West Liberty working again Hunter Patterson applies a stiff arm on a rush try Saturday in opposition to Wheeling University in each groups’ season finales inside West Family Stadium. Patterson tied the college report for dashing touchdowns in a recreation (5) and complete touchdowns in a recreation (6).
WEST LIBERTY — West Liberty head coach Roger Waialae has coached the Hilltoppers for over 20 years, however even along with his a long time of expertise, the veteran coach managed a ‘first-ever’ in his last recreation earlier than retirement.
“It’s the primary time in my profession, and I’ve been teaching a very long time, that we mentioned ‘let them score.’” Waialae said. “I said, we can score to win the game. And we believed that– the offensive staff, you know, ‘coach, we need to let them score.’
“And then we were trying to run plays so they didn’t have any time on the clock and we scored with eight seconds left,”
The Hilltoppers’ Kohl Meisman tossed a go-ahead, three-yard landing cross to Osama Hurst with simply eight seconds left, the ultimate rating in a recreation that appeared, at instances, like there by no means can be a last rating.
West LIberty received Saturday’s season finale in opposition to rival Wheeling University 68-67 inside West Family Stadium, a high-flying shootout which contained in it a number of historic statlines.
Saturday was additionally the ultimate recreation for Waialae, the college asserting their longtime head coach’s impending retirement on Nov. 10. After the sport, although, Waialae shifted the main target from himself.
“I’m just happy for the players,” Waialae mentioned. “They’ve worked so hard.”
“I’m just happy for the kids. This has never been about me. It’s always been about them graduating, growing, maturing, all those things. Being successful, you know, the players that came back today that played for us, some of them off the first team in 2005, that’s what’s made it all worth it.”
Hilltoppers working again Hunter Patterson, an Oak Glen alum, tied the West Liberty single-season report for dashing touchdowns in a recreation with 5, and complete touchdowns in a recreation with six.
Patterson had 201 dashing yards.
“We know what we have to do,” Waialae started. “We’re not dumb as coaches. We know what now we have to do to maneuver the ball. We received to get him in area. And typically he created his personal area at the moment. He’s a particular participant with solely taking part in two years at working again. He’s in there within the high three or 4 that we’ve ever had right here, not solely as a participant, however an individual, a pupil, an athlete, all these issues. And so you bought to commend him and his household. I assumed we performed properly up entrance at the moment.
We made some adjustments, however we had been capable of clearly rating 68 factors.”
After Wheeling University scored on a one-yard rush by Steven Mitchel after quarterback Landon Lutz tossed a 35-yard cross to Jordan Kaiser to get all the way down to the one yard-line. With 1:50 on the clock, West Liberty had sufficient time left for yet one more scoring drive.
Lutz and Kaiser had been electrical for Wheeling. Lutz completed with 339 yards and two touchdowns on the day. Kaiser caught each, ending with 112 yards on six grabs. Mitchell rushed for 92 yards and three touchdowns.
“Two really good college football teams playing in an outstanding college football game where neither team wanted to lose,” Wheeling head coach Zac Bruney mentioned. “And it got here down to at least one drive, one play, and, , that they had yet one more possession and so they did a hell of a job. And our guys did too.
“I’m really proud of our team and congratulations to Coach Waialae. If any guy deserves to win one like that, he does. Because he’s put a lot of time in– 30-plus years into one institution is a rarity nowadays. So hats off to them and hats off to their team. They made one more play, they made one more drive than we did, but I’m really proud of our team and, you know, we just ran out of time.”
West Liberty’s Meisman threw for 502 yards and 4 touchdowns, turning into simply the fourth quarterback in program historical past to throw for over 500 yards.
West Liberty finishes the season at 3-8, 3-5 in MEC play. Wheeling finishes at 6-5, 5-3 in-conference.
