Non-Conference Play Continues for MEC Teams
· Non-league action continues for the Mountain East Conference this weekend as Week 1 finds nine MEC teams in action
· It all kicks off on Thursday with W.Va. State debuting at Barton (N.C.) and Fairmont State traveling to Bloomsburg (Pa.) in a pair of 6 p.m. tilts. At 7 p.m., Frostburg State will host Millersville (Pa.) while West Liberty entertains Limestone (N.C.).
· Five games involving MEC squads are on tap for Saturday, starting at noon with Charleston hosting California (Pa.). Concord opens at home against Bluefield State while Lock Haven (Pa.) is at Glenville State in 1 p.m. kickoffs. UNC-Pembroke visits Fayetteville State at 6 p.m. with Wheeling at Walsh (Ohio) in a 7 p.m. start.
WEEK 1 SCHEDULE
Thursday, Sept. 5
West Virginia St. (0-0) at Barton (0-0) | 6 p.m. | Wilson, N.C.
Notes: John Pennington returns for his 8th season at the Yellow Jacket helm. …WVSU went 4-6 a year ago and was 7th in the MEC Preseason Coaches’ Poll. …All-Conference RB Joel Felder puts plenty of sting in the W.Va. State attack after rushing for a school-record 1,115 yards and 13 TDs a year ago. … …Barton was picked 9th in the SAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll after going 6-5 last fall. …All-SAC LB Matt Smith is coming off a 98-tackle season for the Bulldogs
Fairmont State (1-0) at Bloomsburg (0-0) | 6 p.m. | Bloomsburg, Pa.
Notes: Fairmont State defeated Bloomsburg, 34-30, in Fairmont a year ago, driving 93 yards in the final 2 minutes for the winning TD. …The Falcons got Luke Barker’s head coaching career off to a flying start last week with a 56-24 blowout of Seton Hill (Pa.). …Transfer QB Will Adkins threw for 298 yards and 3 TDs in his FSU debut. …WR Gage Michael had 7 catches for 101 yards. …This will be the season opener for Bloomsburg, which finished 3-8 a year ago
Millersville (0-1) at Frostburg State (0-0) | 7 p.m. | Frostburg, Md.
Notes: Eric Wagoner begins his 3rd season as head coach at FSU with a mutual season opener against Millersville. …After going 7-3 (6-3 MEC) to tie for 2nd place in the MEC last fall, the Bobcats were 3rd in the Coaches’ Preseason Poll. …Frostburg’s 3 losses came by a total of just 9 points. …The top three tacklers – LB Colby Street, DB Wylan Harich and DL Yasir Holmes – all return from the MEC’s No. 1-ranked defensive squad. …Millersville lost its season opener to Clarion last week by a 36-7 tally. …It was the 8th consecutive loss for the Marauders
Limestone (0-0) at West Liberty (0-1) | 7 p.m. | West Liberty, W.Va.
Notes: This is the first meeting between the two programs. …West Liberty dropped a 42-21 decision to Walsh (Ohio) last week. …The Hilltoppers outgained the Cavaliers but were flagged for 21 penalties, committed 3 turnovers and gave up 2 special teams TDs. …This is the season opener for Limestone, which went 8-4 (8-1 SAC) last fall to earn its second straight NCAA D2 playoff bid. …QB Dustin Noller, the 2023 SAC Offensive Player of the Year, returns after throwing for nearly 3,000 yards with 31 TDs and just 4 INTs
Saturday, Sept. 7
California PA (0-0) at Charleston (1-0) | 12 p.m. | Charleston, W.Va.
Notes: Nationally-ranked Charleston hosts perennial PSAC power California (Pa.) in an early-season regional test. …The Golden Eagles opened with a 38-7 throttling of Livingstone (N.C.) on Saturday. …RB Chavon Wright ran for 154 yards and 2 TDs, QB Javonte Howard threw for 226 yards and 2 TDs – both to WR Marquan Herron, who had 6 catches for 100 yards. …The Vulcans went 7-3 (6-1 PSAC) a year ago, their 19th straight winning season. …QB Davis Black, a UC transfer, ranked among the nation’s passing leaders with 252 yards/game and 15.6 yards/completio
Bluefield State (0-1) at Concord (0-0) | 1 p.m. | Athens, W.Va.
Notes: Coach Brian Ferguson’s new-look Mountain Lions welcome neighboring Bluefield State to Callaghan Stadium on Saturday. …Ferguson bolstered the Concord roster with 27 transfers and 69 freshmen in preseason camp. …CU returns its top four tacklers from 2023. …LB Jamari Smith was 2nd in the MEC with 90 tackles a year ago. …Bluefield State opened at home Saturday night with a 34-3 loss to Winston-Salem State. …The Big Blues have lost 10 straight games
Lock Haven (0-0) at Glenville State (0-1) | 1 p.m. | Glenville, W.Va.
Notes: The Pioneers are looking to rebound from a 38-7 season-opening loss at Emory & Henry on Saturday. …The hosts took advantage of 5 Glenville State turnovers to take command early. …The game was called in the fourth quarter following a lengthy weather delay. …Anthony Garrett threw for 175 yards and a TD while Hayden Moore had 6 tackles, 2.5 TFLs and a QB sack. …This is Lock Haven’s season opener. …The Bald Eagles went 5-6 (3-4 PSAC) a year ago
UNC Pembroke (0-1) at Fayetteville State (0-0) | 6 p.m. | Fayetteville, N.C.
