INSTITUTE, W.Va. – The West Virginia State University football team (2-2, 1-2 MEC) will head to Alderson Broaddus (0-4, 0-3 MEC) this coming Saturday, Oct. 1 for a 6 p.m. kickoff. 

PREVIOUS CONTESTS

• WVSU was defeated by No. 17 Notre Dame College (3-1, 3-0 MEC), 48-13.
• AB was defeated by Charleston (2-2, 2-1 MEC), 62-7.

 LAST MEETING

The Yellow Jackets rolled on the Battlers, 45-13, in week five of the 2021 season. State scored two touchdowns in the first quarter without a response from AB to go up 14-0. Alderson Broaddus then broke the plane early in the second stanza to briefly make it a one-score game, 14-7. WVSU then added a third touchdown and a field goal right before halftime to create a sizable gap, 24-7.

The Yellow Jackets dominated the third quarter by tacking on three touchdowns while shutting out the Battlers. Going into the final period, State held a commanding 45-7 lead. WVSU let off the gas in the fourth quarter and allowed a touchdown, but blocked the point after attempt, to give the contest its final score, 45-13.

THE BUZZ AT STATE

State will need to regain its confidence after a crushing defeat to the nationally-ranked Falcons of Notre Dame College in week four. The Yellow Jackets actually moved the ball fairly well against NDC, but were unable to make it across the goal line except on one occasion. Each team made 22 first downs in the contest and WVSU generated 384 yards of offense. State only punted three times in the game, but were undone by three turnovers and three failed fourth down conversions.

Fortunately for the Yellow Jackets, they face two winless opponents in Alderson Broaddus and West Virginia Wesleyan over the next two weeks. Both the WVSU offense and defense will be given the opportunity to get back on track before facing a tough schedule in the latter half of this year's MEC slate. The defense was lights out in the first two weeks of the season and came up with some huge stops in week three. Meanwhile, the offense performed well in week one and picked up some steam in week three to topple Fairmont State. 

SCOUTING THE BATTLERS

Alderson Broaddus gives up 48.3 points per game and 448 yards per game and is ranked last in scoring defense and second-to-last in total defense in the Mountain East Conference. The Battlers only fare slightly better on offense averaging 318.3 yards per game and 23.3 points per game. They are currently ranked second-to-last in total offense and ninth in scoring offense in the league.

AB's top offensive threat is freshman wideout Marvin Sims who has gained 340 receiving yards and caught three touchdowns in four games played. The Battlers have two quarterbacks that have thrown for over 400 yards each, but both QBs have also thrown five interceptions apiece. Their leading rusher has only netted 105 yards thus far. On defense, six different players have one interception so West Virginia State will need to thread its passes carefully.