Glenville, W. Va. – They say defense wins championships, and the Wheeling University Football team (2-2, 2-1) has a strong defense on their side. The unit forced four turnovers on Saturday afternoon as the Cardinals beat Glenville State 27-10 on the road.

It took a while for both offenses to get going, and defense played a big role in the first quarter. Neither team got on the board, and Wheeling forced a punt and a turnover on downs on the first two Glenville drives of the game. The game remained scoreless after one quarter and the Wheeling defense came up with another turnover on downs to start the second, giving Wheeling the ball on their own 25-yard line with 13:01 left on the clock. Quarterback Brennon Norris would take his team on an 11 play, 58-yard, drive that ended with a Matt Greenwood field goal that made it 3-0 Wheeling.

On their next drive, Wheeling was forced to punt after moving the ball just 12 yards but got a break on the punt. It was muffed by Glenville punt returner Javon Butler and the Cardinals were set up on the Pioneer 26-yard line with a new set of downs. Norris would take advantage driving his team to the endzone and finding wide receiver Ryan LaFollette for a seven-yard touchdown pass to make it Wheeling 10, Glenville 0. The Pioneers added a field goal before halftime, and the team's headed to the locker room with the score at 10-3.

It would be the defenses that were the state again in the third quarter as neither team got on the board. Wheeling held on to their slight 10-3 lead but was looking for that insurance score that would put the game away. They would get it with a drive that started at the end of the third quarter. Wheeling got the ball with 1:21 left on the third quarter clock with the ball at their own 40-yard line. They drove into Pioneer territory and ended the quarter with the ball on the Pioneer 36-yard line. When play resumed, Norris drove his team the rest of the way, scoring on a four-yard touchdown pass to tight end Tristan Ballard to make the score 17-3.

Wheeling would score on each of their next three drives, as the offense found their groove in the fourth quarter. Matt Greenwood would kick a 32-yard field goal to start the fourth quarter, bringing the score to 20-3, and LaFollette finished off the scoring with a 13-yard touchdown catch from Norris that made it 27-3. Greenville would add one more touchdown at the end of the game, but it was too little too late as Wheeling secured their second victory of the season. They are now 2-1 in MEC play and position themselves towards the top half of the conference as they head towards the middle of the season.

It was a big day for Norris at the QB position, as he went 25-41, throwing for 210 yards and a touchdown and an interception in the win. His top receiver was LaFollette, who pulled down seven catches for 62 yards and the two scores in the game. Running back Sy Alli IV ran for 105 yards on the ground on 26 carries for his first 100-yard rushing effort on the season. On defense, Dalton Hoover led the way on defense with 13 tackles, nine solo, and Brandon Munoz less the defensive line with 2.0 sacks on the day.

The Wheeling University Football team returns home to face West Virginia Wesleyan next Saturday at 2 PM at Bishop Schmitt Field.