WVWC Football
Lawrence Brown ran for 101 yards on 20 carries in Wesleyan's 58-35 loss at Shepherd on Saturday. (File photo)

MEC football roundup: Cats fall in shootout at Shepherd

Shepherd 58, West Virginia Wesleyan 35
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. – Shepherd scored 19 points off of West Virginia Wesleyan turnovers on its way to a commanding 58-35 win over the Bobcats on Saturday at Ram Stadium. Tyson Bagent threw for 306 yards and set a MEC single-game record with seven touchdown passes in the win while tying the league record for single-game touchdown responsibility.

The Rams held a narrow 6-0 lead at the end of the first quarter before running away with a 32-7 advantage by the halftime break. The Bobcats were unable to pull back within striking distance in the remainder of the contest.

West Virginia Wesleyan’s Matt Vinson completed 20-of-33 passes for 197 yards and three scores in the setback. He found Jujuan Linzy six times for 39 yards and two scores and Elijah Nelson twice for 35 yards and one touchdown. Derek Drapen hauled in four passes for 61 yards for the Bobcats while Lawrence Brown tallied 20 carries for 101 yards and one score on the afternoon.

Shepherd’s Bagent threw seven touchdowns to four different receivers over the course of the contest. Wanya Allen, Ryan Feiss, and Greg Leonard each hauled in a touchdown pass on the day with DJ Cornish hauling in four catches for 50 yards and three touchdowns. Allen led the receiving corps with 10 receptions for 94 yards followed by Feiss with seven snags and 81 yards. Antwan Squired paced the Rams on the ground with 15 carries for 175 yards and one score.

Ahmad Jones had eight stops (six solo, two assisted) and two forced fumbles defensively for Shepherd (6-2, 6-2). Anthony Hill notched eight stops (four solo, four assisted) with one tackle for loss (10 yards), a fumble recovery, and a sack for West Virginia Wesleyan (1-8, 1-7).

#14 Notre Dame 17, Charleston 10
SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – #14 Notre Dame clinched the MEC Championship on Saturday with a 17-10 win over Charleston at Mueller Field. With the score knotted 10-10, Jaleel McLaughlin closed out an eight-play, 79-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown run with 13 seconds on the clock to secure the win for the Falcons.

After a scoreless first half, Charleston (5-4, 5-3) got on the board first behind Kevin Weiman’s 47-yard field goal. With 4:51 left in the third, Notre Dame (9-0, 9-0) took its first lead of the game when Chris Brimm connected with Conner Henry on a 53-yard touchdown pass.

The Golden Eagles answered back with 5:37 left to play when Mason Olszewski found Mike Strachan on a 37-yard touchdown pass, closing out an eight play, 80-yard scoring drive. On the next drive, Tanner Harding answered with a 41-yard field goal to tie the score, setting the stage for McLaughlin’s touchdown run in the waning seconds for the final margin.

Notre Dame totaled 327 offensive yards in the win while holding Charleston to 214 on the day, including just 37 yards on the ground. McLaughlin ran for 185 yards on 36 carries with the game-winning touchdown while Brimm completed 12-of-22 pass attempts for 124 yards and one score. He found Henry three times for 70 yards and Zaire Mitchell four times for 57 yards in the win.

Olszewski was 13-of-26 on the day for 177 yards and one touchdown in the setback. Strachan hauled in eight passes for 141 yards while Jimmy Wheeler ran for 62 yards on 21 carries.

RJ Goodwin led the defensive effort for Notre Dame with 12 tackles (seven solo, five assisted) with a sack while Sha’ha Williams and Davion Johnson each had nine stops on the day with Williams tallying 3.5 sacks (47 yards).

Sam Quinn and Kahzin Daniels both tallied eight tackles for Charleston.

Glenville State 28, Urbana 21
GLENVILLE, W.Va. – Glenville State survived a late rally by Urbana to secure a 28-21 win over the Blue Knights on Saturday at Morris Stadium. The Pioneers built a 14-0 lead by halftime and held a commanding 28-0 advantage late in the third until Urbana stormed back to score 21 unanswered points over the course of the last six minutes of the third quarter.

Trailing 28-0 with 5:30 left in the third, Urbana (4-5, 3-5) needed just one play to get back in the game as Cee Jay Hale threw a 65-yard touchdown pass to Craig Burt to put the Blue Knights on the board. Urbana then took advantage of back-to-back Pioneer turnovers to cut the deficit.

Jamari Collins recovered a Glenville State (4-5, 4-4) fumble and returned it 30 yards to cut the deficit in half and Tobias Hailey intercepted a pass and ran it back 30 yards on the next drive to leave Glenville State clinging to 28-21 advantage.

