Wheeling, W. Va. – After three weeks of non-conference play, the Wheeling University Football team (1-2, 0-0) kicks off their Mountain East Conference (MEC) Schedule on Saturday. The Cardinals welcome in Fairmont State for their conference-opening match-up, wrapping up what has been a stretch that has seen the Cardinals play three of their first four games at home. After back-to-back non-conference losses, the Cardinals are looking to turn things around as they enter their eight-week conference stretch.
Wheeling returned home last weekend for their final non-conference match-up with Lake Erie on a stormy night at Bishop Schmitt Field. After waiting out a 45-minute lightning delay right at the start, the Cardinal offense entered with a bang, driving 75 yards on seven plays to open the game with a touchdown. Lake Erie would duplicate the Wheeling performance on their first drive of the night, and after one quarter, the score sat at 7-7 as both defenses tightened up. Both teams would endure two separate lightning delays in the second quarter, one lasting more than 45 minutes, but a Lake Erie field goal would be the only score before halftime. Wheeling trailed 10-7 heading to the locker room, and looked to get their offense going in the second half for the third week in a row. Despite putting together several strong drives in the second half, the Cardinals were not able to find the endzone, and 13 Lake Erie Second Quarter points would be the difference as the Cardinals fell 23-7.
Leading the effort was a career-high performance from sophomore linebacker Jalen Higginbotham, who finished with 15.0 total tackles. Higginbotham would finish with seven solo tackles and eight assisted tackles, while adding 1.0 tackle for loss to round out the effort. The sophomore would fall just three tackles shy of setting the single-game record, and secured his first double digit tackle game of his career. As the game went on, Higginbotham flew around even more, recording four tackles each in the second, third, and fourth quarters. After playing on special teams last year, Higginbotham has made the most of his opportunity in 2026 leading the Cardinals with 23.0 tackles, 10 solo and 13 assisted in his first three games. His 23.0 total tackles ranks seventh in the MEC this season, while his 13 assisted tackles has him sitting sixth. He leads a Cardinal defense that has allowed the fewest points per game in the conference at 18.7 PPG, and that defense looks to continue leading the Cardinals throughout the season.
On the offensive side, the Cardinals were once again led by Landon Lutz, who put together his third straight 200+ yard passing game. Lutz finished the night 26-42, throwing for 213 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. On the team's opening drive, Lutz was efficient, going 4-5 while throwing for 60 of those 213 yards, including the 23-yard strike to Jordan Kaiser to get the Cardinals on the board. Along with his work in the passing game, Lutz would also help carry the Cardinal ground game, rushing a team-high 14 times while netting 18 yards. He had two big runs in the fourth quarter that helped get the Cardinals in the Red zone, but they couldn't finish the drives in the endzone. Lutz was able to spread the ball around throughout the day, completing a pass to nine different receivers, with his top target being Colin Oberdick. Oberdick was able to pull in seven catches for 60 yards on the night, while Kaiser pulled in the lone touchdown pass. Kaiser would finish with the one touchdown catch for 23 yards, while Solo Love rounded out the receiving corps with seven catches for 58 yards.
As the Cardinals take the field Saturday, they will be celebrating two different groups of people. Kids who attended the team's Youth Football Camp during the summer will be invited down to the field to join the team for their warm-ups. Youth campers and their families will join the team for warm-ups at noon, with the full-team flex beginning at 12:15 PM. The game will also serve as the team's Military Appreciation game, with all active duty military members and veterans getting free admission to the game. We will also be offering a Military appreciation meal deal, with a valid military ID or being in uniform giving you a free box of popcorn and a bottle of water. At halftime, we will also be honoring all military personnel in attendance with the playing of the songs from each military branch and honoring those in attendance from that branch. The Cardinals will look to honor the fans with a win in their conference opener, coming off their best MEC season a year ago. Wheeling would go 5-3 in their MEC schedule a year ago, and finished tied for third in the conference, their highest conference finish in program history.
The Match-up
The Cardinals and Falcons are meeting for the seventh time in program history on Saturday, with the all-time series tied up at three wins apiece. Neither team has had the advantage no matter the location, with Wheeling going 1-1 in two home games with the Falcons, and 2-2 when traveling to Fairmont, West Virginia. Wheeling has won three of the last four meetings against Fairmont State in what has been an offensive driven series, with the Cardinals averaging 30.33 points per game in the all-time series.
The last meeting between the two teams came on September 20, 2025, in a game that Wheeling would win 35-28. Former Cardinal Ade Olanegan led the offense, going 14-24, throwing for 159 yards and three touchdowns in the game. Jordan Kaiser led the way with six catches for 88 yards and a touchdown, while O'Marion Taylor finished with seven carries for 73 yards in the effort. Former Cardinal Jefferson Bretanys-Desca led the defense with nine tackles, four solo and five assisted, while former Cardinal Dylan Newman added eight tackles and a team-high 2.5 tackles for loss in the effort.
The Details
Kick-off for Saturday's game is scheduled for 1 PM inside Bishop Schmitt Field at Panhandle Cleaning & Restoration and WesBanco Stadium. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
