Charleston, W. Va. – It was a battle of unbeatens in Charleston, West Virginia on Saturday when the Wheeling University Football team (3-3, 2-1) traveled to take on the University of Charleston. The match-up was as advertised, with the two teams combining for 77 points on the afternoon, but the Cardinals would end up on the short end of a 42-35 game. Wheeling would total 484 yards of total offense on the afternoon, as they dropped their first MEC game of the season.
The scoring would start right away as the University of Charleston received the opening kick-off and took the ball and drove it 75 yards for the game opening touchdown. The teams would trade punts on the next two possessions, before the Cardinals would get on the board on their third drive of the night. They would begin the drive on their own 42 yard line and got down to the Charleston 22-yard line before calling on Conor Fitzpatrick. The junior would come in to attempt the 39-yard field goal, and sailed the ball through the uprights to make it a 7-3 game. It would be the final Wheeling score before the quarter let out, but the Golden Eagles would have one more answer. They would cap off their final first quarter drive when quarterback Matt Frye found Tyler Thompson for a 35-yard strike that had the Golden Eagles out in front 14-3 heading to the second quarter.
Wheeling was driving at the end of the quarter, and got down to the Golden Eagle's four-yard line before a pass break-up in the end zone forced a turnover on downs. Charleston would respond by driving 96 yards down the field before Joshua Donald rushed in from five yards out to make the score 21-3 in favor of the Golden Eagles. They would add one more score on their next drive, and the Cardinals were looking to turn things around sitting behind 28-3. With 4:10 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals would get momentum on their side needing 12 plays to drive down to the Charleston one yard line. O'Marion Taylor would get the ball and dive in from one-yard out to or the first Cardinal touchdown of the day. Fitzpatrick would kick through the extra point and Wheeling would head into the locker room with the score sitting at 28-10.
As they broke from the locker room, Wheeling kept that momentum going as then received the second half kick-off. It would be another time consuming drive that lasted four minutes as Wheeling got down to the Golden Eagle's 32-yard line. That's when Landon Lutz would connect with Solo Love for a 32-yard touchdown strike, and the Cardinals cut the Charleston lead to 28-17. Charleston would get those seven points back on the very next drive, and the score was back to 35-17 in favor of the Golden Eagles. Wheeling would get the ball back and was once again on the move as they needed nine plays to get down to the Charleston 21-yard line. Fitzpatrick was called on once again, this time to attempt a 38-yard field goal, and he sailed it through for the second time on the day and made the score 35-20 with 4:02 to play. The Cardinal defense would come up with one more big stop before the quarter ended, and Wheeling would trail by 15 heading into the final 15 minutes.
Wheeling had the ball at the end of the quarter, but were stopped and forced to punt the ball back to Charleston. It looked like the Golden Eagles were going to add to their lead, but Dillon Shadie intercepted the ball at the line of scrimmage to get Wheeling's offense back on the field. Ayden McKinstry would get the drive started with a 12-yard run, and the Cardinals would turn to the sophomore again as they stood at the Golden Eagle 29-yard line. This time, Lutz would find him through the air on a 29-yard touchdown pass before Fitzpatrick kicked the ball through the uprights to make it a 35-28 game. However, Charleston would end up scoring the game winning touchdown as Jamal Wallace rushed in from 44 yards out to make it 42-28. Wheeling would get in the end zone one final time, when Lutz found Love on a six-yard pass that brought the game to its final score of 42-35.
Leading the effort for the Cardinals was Graduate quarterback Landon Lutz, who finished 25-43 while throwing for a career-high 356 yards and three touchdowns in the effort. Lutz helped the Cardinals battle back after falling behind 28-3, playing a role in three of the four Cardinal touchdowns on the day. His top target was Solo Love, who pulled in five catches for 95 yards and two touchdowns, while Mateo Crummel finished with a career-best 109 yards on four catches. On the ground, Dawaun Green carried the bulk of the load, carrying the ball 19 times for 92 yards, while O'Marion Taylor picked up the lone rushing touchdown and finished with six carries for 25 yards. On defense, Dillon Shadie was the lead man for the Cardinals, finishing with 10 tackles, eight solo and two assisted, while finishing with the team's lone interception of the day.
The Wheeling University Football team returns to action on Saturday, October 17, when they host West Virginia State in their Homecoming game with kick-off at noon.
