WILSON, N.C. – West Virginia State's football team traveled to the Barton Bulldogs for a Thursday night non-conference matchup and was able to hold off a late charge by the Bulldogs and bring a 27-24 victory home to Institute. A fourth down stand and a blocked punt in the fourth quarter helped to seal the victory for the Yellow Jackets.
State advances to 1-0 on the season. Barton falls to 0-1.
Joel Felder ran for 178 yards and a touchdown and caught three passes for an additional 38 yards. Isaiah Bess was 9-for-19 for 64 yards. Nolan Johnson completed his only pass attempt for 23 yards and a score. Defensively, Nick Blake had nine tackles and a pair of pass breakups. Nick Fannin had one interception that was returned 17 yards. The Yellow Jackets rushing attack piled up 248 yards on the ground and 87 yards through the air.
The opening drive of the game saw a mix of plays with a rush by Justin Pessoa for 13 yards and a completion from Isaiah Bess to Joel Felder for a 10-yard gain. A false start penalty slowed WVSU's momentum, but they continued to push forward. Pessoa's 26-yard rush led to a touchdown with 09:17 remaining. The extra point by B. Schmitt was good.
Barton's opening drive featured notable plays, including a 17-yard pass completion from Trevor Nored to Jayden Flood-Brown and a 24-yard completion to Tiquez Mallette. The drive reached the 5 yardline but stalled. A field goal attempt by Andrew Bontekoe from 22 yards was successful.
WVSU attempted to build on their lead with a series of rushes and passes, including a 17-yard rush by Felder. Barton's defense held firm, with a penalty against Barton (offside) extending WVSU's drive at the end of the first quarter with State leading 7-3.
Bess's pass to Ary deep in Barton territory fell incomplete on second down and long, but a pass interference penalty against Barton moved them to the Barton 28 yardline. The drive continued with solid plays including a 6-yard rush by Pessoa and an 8-yard rush by Bess. The drive stalled near the 10-yard line. State settled for a 24-yard field goal by Brennon Schmitt, 10-3.
Barton started their next drive from their 25 yardline but faced a setback with a loss of 2 yards on a rush by T. Long. However, they managed to push the ball upfield with completions to J. Flood-Brown and a 17-yard rush by D. Davis. Barton eventually reached the WVSU 6-yard line but faced a challenge to a play that was initially ruled a completion. It was overturned upon review but Barton scored a touchdown anyway after a 7-yard rush by Nored, 10-10.
After a three-and-out by State, Barton drove all the way down to the WVSU 22-yard line with four straight completions but Nored's fifth pass of the drive was picked off by Nick Fannin at the 5 yardline. State ran a couple of plays that ran out the clock and left the game tied at 10 going into the break.
Barton's opening drive of the second half included completions to Flood-Brown and a 15-yard rush by Nored. Barton faced a challenging drive but managed to get a new set of downs after a penalty on WVSU. Despite a solid drive that spanned 13 plays and ate up nearly half of the quarter, they were unable to capitalize and had a field goal attempt by Bontekoe blocked by Frank Mosely and returned by Blake all the way to the Barton 33 yardline. The ensuing drive by the Yellow Jackets lasted three plays and Schmitt kicked another field goal, this one from 44 yards away, 13-10.
Barton's next drive was hindered by a false start penalty and was forced to punt after an incomplete pass and a penalty for illegal formation. A punt by Bontekoe was fair-caught, and State started the next drive from their 12-yard line. A rush for no gain and two straight incompletions forced another WVSU punt.
Barton picked up yardage in chunks on their final third quarter drive with completions of 19 yards, 15 yards, and 20 yards before punching it in from one yard out, giving Barton their first lead of the game, 17-13.
WVSU's final play of the third quarter was a 30-yard connection between Bess and Felder, giving State a first down at the Barton 35 to start the fourth quarter. A series of rushes and passes, including a crucial 21-yard rush by Felder, moved them to the Barton 3-yard line. Pessoa punched it in from three yards out, putting WVSU in the lead 20-17.
A quick three-and-out on the ensuing possession give State the ball just prior to midfield and moved effectively downfield with the help of a pass interference penalty on a first down pass from the Barton 38 yardline. A 22-yard touchdown pass from Bess to Ary on the next play put WVSU further ahead, 27-17.
Barton picked up a first down on their next drive but never left their own territory, punting the ball to the Yellow Jackets deep in their own territory with just under seven minutes to play. State opened up the drive with a 23 yard run by Felder, but stalled out and then their fourth down punt was blocked, recovered by Barton and returned for a touchdown, 27-24.
State forced Barton to burn up all three of their second half timeouts over the next two minutes of game time after picking up two first downs. State faced a fourth down and short deep inside Bulldog territory with 61 seconds on the clock but an incomplete pass gave Barton the ball with 80 yards to go and no timeouts. Nored was sacked with 18 seconds to play keeping the clock running and a completed pass for over 30 yards would've gotten the Bulldogs close for the tying field goal, but the clock ran out and State took home the victory.
State opens up a three-game homestand next Thursday, Sept. 12 at 6:00 pm against Carson-Newman.
