PHILLIPI, W.Va. (March 18) – The Cardinals scored 20-unanswered in the first quarter of a 34-6 win at Alderson Broaddus Thursday night.
 
The Wheeling University football team improves to 1-1 on the spring season. Meanwhile, the Battlers, making their Mountain East Conference (MEC) debut, drop to 0-1 on the spring season.
 
Freshman quarterback Jalen Lea (Washington, D.C./National Christian Academy) finished the evening 11 of 20 for 163 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. He also ran for 31 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.
 
Junior wide receiver Jake Keenan (Toronto, Ohio/Toronto) led the Cardinals with four receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown. Junior running back Sy Alli, IV (Pittsburgh, Pa./Obama Academy) paced the backfield with 61 yards on 20 carries with a touchdown.
 
The Cardinals took the opening kickoff and drove into the red zone, but a lightening delay of nearly an hour halted the contest. When the two teams came back on to the field, Alli converted from 1-yard out to score and make the score 7-0 with 10:49 to play in the first quarter.
 
Wheeling's defense forced a three-and-out and Lea wasted little time in extending the Cardinal lead. The true-freshman signal caller found Keenan over the middle for a 64-yard catch-and-run touchdown to extend the lead to 13-0 (PAT Failed) with 8:03 remaining in the opening quarter.
 
The Battler offense strung together a few first downs and drove into Wheeling territory on the ensuing possession. The Cardinal defense sucked all of the energy out of the AB side when sophomore linebacker Josiah Wright (Loganville, Ga./Loganville) stepped in front of a pass and took it 75 yards for a touchdown to make the score 20-0 late in the first quarter.
 
Alderson Broaddus got on the board with a 12-play, 65-yard drive in the second quarter. AB quarterback Jaylen McNair converted a third down with a 29-yard rush that setup a six-yard score that made the score 20-6 (PAT Failed) with 7:46 to play in the first half.
 
Both teams traded possessions, before a bad snap on an AB punt allowed the Cardinals to take over at the Battler 21-yard line with 38 seconds until halftime. Wheeling cashed in when Lea found senior wide receiver Jaquaun Davidson (Duquesne, Pa./Elizabeth Forward) for a 12-yard touchdown that made the score 27-6 entering halftime.
 
The Cardinals had multiple opportunities to extend their lead in the third quarter, but came up empty. Wheeling finally broke through for second half points when Lea dialed up his own number for a 9-yard touchdown run that pushed the Cardinal lead to 34-6 with 8:16 left in the game. The score was setup by a big 38-yard rush by sophomore Eli Young (Worthington, Ohio/Kilbourne).
  
Sophomore linebacker Dalton Hoover (Mingo Junction, Ohio/Martins Ferry) led the defense with eight tackles (six solo). Junior linebacker Jason Simon (Montclair, N.J./Montclair) finished with five tackles (four solo), one sack and one forced fumble.
 
The Cardinals are slated to play their home opener next Thursday, March 25 when they welcome MEC North-favorite Notre Dame to Bishop Schmitt Field for a 7 p.m. kickoff. Wheeling University recently updated its spectator policy for football and all outdoor sports this spring.

GAME NOTES: Wheeling out-gained Alderson Broaddus 311 to 236 in total yards ... The Cardinal defense limited the Battlers to just 93 yards passing ... Junior safety Jermichael Isom (Gadsden, Ala./Gadsden City) was credited with three pass break-ups ... The 34 points scored is the most in a single-game in Wheeling's two-year varsity history ... The 27 first half points was also a program-record ... The six points allowed was a program-record ... Davidson has scored a touchdown in six of his 11 career games in a Cardinal uniform ... The game lasted over four hours due to the first quarter lightening delay of nearly an hour.