WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. -- West Virginia Wesleyan and West Liberty will open WVIAC play for the final time on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. on the turf at Russek Field.

For those who can't be at West Liberty, the new voice of the Bobcats, Reuben Perdue, along with Bill Nestor and sideline reporter Chris Nutter will be on the call from Russek field--starting with a pregame show at 12:30 leading up to the 1 p.m. kickoff.

The Game

• West Virginia Wesleyan looks to get in the win column as the head to West Liberty to open WVIAC play.
• The Bobcats have won two straight in the  match-up with the Hilltoppers, but West Liberty still holds a 34-22-1 overall advantage in the series.
• Wesleyan coasted to a 43-8 victory in last season's meeting in Buckhannon.
• Wesleyan will attempt  to end a four-game losing skid, while WL is riding high after a 14-13 win over Virginia State..
• For those who can't be at West Liberty, the new voice of the Bobcats, Reuben Perdue, along with Bill Nestor and sideline reporter Chris Nutter will be on the call from Russek field--starting with a pregame show at 12:30 leading up to the 1 p.m. kickoff.

Last Week

• West Virginia Wesleyan couldn't overcome wet and muddy conditions, falling to Bentley, 27-16.
• Jeremy Musselman connected on 8-of-19 passes for 74 yards with one touchdown.
• Jake Leninsky racked up 12 tackles with five tackles for loss, one sack and a forced fumble.
• West Liberty edged Virginia State on the road last Saturday, by a 14-13 margin.
• The Hilltoppers overcame four turnovers to claim the victory.

Notebook

• Saturday's loss to Bentley marked the second straight week the Bobcats did not manage to throw for 300 yards, and only the second time under Jonas Jackson (0-2).
• During the current four game slide, the Bobcats are allowing 230.0 yards per game rushing, while giving up only 173.0 yards through the air.
• Bentley was the sixth team to throw two or more touchdowns against the Bobcats (3-3).

NFL Ties

• West Virginia Wesleyan has become a home for former NFL talent looking to break into the coaching ranks.
• Assistant Head Coach Anthony Thomas is starting his second season in Buckhannon after an eight year NFL career where he was Rookie of the Year in 2001 with the Chicago Bears. Thomas played college football at the University of Michigan where he led the Wolverines to the 1997 National Championship.
• Defensive Coordinator Eric Brock played two seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. Brock was a three-year letterwinner at Auburn University.
• The newest addition to the Wesleyan coaching staff has been that of former Pittsburgh Steeler and two-time Super Bowl Champion running back Willie Parker.
• Nate Montana, the son of Joe Montana, is also in Buckhannon.

Home Field Advantage

• The lost to Bentley snapped a 12-game win streak at Ross Field.

Road Blues

• Wesleyan has compiled an 18-6 overall record over the past two seasons, but has managed just a 7-5 record on the road.
• Under Jonas Jackson, the team is just 4-3 on the road.
• Each of the four games the Bobcats have surrendered 200+ rushing yards have come on the road.

Hall of Fame Pedigree

• Nate Montana has two challenges this season; first, he is the son of a Super Bowl Champion and Pro Football Hall of Famer (Joe Montana), second is that he has to fill the shoes of Adam Neugebauer (who led D-II in passing yards and touchdowns).
• Montana completed 27-of-49 passes in his debut for 255 yards, a pair of touchdowns and two interceptions.
• Montana struggled against Bentley completing just 7-of –27 passes for 74 yards.

Mussel Up

• Redshirt sophomore quarterback, Jeremy Musselman, missed the Millersville game with an injury, but did not miss a beat when his number was called against Bentley—leading the Bobcats on a seven play 70 yard drive ending in a touchdown pass to Nyme Manns.

First and Boston

• Richmond transfer Donte Boston pulled down four passes during his first game in black and orange, three of which went for first downs, while the fourth was a touchdown.
• Boston caught seven passes for 74 yards against Bentley.

