Wheeling, W. Va. - After hitting the road a week ago, the final home stretch begins for the Wheeling University Football team (4-3, 3-1) as they close out October. It will be a big match-up for the Cardinals as they welcome in Frostburg State with kick-off at 1 PM. The Cardinals look to take down a Bobcat team that has been ranked in the top 25 for a majority of the season and continue to sit among the top teams in the conference.
Last time out, the Cardinals would make their first-ever trip to Institute, West Virginia as they battled West Virginia State a week ago. In the first half, the Cardinal offense struggled to get going and West Virginia State took advantage. They scored the first 17 points of the game over the first quarter and a half and had the Cardinal's back against the wall. They would get their first touchdown on their final drive of the half and went into the locker room trailing 17-7. However, the tide had turned and the Cardinals came out firing in the second half, scoring on their opening drive to get to within three points. They would end up tying the game before the quarter let out and headed into the final 15 minutes tied at 17-17. Frostburg State would take the lead back with an early field goal, but with 2:48 to go the Cardinals would get that final game-winning score and went on to win 24-20.
Leading the comeback effort was quarterback Landon Lutz, who finished with 245 all-purpose yards on the day in his return from injury. In the passing game, he finished 20-36 throwing for 196 yards and two touchdowns in the effort, while adding 49 yards on eight carries and a touchdown in the rushing game. He played a part in all three touchdowns for the Cardinals on the day, and sparked them on the final drive. He would connect with Solo Love on the game-winning 37 yard touchdown to round out the effort and give the Cardinals the win. Lutz completed 55% of his passes on the day, and raised his season completion percentage to just over 45% on the season. With Lutz fully healthy, he looks to continue to be a leader for the offense as they head down the stretch.
On the defensive side, it was Jefferson Bretanys-Desca leading the effort with a season-high 13 total tackles, including seven solo and six assisted, to go along with 1.5 tackles for loss. Desca has been a force in the middle of the defense for the Cardinals, and finished with double digit tackles for the second week in a row. He is the team leader with 69.0 total tackles this season, and will need to be a force against a strong Frostburg State running game. The last few weeks have also seen the emergence of Jordan Kaiser as a top target for the Cardinals in the passing game. Against West Virginia State, he would finish with five catches for 64 yards, and leads the team with 356 yards this season. Since setting his career-high with 120 yards against Lake Erie, Kaiser has finished with 60+ receiving yards in four of his last five games, to go along with all three of his touchdown catches.
As they head into the final four weeks of the regular season, the Cardinals are one of four teams battling for the top spot in the MEC and an automatic qualifier to the NCAA DII playoffs. The Cardinals, Charleston, and Glenville State all sit at 3-1 on the season, while Frostburg State holds the conference lead by a half game at 4-1. Over their final four games of the season, the Cardinals will face two of those top four teams as they try to establish themselves as the top dog in the conference. Their success has been founded on the backs of their defense, which has allowed the third fewest points in the conference this season at 178. The defense looks to be a leader for the team again against a Frostburg State team that has allowed the fewest points in the conference while being the highest scoring offense in the conference.
The Matchup
The Cardinals and Bobcats are meeting for the sixth time in program history, with Frostburg State leading the all-time series at 4-2. They hold identical 1-2 records both at home and on the road, with the Cardinals hosting three of the last four meetings. The Cardinal offense has averaged 20.33 points per game in the all-time series, and have scored 15 points or more in each of the last four games.
Their last meeting came on October 24th, 2024, in a game the Cardinals would win 26-25 in Frostburg, Maryland on Sportsnet Pittsburgh. It would be Landon Lutz leading the Cardinal offense, finishing 13-31 while throwing for 210 yards and three touchdowns on the day. His top target was former Cardinal Tre Holloway, who finished with seven catches for 116 yards and two of the three touchdowns. Former Cardinal Jack Parry led the defensive effort, finishing with 14 tackles, six solo and eight assisted, to round out the day.
The Details
Kick-off for Saturday's game is scheduled for 1 PM inside Bishop Schmitt Field. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
