GLENVILLE, W.Va. – Josh Wilson kicked a 43-yard field goal to start the second overtime period and the West Liberty defense forced a game-ending fumble on Glenville State’s ensuing possession as the Hilltoppers stunned the Pioneers, 27-24, in a double-overtime thriller on Saturday at Morris Stadium.
West Liberty (1-1, 1-1) had rallied from a 24-14 deficit in the final 2:03 of regulation, forcing the game into overtime with a 46-yard “Hail Mary” TD pass from Dakota Conwell to Dylan Potts as time expired.
Both teams missed field goal attempts in the first overtime period and WLU couldn’t move the sticks on the first possession of the second overtime.
That’s when Wilson, who had nailed a 31-yarder with 2:03 left in regulation to start the Black and Gold comeback, drilled a line drive between the pipes from 43 yards out to give West Liberty its first lead.
Glenville, which had more than 500 yards of total offense on the day, answered with an 11-yard run by Tevin Drake for a first down at the WLU 14 and QB Sean Steele followed with a quick toss to defending MEC rushing champion Rahmann Lee on the left flank.
The elusive Lee slipped a tackle inside the 10 and darted down the sideline toward what would have been the game-winning touchdown, stretching out for the end zone as West Liberty’s Alec Wood closed in. Wood knocked the football out of Lee’s grasp just shy of the goal line and the ball rolled out of the end zone for a touchback to seal the win.
“I was glad to see the way we responded with our backs to the wall at the end,” WLU head coach Roger Waialae said, “but it shouldn’t have come down to that. We need to play like that from the start.”
Steele had opened the scoring three hours earlier with an 8-yard TD toss to Ralph Gordon on the game’s opening drive but West Liberty TB Jeremiah Ortiz answered with a 1-yard TD burst for a 7-7 tie heading into the second quarter.
The Pioneers got the only points of the second quarter when WR Antiwone Johnson split the WLU defense on a crossing route and sprinted 53 yards for a touchdown that put the hosts up 14-7 at the half.
Braxton Gamble’s 13-yard TD run tied it for West Liberty at 4:44 of the third quarter but Lee darted in from 6 yards out on the final play of the quarter for a 21-14 Glenville lead heading into the final 15 minutes.
Tanner Wright’s 37-yard field goal pushed the Pioneer lead to 24-14 with just 8:11 left in regulation. The Glenville defense forced the Hilltoppers into a 3-and-out but Griffin Yocum’s 54-yard punt was downed at the Glenville 1 and the West Liberty defense forced a 3-and-out of its own with just over 5 minutes remaining.
The Hilltoppers marched to the Glenville 13 before the drive stalled. Wilson’s 31-yard field goal cut the lead to 24-17 with 2:03 remaining but West Liberty couldn’t recover the onside kick and the Pioneers took over at the WLU 45. The Hilltopper defense held again but Glenville’s punt rolled dead at the WLU 1 with just 50 seconds showing on the clock.
Conwell wrapped passes of 20 and 21 yards to Anton McCallum around a drive-saving fourth-down scramble to put the Hilltoppers on the Pioneer 46 with just 4 seconds to go.
As time expired, Conwell scrambled away from pressure and lobbed a rainbow down the right sideline near the 5. McCallum leaped high and batted the ball over to Potts, who slipped between two would-be tacklers and dove into the end zone for the game-tying score.
Ortiz led all rushers with 26 carries for 98 yards while Conwell completed 18-of-37 passes for 164 yards. Potts had 5 catches for 76 yards and McCallum added 56 yards on 5 grabs. Wood paced the defense with 14 tackles while Andrew Faraimo was charted with a dozen stops.
Drake led the Glenville rushing attack with 17 carries for 97 yards while Lee added 73 yards on 15 carries and led all receivers with 95 yards on a game-high 8 catches. Steele completed 22-of-32 passes for 362 yards in a losing cause.
West Liberty returns home to host West Virginia State on Saturday. Kickoff for the annual Hall of Fame Game at West Family Stadium is set for 1 p.m.
