Frostburg , MD. – It was back on the road for the Wheeling University Football team (4-4, 3-2) as they traveled to Frostburg State on Saturday afternoon. The two teams battled through a defensive slugfest early on, before the Cardinals put together a 14-point fourth quarter as they sealed a 27-24 victory over the Bobcats. It was a combination of a ground and pound effort and a career-best receiving day from Solo Love that moved the Cardinals back over .500 in Mountain East Conference (MEC) play.
Wheeling would get the offense going right away, receiving the opening kick-off and drove 75 yards down field, setting up on the Frostburg State 23-yard line. Landon Lutz would drop back and find Manny Ortega-Garcia on a 23-yard pass to give Wheeling an early 6-0 lead. Conor Fitzpatrick would come on to kick the extra point, but it was blocked and Frostburg State would return the ball 75 yards for the defensive PAT to make the score 6-2 just 10 minutes in. Both defenses locked in for the next 10 minutes, with both teams putting together sustainable drives, but each time the defense would come up with a stop. The Cardinals would get the ball back with 3:49 to go in the quarter, and drove down to the Frostburg State 27-yard line before the quarter came to an end. The Cardinals would still lead 6-2, but continued driving into the second quarter.
They would get down to the Frostburg State 19-yard line, before calling on Conor Fitzpatrick to attempt a 36-yard field goal. The attempt would end up sailing wide, and the Cardinal lead continued to hold at 6-2. In their first drive of the quarter, Frostburg State would get into Wheeling territory, getting down to the 10-yard line before attempting a field goal of their own. They would bring in Peyton Murphy for a 28-yard field goal attempt, and he would split the uprights to bring the score to 6-5. Wheeling was looking for a response and a 30-yard connection between Lutz and Love would get the Cardinals a big third-down conversion and the Cardinals found their groove. They got down to the Frostburg State 28-yard line before Lutz called his own number and got across the goal line for the score. Fitzpatrick sailed the extra point through the uprights and the Cardinals took a 13-5 lead. That would be the score heading into halftime, and the Cardinals looked to build on their advantage.
Frostburg State would get the ball to start the second half, and they would add three more points on a Cook 34-yard field goal that made it a 13-8 game with 10:51 to go in the third. Wheeling was forced to punt on their next possession, and had Frostburg State pinned on their own five-yard line. They were faced with a 2nd and 11 on their own 26-yard line, before Murphy connected with Tra'Shaun Timmons on a 74-yard touchdown strike to take a 16-13 lead. The Bobcats had their first lead of the day, and the Cardinals would have to play from behind once again. Wheeling would get the ball back at their own 15-yard line, and used a steady rushing attack to move the ball up the field. Ayden McKinstry and Dawaun Green would keep the ball moving, and a 13-yard reception by Ortega-Garcia would get the Cardinals to the Bobcat 24-yard line at the end of the third quarter.
Wheeling would keep the drive going to start the fourth on the legs of Green, who would burst into the end zone from four yards out to get the Cardinals back on top. Fitzpatrick would send the extra point through and Wheeling was ahead 20-16 with 14:16 to play. The Cardinal defense would play takeaway on the next two Bobcat drives, with James Orange getting an interception and Joe Rispoli forcing a fumble to set the Cardinals up with first and ten at the Frostburg State 25-yard line. They would then put the ball in the hands of McKinstry, who would put the game away. The sophomore would get the ball inside the redzone, while Lutz connected with Love to get Wheeling down to the one-yard line. McKinstry would finish the run, getting in from one yard out and the Cardinals led 27-16. The Bobcats would get one more touchdown on their final drive, but the Cardinals would run out the clock to secure the 27-24 victory.
It was a big day for the Cardinal offense, which racked up a total of 457 yards of total offense, with 255 of that coming through the air. Landon Lutz would lead the passing game, going 17-28, throwing for 255 yards and a touchdown, with his top target being Solo Love, who had a career-best performance. He would pull in nine catches for 160 yards on the day, with his longest being a 32-yard reception. Manny Ortega-Garcia would pull in the lone touchdown reception, finishing with two catches for 38 yards. In the ground game, it would be Dawaun Green leading the effort, carrying the ball 17 times for 88 yards and a touchdown, while Ayden McKinstry added 14 carries for 61 yards and a touchdown. Jalen Higginbotham would lead the defensive effort, finishing with nine tackles, two solo and seven assisted, while James Orange added an interception and Joe Rispoli added a forced fumble.
The Wheeling University Football team returns to action on Saturday, October 31, when they travel to Concord with kick-off at 1 PM.
