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West Virginia State University Athletics

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FB21 Lunsford
14
West Virginia St. WVSU 1-3 , 1-2
38
Winner Notre Dame (OH) NDC 4-0 , 3-0
West Virginia St. WVSU
1-3 , 1-2
14
Final
38
Notre Dame (OH) NDC
4-0 , 3-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
WVSU West Virginia St. 0 7 7 0 14
NDC Notre Dame (OH) 3 7 14 14 38

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

Yellow Jackets suffer defeat to No. 7 Notre Dame College, 38-14

SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- The West Virginia State University football team played nationally-ranked No. 7 Notre Dame (Ohio) tough through three quarters, but were ultimately undone by the Falcons, 38-14, on Saturday afternoon at Mueller Field.

WVSU drops to 1-3 overall, 1-2 in the Mountain East Conference with the loss while NDC remains undefeated with a 4-0 record on the season and 3-0 mark in the MEC after the win.

Sophomore wide receiver Barry Hill broke the 100-yard mark for the second time in his career. He made seven receptions for 106 yards to average 15.1 yards per catch. Junior linebacker Payton Lunsford led the Yellow Jackets with 12 total tackles, including nine solo tackles, and added one tackle for a loss. Senior defensive back Ibrahim Sesay was not far behind with 10 total tackles, including seven by himself.

The first quarter was played out like a chess match with both sides clinging to possession for long periods. The Yellow Jackets received the opening kickoff and were faced with a three-and-out situation on their first offensive series. West Virginia State lined up for a punt from its own 23 yard line and fooled the Falcons' punt return unit with a direct snap to fullback Dant'e Jones that resulted in a 40-yard gain to keep the drive alive. The drive eventually stalled out at Notre Dame's 37 yard line, but not before six-and-a-half minutes were taken off the clock. Brennen Schmitt's punt at the end of the opening drive was downed at the one yard line to leave the Falcons with a long field to get down.

NDC strung together a 13-play, 81-yard drive on its first offensive possession. The Falcons were able to break into the redzone, but were stopped short of a first down when linebacker Cam Moss tackled Idris Lawrence on a rushing attempt. The following 36-yard field goal attempt was converted to give Notre Dame a slight lead, 3-0, with 3:21 remaining in the first quarter.

Three failed drives later, the Falcons took over possession with around ten minutes to go in the second quarter. They didn't take long to score with Tyris Dickerson finding a seam on the third play of the drive and breaking off a 64-yard run to paydirt, 10-0.

The next drive ended with an interception not long after West Virginia State crossed midfield. Notre Dame then made it down to WVSU's 23 yard line before defensive lineman Corlyn Witcher recovered a fumble by Lawrence. The Yellow Jackets were left with 1:14 on the scoreboard to cut into the deficit.

An 18-yard strike from quarterback Drew Chance to wideout Tyrone Lyte brought WVSU close to midfield before a 15-yard personal foul penalty pushed the Yellow Jackets into opposing territory. A 27-yard pass completion to receiver Barry Hill followed with Hill getting out-of-bounds at the 11 yard line. Lyte came down with a seven-yard touchdown grab to finish off the scoring drive, 10-7, just before halftime.

NDC scored twice in the first seven minutes of the third quarter to widen the gap, 24-7. The first touchdown came off a 14-yard pass completion to Devanaire Conliffe while the second was the result of a 12-yard rush by Dickerson.

West Virginia State managed to score once in the third quarter thanks to a fumble caused by defensive back Jeffrey Parker. Parker blitzed from a cornerback position and knocked the ball loose from quarterback Chris Brimm's throwing hand. WVSU recovered the fumble within goal-to-go distance. Dant'e Jones ended up barreling into the endzone from two yards out, 24-14. There were three-and-a-half minutes left in the third quarter after the Yellow Jackets scored.

In the fourth quarter, the nationally-ranked Falcons ran away with the game. Brimm found Reece Perkins at the start of the fourth for a 47-yard touchdown strike, 31-14. Notre Dame scored again on a 10-play, 80-yard drive towards the end of the fourth to erase all doubts, 38-14. The Yellow Jackets were subsequently held to a goose egg in the final 15 minutes.

NDC racked up 255 yards on the ground compared to 47 yards rushing by WVSU for the game. 

West Virginia State will face Alderson Broaddus next on Saturday, Oct. 2nd for another MEC matchup. The home game will be played at UC Stadium at Laidley Field since work is still being done on Lakin-Ray Field to install artificial turf and lights for Homecoming on Oct. 16th. The AB game will kickoff at 7 p.m.
 
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