Wheeling, W. Va. – The Wheeling University Football team (3-2, 3-1) welcomed in West Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon at Bishop Schmitt Field. The Cardinals offense went off scoring 38 points as Wheeling defeated the Bobcats 38-0 for their third Mountain East Conference (MEC) win of the season.

It was a balanced attack throughout the game as the offense combined for a season-high 461 yards of total offense. Quarterback Brennon Norris got the start for the second week in a row and went 14-27 for 201 yards and a touchdown. However, it was the Wheeling run game that shined with their best game of the year totaling 198 yards on the ground. Running back Sy Alli IV led that rushing attack with his second straight 100+ yard rushing game, finishing with 120 yards on the ground.

It was a combination of both Norris and Alli on the first drive of the game as Wheeling went 65 yards in nine plays.  Alli had 25 yards on the ground during that first drive and ended it with a five-yard touchdown run that made it 7-0. Norris completed three of his four passes for 58 yards on the drive and the Wheeling offense was clicking on all cylinders early on. Wheeling came right back on the second drive of the game, and this time it was Norris that connected with wide receiver Ryan LaFollette on an eight-yard touchdown pass at the end of the first quarter and made the score 14-0 after the first quarter.

The second quarter was the only quarter of the game that Wheeling didn't score, but the defense more than made up for it. Their biggest moment came right before halftime as the Bobcats drove to the Wheeling nine-yard line with under a minute to go in the half. Kicker Liam Depp came on to try and kick the field goal with one second on the clock to get Wesleyan on the board before halftime. However, they were denied as cornerback Rich White III got his hand up and blocked the try. Wheeling would go into halftime still ahead 14-0, and that moment would prove to be a turning point in the game.

Wheeling took that momentum and ran with it scoring a game-high 17 points in the third quarter. After a three and out forced by the Wheeling defense, the Cardinals would hit the ground, handing the ball to Alli on three plays on their next drive. Alli would plow forward and got the Cardinals back on the board with a 22-yard touchdown run that made the score 21-0. It was his longest run of the game and the first of three scores for Wheeling in the quarter.  On the ensuing drive, the Cardinals drove down to the Bobcats two-yard line, and Alli nearly scored his third touchdown of the game, but it was called back for holding.

Norris would pick up his guys up four plays later as he scored on a one-yard touchdown run that made it 28-0. The Cardinal defense set Wheeling up to score again at the end of the quarter when Linebacker JR Atkinson picked up a strip-sack that set Wheeling up on the Bobcats 13 yard line. Kicker Matt Greenwood would take advantage of the good field position, knocking in a 20-yard field goal to make it 31-0 heading into the fourth quarter. The Cardinals would start to get some of their reserves into the game, and one of those guys took advantage of the situation.

It came on Wheeling's first drive of the fourth quarter as quarterback Trent Jackson came into the game and led his team down to the West Virginia Wesleyan 17-yard line. He ended up finding wide receiver Dasyn Hores in the endzone for a 17-yard touchdown pass that put Wheeling up 38-0. It was the first collegiate touchdown for Hores and was the score that officially brought the game to its final score of 38-0. It was Wheeling's highest point total of the 2021 fall season as they improved to 3-2 on the season and 3-1 in MEC Play. They also eclipsed their program record for wins in a season, and look to build on that record throughout the rest of the season.

The Wheeling University Football team is back in action next Saturday when they head on the road to face UNC Pembroke with kick-off at noon.