Wheeling, W. Va. – It was a wild Homecoming day at Bishop Schmitt Field as the Wheeling University Football team (4-4, 4-3) took on rival West Liberty. The game went into overtime, and it was Wheeling that would come away with a wild 26-20 victory, their second straight win over the Hilltoppers. A Hilltoppers missed field goal in the final seconds of the game sent things into overtime.

West Liberty would get the ball first in overtime from the Wheeling 25-yard line. On the first play the Cardinals defense would make their presence felt as Richard White III came up with an interception at the 10 yard line that stopped the Hilltoppers possession. This gave Wheeling the ball at the Hilltoppers 25-yard line with a chance to win the game. The Cardinals put the ball into the hands of the Mountain East Conference's leading rusher, Sy Alli IV, and he single-handedly drove the ball down to the one-yard line.

Wheeling had the ball first and goal on their own one-yard line, and called a timeout to regroup. When they came back, they put the ball in the gut of Alli, and he took advantage bouncing off left tackle and into the endzone for the Cardinals touchdown. In front of a packed crowd at Bishop Schmitt Field, fans and players alike stormed the field as Wheeling won the game 26-20, defeating the Hilltoppers for the second year in a row.

Alli finished the day 13-yards shy of the 100-yard mark, but still added 87 yards to his season in the win. That brings his total for the year up to 756 as he continues his quest to become Wheeling's first 100-yard rusher in the history of the football program. He may have missed the 100-yard mark today, but he came through when it mattered and lifted his team to victory.

The turning point in this one came with eight minutes left on the clock, and West Liberty driving at the Wheeling 26-yard line. Hilltoppers quarterback Jamie Divens was picked off by Wheeling's Josiah Wright, who would take the ball to the house to bring Wheeling within seven points of their rival. After stopping West Liberty inside their own 10-yard line, Wheeling got the ball back and drove 54 yards on nine plays, ending the drive with Alli's first rushing touchdown of the day that brought the score to 20-20. West Liberty drove down on the ensuing drive and set up for a 41-yard field goal that went wide right, forcing the overtime period.

Before the pick six, Wheeling's offense was having trouble moving the ball against the Hilltoppers, as the cardinals scored just seven points over the first three quarters of play. The lone touchdown was scored on a wild play when Brennon Norris completed a pass to Jake Keenan, who fumbled the ball which was recovered in the endzone by center Jalend Dickerson for his first collegiate touchdown.

Norris finished the day 17-33, throwing for 176 yards, a touchdown, and an interception, and his top target was wide receiver Lowell Patron, who made six catches for 53 yards. Norris spread the ball out well with six different Cardinals making catches on the day. Alli finished with 87 yards on the ground to lead the running backs, while Elijah Young had three carries for 15 yards to put the total Wheeling ground game over 100 yards on the day.

The Wheeling University Football team is back home next Saturday when they host the University of Concord with kick-off at 12 PM on senior day.