of-37 passes for 353 yards and 6 TDs without an interception while also rushing for 110 yards on 17 carries and guiding a Bearcat attack that racked up nearly 600 yards of total offense.
The visitors also proved to be an opportunistic bunch as they turned each of West Liberty’s three turnovers into touchdowns. McKendree was charted with three fumbles but got all three of them back.
LaGarde, a senior with extensive starting experience, gave the Hilltopper offense a lift when he replaced Conwell under center in the first half. Conwell had been nursing a bad ankle in practice all week but convinced Waialae he was well enough to play.
“I probably should have held Dakota out,” Waialae said. “He was limping on the sidelines after the first series but I let him talk me into staying in the game. The quarterback run is a big part of our offense and we wound up throwing the ball more than we wanted.
“I thought Dylan and (redshirt freshman Brenton) Colabella both hit some big plays for us. I had planned on rotating them when I took Dakota out. Dylan got hot in our fast-paced offense so we just stayed with him but I’d be comfortable playing either guy.”
LaGarde completed 20-of-35 passes for 209 yards and 3 TDs with 2 interceptions. Colabella completed 2-of-4 throws for 38 yards – including a clutch 18-yard completion on a fourth-and-6 call.
Kelly finished with 7 catches for 66 yards and a pair of scores while Micah Lowe added 6 grabs for 51 yards. Braxton Gamble was the team’s leading rusher with 76 yards on just 5 carries, highlighted by a 58-yard TD sprint that put West Liberty on the board just before the end of the first quarter.
West Liberty faces a short week of practice as the Hilltoppers will head to Fairmont on Thursday for a 7 p.m. kickoff against the Falcons.
“Other than having less time for the injuries, I’m glad we get a chance to play again so quickly and get this game out of our system,” Waialae said. “I told them that even though we lost a game today, everything we’ve set our sights on for this season is still out there for us. We need to learn from what happened today and move on.”
GAME NOTES
X Induction ceremonies for the West Liberty Hall of Fame’s Class of 2015 were held Saturday morning. The inductees – Jim Calhoun, Dave Coffaro, Tara Elkin, Kevin Higgins, Tom Moore and Cindy Sensenich – were introduced to the crowd at halftime
X Legendary West Liberty wrestling coach Dr. Vince Monseau was recognized on the field during the game. The newly-renovated wrestling room and an endowed scholarship were named in his honor
X McKendree has now put together a 6-game winning streak dating back to the 2014 season
X The Bearcats ran more offensive plays and gained more yards of total offense in the first half (52-for-361) against the Hilltoppers than nationally-ranked Concord (51-for-346) had in the entire game last Saturday
X Fisher’s 463 yards of total offense was the most by a WLU opponent since Edinboro’s Trevor Harris’ 647 yards in a 2009 NCAA Division II playoff game
X Fisher’s 6 TD passes are the most by a West Liberty opponent in this century
X McKendree LB A.J. Wentland had a game-high 22 tackles on Saturday. Garrett Vulcano and Marcus Schumacher led West Liberty with 11 stops each.
