PHILIPPI, W.Va. – Jamie Diven passed for two touchdowns and ran for another while the West Liberty University defense posted its first shutout in nearly a decade in Saturday’s 24-0 romp at Alderson Broaddus.
Diven, getting the start in place of injured Hilltopper QB Jack Allison, fired a 38-yard touchdown strike to Wisdom Jenkins on the game’s first snap and Coach Roger Waialae’s Hilltoppers (1-1, 1-0) were on their way.
Senior WR Isaiah Robinson jump-started the Black and Gold by taking the opening kickoff at his own 4 and darting 58 yards down the sideline before being tumbled out of bounds at the 38-yard-line of the Battlers (0-2, 0-1). Diven went over the top immediately to a wide open Jenkins and it was 7-0 Hilltoppers just 16 seconds into the game.
West Liberty all but put the game on ice before halftime as Diven put two more touchdowns on the board in the second quarter – a 14-yard TD strike to Robinson and a 1-yard QB keeper – for a 21-0 bulge at the break.
After throwing for 165 yards and two TDs in the first half, head coach Roger Waialae turned to his defense and running game to bring home the first win of the season over the final two quarters and they didn’t disappoint.
Tyler Moler posted the first 100-yard rushing game of his career for WLU, rambling for 105 yards on just 15 carries as the Hilltoppers balanced their statistical ledger. West Liberty finished the day with 168 rushing yards and 167 passing yards for 335 yards of total offense.
Defensively, the aggressive Hilltoppers held the Battlers to just 229 yards of total offense while being charted with 13 tackles-for-loss and 7 quarterback sacks in West Liberty’s first shutout since a 9-0 blanking of West Virginia State on Sept. 21, 2013.
Defensive end David Gilcreast had three tackles-for-loss and a pair of quarterback sacks as a total of 11 WLU defenders were credited with at least one tackle-for-loss. J’Aire Pritchett had an interception while Damion Brown and Trent Crawford had fumble recoveries in a dominant defensive performance.
Jenkins led all receivers with 79 yards on three catches for WLU. Alderson Broaddus QB Jaylen McNair remained upright long enough to complete 19-of-37 passes for 176 yards. Anthony Billups ran for 52 yards on 22 carries while Terrance Tate caught 5 passes for 55 yards.
West Liberty returns home to host nationally-ranked Notre Dame (Ohio) on Saturday in the Coach Bob Roe Memorial Game. A special kickoff time of 2 p.m. is set for West Family Stadium.
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