FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The West Virginia State University football team was trailing by 10 points at halftime and came back to triumph over Fairmont State in the closing seconds of a Mountain East Conference (MEC) contest on Saturday afternoon. The 42-38 victory at Duvall-Rosier Field is the third consecutive win for the Yellow Jackets.
West Virginia State (5-1, 5-0 MEC) remains undefeated in league-play with the win. They are matched only by Notre Dame (Ohio) in the conference standings up to this point in the season. Fairmont State (1-5, 1-5 MEC) still maintains a better record than the two remaining winless teams in the MEC, Wheeling and Concord, after the loss.
Senior quarterback Austin Hensley set a new school record by throwing six touchdown passes in a single game. Pat Rinard threw for five touchdowns twice in 1992, while Kenneth Grier tossed five touchdowns versus Glenville State in 1990 and Kerrick Cooper did the same against Concord in 2001. Outside of point-after-attempts, Hensley was responsible for every score by the WVSU offense. He was highly efficient tossing the pigskin, completing 28 of his 38 pass attempts (73.7 percent) for 414-yards and just one interception among his six passing touchdowns.
Senior wide receiver AJ Barrette was Hensley's primary target in the game. He made nine catches for a game-high 161-yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore wideout Tyrone Lyte was next-in-line with five receptions for a career-high 112-yards and one touchdown. He also returned six kickoffs for a total of 119-yards. Altogether, Lyte produced 231-yards for his team.
Three West Virginia State defenders recorded more tackles than Fairmont State's leading tackler. Junior linebacker Dustin Crouser led all players in the contest with 13 tackles, including ten solo tackles. Fellow junior linebacker Noble Zuschlag registered nine tackles, including seven solo tackles and one tackle-for-loss. Senior defensive lineman Kenan Johnson also registered nine tackles to top the eight tackles posted by the Falcons' leader.
Fairmont State appeared to be the superior team in the first quarter. The Falcons totaled 156-yards of offense, compared to 40-yards by WVSU, and controlled possession for nearly 11-minutes. By the end of the first quarter, the Yellow Jackets trailed the Falcons, 14-0.
The second quarter was more of the same with Fairmont State winning the possession battle again. However, the Yellow Jackets were able to find an offensive spark late in the first half to stay in the game. Down 17-0 with two-and-a-half minutes remaining, Hensley escaped from the pocket on third and six and lobbed a pass out to Lyte in the flats who then scattered 59-yards for the score.
The Falcons scored almost immediately after Lyte's long scamper to go up, 24-7, with 1:12 until halftime. The Yellow Jackets then proceeded on an eight-play, 60-yard drive that ended with senior receiver Isiah Scott running a fade route from seven-yards out and coming down with the pass. The last-second touchdown grab put the scoreline at 24-14 in favor of Fairmont State going into the break.
Hensley threw for two more touchdowns in the third quarter while the WVSU defense shutout the Falcons. The two uncontested scores gave WVSU the lead for the first time in the entire game, 28-24, with 8:35 left in the third quarter.
The next score by either team would not come until Fairmont State reached the end zone with just over four-minutes left in the game. The completed touchdown pass from 11-yards out gave the lead back to the Falcons, 31-28. The Yellow Jackets returned fire on the next possession, driving 74-yards in two-minutes, to recapture the lead, 35-31.
Junior kicker Martin Ahlstroem then sent the kickoff soaring to the three-yard line with 1:33 showing on the scoreboard. Fairmont State's Tyree Randolph was able to break free on a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and put his team back in front, 38-35.
Following a holding penalty on the ensuing kickoff, the Yellow Jackets started their final drive on their own 13-yard line with 1:27 remaining in the game. A series of mid-range pass completions brought West Virginia State to its opponent's 13-yard line. With 15-ticks left on the clock, Hensley rolled out to his right and connected with Zach Pate on a wheel route in the corner of the end zone for the game-winning touchdown.
The Yellow Jackets barely outgained the Falcons, 474-yards to 469-yards. West Virginia State's offense was fueled by its passing attack with 414-yards through the air. On the other hand, Fairmont State picked up the bulk of its yardage on the ground with 280 rushing yards. In the end, the air raid, hurry-up offensive style of WVSU proved more effective than the run-heavy, possession control style of FSU's offense.
West Virginia State will play Urbana (4-2, 4-2 MEC) at home for its next game on Saturday, Oct. 19. Kickoff is scheduled for noon.
