Wheeling, W. Va. - It was a day of celebration at Bishop Schmitt Field, as Wheeling University kicked off the home schedule of their 70th anniversary season. The Wheeling University Football team (1-0, 0-0) would christen the newly turfed Bishop Schmitt Field for the first time when they welcomed in Thomas More for the first-ever meeting between the two teams. It was a slow start for the Cardinals, but the offense exploded for 27 unanswered second half points, and the Cardinals would come away with a 27-10 week 0 win.
After being held off the scoreboard over the first 30 minutes, the Cardinals would head into the locker room looking to regroup. The Cardinals would get into Thomas More territory on their opening possession, before an interception stopped their momentum in their tracks. After the teams traded three-and-outs, it was a Cardinals play on special teams that would open the door. As Brett Jackson sent his punt away, he was roughed giving the Cardinals new life at the Thomas More 39-yard line. Wheeling moved to the Thomas More 13-yard line on six plays, before Landon Lutz found his tight-end Landyn Hores for a 13-yard touchdown strike. Conor Fitzpatrick would drill the ball through the uprights, and the Cardinals tied the game at 7-7. On the ensuing kick-off, the Cardinals special teams would come through again.
Fitzpatrick sent the ball down to the Saints' 15-yard line and Thomas More returner Kamalie Pemberton would put the ball on the turf. Bud Walker would jump on the loose ball and the Cardinals were set up 15 yards away from the endzone. Thomas More's defense would hold up, but Fitzpatrick would get his team the lead with a 26-yard field goal that made it a 10-7 Wheeling lead. It started a string of four straight scoring drives for the Cardinals, with Wheeling getting in the endzone two more times before the final whistle. The Cardinal defense did their part, keeping the Saints off the board until the waning seconds of the game. The third quarter would end with a Thomas More three and out, and the Cardinals driving. They went 26 yards on six plays over the final 2:58 of the quarter and were set up at the Saints 30-yard line as they started the fourth quarter with a fourth and two. Lutz would rush for the first down marker, getting to the Thomas More 26-yard line for a first down.
On the next play, Lutz would connect with Hores for his second touchdown pass of the day, this one a 26-yard strike. Fitzpatrick sent through his second extra point of the day and the Cardinal lead grew to 17-7 with 14:31 to play. Thomas Moree would get the ball back and started gaining momentum getting into Wheeling territory. A personal foul for the Cardinals would set Thomas More up with 1st and 10 from The Wheeling 26 yard line, but the Cardinal defense would once again step up killing the momentum. It would be Dillon Shadie who leaped up in the back of the end zone for his first collegiate interception to put the Cardinal offense back on the field. Lutz and the offense would respond holding the ball for nearly six minutes and driving 71 yards. It was a pair of Ayden McKinstry runs that got the Cardinals inside the Saints' 10-yard line and, after a pair of incomplete passes, Fitzpatrick would come in for his second field goal attempt of the day. He sailed it through from 26 yards out and  the Cardinals would take a 20-7 lead with 7:29 left to play.
 Both teams would end up punting on their next possessions, and the Saints would make one more push to get on the scoreboard. They drove down to their own 47-yard line but Yakub MacBailey would come up with a fourth down pass breakup to turn the ball over on downs. Wheeling would put the nail in the coffin on their next drive, with a 36 yard connection between Lutz and Solo Love getting the ball down to the Thomas More six yard line. Wheeling would put the ball in the hands of Dawaun Green, and he charged in from six yards out for his first touchdown of the day. Fitzpatrick put through the final extra point as Wheeling made it a 27-7 game with 1:48 left to play. Thomas More would get the ball back and was playing for pride on their final drive, putting together their best drive of the day. Chase Crone guided the Thomas More offense down to the Wheeling 13-yard line, where Davis Burleigh kicked the ball through the uprights to bring the game to its final score of 27-10. Lutz And the offense would kneel down the ball on the final play, securing an opening week win for the Cardinals for the first time since the 2023 season, when they beat Seton Hill 35-24.
It was a milestone day for Landon Lutz, who became just the third quarterback in Wheeling football history to eclipse 4,000 career passing yards. He finished 23-38, throwing for 233 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. He would connect with Landyn Hores for 60 of those yards on six catches and both of his touchdown passes, with Hores scoring his first career multi-touchdown game. The other top target for Lutz was Solo Love, who pulled in six catches for a team high 76 yards. Dawaun Green led the ground game, carrying the ball 16 times for 102 yards and one touchdown. In total, five different Cardinals finished with at least one rushing yard, with Ayden McKinstry setting a career high with eight carries for 47 yards. Leading the defensive effort for the Cardinals was Awwal Osinuga, who finished with six tackles, two solo and four assisted, while adding his first sack of the year. Leo Boykins would lead the way up front, with 1.5 sacks while racking up four total tackles of his own.
Both teams had trouble moving the ball in the early going, with neither team getting on the board in the first quarter. Thomas More received the opening kickoff and turned the ball over on downs on their first possession. Wheeling would get into Saints' territory on their first drive, but also would turn the ball over on downs. The only scoring opportunity in the first quarter came at the 7:32 mark, when Fitzpatrick had a 34 yard field goal attempt blocked. The score would remain 0-0 heading into the second quarter and the stalemate continued until midway through that quarter. Thomas More's Caleb Wagner would plunge the ball across the goal line at the 7:36 mark of the quarter, giving the Saints a 7-0 lead. Wheeling would only get as deep as the Thomas More 40-yard line for the rest of the half, and the final scoring opportunity for the Saints came as time was running out in the quarter. Burleigh bonked the kick off of the upright on a 22 yard field goal attempt to send the teams into the locker room with Thomas Mre leading 7-0. It opened the door for the second half comeback as the Cardinals walked away victorious.
 The Wheeling University Football team returns to action on Saturday, September 5, when they hit the road to face Walsh with kickoff at 6 PM.