The Pioneers kept the Blue Knights off the scoreboard in the fourth quarter to earn the win.

Glenville State piled up 414 yards of offense in the win while holding Urbana to 294 offensive yards including just 95 rushing over the course of the contest. Mario Pender led the Pioneers on the ground with 195 yards on 14 carries with one touchdown. Thomas Boles added 65 yards followed by J’Quan Anderson with 64 yards and a score. Jaylen McNair completed 11-of-22 pass attempts for 124 yards with two touchdowns. He found Javon Butler eight times for 113 yards for both passing scores on the day.

Hale threw for 199 yards with one touchdown in the loss for Urbana. He connected with seven different receivers in the setback. Isaiah Young paced the Blue Knights on the ground with 26 carries for 63 yards.

Defensively, Wil Mayes led the way with 13 tackles (six solo, seven assisted) for the Pioneers. Dom Cizauskas added nine in the win (seven solo, two assisted).

Duray Hall notched 11 stops for Urbana (four solo, seven assisted).

Fairmont State 41, West Virginia State 12
INSTITUTE, W.Va. – Fairmont State kept West Virginia State off the scoreboard in the first and third quarters and outscored the Yellow Jackets 28-6 in the second half on its way to a 41-12 win at Dickerson Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Fairmont State (7-2, 6-2) held a 13-6 lead at the halftime break before a blocked punt returned for a touchdown and Takwan Crews-Naylor’s 74-yard touchdown pass to Javon Hayes left the Yellow Jackets trailing 27-6 heading in the final quarter. West Virginia State (4-5, 3-5) scored once in the final stanza but was ultimately unable to overcome the deficit.

The Falcons outgained the Yellow Jackets 463-324 over the course of the contest.

Crews-Naylor threw for 130 yards, finding Hayes twice for 103 yards and Alquawn Vickers twice for 27 yards. Khalik Hamlin led the Falcon ground game with 27 carries for 183 yards. Tyree Randolph added 90 yards on 12 carries with Timothy Smith adding 26 yards on three carries. Both scored touchdowns in the win.

Faustino Saucedo completed 21-of-37 pass attempts for 191 yards and a touchdown in the loss. Carl Garmon ran for 75 yards on 12 carries while Zach Pate hauled in eight passes for 68 yards for the Yellow Jackets. AJ Barrette caught six passes for 36 yards and a score.

Robert Branch and Joe Stoneman both tallied 11 tackles defensively for West Virginia State. Dustin Crouser followed with 10 stops (three solo, seven assisted).

Malachi McMillan notched nine tackles (five solo, four assisted), one tackle for loss (five yards) and a forced fumble while Jerry Iweh added eight stops (two solo, six assisted), a fumble recovery and three pass breakups.

Concord 46, West Liberty 33
ATHENS, W.Va. – Concord forced four West Liberty turnovers and scored a pair of special teams’ touchdowns to hand the Hilltoppers a 46-33 setback on Saturday afternoon at Callaghan Stadium.

A Hilltopper turnover led to Concord’s first score of the game and a bad snap during the following led drive contributed to a 15-0 lead for the Mountain Lions in a first quarter that saw both teams combine for 35 points.

Concord held a 25-20 lead at the halftime break. West Liberty (3-6, 3-6) battled back from the early deficit to grab the lead in the opening minute of the second half after a Concord (2-7, 2-6) fumble but the Mountain Lions responded with 21 unanswered points to put the game out of reach and earn its first home win of the season.

West Liberty outgained Concord 510-408 on the day.

Zach Phillips threw for 398 yards with three touchdowns behind 29-of-48 passing and ran for 39 yards on 13 carries with a score for West Liberty. Nate Phillips caught two touchdown passes in the contest and hauled in six catches for 96 yards. Shane Phillips added 84 yards on six catches while D.J. Frisby notched two receptions for 81 yards with one score. Frisby also notched 21 carries for 90 yards and a score.

Kyle Akin completed 11-of-18 passes for 259 yards with two touchdowns for Concord. He connected with Isaiah Bowman twice for 88 yards and Tywan Pearce twice for 83 yards. Both caught touchdown passes in the win. Josh Maxwell tallied 87 yards on the ground on 16 carries and a score followed by Kris Copeland’s eight carries for 47 yards and one touchdown.

Zach Malone led the effort defensively for Concord with nine tackles (six solo, three assisted), two forced fumbles, and an interception (nine yards).

Zahir Hicks notched seven stops for West Liberty with one tackle for loss (four yards).

Roundup courtesy Mountain East Conference.

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