BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – West Virginia Wesleyan jumped to a 20-0 lead, and was able to hold on to register a 33-21 victory over Urbana.
Nate Montana tossed for 341 yards on 27-of-56 passing with three touchdowns and was intercepted once. Jeremy Musselman completed 4-of-5 passes for 14 yards. Malcolm Yowk rushed for 64 yards on 15 carries to lead the ground attack. Chase Blackwell hauled in nine passes for 94 yards and reached pay dirt once.
Kasper Bernild punted nine times, averaging 39.8 yards per kick and was 2-for-4 on field goal attempts with a long of 42. Bernild also recorded a tackle and recovered an onside kick. John Maddox led the way defensively with 14 tackles. Jermichael Kelly, Jonas Celian and Hausaan Burton each tallied an interception.
The Blue Knights' D.J. Mendenhall notched 285 yards through the air with three touchdowns as part of a 27-of-46 day, but was picked off on three occasions. Jeffvon Gill rushed for 70 yards on 10 attempts. Nate Wilburn-Ogletree pulled in a game-high 11 passes for 109 yards and scored one touchdown.
Montana hit Nyquan McGirt with a screen and McGirt scooted 32 yards to put Wesleyan on top 7-0 in the first quarter. The Bobcats added a Bernild field goal from 31 yards out to push the lead to 10-0. The field goal was set up by an interception from Celian. Bernild would add a 42 yard field goal in the second quarter to give Wesleyan a 13-0 lead at the half.
The Bobcats scored on their opening drive of the second half, as Montana connected with Lavaughn Hughes from 19 yards out to extend the lead to 20-0. The Bobcats recovered the ensuing kickoff but were forced to punt. The Blue Knights went 85 yards on their ensuing drive culminating with Mendenhall finding Gill from 37 yards out to trim the deficit to 20-7. The Bobcats were again forced to punt, and Urbana drove 78 yards ending with a Medenhall completion to Ogletree, making the score 20-14.
In the fourth quarter, the Bobcats were held to a third consecutive punt; on the next Urbana possession Mendenhall's pass was intercepted by Kelley who returned the pick 21 yards for the Wesleyan touchdown, providing a 26-14 cushion for Wesleyan. After an Urbana punt, Montana hooked up with Chase Blackwell from eight yards away to extend the advantage to 33-14. The Blue Knights' final tally came with Mendenhall hitting Alvin Busbee to push the score to 33-21. Urbana would get the ball back one final time, but their hopes ended with Burton picking off Mendenhall's pass to seal the 33-21 victory.
The Bobcats head to Shepherd next Saturday at 12 p.m.
