The West Liberty University (WLU) football team (2-2) sought to bounce back against West Virginia Wesleyan College (0-4) on Saturday, Sept. 25 after their 51-10 loss against number eight Notre Dame College (4-0).

Only a week after a tough loss to the Notre Dame Falcons, the WLU football team looked to get back to .500.

The Hilltoppers set the tone on early in this game. West Virginia Wesleyan did not move the chains on the opening drive. Wesleyan went for it on a fourth and three at the Wesleyan 32-yard line, and the Hilltopper defense made a big fourth down stop to set the offense up with great field position.

The Hilltopper offense, on a fourth and three at the Wesleyan 25-yard line, went for it and the senior quarterback, Jack Allison hit Isaiah Robinson for a 25-yard touchdown to make it 6-0. The extra point from Owen Rozanc was good and less than four minutes into the game the Hilltoppers had a 7-0 lead.

In the closing seconds of the first quarter, the Hilltoppers had a chance to extend the lead to 10-0, but the 22-yard field goal attempt was no good and Wesleyan was hanging on by a touchdown.

Still a 7-0 game with a little over two minutes to go until the half, J’Aaire Prickett picked off West Virginia Wesleyan quarterback, Nathan Payne, and trotted to the endzone for a pick-six. Another Rozanc extra point extended the Hilltopper lead to 14-0 heading to the half.

To open the second half, the Hilltopper offense had a seven-minute possession that resulted in a 27-yard field goal from Owen Rozanc.

With under three minutes to go in the third quarter, West Virginia Wesleyan pinned the West Liberty offense within their own ten-yard line to start their drive. This however did not stop the Hilltopper offense.

After picking up a first down thanks to a couple of Tyler Moler rushes, Allison hit Robinson again but this time on a curl route and Robinson blew past the West Virginia Wesleyan defense for a 77-yard touchdown.

The Hilltopper lead was now 24-0 with 18 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

The West Liberty first possession in the fourth quarter, they looked to put the game out of reach.

The Hilltopper offense was inside the 25-yard line when Allison hit Anthony Robbins for a 21-yard reception to bring the Hilltoppers to the West Virginia Wesleyan three-yard line.

From the three, Allison scrambled and fumbled the football but was recovered in the endzone by redshirt freshman tight end Jesse Collins for the touchdown. The extra point was good by Rozanc and the Hilltoppers now led 31-0 with eight minutes left in the game.

Another Hilltopper possession ran the clock out inside the two-minute warning and the Hilltopper defense took the team home finishing off the shutout 31-0 win.

Allison completed 16 of his 23 passes for 229 yards and 2 touchdowns.

On the ground, the Hilltoppers were led by Moler who gained 87 yards on 21 attempts with a long of 11 yards.

The receiving corps were led by Robinson who had three receptions for 118 yards and two touchdowns. His long was on the 77-yard touchdown.

The Hilltopper offense gained a total of 371 yards. The West Virginia Wesleyan offense only gained 227 yards. The Hilltoppers also led in possession time with nearly 33 minutes compared to Wesleyan’s 27.

The WLU football team will be back home on Saturday, Oct. second against Glenville State College. The game which will be a hall of fame game at West Family Stadium will start at 1 p.m.