WEST LIBERTY, WV – The West Liberty Football Team wrapped up its 2024 season this month with The Hilltoppers taking losses in all three November matchups. The first would come on November 2, against the Charleston Golden Eagles. Charleston came to town to ruin senior day, and it did just that with a 38-0 win.

Charleston would score first at the 8:15 mark of the first quarter when Ean Hamric threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Shamarr Wright. 39 seconds into the second quarter, Chavon Wright would run it in from the one-yard line and the extra point split the uprights putting the Golden Eagles ahead 14-0. They would add another touchdown and a field goal before the half. In the second half, Wright scored two more rushing touchdowns putting the game well out of reach.

While the offense never got going, running back Hunter Patterson still had a great performance. Over his 18 rushing attempts, he managed 110-yards and receiving wise, he made four catches that went for 18-yards. The Hilltoppers receiving leaders would be Marquez Hurst and Ben Turner, each going for 53-yards.

Defensively, Delano Marcelus recorded 13 total tackles. Freshman defensive back Junus McGraw plucked the pigskin out of the air for his first career interception.

The following week, the Hilltoppers made a trip to Fairmont, West Virginia to take on the Fairmont State Falcons. Patterson had a career day, and it started on West Liberty’s second possession. He would break off a 31-yard run for a house call midway through the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Patterson would cap a four play, 65-yard drive with a 14-yard rushing touchdown. Then just before half, he broke free again, this time for a 30-yard touchdown run. Fairmont State would put six points on the board on their final first half drive keeping the score close at the intermission.

The Hilltopper defense came up big midway through the third quarter. Kendarius Frazier intercepted a Nino Marzullo pass and returned it to the house from 35-yards out. This put West Liberty ahead 28-17. With 2:01 minutes left in the third, Patterson rushed for his fourth touchdown of the game, extending the Hilltopper lead to 15. Unfortunately, the defense wouldn’t hold strong. Fairmont State owned the final frame, scoring 16 unanswered points. Marzullo connected with Jermaine Bradford for a 33-yard touchdown five seconds into the quarter. Just over three minutes later, Emmanuel Richardson made a 27-yard field goal.

The eventual game-winning drive would start with 10 and a half minutes to go in the contest. After 10 plays, Fairmont State found itself in the red zone. Toy Trice would carry the ball 16 yards up the middle and fumble at the goal line. Luckily, his teammate Carter Giacomo was there to recover the fumble in the endzone for a touchdown. Richardson clutched the extra point putting the score at 36-35 in favor of the Falcons. That would be the game’s final score.

In the heartbreaking loss, Trevor Lagarde finished 14-of-28 with 116-yards passing. Patterson set a season-high in yards with 210 over his 27 totes and had four rushing touchdowns. Turner was held to 18 yards across his five receptions. Zach Vincenti and Grant Thompson had 9 total tackles apiece. Each also recorded two tackles for loss. Vincenti added 1.5 sacks.

In the final game of the season, West Liberty would duke it out with the Wheeling Cardinals in the sixth edition of “The Battle for Wheeling.” For just the second time in series history, the game would be played under the lights at Bishop Schmitt Field in Wheeling, West Virginia.

West Liberty won the toss and deferred, allowing the Wheeling offense to get the ball first. The Cardinals drove all the way down the field, but Joao Lima’s 22-yard field goal attempt was blocked by DJ Johnson. Toward the end of the first quarter, Wheeling’s Landon Lutz would get a push from his offensive line to cross the goal line for the game’s first score. Just over a minute into the second quarter, Tyler Waddell drilled a 32-yard field goal for West Liberty, putting the score at 7-3.

The final six and a half minutes of the first half saw a combined 28 points scored. For Wheeling, Steven Mitchell had a 2-yard rushing touchdown, Dasyn Hores caught a 43-yard touchdown and Tre Holloway pulled in a 32-yard touchdown grab. For West Liberty, Turner broke free from his defender and went on to score a 75-yard touchdown. At halftime, the Cardinals led the Hilltoppers 28-10.

In the third quarter, the black and gold faced a third and 30 situations from the Wheeling 41-yard line. Levi Gullion would swing it out left for Patterson who then broke through multiple arm tackles end route to scoring a 41-yard touchdown. Waddell doinked the extra point off the left upright.

On the very next possession, Wheeling would cap a four-play, 65-yard drive with six points. Lutz aired one out to former Hilltopper Chris Charles and he would take it 38-yards for the score. Like his counterpart, Lima would pull the extra point, and it too would thump off the left upright. Leading 34-16, Wheeling would find the paydirt one last time. Holloway ran a corner route, and Lutz dropped a dime in the bucket.

In the 40-16 loss, Gullion completed 8 of his 21 passes for 182-yards and two touchdowns. Alex Dunlevy got substituted in for him in the second half and he finished 7-for-17 with 69-yards. Patterson was held to 20-yards over his 17 carries but had 53-yards and a touchdown in the receiving game.​ Turner had a game-high 133 receiving yards to go along with his touchdown catch. Chris Harm led the Hilltoppers defense with 11 total tackles. Vincenti was right behind him with 10 total tackles. Frazier had a sack that went for a 14-yard loss.