Wheeling, W. Va. – The Wheeling University Football team (4-2, 3-2) kicked off Homecoming and Family Weekend when they hosted UNC Pembroke. It came down to one of the final plays of the night, but the Cardinals dropped a tough one against the Braves 17-16. The Cardinals offense had it's moments throughout the day and the defense had another strong showing with a few big stops.
UNC Pembroke received the opening kick-off and the Cardinals promptly forced them to punt. The Cardinals responded by driving down to Pembroke territory and calling on kicker
Matthew Greenwood for the first of three field goals on the day. He kicked through the 22-yard shot and the Cardinals were up 3-0 five minutes into the game. Both offenses got shut down on the next three drives And Wheeling got the ball back with 6:03 to go in the quarter and got their ground game going. They drove to the Braves 40 before Sy Alli broke away on a 40-yard touchdown run that gave Wheeling a 10-0 lead.
On their final drive of the first, the Cardinals found themselves at a fourth and 22 at the Pembroke 31 yard line to set up a 49-yard field goa. Greenwood showed the leg as he got it over the goalpost to extend Wheeling's lead to 13-0. The 49-yard boot set the program record for the longest field goal in history and had Greenwood make five straight kicks field goals. As the second quarter began, the Braves got their first offensive chance when they kicked a field goal through to make it a 13-3 game. The Braves scored their first touchdown two drives later and with 5:48 to go before the half it was a 13-10 game. Matt Greenwood would have another high pressure kick at the end of the half. This time, it was a 35-yard field goal and he sailed it through to send the game into halftime with Wheeling leading 16-10.
The third quarter was a defensive showing as neither team got on the board. Both teams drive into opposition territory, but neither was able to find the end zone. The score remained 16-10 after three quarters and it came down to the final 15 minutes. Wheeling was forced to punt on their first drive of the quarter and Pembroke would get the ball back. They drove down the field and punched it into the end zone to make it a 16-16 game. The ensuing extra point gave Pembroke their first lead of the day and gave them a 17-16 lead. The Cardinals were stopped on their next drive, but got the ball back with 5:04 to go and were still trailing by one.
They started the drive at their own 40-yard line and was moving the ball down field. They would drive the ball down to the Braves 29 yard line and set Greenwood up for his fourth field goal attempt of the day. This one would be from 40-yards out. The Braves would try to use the cold weather to their advantage as they called three consecutive timeouts. An offsides penalty on the Braves moved the ball up five yards to bring Wheeling to the right hash. Greenwood would send the ball towards the goal, but it swung too far right and it remained a 17-16 Braves lead. UNC Pembroke would hold on for the win as they finished the game with a few kneel downs before putting the ball away to end the game.
Sy Alli continued to run the ball well as he went over the 100-yard mark for the fourth time this year, rushing for 126 on the ground. Eli Young added 51 yards on the ground as the Cardinals rushed for 139 on the day.
Javon Davis would end his day going 15-28 for 107 yards.
Jason Simon and
Jayvon Johnson each led the defense with 10 tackles on the afternoon. It was the Cardinals second conference loss of the season as they look to bounce back with another home game next week.
The Wheeling University Football team returns to action on Saturday, October 15th when they host Frostburg State at 1 PM.
