INSTITUTE, W.Va. – The West Virginia State University football team (5-3, 4-3 MEC) will travel to Glenville State (4-4, 3-4 MEC) this Saturday, Oct. 29 for a 1 p.m. kickoff. The Yellow Jackets are coming off a huge upset victory against Concord and will be looking to carry that momentum into this week's Mountain East Conference clash.

PREVIOUS CONTESTS

• WVSU defeated Concord (6-2, 5-2 MEC), 56-38.
• GSU was defeated by Notre Dame College (6-2, 6-1 MEC), 38-16.

LAST MEETING

West Virginia State pulled off a fourth-quarter comeback to defeat Glenville State, 38-27, a season ago. The game was tight in the first half with WVSU scoring a touchdown late in the second quarter to go up by a single score, 17-10.

The Pioneers scored a touchdown and a field goal in the third quarter without a response from State to take the lead, 20-17. They then tacked on another touchdown with around 10 minutes left in the contest to seize a two-score advantage, 27-17.

Donovan Riddick completed a pass to Keedrick Cunningham for a touchdown on the next drive to cut the deficit to three points, 27-24. A three-and-out on the ensuing Glenville drive set up the go-ahead scoring drive for WVSU that ended with Riddick scampering into the end zone, 31-27.

Henry Houchins' pick six with under two minutes to go sealed the 38-27 come-from-behind win for West Virginia State.

THE BUZZ AT STATE

West Virginia State's offense found a new gear last week and put up a season-high 56 points. Senior quarterback Donovan Riddick and junior wide receiver Barry Hill linked back up to create a formidable duo. Riddick completed 29-of-41 passes for a career-high 402 yards and five touchdowns while Hill caught eight passes for a career-high 185 yards and three touchdowns.

The WVSU defense once again came up with big plays when it mattered most. They shutout Concord in the fourth quarter by making two interceptions and stopping the Mountain Lions on fourth-and-goal. The Yellow Jackets are currently ranked ninth in the nation in passes intercepted with 12 on the season. They also lead the conference in team sacks with 2.88 per game.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS

The Pioneers have been reliant on freshman quarterback Anthony Garrett for the last three weeks. Their starting quarterback at the beginning of the season, junior Jeff Miller, has not taken a snap since Oct. 1 and is not slated to return this week.  

Garrett's best game this season was his first start against UC when he threw for 343 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He threw for less than 200 yards in each of the last two games with a total of two touchdown passes and two picks.

The Pioneers were able to defeat Alderson Broaddus, 31-12, with Garrett under center by relying heavily on their run game. They were unable to deploy the same strategy against Notre Dame College last week. By shutting down Glenville's run game and pressuring the rookie quarterback, the Falcons were able to easily defeat the Pioneers.