WHEELING, W.Va. (Sept. 8) – A score in the final minute allowed West Liberty to escape with a 33-30 win over the Cardinals in the first-ever varsity game in Wheeling University program history Saturday afternoon at Bishop Schmitt Field.
 
With the loss, the Wheeling football team opens its inaugural season with a 0-1 record, 0-1 in the Mountain East Conference (MEC). Meanwhile, the Hilltoppers improve to 1-0, 1-0 MEC, and snap an 10-game road losing streak.
 
Sophomore quarterback Tucker Strachan (Kensington, Md./Bullis) was impressive in his debut. He threw for 401 yards on 26-of-47 attempts with one touchdown and one interception, which came on a deflection. Strachan spread the ball around all afternoon. Three Cardinals finished with seven receptions. Sophomore wide receiver Ryan LaFollette (Woodsfield, Ohio/Monroe Central) led the way with 135 yards, while classmate Tristan Ballard (Boardman, Ohio/Sharon (Pa.)) and redshirt-junior Jaquaun Davidson (Duquesne, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) finished with 97 and 77 yards, respectively, on seven catches.
 
West Liberty was forced to punt on the initial possession of the game. Wheeling made an early splash when Strachan found LaFollette for a 43-yard catch-and-run on the first play from scrimmage in program-history. Unfortunately, the drive stalled at the West Liberty 15-yard line when the Cardinals failed to convert a fourth down.
 
The game entered the second quarter scoreless. West Liberty got the first points of the game on a 44-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Zach Phillips to Isaiah Robinson on a third down and 18 play. Phillips heaved the ball and Robinson won the jump ball, coming down with the touchdown to make the score 7-0 with 9:08 left until halftime.
 
After a three-and-out by Wheeling, West Liberty appeared to assert control of the game with an 84-yard catch-and-run touchdown by Thomas Cole that made the score 14-0 with 8:09 to play in the second quarter.
 
The Cardinals drove once again into the red-zone on the next possession, but a missed field goal kept the Hilltopper advantage at 14 points.
 
A three-and-out by West Liberty gave the Cardinals a chance for points in the final three minutes of the first half. Strachan drove the team back into the red-zone, before sophomore kicker Matthew Greenwood (St. Clairsville, Ohio/St. Clairsville) converted a 28-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the half to make the score 14-3 entering the break.
 
The Cardinals came out of the locker room with their best drive of the afternoon. Wheeling converted a third down and a fourth down before a three-yard rush by Cam'Ron McClain (Twinsburg, Ohio/Twinsburg) capped off a 14-play, 81-yard drive to pull the Cardinals within four, 14-10, with 10:10 to play in the third quarter.
 
West Liberty got the ball back, but a botched snap on a punt allowed the Cardinals to re-claim the ball at the Hilltopper 24-yard line. Strachan made good on the field position and found Davidson in the back-corner of the end zone for a 26-yard touchdown to give Wheeling a 17-14 lead with 6:26 left in the third quarter.
 
West Liberty went to its back-up quarterback on the ensuing possession and drove 75 yards in nine plays to reclaim the lead at 21-17 with just under three minutes to play in the third quarter.
 
Strachan drove the Cardinals back down the field on the team's next possession. After a 14-yard catch by LaFollette that setup the team on the two-yard line, Strachan called his own number and plunged across the goal line on the first play of the fourth quarter to put Wheeling ahead 23-21 (PAT blocked).
 
After the Hilltoppers took back the lead with a field goal, the Cardinals faced a third-and-12 on their own 28-yard line. Strachan found LaFollette down the sideline and he took the ball 68 yards to the West Liberty four-yard line to setup a first-and-goal. Sophomore running back Sy Alli IV (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy) finished things off with a four-yard touchdown on the next play to give Wheeling a 30-24 lead with 8:57 left in the game.
 
West Liberty took advantage of another jump ball pass that positioned it on the Wheeling goal line. On the next play, Phillips fumbled the ball and sophomore Max Baker (Canton, Ohio/Canton-McKinley) emerged from a pile with the ball. Unfortunately, West Liberty's defense salvaged the field position by bringing down running back McClain in the endzone for a safety that made the score 30-26 with just under five minutes to play in regulation.
 
The Hilltoppers orchestrated their signature drive of the game when they got the ball back. West Liberty drove 63 yards on 12 plays, including a 10-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal to Thomas Cole with 31 seconds left on the clock that made the score 33-30.
 
Wheeling drove all the way to the West Liberty 39-yard line, but a deflected ball was intercepted at the Hilltopper 28-yard line in the final seconds to send the Cardinals to a heartbreaking loss.
 
Defensively, sophomore linebacker James Reese III (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Hartley) finished with a game-high 13 tackles (11 solo), three sacks and five tackles for a loss of 23 yards. Classmate Rich White (Cleveland, Ohio/St. Edwards) posted 10 tackles, while sophomores Brandon Munoz (Halethorpe, Md./Mount Saint Joseph) and Cody Anderson (Severn, Md./Archbishop Spalding) each add eight tackles.
 
The Cardinals won't be afforded a full week to recover. Wheeling will travel to Fairmont State on Thursday, September 12 for a MEC game under the lights at 7 p.m.
 
NOTES
Wheeling finished with five sacks and kept Strachan upright throughout the game … West Liberty was penalized nine times for 77 yards, compared to the five for 55 yards charged to the Cardinals … West Liberty was 10-of-17 on third-down attempts … The Cardinals were limited to 29 yards of rushing … West Liberty's 6-5 tight end Thomas Cole finished with nine catches for 184 yards
 
FIRSTS
FIRST POINTS: Greenwood 28-yard field goal
FIRST TOUCHDOWN / FIRST TOUCHDOWN RUN: McClain three-yard touchdown run
FIRST TOUCHDOWN RECEPTION: Davidson 26-yard touchdown catch
FIRST OFFENSIVE PLAY: LaFollette 43-yard reception
FIRST SACK: Reese nine-yard sack (4:20 2^ndquarter)
FIRST FUMBLE RECOVERY: Jayvon Johnson (5:52 1^stquarter)