UC falls to West Liberty, 27-13
By Mike Whiteford
Charleston Gazette
The University of Charleston opened the game with a glorious 99-yard, 19-play work of art.
Starting at their own 1, the Golden Eagles unleashed a flawless option offense that spread the ball to six different ball-carriers and receivers, consumed seven minutes, 36 seconds and produced the game’s first touchdown.
“The first drive was really special,’’ UC coach Tony DeMeo said later.
But the artistry quickly disappeared. The West Liberty Hilltoppers tweaked their defense and pretty much shut down the Golden Eagles from there en route to a 27-13 victory Saturday afternoon at UC Stadium-Laidley Field. A crowd of about 1,500 attended.
UC (7-3, 5-2) entered the day ranked No. 6 in the NCAA Division II Northeast Region rankings and probably fell out of contention for a postseason berth. The top six schools in the region advance to regional play.
DeMeo, whose team will conclude the regular season at home next Saturday against Glenville, hasn’t given up hope.
“We have an outside shot if things break right,’’ said the third-year coach. “We’re in a pretty good position, and we’ve had a good year. I’m not going to let this game take away from that.’’
After UC’s opening score, the Hilltoppers (7-3, 5-2) responded with a 72-yard drive for a 7-7 tie and then went to work on defense. They forced punts on UC’s next two possessions and intercepted a pass just before halftime, never allowing the Golden Eagles past the WL 45 again before intermission.
UC quarterback DeRante Hunter saw some changes in the Hilltopper defense after the Golden Eagles’ opening drive.
“On our opening drive, they did exactly what we expected them to do in how they defended the option,’’ said Hunter, a freshman from Sarasota, Fla. “After that, they switched how they played.’’
West Liberty coach Roger Waialae, a former option quarterback, decided to use a defense that he remembered as annoying to option quarterbacks.
“The adjustment we ran after the first series was the split-4, and that seemed to give us an advantage in containing the quarterback,’’ said Waialae. “And what we tried to do was give him some false reads. I know those things frustrated me running the option.’’
“They made a few adjustments,’’ said DeMeo. “We struggled a little bit. They’re a good football team. My hat’s off to them.’’
On its opening drive of the second half, UC drove to the WL 21 — tailback Josh Culbertson rushed for 51 yards on six carries to lead the drive — but UC turned the ball over on downs. UC later reached the Hilltopper 8 but again turned the ball over on downs. UC’s second touchdown didn’t come until reserve quarterback Jay Julian hit Preston Higdon on a 46-yard pass with 2:10 left in the game.
West Liberty quarterback Zach Amedro, a former John Marshall player who leads the West Virginia Conference in passing, completed 18-of-28 passes for 209 yards, but the Hilltoppers, seeing the Golden Eagles positioned to shut down the pass, rushed for 188 yards.
Amedro threw TD passes of 13 yards to Kevon Calhoun in the first quarter and 25 yards to Ryan Travis late in the third. Eddie Hills, who carried 26 times for 138 yards, ran for touchdowns of 13 and 5 yards.
UC used balance and short gains on its opening drive, which was highlighted by a 15-yard Culbertson carry, and scored on Culbertson’s 2-yard run.
Culbertson, a sophomore from Nitro, finished with 103 yards on 22 carries. Hunter, who passed for 360 yards and rushed for 236 in UC’s past two victories, completed only 4 of 8 for 48 yards with an interception and rushed 20 times for 38 yards.
“I thought we did a pretty good job in spots offensively and defensively,’’ said DeMeo. “But then we kind of cooled off a little bit and sputtered a little bit. And we took some shots that maybe we shouldn’t have taken.’’
Charleston Gazette
The University of Charleston opened the game with a glorious 99-yard, 19-play work of art.
Starting at their own 1, the Golden Eagles unleashed a flawless option offense that spread the ball to six different ball-carriers and receivers, consumed seven minutes, 36 seconds and produced the game’s first touchdown.
“The first drive was really special,’’ UC coach Tony DeMeo said later.
But the artistry quickly disappeared. The West Liberty Hilltoppers tweaked their defense and pretty much shut down the Golden Eagles from there en route to a 27-13 victory Saturday afternoon at UC Stadium-Laidley Field. A crowd of about 1,500 attended.
UC (7-3, 5-2) entered the day ranked No. 6 in the NCAA Division II Northeast Region rankings and probably fell out of contention for a postseason berth. The top six schools in the region advance to regional play.
DeMeo, whose team will conclude the regular season at home next Saturday against Glenville, hasn’t given up hope.
“We have an outside shot if things break right,’’ said the third-year coach. “We’re in a pretty good position, and we’ve had a good year. I’m not going to let this game take away from that.’’
After UC’s opening score, the Hilltoppers (7-3, 5-2) responded with a 72-yard drive for a 7-7 tie and then went to work on defense. They forced punts on UC’s next two possessions and intercepted a pass just before halftime, never allowing the Golden Eagles past the WL 45 again before intermission.
UC quarterback DeRante Hunter saw some changes in the Hilltopper defense after the Golden Eagles’ opening drive.
“On our opening drive, they did exactly what we expected them to do in how they defended the option,’’ said Hunter, a freshman from Sarasota, Fla. “After that, they switched how they played.’’
West Liberty coach Roger Waialae, a former option quarterback, decided to use a defense that he remembered as annoying to option quarterbacks.
“The adjustment we ran after the first series was the split-4, and that seemed to give us an advantage in containing the quarterback,’’ said Waialae. “And what we tried to do was give him some false reads. I know those things frustrated me running the option.’’
“They made a few adjustments,’’ said DeMeo. “We struggled a little bit. They’re a good football team. My hat’s off to them.’’
On its opening drive of the second half, UC drove to the WL 21 — tailback Josh Culbertson rushed for 51 yards on six carries to lead the drive — but UC turned the ball over on downs. UC later reached the Hilltopper 8 but again turned the ball over on downs. UC’s second touchdown didn’t come until reserve quarterback Jay Julian hit Preston Higdon on a 46-yard pass with 2:10 left in the game.
West Liberty quarterback Zach Amedro, a former John Marshall player who leads the West Virginia Conference in passing, completed 18-of-28 passes for 209 yards, but the Hilltoppers, seeing the Golden Eagles positioned to shut down the pass, rushed for 188 yards.
Amedro threw TD passes of 13 yards to Kevon Calhoun in the first quarter and 25 yards to Ryan Travis late in the third. Eddie Hills, who carried 26 times for 138 yards, ran for touchdowns of 13 and 5 yards.
UC used balance and short gains on its opening drive, which was highlighted by a 15-yard Culbertson carry, and scored on Culbertson’s 2-yard run.
Culbertson, a sophomore from Nitro, finished with 103 yards on 22 carries. Hunter, who passed for 360 yards and rushed for 236 in UC’s past two victories, completed only 4 of 8 for 48 yards with an interception and rushed 20 times for 38 yards.
“I thought we did a pretty good job in spots offensively and defensively,’’ said DeMeo. “But then we kind of cooled off a little bit and sputtered a little bit. And we took some shots that maybe we shouldn’t have taken.’’