Wheeling, W. Va. - After a tough loss last week the Wheeling University Football (5-2, 4-2)  was looking to bounce back as they returned to Bishop Schmidt Field on Saturday. After an early offensive breakout the defense held strong in the game's final quarter as wheeling took down Frostburg State 31-27. 28 of the Cardinals 31 points came in the first half and the defense came through on a big final drive.

With the score sitting at 31-27 in favor of Wheeling Frostburg State would get the ball back with 6:48 remaining on the fourth quarter clock. The Cardinal defense forced two third down situations on the drive but each time Frostburg State converted and got down to the Wheeling 28 yard line. On a first and five play, Frostburg State quarterback Graham Walker dropped back and heaved the ball towards the end zone. Wheeling defensive back Fabian McNichols jumped in front of the pass and pulled down the interception securing Wheeling's victory. The Cardinals would start from their own 20 yard line and were able to get the first down necessary to clinch the victory and move to 4-2 in Mountain East conference (MEC) play.

Before that big final drive the two offenses showed off their talents scoring a combined 52 points over the game's first 30 minutes. It didn't take long for Wheeling to get on the board as they took the first drive 75 yards down the field on four plays to score the game's first touchdown. After completions of 25 yards and 45 yards to start the drive it was quarterback Javon Davis who rushed in from 3 yards out to give the Cardinals a 7-0 lead. However, Frostburg State would respond on their next drive taking the ball 50 yards on two plays to tie the game at 7-7. The gun slinging wasn't done as on the first play of Wheeling's second drive Davis hit receiver Chris Canaday on a 62-yard pass that put the Cardinals at the Frostburg State three yard line. This time, Sy Alli would finish the job with a 3-yard touchdown run that made it 14-7 in favor of the Cardinals.

Before the first quarter concluded, Frostburg State added one more touchdown and the game was tied 14-14 after 15 minutes of play. In the first half of that second quarter it was the Bobcats who controlled the game scoring a touchdown and a field goal to extend their lead to 24-14 with 3:45 to go in the first half. Things began to turn around for the Cardinals on their next drive as Davis threw his second touchdown pass of the game hitting Steven Mitchell on a 48 yard crossing route to cut the Bobcats lead to 24-21. Frostburg State would get the ball back and the Cardinals defense would force them to punt with just over 40 seconds left in the half. Special teams would end up making the difference as Keenan Johnson got in and blocked the punt before returning it 27 yards for a Wheeling touchdown.

The play sent the Cardinals into halftime up 28-24 as Frostburg State would receive the second half kickoff. After stopping the Bobcats on that first drive, Wheeling would drive down to the Frostburg State 12 yard line and brought in Matt Greenwood to attempt a 28-yard field goal. Greenwood sailed it through the uprights making his seventh field goal in his last eight tries as Wheeling extended their lead to 31-24. Frostburg State would close out the quarter with a field goal of their own as they made it a 31-27 game. That Greenwood field goal would be the Final points for the Cardinals on the day, but the defense was able to hold strong getting a stop on Frostburg's first drive of the fourth quarter and then the second big stop to end the game.

It was a big game for Quarterback Javon Davis, who finished going 14-30 for 297 yards and a touchdown. His top target was Chris Cannaday who caught four catches for 127 yards followed closely by Lowell Patron who finished with four catches for 80 yards. The lone receiving touchdown on the day came courtesy of Steven Mitchell who pulled in the one catch for 48 yards. On the ground, Elijah Young was the leading rusher picking up 48 yards on 14 carries while Sy Alli had 33 yards on 12 carries. On the defensive side linebacker Jason Simon had another big showing finishing with a season high 12 tackles, eight solo four assisted, and 1.5 tackles for loss. Jayvon Johnson added eight tackles and a sack and Fabian McNichols came up with the lone Cardinal interception on the day to end the game. Wheeling now improves to 4-2 in MEC play and looks to continue their momentum over the final four weeks of the season.

But Wheeling University football team returns to action on Saturday, October 22nd, when they take on rival West Liberty in the "Battle for Wheeling " with kickoff at 1:00 p.m.