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West Virginia State University Athletics

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FB21 Lyte
Photo: Todd Griffith
33
Winner WVSU WVSU 6-4 , 6-3
28
West Liberty WLU 4-6 , 4-5
Winner
WVSU WVSU
6-4 , 6-3
33
Final
28
West Liberty WLU
4-6 , 4-5
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
WVSU WVSU 6 14 7 6 33
WLU West Liberty 7 7 0 14 28

Game Recap: Football | | James Garcia, Sports Information Director

Football knocks off West Liberty with last-minute score, 33-28

WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. -- The West Virginia State University football team scored in the final minute of the game to knock off West Liberty, 33-28, on Saturday afternoon at the West Family Stadium.

WVSU improves to 6-4 overall and 6-3 in the Mountain East Conference with the win. Meanwhile, WLU drops to 4-6 on the season and 4-5 in the MEC with the loss.

Sophomore wideout Barry Hill had a career-high 173 yards on nine catches and came down with one touchdown grab. Fellow receiver Tyrone Lyte picked up 112 yards with eight receptions. This was his second consecutive game with over 100 receiving yards.

Junior quarterback Donovan Riddick threw for a career-high 364 yards, completing 23-of-31 pass attempts, with two touchdowns and one interception. Fifth-year running back Dant'e Jones rushed for 93 yards with 20 carries and scored twice.

Junior linebacker Payton Lunsford racked up a game-high 13 total tackles, including an impressive 12 solo tackles, to lead the defensive unit. Junior defensive back Jalen Jones had a sack, a forced fumble, and an interception in an equally impressive defensive display. 

Donovan Riddick completed 5-of-6 pass attempts on the game's opening drive to move the Yellow Jackets to the edge of the redzone. His one incompletion came on third and six and set up a 38-yard field goal attempt for Martin Ahlstroem. Ahlstroem hit the mark with ease to put the first points on the board, 3-0, with around 10 minutes remaining in the first quarter.

The next score came after West Liberty recovered a fumble on State's seven yard line. The Hilltoppers needed three plays to find the endzone with an eight-yard dart to an open receiver, 7-3. There were four and a half minutes left in the opening stanza after the touchdown strike.

West Virginia State scored once more before the end of the first quarter. Riddick found Tyrone Lyte streaking down the field for a 54-yard connection. Lyte was tackled at West Lib's nine yard line. The Yellow Jackets stalled at the six yard line and set up Ahlstroem for another field goal attempt. He was good from 23 yards out this time, 7-6.

The Hilltoppers were poised to score first in the second quarter when they intercepted an errant pass and drove 50 yards down the field. The State defense kept them out of the endzone, however, after being faced with a first and goal situation from the nine. The resulting 24-yard field goal attempt missed wide left with about 11 minutes to go in the first half.

WVSU made the most out of the ensuing drive with two deep balls to the speedy Barry Hill. The first deep ball resulted in a 41-yard gain and the second was a 29-yard lob to the back of the endzone that Hill reeled in for a touchdown, 13-7. Eight minutes remained in the second quarter after the point after try was converted.

On the next drive, Jalen Jones intercepted a pass and set up the State offense at West Lib's 45 yard line. In just six plays, the Yellow Jackets increased their lead with a 19-yard pass completion to Keedrick Cunningham for a touchdown, 20-7. 

The Hilltoppers regained possession with three minutes to play until halftime and pieced together an eight-play, 74-yard scoring drive. West Liberty ended up scoring with a six-yard pass on first and goal, 20-14. There was not enough time left for West Virginia State to score before the close of the opening half despite a valiant effort to get within field goal range in under 30 seconds.

The first chance for either team to score in the third quarter came when West Liberty lined up for a 32-yard field goal with 5:40 left on the clock. A leaping WVSU defender tipped the ball at the line of scrimmage and caused it to fall short of the goalpost.

The first play of the following drive was a 46-yard gainer from Riddick to Hill that placed WVSU at West Lib's 34 yard line. Five plays later, Dant'e Jones carried the pigskin over the goalline from six yards out, 27-14. The Yellow Jackets held onto that 13-point lead until the fourth quarter.

The Hilltoppers carried a drive that started with two minutes remaining in the third quarter into the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. The 10-play, 77-yard scoring drive was finished off with an 11-yard touchdown pass, 27-21.

Both offenses then sputtered until the Hilltoppers took over with seven minutes remaining in the contest. In five plays and just under two minutes, a 14-yard touchdown reception returned the lead to West Liberty, 28-27.

West Virginia State's last offensive possession was masterful. The Yellow Jackets completed a series of short passes with some short gains on the ground in between to take a considerable amount of time off the clock. Then on second and 10 from the WLU 28, Dant'e Jones broke free and found paydirt with 51 ticks to go, 33-28.

West Liberty made it to midfield on the final drive of the game but Jalen Jones forced a fumble that was recovered by Cody Stanley to seal the victory for the Yellow Jackets.

WVSU totaled 467 yards of offense compared to 364 yards by WLU. West Virginia State was also slightly better at converting third downs with a 50 percent efficiency compared to a 40 percent rate by West Liberty.

The Yellow Jackets will play their final game of the 2021 football season when they host Charleston on Saturday, Nov. 13 at Lakin-Ray Field. The MEC rivalry matchup is scheduled to kickoff at noon.
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