Red Zone

• Although the scoreboard hasn't provided a positive result, the Bobcats have shown great signs inside the 20 on both sides of the ball.
• The Wesleyan offense has scored on five of six possessions (4 TDs and 1 FG) inside the opponents' red zone.
• The defense has limited opponents to scores on just 5-of-11 attempts inside the 20.

Scouting The Hilltoppers

• The West Liberty rushing attack ranks 155th out  of 156 D-II football schools, averaging 5.5 yards per game.
• The Hilltoppers also rank last in the country in sacks allowed at 7 per game. The Wesleyan defense is tied for 10th in the nation, averaging 4.5 sacks per game.
• Roger Waialae is in his eighth season on the sidelines for the Hilltoppers, compiling a 48-32 mark.
• The Hilltoppers have used a pair of signal callers this season. Senior  L.D. Crow is 31-of-44 (70.5) on the year with 257 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Freshman Dylan Lagarde has also seen significant playing time, completing 10-of-24 passes for 163 yards with four interceptions.
• Junior Kenjay Trueblood leads the ground attack with 131 yards on 43 carries.
• Bo Whitney leads the West Liberty receiving corps with 18 catches for 127 yards. Brandon Schroeder has the team's lone receiving score among his five catches for 77 yards.
• Marco Ricchetti leads the WL defense with 18 tackles—four tackles for loss and one interception. Ricchetti was named WVIAC Defensive Player of the Week in Week two. 

Upper Class

• The Wesleyan roster consists of 52 upperclassmen, including 21 seniors and 31 juniors.

Ends of Fury

• Lost in the offensive onslaught from 2011 is All-American defensive end Jonas Celian.
• The North Lauderdale, Fla. Native racked up 12 sacks last season and is in second place on Wesleyan's all-time sack list with 33.5.
• While Celian gets a lot of notice from opposing offenses,  of equal attention on the other side is Brian Vukela who also registers in the top 10 in career sacks.
• The senior from Bethel Park, Pa. has 16.5 career sacks, needing just 4.5 to crack the top three.
• Celian and Vukela combined for three and a half sacks against Millersville.

Ricky on the Return

• Wesleyan junior Ricky Conner broke through last season as the team's primary punt returner, taking in 32 of the teams 33 returns.
• Conner needs just 74 yards to crack the top-five in punt return yards at Wesleyan.

Kasper Kicks

• Wesleyan struggled a season ago in the kicking game, hitting on just 45% of field goals and 86% of extra points.
• This season, help has arrived in the form of Denmark native Kasper Bernild.
• Bernild hit on 80% of his field goal attempts in the 2010 Danish National League with a long of 53 yards.
• Bernild is 2-for-4 on the year with a long of 43 yards.

The Beef

• The Wesleyan offensive line averages a height of 6-4 and weight of 297--anchored by senior center, Kevin Goetaski (6-5,300).

Black Hats

• Wesleyan steps away from the white helmets with black paws worn in 2012.
• The new look domes are black with orange paws, an idea conceived by coach Jackson as a way to make his players proud to be Bobcats.

The End of the WVIAC

• West Virginia Wesleyan, along with the other eight football playing schools, will be vying for the final WVIAC football crown as they move into the Mountain East Conference.

Last Season vs. West Liberty

• Wesleyan raced out to a 26-0 lead at the half and cruised to a 43-8 victory last season in Buckhannon.
• The Bobcat defense limited West Liberty to just nine first downs and 14 yards on the ground.
• Adam Neugebauer tossed for 358 yards on 38-of-54 passing with five touchdowns. Jon Meadows pulled down 11 passes for 166 yards and found pay dirt twice.

2011 Review

• The Wesleyan football team rolled to a 9-0 start before dropping the final two games of the regular season, finishing 9-2 overall and 6-2 in league play.
• Wesleyan led Division II, averaging 384.3 passing yards per game.
• Adam Neugebauer, Jon Meadows and Jonas Celian all earned All-American status.
• Meadows and Neugenbauer each set 2 school single season records. (Meadows: receptions (99) and receiving yards (1,275) (Neugebauer passing touchdowns (40) and yards (4,111).
• The 2011 Bobcats also set seven single game records as a team, along with nine single season records.