WISE, Va. – The West Liberty University football team shook off a slow start here Saturday afternoon and pulled away to a convincing 30-6 win against UVA-Wise in Mountain East Conference action at Carl Smith Stadium.
Junior QB Dakota Conwell passed for two touchdowns and threw for two more while racking up more than 360 yards of total offense as Coach Roger Waialae’s Hilltoppers (4-3, 4-2) dominated the second half after carrying a slim 7-6 lead into the locker room at intermission.
“We were able to set the tempo and do what we wanted to do in the second half,” Waialae said. “The defense shut them out and we made big plays on offense and special teams. Now we need to execute and compete like that in both halves, not just one.”
The winless Cavaliers (0-7, 0-6) made things interesting in the first half, taking the opening kickoff and marching 75 yards in a brisk 6-play drive that saw Carlton Griffith spin into the end zone from 3 yards out with 12:36 on the first quarter clock. West Liberty’s D’Andre Muhammad blocked the PAT but UVA-Wise had a 6-0 lead.
The Hilltopper offense sputtered for most of the first half but a short Cavalier punt midway through the second quarter gave WLU the ball at the UVA-Wise 49.
Conwell finished off a 7-play scoring drive with a sparkling 14-yard run on a quarterback draw. PK Christian Morris tacked on the PAT to put the visitors ahead to stay with just under 5 minutes left in the half.
West Liberty opened the second half with a 12-play scoring drive capped by TE Daree Goodwin’s one-handed 21-yard TD catch on a pass from Conwell. Morris’ PAT was blocked but he tacked on a 21-yard field goal later in the period to give the visitors a 16-6 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Cavaliers mounted their best drive of the second half at the start of the fourth quarter but it stalled at the WLU 22 and a 39-yard field goal attempts squirted wide left with just under 10 minutes remaining.
Conwell led the West Liberty offense back onto the field for a 10-play, 78-yard march – highlighted by a 56-yard completion to Ian Kelly on third-and-19 from the Hilltopper 37. Conwell scored on a 3-yard run to push the count to 23-6 with 4:37 to go.
Morris’ squib kickoff caromed off one of UVA-Wise’s front line blockers and was recovered by West Liberty’s Jerimy Mask at the WLU 49.
On the very next snap, Conwell hit a streaking Anton McCallum in stride down the right sideline for a 51-yard touchdown to put the game out of reach.
Conwell completed 19-of-42 passes for 284 yards and a pair of TDs while rushing for 79 yards and two more scores on 12 carries. McCallum had his second straight 100-yard receiving game with 7 catches for 107 yards and TB Jeremiah Ortiz muscled out 80 rushing yards on 20 carries as WLU shook off its slow start to roll up 460 yards of total offense and 23 first downs.
“Everybody looks at Dakota’s numbers,” Waialae said, “but what gets overlooked is his leadership ability. He makes the people around him better and that’s what sets leaders apart.”
The Cavaliers moved the ball well at times through the air with quarterbacks Jeremy Eubank and Daniel Lewis combining to complete 31-of-48 throws for 322 yards but the hosts never got their running game off the ground, netting just 14 rushing yards on 24 carries. Terrence Younger, the MEC’s leading receiver, had 9 catches for 93 yards while Griffith added 10 catches out of the backfield for 81 more in a losing cause.
The Hilltoppers return home to host Notre Dame (Ohio) on Thursday in the MEC Game of the Week. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at West Family Stadium.