Notes: UNC-Pembroke came out on the short end of a 17-12 defensive struggle against neighboring SAC power Wingate (N.C.) on Saturday. … QB Colin Johnson threw for 206 yards and a TD while rushing for 70 yards and another score. …The Braves’ offense had 20 first downs but was just 1-for-10 on 3rd- and 4th-down conversions. …This is the season opener for Fayetteville State. …UNC-Pembroke edged the Broncos, 19-17, in last year’s meeting
Wheeling (0-1) at Walsh (1-0) | 7 p.m. | North Canton, Ohio
Notes: Wheeling saw a late comeback fall just short in a 28-25 season-opening home loss to FCS Mercyhurst (Pa.). …QB Javon Davis racked up 221 passing yards and 61 more on the ground. …WR Tre Holloway caught 6 passes for 125 yards and 2 TDs. …Walsh’s Garrett Waite returned the opening kickoff 92 yards for a score and the Cavaliers never trailed in a 42-21 win at West Liberty. …WR Anthony Harris had 4 catches for 88 yards with TD grabs of 22 and 64 yards
NOTABLE
• Five MEC teams scored 21+ points on the opening weekend, highlighted by Fairmont State’s 56-point explosion. Charleston (38), Wheeling (25), W.Va. Wesleyan (24) and West Liberty (21) also put three or more touchdowns on the scoreboard
• Fairmont State and Charleston each surpassed the 400-yard mark in total offense during their season-opening wins. The Falcons racked up 506 yards of total offense (298 passing, 208 rushing) while the Golden Eagles checked in with 409 total yards (226 passing, 183 rushing)
• Five MEC schools rushed for more than 100 yards last week. Fairmont State led the way with 208 yards on the ground, followed by Charleston (183), Wheeling (128), W.Va. Wesleyan (120) and UNC-Pembroke (104)
• Charleston’s Chavon Wright was the league’s lone 100-yard rusher. The 2023 MEC Offensive Player of the Year picked up where he left off, running for 159 yards and 2 TDs on 26 carries in UC’s 38-7 romp past Livingstone (N.C.). Fairmont State’s Elijah Tidwell and Leonard Farrow also posted 2 rushing TDs
• Fairmont State’s Will Adkins was the leading passer in the MEC on opening weekend, completing 24-of-36 throws for 298 yards and 3 TDs. Charleston’s Javonte Howard, Wheeling’s Javon Davis and W.Va. Wesleyan’s Quinton Pulley also threw 2 TD passes
• A trio of MEC receivers cracked the century mark last weekend. Wheeling’s Tre Holloway topped the charts with 6 catches for 125 yards and 2 TDs. Fairmont State’s Gage Michael caught 7 balls for 101 yards and a score while UC’s Marquan Herron had 6 catches for 100 yards and 2 TDs. W.Va. Wesleyan’s Dariuse Cooper also recorded 2 touchdown grabs
• Wheeling’s Jojo Holmes was the only MEC defender with double-digit tackles on opening weekend. Holmes was charted with 12 stops in the Cardinals’ hard-fought setback against FCS Mercyhurst (Pa.)
• Several MEC players had multiple tackles-for-loss and quarterback sacks last week. Charleston’s Andre Chamblee led the nation with 3.5 TFLs and was credited with half of a QB sack. The Glenville State tandem of Jamair Diaz and Hayden Moore each posted 2.5 TFLs. Diaz had 2.5 QB sacks while Moore had 1.0 sack. West Liberty’s Trent Crawford also had 2.5 TFLs while Hilltopper teammate Bre’Andre Horsley finished with 2.0 TFLs and 1.5 sacks
• Charleston’s Ra’Shaa Morris was the only MEC defender with multiple interceptions last week, picking off two Livingstone passes in the UC win
• Wheeling’s Joao Lima and Charleston’s Levi Paxton tied for the longest field goals on the MEC’s opening weekend as each kicker converted a 37-yarder
• W.Va. Wesleyan punter Camden Lawrence had a big day at Post (Conn.), booming a pair of 50+ yard punts (68, 54). West Liberty’s Colin McDermitt had a 50-yard punt against Walsh (Ohio)
• Wheeling’s Tre Holloway led the MEC and No. 5 nationally with 204 All-Purpose Yards last week. Holloway had 125 receiving yards, 75 return yards and 4 rushing yards
MEC Notebook
MEC Announces Week 0 Football Honors
In recognition of their outstanding performances during the opening weekend of the 2024 season, three Fairmont State Falcons have been honored as Mountain East Conference Football Players of the Week.
The MEC Football Player of the Week awards are presented by The Health Plan.
Fairmont State quarterback Will Adkins was named Offensive Player of the Week with Falcon defensive back Eltayeb Bushra claiming Defensive Player of the Week honors and FSU kicking specialist Emmanuel Richardson selected as Special Teams Player of the Week.
Adkins, a 6-5, 230-pound senior from Huntington, W.Va., completed 24-of-36 passes for 298 yards and 3 touchdowns with one interception as the Falcons ran away to a 56-24 victory over Seton Hill (Pa.). He fired touchdown passes of 4, 8 and 24 yards while guiding a Fairmont State offense that racked up more than 500 yards of total offense.
Bushra, a 6-2, 200-pound senior from Herndon, Va., led the Fairmont State defense with 7 total tackles, 1.5 tackles-for-loss and a forced fumble. The forced fumble gave the Falcons the ball inside SHU territory midway through the third quarter, setting up a 5-play, 40-yard touchdown drive that all but put the game out of reach at 35-10.
Richardson, a 5-11, 190-pound sophomore from Springfield, Va., had his only field goal attempt blocked but was a perfect 8-for-8 on PATs following the Fairmont State touchdowns. He also gave the Falcons’ kickoff coverage team a boost, averaging 63.2 yards on 9 kickoffs with 4 of them sailing into the end zone for touchbacks.
Quick Hitters!
• All nine games on the first full weekend of Mountain East Conference play are scheduled against non-conference opponents • MEC teams went 2-5 against non-league foes a week ago.
