INSTITUTE – The West Virginia State University football team dominated visiting Monroe University on Saturday afternoon at Lakin-Ray Field at Dickerson Stadium, securing a 48-14 nonconference victory. WVSU generated 413 yards of total offense in the win, led by Joe Dailey, who threw for 222 yards and four touchdowns. Malik Baker hauled in eight receptions for 110 yards and four touchdowns, while Devin Cox added an 80-yard touchdown reception, a 29-yard touchdown run, and 85 receiving yards.
Defensively, Willie DeSantis IV, Tonio Simpson, and Demary Toney each recorded a solo sack, while Amir Muhammad and Julian Whitfield both intercepted passes to anchor the unit.
WVSU needed less than two minutes to open the scoring, as Dailey connected with Cox on the third play from scrimmage for an 80-yard touchdown pass, with Joseph Shrader adding the extra point. After the Mustangs answered with a 12-play touchdown drive, WVSU reeled off 23 consecutive points heading into halftime.
Cox put WVSU ahead 14-7 on a 29-yard touchdown run, followed by a 38-yard Shrader field goal. Dailey then connected with Baker for a 3-yard touchdown pass, followed by a 36-yard touchdown strike with seven seconds remaining in the opening half to extend the WVSU advantage to 30-7 at the intermission.
On its opening drive of the second half, WVSU executed a seven-play march that capped off with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Dailey to Baker to push the margin to 38-7. Shrader booted a 28-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 41-7. Monroe scored its final points with 9:50 remaining on a strip-sack returned for a touchdown.
On the Mustangs' subsequent possession, the Yellow Jackets forced a three-and-out before the WVSU special teams unit blocked a punt in the end zone for a touchdown. Shrader converted the final extra point to bring the score to 48-14, which stood as the final margin as neither team scored over the final seven minutes.
WVSU returns to Mountain East Conference play on the road next week, traveling to face Glenville State University on Saturday, Oct. 31. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
