Institute, W. Va. - Entering the second half of Saturday's game, the Wheeling University Football team (4-3, 3-1) found themselves trailing 17-7, with their lone score coming just before the half. Wheeling's offense would break open in the second half, putting up 17 points over the final 30 minutes and completed the comeback to take down West Virginia State 24-20. It moved them to a 3-1 start to the Mountain East Conference (MEC) schedule as they remain right with the top of the pack as they come down to the final four weeks of the regular season.
With the score sitting at 17-7 coming out of the half, Wheeling would get the ball back and looked to keep the momentum on their side after the late first half score. They would start the drive on their own 28-yard line and a series of short passes would get them down to the Yellow Jacket's 13-yard line. From there, quarterback Landon Lutz would complete the drive himself as he scampered the final 13 yards for the rushing touchdown. Conor Fitzpatrick would send through the extra point and Wheeling cut the Yellow Jacket lead to three at 17-14. After being tagged for 17 points in the first half, the Cardinal defense went into lockdown mode, holding the potent Yellow Jacket offense to just three points in the second half. After a three-and-out, the Cardinals got the ball back and would keep the ball moving. Lutz had three straight completions of at least 13 yards, and a Steven Mitchell 12-yard dash got the team into the Redzone.
They would get down to the Yellow Jacket five yard line, and called on the field goal unit facing a 4th and 2. Fitzpatrick would come on to attempt a 22-yard field goal, and made his fourth field goal in five attempts as he tied the game at 17-17. Wheeling's defense would come through with a big fourth down stop and the game would head into its final 15 minutes with the score sitting at 17-17. However, West Virginia State was driving heading into the fourth quarter and, as the new quarter started, called on kicker Tony Hombuckle to take the lead. He would kick through a 21-yard field goal and West Virginia State was back on top 20-17 with 13:00 to play. The Cardinals would miss a field goal on their next possession, and got the ball back with 5:59 to go, still trailing by that 20-17 score.
The Cardinals would start the drive on their own 38-yard line and immediately got to midfield as Lutz connected with Colin Oberdick on the first play of the drive. The Cardinals faced a 3rd and seven from the Yellow Jacket 47-yard line and O'Marion Taylor would get a big first down with an eight yard run to keep the drive alive. Two plays later, Wheeling faced a 2nd and 8 when Lutz would connect with Solo Love over the middle for 37 yards and the Cardinal touchdown. It was Lutz's second touchdown pass of the day and his third all-purpose touchdown as he gave the Cardinals a 24-20 lead. West Virginia State would have one more chance, and moved the ball to the Wheeling 18-yard line where they faced 4th and 2. The Cardinal front seven would do their job as Dion McIntosh and Nikale Martin would combine for the stop as they sealed the deal with a turnover on downs.
After missing the last few weeks due to injury, Landon Lutz came back in a big way for the Cardinals to lead the offense to victory. He would finish the day going 20-36 while throwing for 196 yards and two touchdowns in the win. He also added eight carries for 49 yards and a touchdown to round out his day, giving him 245 all-purpose yards in the game and three total touchdowns. His top target would be Jordan Kaiser, who pulled in five catches for 64 yards, while Colin Oberdick added six catches for 55 yards and a touchdown. On the defensive end, Jefferson Bretanys-Desca led the way with 13 total tackles, seven solo and six assisted, while adding 1.5 tackles for loss. Connor Fitzpatrick was responsible for the final three points, going 1-2 on field goal attempts, nailing his 22-yard field goal that tied the game.
Wet Virginia State would receive the game's opening kick-off and immediately went down the field to score the game's opening points. They would drive down to the Wheeling four-yard line and Hombuckle would send through the 21-yard kick to give the Yellow Jackets a 3-0 lead. They would add a touchdown on their next drive, giving the ball to Nasean Hill for the final two yards of a 55-yard drive as they took a 10-0 lead. The Cardinal offense would not make it past the 50-yard line in the first quarter, and it wasn't until their first drive of the second quarter that they would get into enemy territory. They would drive to the West Virginia State 28-yard line, but a turnover on downs would stop the drive in its tracks.
With 4;36 to play, the score remained at 10-0 in favor of West Virginia State, but the Yellow Jackets would add on as they set up at 1st and 10 from their own 33-yard line. That is when Kaleb Jackson would connect with Devin Cox on a 66-yard strike that moved West Virginia State's lead to 17-0. The Cardinals would get the ball back with 1:47 showing on the clock and would have to go into their two-minute offense. They would drive 45 yards in nine plays and set up with a 2nd and 10 from the Yellow Jacket 10-yard line. Lutz would get the Cardinals on the board just before halftime, connecting with Oberdick on a 10-yard strike and the teams would head into halftime with the score sitting at 17-7. The Cardinal offense would breakout in the second half as they secured the win.
The Wheeling University Football team returns to action on Saturday, October 25th, when they host Frostburg State with kick-off at 1 PM.
