Buckhannon, W. Va. - The Mountain East Conference (MEC) football schedule officially opened on Saturday with all nine conference teams beginning the battle for the MEC crown. The Wheeling University Football team (2-1, 1-0) began their run in Buckhannon, West Virginia as they opened the conference schedule against West Virginia Wesleyan. The offense shined, breaking the 50-point mark as they took down the Bobcats 52-14 in what was their inaugural night game at Cebe Ross Field on the campus of West Virginia Wesleyan.  

The Bobcats would receive the opening kick-off and came out with fire in their first home primetime football game. Their first drive would eat nearly eight minutes off the clock as they drove 76 yards in 15 plays. They capped it off with a 10-yard touchdown pass rom Quinton Pulley to Logan Attland, and the Bobcats were staked to a 7-0 lead. The Bobcat defense came out and held the Cardinals to a three and out before the offense went back to work. Pulley would toss his second touchdown of the day, this one a 12-yard strike to Elijah Lewis, and West Virginia Wesleyan was suddenly out to a 14-0 lead. The Cardinals were looking for a response and would get that response on the ensuing drive. It was the ground game that opened things up as Steven Mitchell broke off a 45-yard run that set the Cardinals up first and 10 at the Bobcat 10-yard line. On the next play, Quarterback Javon Davis would connect with Chris Charles on a 10-yard touchdown, and Wheeling got back to within seven, making it a 14-7 affair. 

That is where things would remain at the end of the first quarter, but the Cardinal offense was just getting started as they ended the quarter with a big first down that made it first and 10 at the Bobcat 37 yard line. It was an anticlimactic drive as the Cardinals would end up turning over the ball on downs and it remained a seven-point game. After allowing the 14-points in the first quarter, the Cardinal defense would shut down West Virginia Wesleyan the rest of the way. They forced a three and out that gave the Cardinals the ball back and they were once again driving down the field. Davis would end up tossing his second touchdown of the day, finding Mitchell on an eight-yard touchdown that tied the game at 14-14. It was the first of three touchdowns in the quarter for the Cardinals as on the ensuing drive Wheeling was back at it. With 3:28 left before half, the Cardinals would go 72 yards in eight plays with Dawaun Green pounding the ball across the goal line from one-yard out to give Wheeling a 21-14 lead. 

With 1:14 to go before half, Joao Lima would attempt an onside kick, and the ball would bounce into the Cardinals hands at the Bobcat 47-yard line. The Cardinals came back on offense and it would take just one play for the Cardinals to double their lead. Davis threw a short route over the middle and Mitchell made the catch and did the rest with his legs, running 47 yards for the Wheeling touchdown and just like that it was a 28-14 advantage for the Cardinals. West Virginia Wesleyan would get one more possession before halftime, but a missed field goal ended the half with the Cardinals leading 28-14. After falling behind 14-0 over the first 12 minutes of play, the Cardinals responded with 28 straight points and the defense was stout, holding West Virginia Wesleyan to just 39 yards of total offense in the second quarter. Wheeling scored 21 points during that second quarter and would continue doing more of the same in the second half. 

Wheeling would get the ball to start the second half, but went three and out with Trey Brady sending a 48-yard punt deep into West Virginia Wesleyan territory. On the Bobcat's first play of the second half, Pulley tried to throw a pass deep down field, but Justin McIlwain jumped in front of the ball for the interception to set the Cardinals up at the Bobcat 12-yard line. It would be the running gae that got the job done as Mitchell ran three times and the final was a one-yard touchdown run that got him into the endzone and extended Wheeling's lead to 35-14. On their next drive, the Cardinals would go back to work, driving 80 yards on six plays, setting up a 1st and 10 at the Bobcat 20-yard line. Davis would throw his third touchdown strike of the night, this time connecting with Dasyn Hores on a 20-yard pass that gave Wheeling a 42-14 lead. That is where the score would sit at the end of the third quarter as the Cardinals looked to seal the win. 

They would do just that as they began the fourth quarter as the Cardinals got the ball 2nd and five on their own 42 yard line. The Cardinals would eat nearly eight minutes off the clock and got down to the Bobcat 17-yard line facing a 4th and three. Lima would be called on to attempt the field goal, and sailed it through the uprights from 37-yards out to extend Wheeling's lead to 45-14. The Cardinals final touchdown would come with just under two minutes to play as the Cardinal's second team got a chance to take the field. The Cardinals would need 11 plays to drive 46 yards, and Rodney James would cap off the drive with a three-yard touchdown run to make it 52-14. It was the first career touchdown for James, and capped off the scoring as the Cardinals would hold on to win by that final score of 52-14. 

It was a big day for the Cardinal offense, and it started with quarterback Javon Davis, who put together his best game of the season. He went 19-29, throwing for 265 yards and three touchdowns in the win. He had a quarterback completion percentage of 65.5% as he used a balanced attack to open the door for his receivers. On the ground, Steven Mitchell also had a career day, carrying the ball 12 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns. He also added three catches for 63 yards on the receiving side, including a 47-yard touchdown catch. Chris Charles was Davis's top target on the day, pulling in six catches for 91 yards and a touchdown. On defense, Jack Parry was the team's leading tackler for the second week in a row, finishing with six tackles, three solo and three assisted, and a sack. Justin McIlwain had the lone turnover on the day, finishing wth his first interception of the season. 

The Wheeling University Football team is on a bye week next week, and returns to action on Saturday, September 28th, when they take on Fairmont State at Bishop Schmitt Field on Homecoming & Family weekend, with kick-off at 1 PM.